Chapter 1 Flashcards
Types of Scientific Inquiries
- Discovery based science: based on something already there in nature we can observe, measure and study with the data we gather being qualitative
○ Describes natural structures and processes- Hypothesis based science: based on the observation, a question is formed proposing a hypothesis with data we gather being more quantitative
○ Often make use of two or more hypothesis
- Hypothesis based science: based on the observation, a question is formed proposing a hypothesis with data we gather being more quantitative
Theory
- Much broader than a hypothesis
- Able to create many more hypotheses off of it
- Supported by greater bodies of evidence
Scientific Method
- Observation
- Ask question
- Hypothesis
- Prediction(if and then statement)(design experiment)
- Test prediction
- Support or reject hypothesis based on results
Hypothesis
- Must be testable and falsifiable(be able to be proven wrong)
Just because results don’t support hypothesis doesn’t make it true
Deductive Reasoning
a type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise
Inductive Reasoning
derives generalizations from a large number of specific observations
Characteristics of Living Things
- Reproduction
- Growth and development
- Energy processing
- Respond to the environment
- Evolutionary adaptation
- Regulate processes(e.g. growth and development)
- Order: living organisms have intricate order/ animals when reproducing will look alike
4 Properties of Life:
- Organization
- Information/Gene Expression
- Energy utilization
- Interactions with the Environment
Hierarchy of Biological Organization
- The biosphere: includes everywhere you find life on earth
- Ecosystems: all living things in one particular area with specific chemical properties along with nonliving things
- Communities: an array of organisms(all the populations) inhabiting a particular ecosystem
- Populations: all the individual species living within the bounds of a specific area
- Organisms: individual living beings
- Organs and organ systems: a body part made up of multiple tissues which has a specific function within the organism
- Tissue: a group of cells that come together to perform a specialized function
- Cells: the fundamental unit of life, structure and function
- Organelles: functional component’s within cells e.g. chloroplasts
- Molecules: a chemical structure consisting of two or more atoms
Reductionalism
an approach of reducing complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study
Emergent Properties
new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life
- Emergent properties arise from the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.
Systems Biology
model the dynamic behavior of a whole scientific process by studying the interaction between system parts
Importance of Structure and Function
- Each biological level shows a correlation between structure and function
- Therefore analyzing a biological structure can give us a clue about what its function is
What all cells need
Prokaryotes/Eukaryotes:
- Plasma membrane
- Genome/genetic material (not necessarily a nucleus)
- Ribosomes: where protein synthesis occurs
- Cytoplasm
Eukaryotes only:
- Organelles membrane bound genetic material
Types of Cells
- Prokaryotic: found in bacteria and archaea which lacks a membrane around the nucleus and lacks a membrane bound organelles
○ Generally smaller- Eukaryotic: membrane bound nucleus with membrane bound organelles
○ Found in animals, protists, plants and fungi
- Eukaryotic: membrane bound nucleus with membrane bound organelles
Gene Expression
the process in which information encoded in DNA creates the synthesis of proteins or instead it creates RNA’s
Process of Gene Expression
- Transcription: using the information from the sequence of DNA nucleotides, the cell transcribes it into mRNA
- Translation: the cell then translates the information in the mRNA into a sequence of nucleotides to make a series of linked amino acid chains(protein)
- Protein Folding: the chain of amino acids then fold over due to chemical bonds between certain nucleotides
How Life involves the transfer and transformation of Energy
- Everything requires energy to do
- Energy is primarily either from the sun or from transforming another form
- Energy when used to perform movements or processes can be lost to the environment through heat
- Therefore energy moves through an ecosystem in one direction - enters as light and leaves as heat
Feedback Regulation:
the regulation of a process by its output and end product
Types of Feedback
- Negative Feedback: the product reduces the initial stimulus
○ E.g. after a meal, your glucose levels rise, stimulating the pancreas to secrete insulin which causes cells to take up glucose, therefore decreasing the glucose levels in your blood.
○ Ultimately it eliminates the need of insulin production because glucose levels decrease- Positive Feedback: the end product speeds up its own production
○ E.g. when a blood vessel is damaged, platelets begin to accumulate at the site, and the presence of platelets attract more platelets until the wound is sealed
- Positive Feedback: the end product speeds up its own production
Organism Interaction
- At the ecosystem level, every organims interacts with other organisms which help with regulating the ecosystem
- Interactions can be mutually beneficial, both suffer, or where one organism is harmed and the other gains
- Organisms also constantly interact with their physical environment
- Alternatively, environemnts can be affected by interaction with organisms
Evolution
the process of biological change in which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time
3 Domains of Life
- Archea
- Bacteria
- Eukarya
Kingdoms of Eukarya
- Protista: heterotrophs and autotrophs
- Fungi: decomposers and saprophytic(secrete enzymes outside to digest food externally and then reabsorb them)
- Plants: autotrophic
- Animalia: heterotrophic(get nutrients from food and breakdown interally
Charles Darwin Theory of Evolution Points
- Descent with modification: Species adapt to different environments over time and overtime accumulate differences to their ancestors
○ Shows unity in the kinship among species form ancestors and diversity in modifications that happens from evolving species- Natural selection is a primary cause of Descent with Modification
