Sec 1- What is Life?

Question 1

What is Biology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of life.

Question 2

What is Cell Theory?

Answer 2

1. All organisms consist of one or more cells.
2. The cell is the basic unit of life.
3. All cells arise from existing cells.

Question 3

What is DNA?

Answer 3

This is the hereditary molecule.

Cells use this to store information. Used to transmit info to the next generation. Fragments of this are called genes.

Question 4

Atom

Answer 4

smallest unit of measurment

Question 5

Molecule

Answer 5

two or more atoms held together

Question 6

Cell

Answer 6

smallest unit of life

Question 7

Tissue

Answer 7

collection of cells

Question 8

Organ

Answer 8

collection of tissues

Question 9

Organ system

Answer 9

collection of organs

Question 10

Organism

Answer 10

collection of organ systems

Question 11

Population

Answer 11

organisms of a single species in an area

Question 12

Community

Answer 12

organisms of all species and non-living matter in an area

Question 13

Biosphere

Answer 13

all ecosystems on the planet

Question 14

What property is life?

Answer 14

Emergent Property

Examples of emergent are;
1. Puzzle
2. Mind
3. Life
“the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Question 15

Taxonomy

Answer 15

This is the branch of biology that names and classifies species.

Organisms of the same species have similar anatomical characteristics and the ability and “desire to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Question 16

What is Binomial Nomenclature?

Answer 16

This is a genus and a specific epithet.

Both genus and specific epithet are italicized (or underlined). The genus is capitalized, the specific epithet is not. The genus can be abbreviated with the first letter.
Example- Canis lupus

Question 17

What are the three domains of life?

Answer 17

They are; Domain Bacteria, Domain Archaea, and Domain Eukarya.

Bacteria and Archaea are prokaryotic domains. Prokaryotic organism are always single celled (unicellular) and they do not have a border around their DNA (nucleus).
Eukarya is the eukaryotic domain. Eukaryotic organism are either single or multi-celled and contain a nucleus.
“pro”= before
“eu”=true
“karyon”= kernel (nucleus)

Question 18

What are extremophiles?

Answer 18

They are Thermophiles and Halophiles.

Thermophiles are organisms that live in high temp. environments.
Halophiles are organism that live in highly salty environements.

Question 19

What are examples of Eukaryotic Domain?

Answer 19

These are; Amoeba, Algae, Mushrooms, and Yeast.

Question 20

What are viruses?

Answer 20

These are parasites that invade cells and hijack the cells abilities to reproduce themselves.

Viruses are not cells. They are technically not alive. Viruses are much smaller than cells.

Question 21

How old is the universe?

Answer 21

14 billion yrs old

Question 22

How old is the Earth?

Answer 22

4.5 billion yrs old

Question 23

How old is life?

Answer 23

3.5 billion yrs old

Question 24

How old is Multi-celliar Life?

Answer 24

1 billion yrs old

Question 25

How old are the species Homo sapiens?

Answer 25

200 thousand yrs old

Question 26

Who is Charles Darwin?

Answer 26

The publisher of The Origin of Species in 1859.

Darwin’s ideeas about evolution originated on a sea voyage on the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos Islands.

Question 27

What is evolution?

Answer 27

This is the genetic change in a species over generations.

Genetic change can lead to speciation (a new species).

Question 28

What was Darwin’s Observations and Conclusions?

Answer 28

Observation: There is individual variation & there is a struggle for existence.
Conclusion: There is unequal reroductive success.

It is this unequal reproductive success that Darwin called natural selection.
The product of natural selection is adaptation.

Question 29

What is Artificial Selection?

Answer 29

This is the selective breeding of domesticated plants and animal by humans.

Question 30

What is Natural Selection?

Answer 30

This is the mechanism of evolution.

What/who does the selecting?
1. mate
2. predator
3. food availability
What is natural selection selecting?
* having offspring (not survival, per se)

Question 31

What is science?

Answer 31

This is the systematic study of nature.

Nature is everything in the universe, except what humans have manufactured.

Question 32

What are the key features of science?

Answer 32

This is a dependence on observations and measurments. Ideas must be testable by experiments that others can repeat.

Question 33

What are experiments?

Answer 33

These are tests used to either support or falsify a prediction.

Experimental group- a group of objects or individuals that display or are exposed to a variable under investigation.
Control group- a group of objects or individuals that is identical to an experimental group except for one variable.

Question 34

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 34

This is reasoning backed up by a number of observations, in which a general conclusion is drawn.

Leads to a set conclusion.
Ex:
Obs. is that members of a species are not all the same, individuals compete for resources, and species are generally adapted to their environement.
Conc. is that individuals most adapted to their environment are more liekly to survive and pass their traits to the next generation.

Question 35

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 35

This is reasoning backed up by a general premis, in which specific results are predicted.

Leads to a predicted result.
Ex:
General premis is that individuals most adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass their traits on to the next generation.
Predicted results are that if the avg. temp. in an ecosystem inc. due to climate change, individuals better adapted to warmer temps. will outcompete those that are not.

Question 36

What is basic science?

Answer 36

Is asking a question, w/ no goal in mind.

Question 37

What is applied science?

Ex: What do cells eat? or How do viruses get into cells?

Answer 37

This is when a researcher has a specific goal in mind.

Ex: How can we cure cancer? or Let’s develop an AIDs vaccine.