Exam 1 (intro to bio concepts)

Question 1

Some properties of living organisms

Answer 1

• A highly ordered structure (sunflower)
• regulation (organisms compensate for changes in internal and external environments- maintain homeostasis)
• Response to the environment(venus fly trap)
• Reproduction
• Growth and development
• Energy processing (butterfly obtains fuel from nectar and use energy in food to power self)
• Evolutionary adaptation (pygmy sea horse)

Question 2

other definitions of what constitutes life

Answer 2

• living systems self-assemble against natures tendency toward disorder, or entropy
• life is a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution
• Life is a network of feedback mechanisms

Question 3

How does one begin to understand the functioning of complex biological systems?

Answer 3

• Biological “systems” range from cells to biosphere
• reductionism reduces complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study
• Systems biology studies how the components of complex systems interact and models these to understand how the system works

Question 4

five unifying themes in biology (1)

Answer 4

new properties emerge at each level of biological organization

Question 5

relationship between structure and function

Answer 5

structure reflects, determines function e.g. molecular structure of proteins determines function and flight/wing design in birds

Question 6

relationship between structure and function (cells)

Answer 6

cellular function determines activities at all levels of biological organization e.g. movement of eyes caused by muscle and nerve cells

Question 7

Life’s processes involve the expression and transmission of genetic information

Answer 7

DNA controls and directs development e.g. fertilized egg with DNA from both parents develops into an embryo with copies of inherited DNA. offspring has traits from both parents.

Question 8

Information flow in DNA

Answer 8

• information is stored in DNA
• information is copied into RNA
• info in RNA guides production of proteins

Question 9

Genomics

Answer 9

Genome- entire genetic material of an organism
Genomics-the study of whole sets of genes within, between species (facilitated by the ability to rapidly sequence genomes and analysis techniques)
proteomics-the study of gene products, proteins

Question 10

theme 3 (life requires transfer and transformation of energy and matter)

Answer 10

-energy flow in plants (light, loss of heat, energy, other organisms)

Question 11

Theme 4 (interactions)

Answer 11

Interactions (biological and physical)
are important in biological systems
at all levels
– Molecular, biochemical
– Cellular (t-cell killing cancer cell)
– Symbiotic (wasps lay eggs on caterpillar)
– Ecological (animals, sun, plants)
- human also interact with environment and systems(climate change)

Question 12

Feedback mechanisms

Answer 12

regulate biological systems

• negative feedback reduces initial stimulus(glucose level rises after meal which causes pancrease to secrete insulin. insulin causes body cells to take up glucose and liver cells to store it, thus decreasing lucose levels.
• positive feedback speeds up production (clotting of blood in response to injury)

Question 13

Theme 5 (evolution)

Answer 13

– Accounts for the unity (shared ancestry)
and diversity of life
– Explains how organisms become adapted
to their environment

Question 14

The diversity of life

Answer 14

Produced by an accumulation of adaptations
and genetic differences between
populations over long spans of time
• How many species have been described and
named?
– Estimates range from about 1.2 to 1.9 million
• What is earth’s total species diversity?
– Current range of estimates is from about 10
million to 100 million
• Thousands of new species named yearly
• Current species diversity represents less
than 1% of all species that have ever

Question 15

hierarchy of classification

Answer 15

Domain
kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
genus
species

Question 16

three domains

Answer 16

• Bacteria—unicellular prokaryotes
• Archaea—unicellular prokaryotes
• Eukarya—unicellular and multicellular
eukaryotes

Question 17

Kingdoms

Answer 17

plantae
fungi
animalia
protists

Question 18

Underlying unity to life

Answer 18

• DNA, the molecule of inheritance
• Genetic code
• Metabolic pathways
• The amino acids used to build proteins
• Cells

Question 19

Darwin

Answer 19

wrote orgins in 1859
Darwin explained three broad
observations:
1. The unity of life
2. The diversity of life
3. How the close relationship between
organisms and their environment
comes about by natural selection

Question 20

Darwin two main ideas

Answer 20

1. Descent with modification—present day
species are descendants from different
ancestral species—explained the unity
and diversity of life
2. Natural selection—the proposed
mechanism of descent with modification,
adaptation

Question 21

Darwin’s Observations of Species Populations

Answer 21

1. Individuals in a population vary. Some of
   this variation is heritable (i.e. traits are
   passed on to offspring)
2. More offspring are produced than can
   survive to reproduce
3. Species are adapted to their environment

Question 22

Darwin’s Inferences Based on his Observations

Answer 22

1. In a particular environment, some
   individuals of a population possess traits
   that give them a better chance of surviving
   and reproducing than others
2. These individuals pass on their traits to
   their offspring
3. This unequal survival and reproduction can
   lead to the increase of favorable traits in
   the population over generations
4. This natural selection can lead to
   adaptation to the environment and new
   species

Question 23

Types of biological research (inquiry)
and data collection: Two different
approaches

Answer 23

1.Descriptive or discovery based
science
• Uses careful observation, analysis of data
• This is frequently how research begins
2.Experimental or Hypothesis based
science
• Uses experimental data
• Used to determine causes and explanations
for observational data—answers why?

Question 24

“The Scientific Method”

Answer 24

Is simply a critical process used to obtain
precise answers to questions
• It is not a “cookbook” formulation of steps
that must always occur in the same way and
in the same order
• A logical, flexible, creative process that is
analogous to everyday problem-solving

Question 25

The Hypothesis

Answer 25

A potential answer to a scientific question
• A tentative explanation for some observed
phenomenon
• An educated guess
• Leads to predictions
• To qualify as a scientific hypothesis, it must
be testable and falsifiable (is it possible to
disprove?)

Question 26

Hypotheses

Answer 26

If a tested hypothesis is supported by
experimental evidence science has “proven”
it to be true. Correct?
• Hypotheses are never “proven” from a
scientific perspective. Why?
• Generally not possible to test every variable,
set of variables or circumstances that might
influence some phenomenon
• Can only support, confirm, be consistent
with, etc.

Question 27

Basic and Applied Research

Answer 27

• Basic research advances our knowledge of
living systems
• Applied research solves practical problems

Question 28

Only if scientific methodology is properly
applied to answering a question can we
trust it as valid scientific information

Answer 28

Valid information we can trust is defined in
terms of how and why we know something,
not what we think we know
• Scientists view all new information with
skepticism and a highly critical perspective
• Thus, understanding the methodology of
science and the process of science is
important not only to scientists, but also the
public
• It allows us to judge whether information is
trustworthy

Question 29

What are some qualities of science and
scientific information as opposed to
“nonscience?”

Answer 29

Based on what we can observe, directly or
indirectly, in the real world
• Uses critical methodology
• It is objective, non-biased
• Hypotheses are testable, falsifiable (What
evidence is needed to demonstrate it is
incorrect?)
• There are no absolute truths in science.
Conclusions are tentative and subject to
change, modification, and reinterpretation

Question 30

What is not within the realm of Science?

Answer 30

-Not based on observations of the natural
world
• Explanations that are not testable, falsifiable
• Subjectivity, bias
• Beliefs based on faith, internal convictions,
moral values, or consensus
• Invoking some supernatural being or force to
explain some phenomenon

Question 31

Scientific “theories”

Answer 31

• Theory is used very differently in science
compared to how we use it in everyday
conversation
• Not hypotheses, guesses, or speculations
• Explanations that scientists have great
confidence in
• Backed by a great deal of evidence,
supported by repeated tests under many
conditions

Question 32

Example of a field experiment

Answer 32

• Observation: The coloration of deer mice
(light vs. dark) blends in with the
background of their habitat
• Beach vs. inland populations 30 km apart
• Main predators are visual
• Question: Does camouflage affect
predation rates on two populations of
Peromyscus?
• Hypothesis: Coloration of beach and
inland mice provides camouflage that
protects them from predation