Chapter 1 : Exploring Life Flashcards
Biology
The scientific study of life
Unity
All living things exhibit differences from one another
Diversity
All living things exhibit unique differences form one another
7 Overall Themes explored in Biology
- All forms of life share common properties
- In life’s hierarchy of organization, new properties emerge at each level
- Cells are the structural and functional unit of life
- Organisms interact with their environment exchanging matter and energy
- The unity of life is based on DNA and common genetic codes
- The diversity of life can be arranged into 3 domains
- Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life
The common properties of all living things
Regulation Energy processing Order Response to environment Growth and development Evolutionary adaptation Reproduction
Regulation (Common properties of life)
An ability to control an organisms environment within limits that sustain life (aka homeostasis)
Energy processing (Common properties of life)
The use of chemical energy to power an organism’s actives and chemical reactions
Order (Common properties of life)
All living things exhibit complex organization
Response to Environment (Common properties of life)
An ability to respond to environmental stimuli
Growth and development (Common properties of life)
Consistent growth and development controlled by inherited DNA
Evolutionary adaptation (Common properties of life)
Adaptations evolve over many generations as individuals with traits best suited to their environments have greater reproductive success and pass their traits to offspring
Reproduction (Common properties of life)
The ability of organisms to reproduce their on kind
Hierarchy of organization (largest to smallest)
Biosphere Ecosystem Community Population Organism Organ system Organ Tissue Cell Organelle Molecule Atom
Biosphere
All of the environments on the Earth that support life
Ecosystem
All the organisms living in a particular area and the physical components with which the organisms interact
Community
The entire array of organisms living in a particular ecosystem
Population
All the individuals of a species living in a specific area
Organism
An individual living thing composed of many organ systems that function together
Organ system
Several organs that cooperate in a specific function(s)
Organ
A structure that is composed of tissues and that provides a specific function for the organism
Tissue
A group of similar cells that perform a specific function
Cell
The fundamental unit of life
Organelle
Subunits of cells that perform specific functions
Molecule
A cluster of small chemical units called atoms held together by chemical bonds
Atom
Smallest unit of matter that retains unique properties of an element
