Agenda
• Plexers
• What is Biology
– Characteristics of life.
– Handout: What is Biology?
By the end of this lesson…
• Students should be able to:
– Identify the definition of Biology and list
several topics/concepts studied in Biology.
– Recognize that all living things share seven
characteristics of life.
– Describe the seven characteristics of life.
– Say: “Sally sells sea shells down by the
sea shore” three times very quickly.
Why should I be
excited about Biology?
What is Biology?
What is Life?
Biology
• Biology is defined as the study of life.
• The term biology is composed of two
roots:
– bio = life
– logos = study of
Topics in Biology
• There are many topics which biology covers. In
this class we will mainly be concerned with the
following:
– Basic Biochemistry – Chemistry of life
– Cells – The building blocks of life
– Genetics – How life functions & reproduces
– Evolution – Life changing over time
– Taxonomy – Classification of living things
– Ecology – Interactions of living things
– Microbiology – Life too small for the unaided
eye to observe
Who Studies Biologic
Concepts?
The Science Name & What they Study
• Botany
– Plants
• Cytology
– Cells
• Ecology
– Relations between living things and their
surroundings
• Zoology
– Animals
All this creates a Question:
What
is
Life?
Am I Alive?
Characteristics of Life
• All life has seven characteristics in
common:
– Living things are made of cells.
– Living things maintain their internal
environment.
– Living things pass on their traits.
– Living things perform chemical activities.
This is known as metabolism.
– Living things grow and develop.
– Living things respond to a stimulus.
– Living things reproduce.
Cells
– All living things are made of one or more
cells.
– A cell is the smallest unit capable of all life
processes
Homeostasis
– All living organisms must maintain a stable
internal environment in order to function
properly.
– The maintenance of a stable internal
environment in spite of changes in the
external environment is called
homeostasis.
Metabolism
– Living organisms carry out different chemical
reactions in order to obtain energy.
– The sum of all the chemical reactions carried out
in an organism is called metabolism.
– Almost all of the energy used by living things
originally comes from the sun.
Response to Stimuli
– In addition to maintaining a stable internal
environment, living organisms respond to
their external environment.
– Can you think of a way that you have
responded to your environment
today?
Reproduction
• Most living things can reproduce. Reproduction
is the process by which organisms make more of
their own kind from one generation to the next.
Heredity & Evolution
– When an organism reproduces, it passes
on its own traits to its offspring in a process
called heredity.
– Inherited characteristics change over
generations. This process is called
evolution
Growth and Development
– All living organisms grow.
– As organisms grow, many change. This
process is called development.
– Development differs from evolution
because development refers to change
in a single individual during that
individual’s life.