Bio Cram

Biology

The scientific study of life. What living organisms are made of, how they function and interact, how they have evolved and continue to do so.

Importance of studying biology:

1. Through studying bio we can hope to solve medical and ecological problems.

2. Improve the quality of life for all organisms.

3. Understand how humans function

Characteristics of living things:

1. Organization

2. Growth and Development

3. Reproduction

4. Sensitivity

5. Energy utilization and Metabolism

6. Adaptation

7. Homeostasis

8. All living things have DNA

Hierarchical Is:

Each level is built on the level below it.

Cellular Level Organization

1. Atoms (Smallest unit of matter)

2. Molecules (two or more atoms connected by a chemical bond.

3. Macromolecules, (carbohydrates, nucleic acids, lipids, proteins)

4. Organelles

5. Cell

Organism Level

1. Tissue (group of similar cells act a functional unit)

2. Organ (different tissues grouped together)

3. Organ System (different organs working together)

4. Organism

Population Level

1. Population: Members of the same species, living in the same area at the same time.

2. Community: Two or more species living together.

3. Ecosystem: Biotic and abiotic factors together. Like soil, water, and zebras.

4. Biosphere: A habitable part of Earth which extends from the atmosphere to bottom of the ocean.

What is required for a group to be a species:

Same anatomical features and ability to interbreed.

Growth is:

The increase in individual cells or number of cells in an organism, or both.

Development is:

All the changes that take place in the life of an organism.

Reproduction is:

The production of offspring

Sensitivity

Response to stimulus

Stimulus

Any condition that requires you to adjust

Response

Reaction to a stimulus

Examples of sensitivity:

Your pupils dilate (response) when in a dark room (stimulus).

Asexual Reproduction

1. Only requires one parent

2. Offspring are genetically identical

Sexual Reproduction

1. Requires two parents.

2. Offspring are genetically different.

Emergent Properties

Arising of unexpected characteristics that cannot be explained. An emergent property is a property a complex system has but individual members of that system doesn’t.

Ex: A heart pumping blood is an emergent property because it’s individual cells cannot pump blood by themselves.

Metabolism

The sum of all chemical processes within a living organism.

Adaptation

The structural, behavioral, and physiological process that enables an organism to better survive in its environment.

Ex. A frog’s long tongue is an adaptation for catching insects.

Evolution is

The accumulation of adaptation overtime.

Homeostasis

The ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment.

Ex. Maintaining stable sugar level in blood.

DNA

Responsible for your traits and giving instructions to make proteins.

Phototropism

The growth of plants in response of light

Geotropism

The growth of plant roots downward in response to gravity.

Phototaxis

The movement of plants towards the direction of light.

Chemotaxis

The movement of an organism in response to a chemical stimulus. Ex. Bacteria moving towards glucose or swimming away from poison.

Pheromones

A chemical substance that is released by one organism to influence the behavior of another organism of the same species. Pheromones serve as sex attractant trail markers and as alarm signals

Negative feedback mechanisms

Maintains homeostasis by regulating processes, returning to the changing condition. Mechanisms that oppose changes that have occured in the body.

Positive Feedback Mechanisms

Mechanisms that amplify responses.

Negative feedback Mechanisms Examples

1. Thermoregulation

2. Regulation of human blood glucose.

3. Regulation of human pH.

Diabetes Type 1

Destroys a persons ability to produce insulin. Autoimmune disease, in which the immune system destroys the beta cells of the pancreas.

Diabetes Type 2

Failure of target cells to take up glucose from blood because of defective receptors that bind to insulin, so sugar remains in blood.

Hyperglycemia

High blood Sugar

Hypoglycemia

Low Blood Sugar

Buffer

A solution that contains a weak acid and its corresponding base. It minimizes change in pH when acids or bases are added to the solution.