Chapter 1 - Introduction: Themes in The Study Of Life

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

The process of change that has transformed life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity of organisms living today

Question 2

Biology

Answer 2

The scientific study of life

Question 3

Systems biology

Answer 3

An approach that attempts to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts

Question 4

In order from largest to smallest, what are the levels of biological organization?

Answer 4

The biosphere
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Organs and organ systems
Tissues 
Cells
Organelles 
Molecules

Question 5

Eukaryotic cell

Answer 5

A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles

Question 6

Emergent properties

Answer 6

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases

Question 7

Prokaryotic cell

Answer 7

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells are called prokaryotes

Question 8

What type of organisms or microorganisms are prokaryotic?

Answer 8

Bacteria and archaea

Question 9

What type of organism or microorganism is eukaryotic?

Answer 9

Plants and animals

Question 10

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 10

A double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule, consisting of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine; capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins

Question 11

Genes

Answer 11

A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting if a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)

Question 12

Gene expression

Answer 12

The process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs

Question 13

Genome

Answer 13

The entire “library” of genetic instructions that an organism inherits

Question 14

Genomics

Answer 14

The approach of studying whole sets of genes of a species as well as comparing genomes between species

Question 15

Bioinformatics

Answer 15

The use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of data that result from high-throughput methods

Question 16

Negative feedback

Answer 16

A form of regulation in which accumulation of an end product of a process slows the process; in physiology, a primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change

Question 17

Positive feedback

Answer 17

A form of regulation in which an end product of a process speeds up that process; in physiology, a control mechanism in which a change in a variable triggers a response that reinforces or amplifies the change

Question 18

What are the three domains of life?

Answer 18

Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya

Question 19

Natural selection

Answer 19

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits

Question 20

Science

Answer 20

A way of knowing – an approach to understanding the natural world

Question 21

Inquiry

Answer 21

A search for information and explanation

Question 22

Data

Answer 22

Recorded observations

Question 23

Inductive reasoning

Answer 23

A type of logic in which generalization are based on a large number of specific observations

Question 24

Hypothesis

Answer 24

Tentative answer to a well-framed question

Question 25

Deductive reasoning

Answer 25

A type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise

Question 26

Controlled experiment

Answer 26

One that is designed to compare an experimental group with a control group

Question 27

Theory

Answer 27

An explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, grenades new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence

Question 28

Model organism

Answer 28

A species that is easy to grow in the lab and lends itself particularly well to the questions being investigated