Unit 1 Chapter 1: Intro to the Science of Life

Question 1

ignore this

Answer 1

blank

Question 2

biology

Answer 2

Biology is the study of life.

Question 3

life

Answer 3

Life is distinguished by what living things do. All 7 are needed:

• Reproduction
• Growth and development
• Energy and matter processing
  
  • Takes energy and converts it
• Order
  
  • There is a reason why an organism looks a certain way
• Response to the environment
• Evolutionary adaptations
  
  • Proof of reproductive success

Question 4

biosphere

Answer 4

Biosphere: consists of all life on Earth and all of the environments that support life from the oceans to mountains.

Question 5

ecosystem

Answer 5

Ecosystem: Includes all the living organisms in one particular area (like the savannah) as well as the nonliving components that affect life such as air, soil and sunlight.

Question 6

community

Answer 6

Community: consists of all the interacting populations of organisms occupying an ecosystem. This community includes plants, animals and even microorganisms.

Question 7

population

Answer 7

Population: a group of interacting individuals of one species living within a particular area (like the savannah).

Question 8

organism

Answer 8

Organism: an individual living being

Question 9

organ system

Answer 9

Organ system: a group of organs that work together to perform a vital body function.

Question 10

organ

Answer 10

Organ: Consists of multiple tissues that cooperate to perform a specific task.
EX: the heart pumps blood through the circulatory system

Question 11

tissue

Answer 11

Tissue: an integrated group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function.

Question 12

cells

Answer 12

Cells: All living organisms consist of cells, the fundamental unit of life. Nothing smaller than a cell is capable of having all of life’s properties.
Bacterias can have one cell

Question 13

organelle

Answer 13

Organelle: is a component of the cell that performs a specific function.
EX: an epithelial cell’s nucleus houses the DNA

Question 14

molecule

Answer 14

Molecule: group of atoms bonded together.

Is essential to all life on Earth.

Question 15

atom

Answer 15

Atom: the fundamental unit of matter; it is the smallest unit of an element capable of displaying the properties of that element. Atoms themselves are made up of even smaller units called subatomic particles.

Question 16

Question 1: Which level of life’s organization is the smallest one that can be considered alive?

Answer 16

The cell is the smallest unit that is capable of displaying all of life’s properties.

Question 17

photosynthetic

Answer 17

Photosynthetic organisms use energy from sunlight and produce sugar and complex molecules in which they become food for other organisms.

Question 18

emergent properties

Answer 18

Emergent properties: novel properties that emerge that are absent from the preceding one.
EX: life emerges at the level of the cell; a test tube full of molecules is not alive.
Every cell consists of information in the form of genes (heredity units consisting of sequences of DNA passed down from the previous generation).

Question 19

evolution

Answer 19

Evolution is the descent with gradyal modifications of ancestral species to modern-day ones.
Think…theory of evolution by natural selection
Evolution helps us investigate and understand every aspect of life

Question 20

biology’s unifying themes

Answer 20

Transformation of energy and matter
Interconnectedness between elements of biological systems
Relationship of structure and function
Flow of information
Evolution

Question 21

science

Answer 21

is an approach to understanding the natural world through inquiry – a search for information, evidence, explanations and answers to questions.

Question 22

scientific method

Answer 22

Observation
Question
Hypothesis 
Experiment
Results 
Conclusion

Question 23

a good hypothesis must be..

Answer 23

Testable
Falsifiable (must be capable of being demonstrated to be false)
Repeatable (can be tested over and over again)

Question 24

facts are distinct from

Answer 24

Opinions
Falsehoods
Speculations
Inference

Question 25

primary source

Answer 25

original material presented for the first time by the persons who performed the research.
Ex: peer reviewed journal articles, technical reports and dissertations

Question 26

secondary source

Answer 26

a description or review of primary sources, often containing commentary.
Ex: summary websites like WebMD and the CDC’s website or newspapers like the New York Times

Question 27

biogenesis

Answer 27

the formation of new living organisms from nonliving chemicals.
One hypothesis to the question “how could the first living cells arise” is that chemical and physical processes within the unique conditions of the primordial earth resulted in biogenesis.

Question 28

Question 2: Why is it likely that RNA preceded DNA as the original genetic material?

Answer 28

DNA requires proteins to replicate, whereas RNA can copy itself.

Question 29

the prokaryotes

Answer 29

(organisms consisting of a single, relatively small and simple cell that lacks membrane-bound organelles) are divided into two domains: archaea and bacteria (so domain archaea and domain bacteria).

Question 30

prokaryotes

Answer 30

organisms consisting of a single, relatively small and simple cell that lacks membrane-bound organelles

Question 31

archaea

Answer 31

some are called extremophiles (loves of the extreme) because they thrive in habitats where no other organisms can survive. Those who live in extreme ecological niches and have unusual adaptations that enable them to grow and reproduce under such conditions.

Question 32

methanogens

Answer 32

live in anaerobic environments (oxygen free) where they emit methane gas as a waste product of their metabolism. They are usually found in the thick mud at the bottom of a swamp or bog. They emit stinky swamp gas. They are also found in landfills sometimes and even cows and deers.

Question 33

halophiles

Answer 33

are archaea that thrive in very salty environments such as Utah’s great salt lake, the dead sea and salt water evaporating ponds used to produce sea salt. Many species of halophiles can tolerate salt concentrations 5 to 10 times higher than that of seawater. Extremely salty environments often turn colors as a result of the dense growth and colorful pigments of halophiles.

Question 34

thermophiles

Answer 34

(heat lovers) are archaea that live and grow in high-temperature environments. Some thermophiles even thrive in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where emitted gasses can raise temperatures well above boiling point. Others can be found in hot springs or geysers. Others can grow in environments that are both hot and highly acidic. Some scientists speculate that such environments may be similar to those faced by the first organisms billions of years ago.

Question 35

Question 3: Would you expect to find archaea growing in an aquarium?

Answer 35

No, because they thrive in extreme environments and not moderate ones like that of an aquarium.

Question 36

pathogens

Answer 36

bacteria that can cause serious illness.
Bacterial infections account for half of all human diseases.
EX: staph infection. → can evolve to resist antibiotics
A bacteria found on the human skin that releases toxins and causes many diseases such as toxic shock syndrome.

Question 37

Question 4: What is the difference between the cells of colonies versus the cells of truly multicellular organisms?

Answer 37

The cells of colonies are all identical and can live independently, while the cells of multicellular organisms are specialized and incapable of living independently.

Question 38

fungi

Answer 38

Fungi are a diverse group of eukaryotes.
Fungi are a large and diverse group with many different species.
All fungi are eukaryotes and most are multicellular. All acquire nutrients by absorption.

Question 39

eukaryotes

Answer 39

Eukaryotes: composed of cells with nuclei and other membrane-surrounded organelles.
The older fungi fossils date from only 460 million years ago.
Fungi play a vital role in most ecosystems because they decompose dead organisms and other organic materials, recycling their essential chemical elements back to the environment.

Question 40

Question 5: Why is the action of fungi as decomposers so important?

Answer 40

Without decomposers, nutrients would accumulate in dead matter and never be recycled.

Question 41

charophytes

Answer 41

relatively complex multicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes (modern group of algae). They are the closest living relatives of these first plants found during the early years of the Earth.

Question 42

plant

Answer 42

a terrestrial multicellular eukaryote that conducts photosynthesis, producing organic molecules from inorganic molecules using the energy of sunlight. There are some protists however, like seaweed (some), that are also multicellular, photosynthetic and eukaryotic.
Plants, unlike algae, CAN thrive on land because of their structure
These structures include ones that allow plants to obtain resources from two very different sources: air and soil.

Question 43

mycorrhizae

Answer 43

fungi and plant roots form this symbiotic association. The fungus provides the plant with water and minerals absorbed from the soil and the plant provides sugars as nourishment for the fungus.
The key adaptation that allowed the colonization of land.

Question 44

Question 6: What problem associated with living on land does mycorrhizae help a plant overcome?

Answer 44

The need to absorb water and minerals from the soil.

Question 45

all animals..

Answer 45

eat other organisms

Question 46

heterotrophs

Answer 46

Heterotrophs: organisms that obtain nutrients and materials for building body structures from their environment (as opposed to autotrophs, organisms that make their own food, such as plants).

Question 47

phyla

Answer 47

Phyla: the animal kingdom is divided into smaller groups (singular, phylum). Of the 35 or so known animal phyla,  the vast majority of animals living today can be grouped into just nine. Each nine phylum is characterized by specific adaptations.
Sponges
Cnidarians
Flatworms
Annelids
Mollusks
Roundworms
Arthropods
Echinoderms
Chordates

Question 48

Question 7: What makes the sponges different from all other animals?

Answer 48

Only the sponges lack tissues and body symmetry. The animals in all other phyla have tissues and body symmetry.

Question 49

colonies

Answer 49

Colonies are loose physical associations of individual free-living cells. Colonial organisms probably represent an evolutionary intermediate between independent unicellular protists and multicellular organisms. Natural selection favored those colonies that increased efficiency by evolving a division of labor and over time, cells within the colonies became more specialized. Eventually, they were no longer capable of living on their own and resulted in multicellular eukaryotes.

Question 50

several ways bacteria have a positive impact on human society

Answer 50

Several ways that bacteria have a positive impact on human society:
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Without these bacteria, plants would starve for nitrogen
Decomposers
Bacteria break down dead organisms and return their nutrients to the environment. Without them, plants and animals could not survive b/c many nutrients would be permanently bound up in dead matter.
Sewage treatment
Raw sewage is mixed with prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea both) and the microbes decompose the sludge helping to recycle the nutrients contained within it.
Bioremediation
Use of organisms to remove pollutants from the environment such as plastic
Probiotics
Interacts with bacteria already in the body to ease digestive discomfort.