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BCHM111 > Chapter 1 - Biology And Its Themes > Flashcards

Chapter 1 - Biology And Its Themes Flashcards

1
Q

What are the five unifying themes? —ways of thinking about life that will still hold true decades from now.

A
  1. Organisation
  2. Information
  3. Energy and matter
  4. Interactions
  5. Evolution
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2
Q

What are biological organisations?

A

Biological organisations are the hierarchy’s of complex biological structures and systems that define life using a reductionistic approach

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3
Q

What is the reductionism strategy in biological organisation?

A

It reduces complex systems into smaller components that are more manageable to study

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4
Q

What are emergent properties?

A

An emergent property is a property which a collection or complex system has, but which the individual members do not have.

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5
Q

How do biologists explore emergent properties?

A

They achieve this by complementing the reductionism strategy with systems biology.

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6
Q

What is systems biology?

A

Systems biology is the computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. Systems biology can be used to study life at all levels.

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7
Q

What does the cell theory state?

A

The cell theory states that “All living organisms are made of cells which are the basic unit of life” In fact the actions of all organisms are based on the functioning of cells.

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8
Q

What is a characteristic that all cells share?

A

Every cell in enclosed by a membrane that regulates the passage of materials between the cell and its surroundings.

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9
Q

What are the two main forms of cells?

A

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic

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10
Q

Are the cells of two groups (of single-celled microorganisms) 1. Bacteria (Singular bacterium) 2. Archaea (Singular archaean) Prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells?

A

Prokaryotic

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11
Q

Are most of the forms of life including plants and animals composed of Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic cells?

A

Eukaryotic

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12
Q

Compare the Prokaryotic cell to the Eukaryotic cell.

Think of 3 comparisons.

A
  1. The Eukaryotic cell is much larger than the Prokaryotic cell
  2. The Prokaryotic cell does not have a nucleus or other membrane enclosed organelles unlike the Eukaryotic cell which has multiple.
  3. The Eukaryotic cell contains DNA in its nucleus, the Prokaryotic cell contains DNA but does not have a nucleus so the DNA can move freely.
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13
Q

What structures hold DNA in cells?

A

Chromosomes

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14
Q

What is DNA?

A

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.

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15
Q

What are the four kinds of chemical building blocks (Nucleotides that each chain of DNA is made up of?

A

A, T, C, G

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16
Q

What is the other name for the “Chemical building blocks” of DNA?

A

Nucleotides

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17
Q

What do combinations/sequence’s of Nucleotides do?

A

They encode the information in genes. For example the blueprint for making a protein.

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18
Q

What is gene expression?

A

When the information stored in our DNA is converted into instructions for making proteins or other molecules. This is done through transcription, translation and protein folding.

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19
Q

Do the differences between organisms reflect differences between their nucleotide sequences or their genetic codes?

A

Their nucleotide sequence.

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20
Q

What is the genome?

A

The entire “Library” of instructions that an organism inherits.

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21
Q

What is the difference between DNA and the genome?

A

DNA is the information/sequences of nucleotides which we can use to have function (We can think of DNA as the alphabet) The Genome is the amount of DNA an organism has therefore the entire “Library” of genetic instructions that an organism has inherited (Big picture)

22
Q

What is the most common approach for scientists trying to investigate and study an organism’s genome?

A

Genomics and Systems biology at the cellular and molecular levels.

23
Q

What does the term genomics mean?

A

It is studying a whole set of genes rather than a single gene.

24
Q

What does the term proteomics mean?

A

The study of sets of proteins and their properties

25
Q

The entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism is called a?

A

Protome

26
Q

What are the three research developments that have made the genomic and proteomic approaches possible?

A
  1. “High-Throughput” technology. Tools that can analyze many biological samples very rapidly.
  2. Bioinformatics. The use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of data that results from high-throughput methods.
  3. The formation of interdisciplinary research teams, these research teams include a diverse range of specialists.
27
Q

What is a fundamental characteristic of living organisms?

A

Their use of energy to carry out life’s activities. Moving, Growing, Reproducing and more.

28
Q

What is chemical recycling?

A

When chemicals cycle within an ecosystem, as they are used and then recycled. An example of this is with plants as they can absorb chemical energy from the soil/air and then return this energy to the soil/air.

29
Q

In biology systems is entropy favoured or opposed?

A

Opposed as we want systems to be smooth running

30
Q

What is feedback regulation?

A

The ability of many biological processes to self-regulate through the output or product of a process which regulates that very process.

31
Q

What is the most common form of regulation in living systems?

A

Negative feedback loops

32
Q

What are negative feedback loops?

A

A loop in which the response reduces the initial stimulus

33
Q

What are positive feedback loops?

A

Where an end product speeds up its own production. The clotting of your blood in response to injury is an example.

34
Q

How can the positive feedback loops within your body help when you damage a blood vessel?

A

Structures in the blood called platelets begin to aggregate at the site. Positive feedback occurs as chemicals released by the platelets attract more platelets. The platelet pile up then initiates a complex process that seals the wound with a clot.

35
Q

How does earth maintain its oxygen levels?

A

Due to plants and other photosynthetic organisms.

36
Q

What are biological interactions?

A

Interactions among organisms which most often help regulate the functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. For example ‘cleaner fish’ eat the parasites of turtles shells (Mutualistic relationship). Sometimes interactions can be harmful for example the interactions between humans and fossil fuels has caused global warming which had negatively impacted many species of earth.

37
Q

What is the scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of organisms—as well as for the adaptation of organisms to their particular environments?

A

Evolution

38
Q

What is unity in biology?

A

When two species share certain traits simply because they have descended from a common ancestor.

39
Q

What is diversity in biology?

A

Differences between two species with the idea that certain heritable changes occurred after the two species diverged from their common ancestor.

40
Q

Quote one of the founders of modern evolutionary theory, Theodosius Dobzhansky’s statement.

A

‘Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution’

41
Q

How many species of organisms have biologists names so far?

A

1.8 million

42
Q

How are species named?

A

They are named in two parts, the first part is the name of the genus to which the species belongs and the second part it unique to the species within the genus.

43
Q

What are the 3 groups (called domains) that biologists currently divide organisms into?

A

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic. All the eukaryotes (organisms with eukaryotic cells) are in domain Eukarya.

44
Q

What are the 4 subgroups of the Eukarya domain?

A

Kingdom Plantae, kingdom Fungi, kingdom Animalia, and the protists

45
Q

True or False? Protists (The subgroup of the Eukarya domain) are placed in a single kingdom rather than being classified into several different groups. and why?

A

False, Protists are classified into several different groups this is because recent evidence has shown that some protists are actually less related to other protists than to other subgroups within the Eukarya domain.

46
Q

True or False? similarities between organisms are evident at all levels of the biological hierarchy.

A

TRUE, For example, unity is obvious in many features of cell structure, even among distantly related organisms

47
Q

Who is charles darwin?

A

He published one of the most important books ever written in 1859 which was about the origin of species by means of natural selection

48
Q

What were the two main points of Charles Darwin’s 1859 book?

A
  1. That contemporary species arose from a succession of ancestors that differed from them. Darwin called this process “descent with modification”
  2. That “natural selection” is a primary cause of descent with modification.
49
Q

What is natural selection?

A

individuals with inherited traits that are better suited to the local environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than less well- suited individuals. Over many generations, a higher and higher proportion of individuals in a population will have the advantageous traits.

50
Q

What does the darwinian concept of descent with modification say?

A

That the shared anatomy of mammalian limbs reflects inheritance of the limb structure from a common ancestor—the “prototype” mammal from which all other mammals descended.

51
Q

What type of diagram is typically used when illustrating the evolution of a species?

A

Tree Diagram (Although the tree is sideways)

52
Q

What is an Inquiry?

A

A search for information and explanations of natural phenomena.

BCHM111 (21 decks)

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