Introduction: Biology Today Flashcards
Biology is ____
the scientific study of life
Recorded observations are called ____
Data ( is the items of information on which scientific inquiry is required)
Why can science neither prove nor disprove that ghosts, deities, or spirits cause storms, eclipses, or illnesses?
Because science depends on verifiable data and hence distinguishes itself from supernatural beliefs. Such explanations aren’t measurable.
Jane Godall
spent decades observing and recording behaviour of chimpanzees in the jungles of Tanzania
Hypothesis
it is a tentative answer to a question or a proposed explanation to a set of observations.
What is a theory?
it is a comprehensive explanation supported by abundant evidence
What are the properties/attributes of life?
- Order/ Organisation
- Regulation( adjustment of the organism to the changing environment)
- Growth + development( DNA controls growth and development)
- Energy processing / Metabolism
- Response to external stimuli( Venus fly trap responds to an insect touching it’s sensory hairs)
- Reproduction
- Evolution (Phyllium giganteum- giant leaf insect)
Define species
Is a group of organisms that live in the same place and time and have the potential to interbreed with one another in NATURE and produce healthy offspring.
Define Taxonomy
is a branch of biology that names and classifies species. Taxonomy is the arrangement of species into a hierarchy of broader and broader groups.
What are the three domains of life?
- Bacteria
- Archaea
- Eukarya
Difference between Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes
The primary distinction between these two types of organisms is that eukaryotic cells have a membrane-bound nucleus and prokaryotic cells do not.
DNA is bundled together in the nucleoid region, but it is not stored within a membrane-bound nucleus.
The nucleus is only one of many membrane-bound organelles in eukaryotes. Prokaryotes, on the other hand, have no membrane-bound organelles.
Why do protists not fit into the other 3 kingdoms of Eukarya?
Single celled like amoeba but also multicellular like seaweeds
Genome
The entire set of genetic information that an organism inherits .
Hypothesis-Driven Science: The 5 steps
· Observations
· Questions
· Hypothesis
· Predictions
· Experiments
order
All living things exhibit complex but ordered organization, example like a pine cone
regulation
The environment outside an organism may change drastically, but the organism can adjust its internal environment, keeping it within appropriate limits.
Growth and Development:
Information carried by DNA controls the pattern of growth and development in all organisms
Energy Processing:
Organisms take in energy in the form of food and use it to perform all of life’s activities; they emit energy as heat
Response to the Environment
All organisms respond to environmental stimuli.
Reproduction
Organisms reproduce their own kind.
Evolution
It is the change in characteristics in organisms over several generations
What is a Biosphere?
consists of all the environments on Earth that support life. Includes soil, oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water; and the lower atmosphere.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem consists of all living organisms in a particular area and all the nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts.
The dynamics of any ecosystem depend on two main processes, what are these two processes?
The recycling of chemical nutrients and the flow of energy
what is Darwin’s first observation?
Darwin’s first observation Overproduction and Competition: Any population can produce far more offspring than the environment can possibly support with available resources such as food and shelter. This overproduction leads to competition among the individuals of a population for these limited resources
what is Darwin’s second observation?
Individual Variation: Individuals in a population of any species vary in many inherited traits. No two individuals in a population are exactly alike. You know that no two humans are exactly alike; careful observers find this kind of variation in populations of all species.
What did Darwin conclude?
Unequal reproductive success: In the struggle for existence, those individuals with heritable traits best suited to the local environment are more likely to have the greatest reproductive success will be disproportionally represented in the next generation
what is artificial selection?
selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals by man
what is Homeostasis?
homeostasis is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by organisms even in changing environment
What is Osmoregulation?
It is the Maintenance by an organism of an internal balance between water and dissolved materials regardless of environmental conditions .Other organisms, however, must actively take on, conserve, or excrete water or salts in order to maintain their internal water-mineral content.
What is metabolism?
Metabolism describes all the chemical processes that go on continuously inside your body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally, such as breathing, repairing cells and digesting food.
What do prokaryotes lack?
Cell organelles and nucleus
What are eukaryotes’ cell wall made of?
Peptidoglycan (murein)
What domain’s members are known as ‘extremophiles’?
Archaea; They can survive extreme environmental conditions
What type of cell structure do Archaea have?
Prokaryotic
What is the cell membrane of Archaea made of?
Isoprene
