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BSC 2010
Chapter 1
Defining Biology
• Science of living
organisms
• Science-From Greek
“to know”
– Body of knowledge
– Method of inquiry
Characteristics of Science
• Deals with falsifiable
concepts
• Dynamic body of
knowledge
• Open minded
approach
Defining Feature of Life
• Composed of a cell or
cells (Cell theory)
• Sense and respond
• Reproduce
• Grow and develop
• Cycle energy
• Regulate- homeostasis
• Display order
• Contain DNA as
hereditary material
Connections- Themes within
Biology
• Evolution
– Change in a
population over
time
– Natural selection
– Selects for preexisting traits
• Unity
• Diversity
Themes in Biology
• Emergent Properties
– Novel properties
– Appear as higher
levels of complexity
are attained
– Due to arrangement
and interaction of parts
– Not unique to life
Themes in Biology
• Correlation between
structure and function
• Seen at all levels of
organization from
atoms to biosphere
Themes in Biology
• The cell as the basic
unit of life both
structurally and
functionally
• All cells share
common
characteristics
Themes in Biology
• Continuity based on
DNA as heritable
information
• All cells contain DNA
• DNA encodes all
proteins found within
an organism
• DNA allows those
codes to be passed
on to progeny
Themes in Biology
• Homeostasis
• Maintenance of
conditions within
tolerable range
• Feedback regulation
– Negative
– Positive
Negative Feedback
Positive Feedback
Reductionism and Systematics
• Reductionism
– Take apart to
understand
• Systematics
– Study interactions to
understand
– Determine
evolutionary
relationships
– Ecosystem dynamics
Levels of Biological Organization
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Atom
Molecule
Organelle
Cell
Tissue
Organ
Organ system
Organism
Levels of Organization
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Population
Community
Ecosystem
Biosphere
? Universe?
Classification of living Organisms
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Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Specie
Binomial Nomenclature
Systematics leading to
entirely different schemes
Bacteria
Archae
Eukarya
Main Types of Scientific Inquiry
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Hypothesis based
Scientific method
Observation
Question
Hypothesis
Prediction
Experiment
Conclusion
• Discovery based
• Observations- Use
senses to intake data
• Field studies
• Information gathering
without drawing
conclusions
• Conclusions drawn from
observations without
experimentation
Types of Reasoning
• Inductive
– Derive generalizations
from a number of
specific observations
– Common in Discovery
science
• Deductive
– Draw specific
conclusions based on
generalizations
Summary
• Evolution is the over arching concept in biology
• New properties emerge at each level in the biological
hierarchy
• Organisms interact with their environment exchanging
matter and energy
• Structure and function are correlated at all levels.
• Cells are the basic functional and structural unit of life
• Continuity of life is based on heritable information
contained within DNA
• Feedback mechanisms regulate biological systems