Chapter 1 - A View of Life

Question 1

Define Biology

Answer 1

Biology is the scientific study of life.

Question 2

What are the 5 characteristics of life?

Answer 2

1) Living things are organized.
2) Living things acquire materials and energy.
3) Living things respond.
4) Living things reproduce.
5) Living things have adaptations.
{Living things also maintain homeostasis,which is a characteristic of life according to the textbook, but not the class notes}

Question 3

What is a cell?

Answer 3

A cell is the basic unit of structure and function of all living things. All living things are made up of cells.

Question 4

What are the levels of biologic organization, from smallest to largest?

Answer 4

Atom - molecule - cell - tissue - organ - organ system - organism - population - community - ecosystem - biosphere

Question 5

What is an atom?

Answer 5

An atom is the smallest unit of an element and is composed of electrons, protons and neutrons. Atoms make up molecules.

Question 6

What is a molecule?

Answer 6

A molecule is two or more atoms of the same or different elements. Molecules make up cells.

Question 7

What is tissue?

Answer 7

Tissue is a group of cells with a common structure and function. Cells combine to form tissues.

Question 8

What is an organ?

Answer 8

An organ is composed of tissues functioning together for a specific task (the heart, brain).

Question 9

What is an organ system?

Answer 9

An organ system is several organs working together (the cardiovascular system, the nervous system)

Question 10

What is an organism?

Answer 10

An organism is an individual. Complex or multicellular individuals contain organ systems.

Question 11

What is a population?

Answer 11

A population is organisms of the same species in a particular area

Question 12

What is a community?

Answer 12

A community is interacting populations in a particular area

Question 13

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 13

An ecosystem is a community, plus the physical environment.

Question 14

What is the biosphere?

Answer 14

A biosphere is the regions of the Earth’s curst, waters and atmosphere inhabited by living things.

Question 15

What is energy? What is it used for?

Answer 15

Energy is the ability to do work. It is used to do metabolism.

Question 16

What is metabolism? What is its purpose?

Answer 16

Metabolism is the chemical reactions that occur in a cell. It helps maintain homeostasis.

Question 17

What is homeostasis?

Answer 17

Homeostasis is maintaining constant internal conditions (stable body temperature)

Question 18

What does all life begin as?

Answer 18

A single cell. Life only comes from other life. Bacteria and other unicellular organisms split in two to reproduce; multicellular organisms unite sperm and egg.

Question 19

What are genes?

Answer 19

Genes are the blueprints for development found in every cell.

Question 20

What are genes made of?

Answer 20

DNA

Question 21

What is DNA?

Answer 21

Deoxyribonucleic acid. It is a chemical found in the cell nucleus that looks like a spiral staircase and has 2 jobs: control cell function and control heredity.

Question 22

What are the 2 jobs of DNA?

Answer 22

1) Control cell function

2) Control heredity

Question 23

What does adaptation mean?

Answer 23

Adaptation is the modifications that make an organism suited to its way of life. Adaptations to different conditions give rise to different species.

Question 24

What is a species?

Answer 24

A species is a group of interbreeding individuals.

Question 25

What is evolution?

Answer 25

Evolution is the process of change over time.

Question 26

Is evolution a fact or a theory?

Answer 26

Both.
Evolution is a fact in terms of small changes over a short time (penicillin-resistant bacteria).
Large changes over a long time (the big bang theory) are still considered to be a theory.

Question 27

What is taxonomy?

Answer 27

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and classifying diverse organisms.
It’s basically a filing system with categories that go from larger and more general to smaller and more specific.
Dear King Philip Came Over For Great Sex.
Domain-Kingdom-Phyllum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species.

Question 28

Who developed taxonomy?

Answer 28

Linnaeus, in the 1700s. He created a filing system (the classification system) and a naming system (binomial nomenclature)

Question 29

What are the 3 domains?

Answer 29

1) Bacteria.
2) Archae, which are primitive bacteria.
3) Eukarya, which is everyone else, including plants, animals, fungi and protists.

Question 30

What are the 5 kingdoms?

Answer 30

1) Plantae (all plants)
2) Animalia (animals)
3) Fungi (the 3 Ms: mushrooms, molds, mildews)
4) Protista (protozoa, or single celled organisms like amoeba, pond water)
5) Monera (the bacteria)

Question 31

What form of life has been around the longest?

Answer 31

Bacteria

Question 32

What is binomial nomenclature?

Answer 32

A two-part scientific name, like Homo sapiens. The first name comes from the organism’s genus and is capitalized; the second name comes from its species and is lowercase. All scientific names are in Latin and are either italicized or underlined.

Question 33

What is the Scientific Method?

Answer 33

The scientific method is a set of steps used to gather information.

Question 34

What are the 6 basic steps of the Scientific Method?

Answer 34

1) Make observations and ask questions.
2) Develop a hypothesis.
3) Conduct experiments to test the hypothesis.
4) Collect and analyze the data.
5) Come to a conclusion.
6) Publish your results.

Question 35

What are the 3 key parts of a controlled experiment?

Answer 35

1) An experimental group
2) A control group
3) An experimental variable

Question 36

What is an experimental group?

Answer 36

One of the 3 key parts of a controlled experiment, an experimental group is the group that is experimented upon.

Question 37

What is a control group?

Answer 37

One of the 3 key parts of a controlled experiment, a control group is the group that is not experimented upon. It is the standard for comparison.

Question 38

What is an experimental variable?

Answer 38

One of the 3 key parts of a controlled experiement, an experimental variable is a factor of the experiment being tested.

Question 39

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 39

A hypothesis is an educated guess or possible explanation for an event.

Question 40

What is a theory?

Answer 40

A theory is a hypothesis supported by many observations, experiments and data. A theory supported more than 100 years can become a Principle or Law.

Question 41

Can you ever prove a hypothesis to be true?

Answer 41

No. While you can definitively prove it false, you can never prove it to be 100% true because you just can’t know what you don’t know. Instead, you say that your data from your experiment support your hypothesis.