Topic 1 Flashcards
Biology def
scientific study of life. Ongoing study of the nature of life
Properties of life
- reproduction and all the steps inbetween
1. order
2. energy processing
3. growth and development
3. evolutionary adaptation
4. response to enviroment
4. regulation
5. reproduction`
5 unifying themes of biology
- organization
- information
- energy and matter
- interactions
- evolution
- allow us to take a large amount of data and break it into understadable segments
organization
- life can be studied at different levels. different properties will emerge at different levels
1. biosphere
2. ecosystems
3. communities
4. populations
5. organisms
6. organs
7. tissues
8. cells
9. organelles
10. molecules
organization- reductionist approach (definition)
reductionism: studies the isolated components of the living system
- reduces compex systems to simpler components
organization- emergent properties
emergent prop: resulst from the arrangment and interaction of parts within a system (bike only works with all the parts)
organization- systems biology
- analysis of the interactions among the parts of a biological system
- can be used to study life at all levels
- not studying isolated components
structure and function
structure can give idea what the function is/ function can give idea of what the structure would be
- correlation
cells
smallest unit of life that can perform all activites required for life
every cell is enclosed by what
a membrane that regulates passage of materials between the cell and enviroment
-within cells is DNA
DNA is found in the
chromosomes
-humans have 23 pairs
genes are
units of inheritance
- encode information for building the molecules synthesized within the cell
what are genes made up of
two chains arranged ina. double helix which are replicated in cell division
Dna building blocks are called
nucleotides (A, C, G, T)
energy and matter- producers
photosynthetic organism- convert light to chemical energy
energy is then passed to consumers
work performed by organisms causes energy to be lost as
heat
how does energy flow
enters as light and exsits as heat
where to chemicals recycle
within an ecosystem
- carbon cycle, water cycle
energy and matter interactions occur in…
- macro level (ecosystem)
- micro level (cellular molecules)
interactions
are important in systems for smooth integration of all the parts
interactions occur between 4
- parts of an ecosystem
- molecules in a cell
- every layer of biological hierarchy
- cross talk between different components
interactions are important to maintain what
homeostatis
how do biological systems regulate
feedback systems
feedback regulation
output of process (product) regulates the very process
negative feedback
most common
response reduces initial stiumulus
- insulin
positive feedback
less common
response increases own production
- clotting of blood by platelets
interactions can cause what
influence evolution
evolution
scientific explanation for unity and diversity of organisms
- process of change that has transformed life on earth
what is the result of evolution
- an organisms adaptations to its enviroment
Darwins two main in his book on the orgin of species by means of natural selection
- species showed evidence “decent with modification” from common ancestors
- “natural selection” is the mechanism behind decent with modification
natural selection
- individuals with favourable traits are more likely to survive and reporduce
- over a long time leads to evolution
darwin proposed that natural selection gives rise to what
two or more decendent species
- ex: two different species of birds rise from common ancestor
phylogenetic tree
- provide evolutionary relationships
- show ancestors and their descendants
what is the universal genetic language
DNA- common to all organisms
- unity is the evidence among distantly related organisms
inquiry def
the search for information and explanation of natural phenomena
what is data
recorded observations
statistics
analysis of data using math
statistically significant
the results in the data are not explainable by chnace
inductive reasoning
type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific obersavtions
- repeating observations can lead to important generalizations
deductive reasoning
type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise
- inital observations may give rise to mu;tiple hypothesis
hypothesis
never prove that it is true, but testing it and getting similar results can increase our confidence with it
key aspects in scientific theory 3
- broader in scope than a hypothesis
- supported by a much large body of evidence
- general, and can produce many new hypothesis
scientific theory
differs from hypothesis
experimental variables and controls
ina. controlled experiment an experimental group is compared to the control group
experimental variables
features or quantities that vary in an experiment
independent variable
one that is manipulated by researchers
dependent variable
is the one predicted to be affected in response
controlled experiment
many experiments are conducted in lab setting, which allows for more control over variables
- field ex much harder to control
sample size
depends on the experiment being performed
- usually n=3
