Chapter 10

Question 1

Abiogenesis

Answer 1

The study of how life could evolve from inorganic matter. Describes how life could have arose on Earth.

Question 2

Abiotic

Answer 2

Physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.

Question 3

Biotic

Answer 3

Produced or caused by living organisms.

Question 4

Life On Earth

Answer 4

Life appeared on Earth 3.5-3.9 billion years ago

Question 5

Elements in Biology

Answer 5

Sulfur
Phosphorous
Oxygen 
Nitrogen
Carbon
Hydrogen
SPONCH

Question 6

Early Earth

Answer 6

Atmosphere was different
Little oxygen, so atmosphere wasn’t oxidizing.
Reducing and contained sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen.
Only thing needed is phosphorous.

Question 7

Urey-Miller Experiment

Answer 7

Recreated hypothetical early Earth atmosphere.
Subjected it to artificial lighting.
Make amino acids, nucleotide bases, and energy rich hydrocarbons.

Question 8

Organic Soup Model

Answer 8

Produced simple organic compounds or monomers.
These compounds accumulated and concentrated at various locations and localized sources of energy.
More complex organic polymers developed.

Question 9

RNA World Hypothesis

Answer 9

RNA can store information and catalyze reactions.
RNA can regulate transcription.
RNA can bind substrate and direct transcription.

Question 10

Phosphoilipids

Answer 10

Can form structures called coacervates in water, abiotically.
Make up the cell membrane.

Question 11

Coacervates

Answer 11

Microscopic sphere of lipid molecules held together by hydrophobic forces from a surrounding liquid.
Can form spontaneously.
Are selectively permeable.

Question 12

Plasma Membrane

Answer 12

Surrounds the cell.
Made of phospholipid bilayer.
Selectively permeable.

Question 13

First Life on Earth

Answer 13

Only known from fossilized stromatolites 3.5 billion years ago.

Question 14

Stromatolites

Answer 14

Microorganism collects sediment and deposits it around itself.
After a long time this sediment builds up and forms rock.
Can also be produced abiotically.

Question 15

Ecological Questions

Answer 15

Who is where?
Study the distribution of organisms or biodiversity.

What are they doing?
Study nutrient and energy cycling.

Question 16

Ecology

Answer 16

The study of the interaction between organisms and their environment.
Also the study of relationships between organisms.
Includes abiotic factors like weather, climate, seasonality, and geography.
Ecology studies often favor holistic approaches rather than traditional reductionism.

Question 17

Reductionism

Answer 17

The idea that a complex system is the sum of its parts.

Naive reductionism: Belief that reductionism leads to a complete understanding of a phenomenon.

Question 18

Holism

Answer 18

The idea that a complex system should be seen as a whole and not a sum of its parts.

Naive Holism: Belief that a qualitative and subjective assessment leads to a complete understanding of a phenomenon.

It’s now popular

Question 19

Systems Theory

Answer 19

The interdisciplinary study of systems in general with a focus on the interrelatedness of all phenomena.

The goal is to elucidate principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research.

Question 20

Systems Biology

Answer 20

The study of interactions within biological systems using a more holistic approach.

Question 21

Nested Levels

Answer 21

From smallest to largest:
Atoms, molecules, macromolecules, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, biomes, biosphere.

Question 22

Population

Answer 22

A localized group of individuals capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

Question 23

Community

Answer 23

All of the organisms that inhabit a particular area.

It’s an assemblage of populations of different species that can interact.

Question 24

Biome

Answer 24

One of the worlds major ecosystem types

Terrestrial biomes are classified by predominant vegetation and weather.

Aquatic biomes are classified by physical environment.

Question 25

Biosphere

Answer 25

The biosphere is the entire portion of earth that is inhabited by life.

it is the sum of all biomes.

Question 26

Microbes Elevation

Answer 26

Isolated at an elevation of 41 km.

Microbes have been isolated from 11 km deep in the ocean and 5km deep on land.

Question 27

Population Ecology

Answer 27

The study of populations in relation to their environment.

It’s concerned with the density, distribution, size, and age structure of a population.

Question 28

Population Density

Answer 28

It’s the number of individuals per unit of area or volume.

Dipersion: Pattern of spacing among individuals withing the boundaries of the population.

Question 29

Population Dynamics

Answer 29

Studies changes in the size and age composition of populations, and the biotic and abiotic processes influencing those changes.

Deals with birth and death rates, immigration and emigration, and studies topics such as aging populations or population decline.

Question 30

Emigration and Immigration

Answer 30

Emigration is leaving a population.

Immigration is entering a population.

Question 31

Metapopulation

Answer 31

A number of linked local populations.

A group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level.

It’s a population of populations.

Question 32

Population Ecology Methods

Answer 32

Counting Organisms.
Estimating the amount of organisms by counting evidence of organisms. 
Estimate life expectancy of individuals.
Estimate reproductive rates.
Study demographics of a population.

Question 33

Demographics

Answer 33

The quantifiable statistics of a population.

Used extensively by marketers, advertisers, politicians, and other parasites.

Question 34

Demography

Answer 34

The study of the statistics of a population and how they change over time.