Chapter One Flashcards
What is biology?
the scientific study of life
What are some fields and subdisciplines of biology?
Fields: molecular biology, microbiology, neurobiology, paleontology, zoology, botany, marine biology
Subdisciplines: physiology, ecology, genetics
What are the key traits of a living organism?
- order
- sensitivity (response to stimuli)
- reproduction
- adaptation
- growth and development
- regulation (homeostasis)
- energy processing
What is order? [7 key traits]
Organisms are made up of various cell components, multicellular organisms with specialized cells and organ systems.
What is sensitivity? [7 key traits]
the way an organism responds to stimuli (e.g., plants growing towards light or responding to touch)
What is reproduction? [7 key traits]
the production of offspring by duplicating and dividing DNA (single-cellular), multicellular organisms with specialized cells and organs to mix genetic material in offspring
What is adaptation? [7 key traits]
organisms adapting to their environment; includes mutations, evolution, and natural selection
What is growth and development? [7 key traits]
organisms grow/develop over time according to their genes; ensures that a specific organism is similar to its parents
What is regulation? [7 key traits]
homeostasis: maintaining constant internal condition (e.g., temperature, salinity, pH)
What is energy processing? [7 key traits]
- organisms capture solar energy and convert to chemical energy (e.g., algae, plants, some symbiotic organisms)
- obtaining chemical energy from consuming or absorbing matter
Why aren’t viruses considered to be living organisms?
they have to invade a living cell to reproduce
What are the three domains of organisms?
archaea, bacteria, and eukarya
What are the 8 taxonomic levels? (broadest to narrowest)
- domain
- kingdom
- phylum
- class
- order
- family
- genus
- species
What is a binomial name and how is it formatted?
a Latin or scientific name; Genus species
Why do we use binomial names?
reduce confusion from varying common names used by various groups of people
What are evolution and natural selection?
species adapt to different environments over time through natural selection (survival) which causes evolution
- theory from Charles Darwin
What were the 3 main observations made by Darwin?
- traits vary in a population and many of the traits are heritable
- populations produce more offspring than can survive to reproduce
- species generally suit their environment
What is the scientific method?
steps in the research of scientific topic via experiments/observations
observation→question→research→hypothesis→experiment→analyze data→report results
What is qualitative data?
descriptive or categorical data
What is quantitative data?
numerically measured data
What is a control in an experiment?
a component that does not change
What is a variable in an experiment?
a component that is changed or manipulated
independent variable: manipulated
dependent variable: measured/studied; affected by independent variable
