Download Sophie Wilson November 2, 2010 Bio, Mr. Miller Investigation 4

Sophie Wilson
November 2, 2010
Bio, Mr. Miller
Investigation 4: Organisms
Have you ever thought about what makes your hair grow? Or possibly how you become
taller? How your fingernails, your body, etc changes every day? Every time you look in the
mirror (sometimes noticeable, sometimes not) you have changed and are you ever curious to
wonder why your body has this fascinating capability to change your appearance? Well, this is
all because of cells, organs and other parts of the body joining together to create organisms
which is responsible in all of the changes in plants, organisms, humans, fungus and how we
adapt to our environment. In biology, an organism is any living system like animals, plants,
fungus, humans, or even micro-organisms. All organisms have the ability to respond to stimuli
(A stimulus or stimuli is a noticeable change in the internal or external environment,
reproduction, growth, development, and maintenance oh homoeostasis as a whole. An organism
can be single celled also known as unicellular or can be made up of a large quantity of cells
which are grouped into tissues and organs etc. This is often a common trait in humans, being
multicellular. This gives us also the capability to reproduce and produce new organisms that are
more or less a copy of themselves. This ever-changing production of unique and different
various organisms is what leads to changes in our world and the process of evolution. Organisms
are composed of many different materials, and allow our bodies as well as other animals and
plants to adapt to change therefore tying into the theory of evolution.
Organisms are composed of many things. All organisms are given classification which
groups them within a particular family which are more closely related and genetically similar
compared to another class of organisms which in comparison may contain little of the same
genetics and may not relate. The organisms are ranked in a hierarchical order that can be found
below.
Domain is the highest rank of organisms, higher than a kingdom and
According to the three domain system of Carl Woese ( system of
classification that divided cellular life forms into archaea,
bacteria, andeukaryote domains, which focuses on the separation of
prokaryotes into two groups.) his theory consists of three domains,
bacteria, archaea, and bacteria. The archaea domain has no nuclear
membrane, possesses unique evolutionary history and considered some
of the oldest organisms on Earth today. Some examples
of this domain are:
1. Methanogens- metabolize hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methane
2. Halophiles – thrive in salt
3. Thermoacidophiles – thrive in acid and high temperatures
The bacteria domain also has no nuclear membrane, and is composed of pathogenic
prokaryotic organisms. Some examples of bacteria are shown below:
1. Cyanobacteria – photosynthesizing bacteria
2. Spirochaete – gram-negative bacteria
3. Firmicutes – gram-positie bacteria
Eukarya domain has a nuclear membrane. There are many examples of this domain
because there are many different kingdoms within this domain such as protists, fungi, plants, and
animals.
Kingdom: This is the next highest rank that classifies organisms. Kingdoms are distributed into
smaller groups called phylum, which is the next highest rank in the classification of organisms.
Phylum: Phylum can be known as a group of organisms with a certain amount of
morphological/developmental similarity or otherwise known as a certain amount of evolutionary
relatedness such as how successful one adapts to change.
Class: This rank divides minerals, plants and animals into different classifications due to certain
similarities and relations.
Order: This class introduced completely artificial subdivisions that create these artificial classes
separate from more comprehensible smaller groups.
Family: Families may be used for evolutionary and paleontological studies because they are
more stable then lower taxonomic levels such as genera and species.
Species: This is what classifies different organisms separate from each other due to different
characteristics in function, the amount of cells etc.
Organisms are complicated systems of chemical compounds that play a large variety of
functions and roles. Organisms are semi-closed chemical systems and despite the fact that they
are individual units of life, they aren’t closed to the environment around them and to function,
they repeatedly consume and put off energy. Autotrophs, which are living organisms we have
also explored in investigation one, can trap energy from the sun, water, and even carbon dioxide
from the environment and alter these forms of necessary energies and use them as different
substances like sugars and starches. When energy runs through an organism, it can be converted
from one energy form to another. Plants are a good example of Autotrophs because they
consume oxygen, water and sunlight to feed them.
There are also such organisms, also explored in investigation one called heterotrophs
which are life forms that take in food to meet their energy needs like humans, animals, fungi, and
more. Heterotrophs consume other heterotrophs and autotrophs.
The initial chemical element in these compounds is carbon which is great for bonding
with other atoms and its size makes it efficient for forming multiple bonds which is ideal for
organic life. It’s ability to form compounds like carbon dioxide and chains of atoms that can
withhold data such as nucleic acids holds cells together and can send out protein.
Elements that construct organisms can be divided into macromolecules. The four groups
of macromolecules are nucleic acids (store genetic data in a sequence of nucleotides which is ties
into our previous investigation), carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids (lipids make up the
membrane of cells that have barriers, consisting of everything within the cell and prevents
compounds from passing in or out of the cell. All organisms are made up of cells, some
unicellular and others multicellular. Cells contain the hereditary information necessary for
regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to the next generation of cells.
Multicellular organisms are able to do certain functions. A group of cells is tissue and the
four basic types are epithelium, nervous tissue, muscle tissue, and connective tissue.
Epithelium: Includes three different kinds of cells called squamous, cuboidal, and coumnar. This
tissue is always coated by a basement membrane. Epithelial tissue can be arranged in to ways:
1. Simple epithelial tissue which is when all of the cells touch the basement membrane.
2. Stratified epithelial tissue which is when there are several layers of cells that don’t all touch
Connective Tissue: Connective tissue is characterized by a few cells in a non living extracellular
matrix like bone, cartilage, and blood.
Nervous Tissue: Cells in the nervous system that all perform different functions.
These types of tissues formed my cells in the organism work together to for an organ
which also has a function. For example, take your heart! It pumps out blood to your whole body!
Several organs functioning together are what are called an organ system to allow reproduction,
digestion and much more! An organ system, created in multicellular organisms is what allows
life. An organ contains at least two various types of tissue that perform together for a purpose.
There are numerous organs in the body that help it function like the liver, kidneys, heart, and
even your skin is an organ! The skin is the biggest organ in the human body. The skin is made up
of three layers. There is the epidermis, dermis, and the subcutaneous layer. The epidermis layer
is made up of epithelial tissue where cells are vaccumed together making a wall between the
inside of the body and the world. Then there is a layer of connective tissue called the dermis. It
contains blood vessels and nerve tissue that gives your skin feeling. So if you touch a hot oven,
you will react to what you feel and touch. The dermis also contains muscle tissue that gives you
Goosebumps! The subcutaneous layer is made up of connective tissue called adipose. This is
known as fat which cushions the skin and provides warmth for the body.
There are ten major organ systems in the human body. They are: the skeletal system, the
organ system, the circulatory system, the nervous system, respiratory
system, the digestive system, the excretory system, endocrine system,
the reproductive system, and the lymphatic or immune system.
The skeletal system is very important in the functioning of an
organism as a whole. The purpose of the skeletal system is to create
structure for your body as well as protect it and guard certain organs in
the body. For example, your ribs are very important for the safety of
your heart just as your skull is very important to the safety of your brain. The skeletal system
consists of bones, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments.
The muscular system gives the body mobility. Muscles work together to move limbs and
to control the movement materials through some organs like the stomach and intestine as well as
the heart and circulatory system.
The major role of the circulatory system is to transport nutrients and other various things
such as gasses like oxygen and carbon dioxide, hormones and waste through the body. The
major organs in this system are blood and the heart.
The nervous system sends signals through your body directing behavior, movements and
like the endocrine system, the physiological process like digestion and circulation. The main
organs in this system are the brain and spinal cord as well as peripheral nerves.
The respiratory system helps transport different gasses, mostly oxygen between the
organism and its environment. The main organs in this system are the trachea, nose and lungs.
The digestive system is necessary for breaking down and distributing various nutrients
and essentials that are required for the function of the organism. The mouth, esophagus, stomach,
and the small and large intestines are the organs responsible for the cycle in this system.
Then there is the excretory system which is responsible for disposing of unnecessary
waste, toxins, and nutrients. The organs responsible in this system are the kidneys, bladder, and
urethra.
Next is the endocrine system which is to send chemical messages through the body
helping control nutrient absorption and growth. Many glands that are in the body secrete
endocrine hormones like the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenal glands.
The reproductive system is essential for the reproduction of cells. The organs in the
reproductive system are the ovaries, oviducts, uterus, vagina, mammary glands, testes, seminal
vesicles, and the penis.
The main role of the immune system is to dispose of invading microbes and viruses from
the body and also get rid of fat and excess fluids from blood. The major organs contributing to
this function are the lymph nodes and vessels, white blood cells, and the lymph.
These systems and tissues all work together to create organisms and the function of their
bodies and structure.
There are two types of cells called eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Prokaryotic cells are
usually singletons which lack a nuclear membrane meaning DNA is unbound within the cell and
eukaryotic cells are found in multicellular organisms.
All cells have a membrane which encloses the cell and separates its inside from its
surroundings and controls what comes in and out of the cell. A cell contains DNA and hereditary
information of genes, and RNA needed to build proteins and enzymes. There are also
biomolecules more than protein, and nucleic acids.
The cell that makes up organisms, have many functions like reproduction by cell division
which is also known as binary fission, mitosis, meiosis, and use of enzymes coded by DNA and
through RNA which intermediates ribosomes, and much more which all form organs to make
organisms function.
The life span of an organism varies. It could be one day or a matter of years. Organisms have
been roaming the earth for centuries and in our soon to come investigations, we will explore their
history and evolution.
In conclusion, organisms are essential for life. Cells bond together making tissues which
make organs which create organ systems which function to protect, feed, transmit, pump blood,
and support the complex survival of organisms. This investigation has completely required
previous knowledge of all our investigations from investigation one, regarding energy, to
investigation two which refers to cells which is the back bone of organisms, all the way to
investigation three which focused on DNA which is in a cell! The complex system of life is now
tying together. In our next investigation, we will go even further.
Works Cited
"Definition." Other Information. Web. 05 Nov. 2010.
<http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/tissue.htm>.
"Organism - New World Encyclopedia." Info:Main Page - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 05 Nov.
2010. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Organisms>.
"Organism." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 05 Nov. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism#Viruses>.
“Basic Anatomy – Organs & Organ Systems.” Courses Pages. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.
<http:web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/14-anatomy.htm>.
"Human Anatomy Model, Anatomy Chart, Anatomical Chart | InnerBody." InnerBody.com | Human
Body, Anatomy Charts, Anatomical Models. Web. 09 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html>.