Biology—The Science of Life
Old Growth Forest
Standard 2
• Students know and understand the
characteristics and structure of living things,
the processes of life, and how living things
interact with each other and their
environment.
• Focus: Biology—Anatomy, Physiology, Botany,
Zoology, Ecology
Vocabulary List for Chapter One
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Skepticism
Observation
Hypothesis
Experiment
Control group
Theory
SI
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Biology
Cell
Homeostasis
Metabolism
Reproduction
Heredity
evolution
Biology
• Bios is the Greek word for
life or way of life.
• Biology is the study of life.
• All life as we know it can
be found in the
biosphere, which is the
thin envelope of space
surrounding Earth (about
12 miles) and projecting a
short distance below
Earth’s surface.
Biosphere
Introduction to Biology (7:00)
Areas of Life Study
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Biochemistry
Ecology
Cell Biology
Genetics
Evolutionary Theory
Microbiology
Botany
Zoology
Physiology
Biochemistry
4:07
Ecology: The study of organisms and
their relationship with each other and
the environment.
Cell Biology is the study of cell
structure, function, growth and
division
Genetics is the study of heredity.
Evolutionary Theory is the study of the
process by which species change over
time.
Microbiology is the study of
microorganisms (really tiny life forms)
like bacteria and viruses.
Botanists study plant life.
Zoologists study animal life.
Physiology is the study of the
mechanical, physical, and biochemical
functions of living organisms.
Seven properties of life
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Cellular organization
Homeostasis
Metabolism
Responsiveness
Reproduction
Heredity
Growth
What distinguishes living things?
• All organisms grow, even
though some one-celled
organisms do for only a
brief time.
• Growth is an increase in the
amount of living material in
an organism.
• As the organism grows, it
changes in a process called
development.
• Development is the series
of changes an organism
undergoes in reaching its
final, adult form.
Living things continued
• Living organisms maintain
homeostasis, the steady
state of the internal
operation of an organism
regardless of external
changes.
• When you get too hot,
your body gets rid of the
excess heat by perspiring.
• Because external factors
change constantly, it’s
imperative that organisms
maintain homeostasis.
• The sum of all of the
chemical reactions
carried out in an
organism is called
metabolism.
• It is a vital process for
all organisms that starts
at the time of birth and
continues throughout
the organism’s life.
• Living organisms also
react to their
environment through
responsiveness.
• An example is a plant
bending toward the
light.
• Reproduction is the
process by which
organisms make more
of their own kind.
• Because no organism
lives forever,
reproduction is
essential to life forms.
• There are two types of
reproduction, sexual
and asexual.
• Organisms inherit traits
from their parents in a
process known as
heredity.
• Inherited traits tend to
change over time in a
process known as
evolution.