[Chapter 1] Invitation to Biology Flashcards
02/13/14, Quiz 1 (This deck covers textbook chapters 1.1 to 1.8 as well as the notes from class on Feb 3rd)
What is nature?
everything in the world except what humans have created.
List the levels of life’s organization
Atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organ system, multicelled organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
Describe atom
fundamental units of all substance
Describe molecule
2 or more atoms joined in a chemical bond. Only living cells make the molecules of life
Describe cell
smallest unit that can live and reproduce on its own or as a part of a multicelled organism
Describe tissue
organized array of cells and substances that are interacting in some task
Describe organ
structural unit of two or more tissues that interact in one or more tasks
Describe organ system
organs that interact in one more tasks
Describe multicelled organisms
individual made of different types of cells
Describe population
group of single celled or multicelled individuals of a species in a given area
Describe community
all populations of all species in a specified area
Describe ecosystem
a community that is interacting with its physical environment through inputs and outputs of energy and materials
Describe biosphere
Most inclusive level - all regions of Earth’s waters, crust, and atmosphere that hold organisms
Define emergent properties
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
Define energy
The capacity to do work
Define nutrient
A particular type of atom or molecule that has an essential role in growth and survival
Define producers
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
Define consumers
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)
True or False? Energy and nutrients are cycled among producers and consumers.
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)
Define receptor
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.
What happens when a receptor is stimulated?
trigger changes in activities of organisms
ex: after eating, body responds to input of sugars by producing insulin and stuff
Define homeostasis
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
Why is DNA important?
It is the basis of growth, survival, and reproduction, and is the source of each organism;s distinct features or traits
What does DNA contain?
instructions. Cells use the instructions to make proteins (long chains of amino acids)
Define inheritance
the transmission of DNA from parents to offspring
Define reproduction
actual mechanisms by which parents transmit DNA to offspring
Define development
the orderly transformation of the first cell of a new individual into an adult
List the biological levels of classification
Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
—> kings poop constantly on Fridays, good sir
List the three domains
Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
–> scientists haven’t really reached a consensus on how many domains there are, so…
Describe prokayrotic ogranisms
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
Describe protists
Simplest eukaryotic organisms, different kinds are producers or consumers, many are single cells that are larger and far more complex than prokaryotes.
Describe fungi
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
Describe plants
multicelled, most live on land or in freshwater environments. nearly all are photosynthetic, producers that feed much of the biosphere
Describe animals
multicelled consumers that ingest tissues or juices of other organisms
Define mutations
changes in DNA
Define natural selection
the differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a population that differ in the details of their heritable traits is called natural selection
Define evolution
change that occurs in a line of descent
Discuss the scientific method
some of the steps of the scientific method include: observation, question, hypothesis, prediction, observational test, experimental test, analysis, conclusion, sharing
Define sampling error
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]
Define biosphere`
everywhere life exists
Define biodiversity
variety of life, increases towards the equator
Define species
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
Foundational theories of biology are…
cell theory and evolutionary theory
Characteristics of living things
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
Why is understanding biology important?
understanding health, environmental issues, etc
