BIO 103: Chapter 1 - The Science of Biology Flashcards

Flashcards reviewing fundamental biological concepts, scientific reasoning, experimental design, evolution, and unifying principles from Chapter 1.

What are the three traditional domains of biological diversity?

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Which multicellular kingdoms belong to the domain Eukarya?

Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

How do Protists differ from the eukaryotic kingdoms in terms of ancestry?

Protists have no common ancestor, unlike the eukaryotic kingdoms.

What are the five fundamental characteristics shared by all living organisms?

1. Cellular organization, 2. Energy utilization, 3. Homeostasis, 4. Growth, development, & reproduction, and 5. Heredity.

What is homeostasis?

The ability of living organisms to maintain relatively constant internal conditions even when the environment varies.

What are the levels of organization in the cellular hierarchy from smallest to largest?

Atoms, molecules, macromolecules, organelles, and cells.

What are the levels of organization in the organismal hierarchy from smallest to largest?

Tissues, organs, organ systems, and organism.

How does deductive reasoning differ from inductive reasoning?

Deductive reasoning applies general principles to predict specific results, whereas inductive reasoning uses specific observations to construct general scientific principles.

In an experiment, what is the difference between the independent variable and the dependent variable?

The independent variable is what you manipulate in the experiment, while the dependent variable is what you observe or measure.

What is the difference between reductionism and systems biology?

Reductionism breaks a complex process down to its simpler parts, while systems biology examines the whole of a system as well as the workings of its parts.

Which naturalist independently developed a hypothesis of evolution by means of natural selection around the same time as Charles Darwin?

Alfred Russel Wallace.

According to Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population, how do animal/plant populations grow compared to human food supply?

Populations of plants and animals increase geometrically, while humans can only increase their food supply arithmetically.

According to the fossil record, how far back can life on Earth be traced?

To about $3.5\,\text{billion years}$ ago.

What is the difference between homologous structures and analogous structures?

Homologous structures share the same evolutionary origin but differ in structure and function, whereas analogous structures have different evolutionary origins but are used for the same purpose.

What are the five core concepts that unify the study of biology?

1. Life is subject to chemical and physical laws, 2. Structure determines function, 3. Living systems transform energy and matter, 4. Living systems depend on information transactions, and 5. Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life.

What is a genome?

The entire set of DNA instructions of an organism.