1.1 - Life

Question 1

What is an atom?

Answer 1

An atom is the basic building block of matter, consisting of a nucleus at its center (made up of protons and neutrons) and electrons orbiting around the nucleus

It is the basic unit of a chemical element

Question 2

What particles make up an atom?

Answer 2

Protons, neutrons, and electrons

Question 3

What are complex biological molecules? (biomolecules)

Answer 3

Organic molecules that are essential for the growth and development of the cells, and, by extension, the organism itself

(Carbs, lipids/fats, proteins, nucleic acids)

Question 4

What are the 4 groups of biomolecules?

Answer 4

Carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids/fats

Question 5

What are subcellular organelles?

Answer 5

Structures existing within a cell that have one or more specific jobs to perform

Question 6

List some examples of subcellular organelles?

Answer 6

Nuclei, mitochondria, ribosomes

Question 7

What are cells?

Answer 7

The simplest complete unit of structure and function of life

• Every living thing is made up of cells

Question 8

What are tissues?

Answer 8

Groups of cells with similar structure and function (ex: heart muscle)

Question 9

What are organs?

Answer 9

Groups of tissues that perform a similar function (ex: heart)

Question 10

What are organ systems?

Answer 10

Groups of organs performing an overall function (ex: circulatory system)

Question 11

What are complex organisms?

Answer 11

Total living creatures composed of many systems (ex: human)

Question 12

What is a population?

Answer 12

A localized group of organisms belonging to the same species

Question 13

What is a community?

Answer 13

Populations of species living in the same area

Question 14

What is a species?

Answer 14

A group of organisms with similar structural and functional characteristics that freely interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Question 15

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 15

An energy producing system of community interaction that include abiotic factors such as soil, temperature, and water

Question 16

What are biomes?

Answer 16

Large scale communities classified by predominant vegetation type and distinctive combinations of plants and animals

Question 17

What is a biosphere?

Answer 17

The sum of all planet’s ecosystems

Question 18

What are the 6 requirements for life?

Answer 18

1. Organization
2. Energy utilization
3. Internal constancy
4. Grow, develop, reproduce
5. React to environment
6. Evolution

Question 19

What does life being organized mean?

Answer 19

Things in biology are arranged from simple to more complex, like how cells are the basic units of life. This arrangement is called hierarchical organization.

Question 20

What does life requiring energy mean?

Answer 20

Living systems must acquire and use energy to maintain their highly organized state (i.e, organisms must have a metabolism, the biochemical reactions that acquire/use energy).

• Organisms take and transform energy to do work, including the maintenance of their ordered states

Question 21

What does life maintaining an internal constancy mean?

Answer 21

Living things need to keep themselves stable in temperature, moisture level, chemistry, etc. (i.e, must maintain homeostasis).

• Organisms regulate their internal environment to maintain a steady-state, even in the face of a fluctuating external environment

Question 22

What does life growing, developing, and reproducing mean?

Answer 22

Growth/development: heritable programs are stored in DNA which direct the species-specific pattern of growth/development. Plants grow indefinitely, animals develop then stop growing.

Reproduction: organisms reproduce their own kind; life comes from life (biogenesis). Sexual reproduction = production of gametes, asexual reproduction = binary fission

Question 23

What does life reacting to environmental changes mean?

Answer 23

Organisms respond to stimuli from their environment. Reaction may be immediate (ex: reaction to extreme heat) or longer (change in leaf colour as a response to day length), but certainly occurs during the lifetime of the individual.

Behaviour: moves towards or away from stimuli (change in metabolism/development)

Question 24

What does life evolving/adapting mean?

Answer 24

Changes are made in a population over several generations. Inherited characteristics/behaviours enable an individual to live/reproduce with greater success than other members of their population in a given environment. These adaptations become more frequent in the population over several generations (survival of the fittest)

Question 25

What are the 3 ways that life has unity?

Answer 25

There is unity in the diversity of life forms at the lower levels of organization:

• A universal genetic code (ACGT)
• Similar metabolic pathways (glycolysis; energy production)
• Similarities of cell structure (ex: mammalian sperm cells)