[Chapter 1] Invitation to Biology

Question 1

What is nature?

Answer 1

everything in the world except what humans have created.

Question 2

List the levels of life’s organization

Answer 2

Atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organ system, multicelled organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere

Question 3

Describe atom

Answer 3

fundamental units of all substance

Question 4

Describe molecule

Answer 4

2 or more atoms joined in a chemical bond. Only living cells make the molecules of life

Question 5

Describe cell

Answer 5

smallest unit that can live and reproduce on its own or as a part of a multicelled organism

Question 6

Describe tissue

Answer 6

organized array of cells and substances that are interacting in some task

Question 7

Describe organ

Answer 7

structural unit of two or more tissues that interact in one or more tasks

Question 8

Describe organ system

Answer 8

organs that interact in one more tasks

Question 9

Describe multicelled organisms

Answer 9

individual made of different types of cells

Question 10

Describe population

Answer 10

group of single celled or multicelled individuals of a species in a given area

Question 11

Describe community

Answer 11

all populations of all species in a specified area

Question 12

Describe ecosystem

Answer 12

a community that is interacting with its physical environment through inputs and outputs of energy and materials

Question 13

Describe biosphere

Answer 13

Most inclusive level - all regions of Earth’s waters, crust, and atmosphere that hold organisms

Question 14

Define emergent properties

Answer 14

characteristics of a system that do not appear in any of its component parts
ex: cells have life, but its component parts (molecule and atom) do not have life, thus life is an emergent property of a cell

Question 15

Define energy

Answer 15

The capacity to do work

Question 16

Define nutrient

Answer 16

A particular type of atom or molecule that has an essential role in growth and survival

Question 17

Define producers

Answer 17

One of two broad categories, get energy and simple raw materials from environmental sources and make their own food
ex: plants use energy from the sun to make sugars from CO2 and water and the sugars function as packets of immediately available energy or as building blocks for larger molecules

Question 18

Define consumers

Answer 18

One of two categories, cannot make their own food and get their energy and nutrients indirectly - that is, from eating producers and other organisms
ex: animals and decomposers (feed on wastes and remains of organisms)

Question 19

True or False? Energy and nutrients are cycled among producers and consumers.

Answer 19

False. Nutrients is cycled among the producers and the consumers, but energy flows one way (from the environment to producers to consumers) With each transfer, heat is lost (mainly through metabolic heat)

Question 20

Define receptor

Answer 20

a molecule or cellular structure that responds to a specific form of stimulation, such as the energy of sunlight or the mechanical energy of a bite.

Question 21

What happens when a receptor is stimulated?

Answer 21

trigger changes in activities of organisms

ex: after eating, body responds to input of sugars by producing insulin and stuff

Question 22

Define homeostasis

Answer 22

the way organisms sense and adjust to change to keep conditions of their internal environment (blood and tissue fluids) within range that favours cell survival

Question 23

Why is DNA important?

Answer 23

It is the basis of growth, survival, and reproduction, and is the source of each organism;s distinct features or traits

Question 24

What does DNA contain?

Answer 24

instructions. Cells use the instructions to make proteins (long chains of amino acids)

Question 25

Define inheritance

Answer 25

the transmission of DNA from parents to offspring

Question 26

Define reproduction

Answer 26

actual mechanisms by which parents transmit DNA to offspring

Question 27

Define development

Answer 27

the orderly transformation of the first cell of a new individual into an adult

Question 28

List the biological levels of classification

Answer 28

Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

—> kings poop constantly on Fridays, good sir

Question 29

List the three domains

Answer 29

Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya

–> scientists haven’t really reached a consensus on how many domains there are, so…

Question 30

Describe prokayrotic ogranisms

Answer 30

as a group, have the most diverse ways of procuring energy and nutrients. producers and consumers in nearly all Earth’s environments (including extreme hots/colds) probably resemble the first cells

Question 31

Describe protists

Answer 31

Simplest eukaryotic organisms, different kinds are producers or consumers, many are single cells that are larger and far more complex than prokaryotes.

Question 32

Describe fungi

Answer 32

most are mutlicelled, many are decomposers, all secrete enzymes that digest food outside the body, their cells absorb the released nutrients. without fungi, communities would become buried in their own wastes

Question 33

Describe plants

Answer 33

multicelled, most live on land or in freshwater environments. nearly all are photosynthetic, producers that feed much of the biosphere

Question 34

Describe animals

Answer 34

multicelled consumers that ingest tissues or juices of other organisms

Question 35

Define mutations

Answer 35

changes in DNA

Question 36

Define natural selection

Answer 36

the differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a population that differ in the details of their heritable traits is called natural selection

Question 37

Define evolution

Answer 37

change that occurs in a line of descent

Question 38

Discuss the scientific method

Answer 38

some of the steps of the scientific method include: observation, question, hypothesis, prediction, observational test, experimental test, analysis, conclusion, sharing

Question 39

Define sampling error

Answer 39

A difference between results from a subset and results from the whole, most often happens when sample size is small
[see example on page 16 of textbook if you want]

Question 40

Define biosphere`

Answer 40

everywhere life exists

Question 41

Define biodiversity

Answer 41

variety of life, increases towards the equator

Question 42

Define species

Answer 42

one particular type of living thing. members of species can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. different species have different body structures that have different functions structure determines function

Question 43

Foundational theories of biology are…

Answer 43

cell theory and evolutionary theory

Question 44

Characteristics of living things

Answer 44

require energy, intake nutrient from environment
expel waste
adapt to their surroundings
reproduce
can move
evolve though generation
have nuclueic acid (DNA or RNA)
can grow
composed of cells
require water
maintain homeostasis

Question 45

Why is understanding biology important?

Answer 45

understanding health, environmental issues, etc