Textbook Chapter 1

Question 1

List the properties of life

Answer 1

-Order
-Evolutionary Adaptation
-Regulation
-Energy Processing
-Growth and Development
-Response to Environment
-Reproduction

Question 2

Common themes about the study of life or biology

Answer 2

-Organization
-Information
-Energy and Matter
-Interactions
-Evolution

Question 3

Describe the theme of organization in detail

Answer 3

Hierarchy of life goes as follows:
biosphere-> ecosystem->community->population->organism->organ->tissue->tissue->cell->organelle->molecule->atom

Each step higher than atom has emergent properties resulting from interactions among components at the lower levels. Biologists. use a system called reductionism to study complex systems by breaking them down into simple components and their interactions.

Structure and function are correlated at all levels of biological organization, with the cell being the lowest level of organization that can sustain life, and can either eukaryotic (membrane enclosed organelles containing DNA within a nucleus) or prokaryotic (lacking these organelles).

Question 4

Describe Information in detail

Answer 4

Genetic information is encoded in the nucleotide sequences of DNA. It is DNA that transmits heritable information from parent to offspring. DNA sequences (called genes) program a cell’s protein production by being transcribed into RNA and then translated into specific proteins, a process referred to as gene expression. Gene expression results in RNAs that are not translated into protein but also serve other important functions.

Question 5

Describe Energy and Matter in detail.

Answer 5

Energy flows through an ecosystem. All organisms must work perform work which requires energy. Producers convert energy from sunlight into chemical energy, some of which is passed on to consumers with the rest lost as that energy. Chemicals cycle between the environment and organisms.

Question 6

Evolution in detail.

Answer 6

Evolution refers to the process of change that has transformed life on Earth, and accounts for unity and diversity of life. It explains evolutionary adaptations, that organisms adapt to their environment.

Question 7

Classification

Answer 7

Biologists classify species to large and broader groups. Domain Bacteria and Archaea consist of prokaryotes, with Eukarya consisting of smaller subgroups including protists, and the kingdoms Plantae, Fungi and Animalia. There is a large amount of diversity but also unity between different species.

Question 8

Darwin and Natural Selection

Answer 8

Darwin stated natural selection as the mechanism that drives evolutionary adaptations of populations to their environments. Natural selection is the evolutionary process that occurs when a population is exposed to environmental factors that consistently cause individuals with certain heritable traits to have greater reproductive success in comparison to the individuals without those traits.

Question 9

Scientific Inquiry

Answer 9

In scientific inquiry, scientists make observations (collect data) and use inductive reasoning to draw a general conclusion, which can be developed into a testable hypothesis. Deductive reasoning makes predications that can be used to test hypotheses. Hypotheses must detestable; science can neither address the possibility of the supernatural or the validity of religious beliefs. Hypotheses can be tested by conducting experiments or when it is not possible, by making observations. The core idea of science is to test ideas, which is influenced by exploration and discovery, community analysis and feedback and societal outcomes.

Controlled experiments such as the study investigating coat colouration in mouse populations, are designed to demonstrate the effect of one variable by testing control groups and experimental groups that differ in only one variable.

Question 10

Diverse Viewpoints in Science

Answer 10

Science is a social activity and scientists build off of each other’s work and ideas, as results must be able to be replicated. Thus integrity is key and biologists approach each other at different levels and should complement one another.

Technology consists of any method or device that applies scientific knowledge for some specific purpose that affects society. The ultimate impact of basic research is not always immediately obvious.

Diversity among scientists helps promote progress in the field.