Unit 1 - College Biology

Biology

studies life from molecules to the biosphere

Emergent properties

New features arising from the arrangement of parts

• Structure and function correlate at every level

Evolution 

The change in species over time, is biology's unifying theme

Levels of Life

Cell → Tissue → Organ → Organ System → Organism

Population

 individuals of one species in one area

community

all the living things in that area, every species

ecosystem

adds the nonliving factors those organisms interact with

ecosystem

adds the nonliving factors those organisms interact with

prokaryotic

Bacteria and Archaea are…

eukaryotic

Eukarya are only..

Growth

an increase in size or in number of cells

Nutrition

 acquiring organic compounds for energy

Respiration

releasing that energy in a usable form

Reproduction

making new individuals, sexually or asexually

Regulation

holding a stable internal environment (homeostasis)

Excretion

 removing cellular wastes such as CO2

Synthesis

 building large molecules from smaller ones

Transport

absorbing and distributing needed materials

 

the use of energy (metabolism)

Which of the following is a property shared by ALL living things?

 

appears at a higher level of organization and is not present in the parts alone

An ‘emergent property’ is best described as a characteristic that:

 

molecule, cell, tissue, organ

Which list is in the correct order from SMALLEST to LARGEST?

 

the flat, thin shape of a leaf maximizing light capture

The idea that ‘structure fits function’ is illustrated by:

True

True or False: The biosphere includes all of the environments on Earth where life exists.

 

organ system

A group of organs that work together to carry out a major body task is a(n):

community

All the populations of different species living and interacting in one area form a(n):

the brain producing thought, which no single neuron can do

Which is the best example of an emergent property?

reductionism

Studying the individual parts of a system to understand the whole is an approach called:

cell

According to the cell theory, the basic unit of structure and function in all living things is the:

nucleus

prokaryotic lacks a..

nucleus

eukaryotic has a..

producers

capture it

consumers

acquire it by eating

DNA

the molecule of inheritance, organized into genes

Gene expression

uses a gene's information to build a product

Producers convert

light energy into chemical energy in sugar

Energy enters as light then..

 becomes chemical energy, and exits as heat

Matter, unlike energy

cycles and is used again

Reductionism

studies the parts;

systems biology

studies how the parts interact

Feedback regulation

 keeps biological systems in balance

Negative feedback

the product slows the process that made it

Insulin lowering blood glucose is negative feedback

Positive feedback -

the product speeds that process up

Clotting, where each platelet recruits more, is positive feedback

Natural selection

 individuals with favorable heritable traits reproduce more

three domains:

Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya

Taxonomy

names and classifies organisms

Binomial nomenclature

gives each species a two-part Latin name

hypothesis

testable, falsifiable explanation

 independent variable

changes something in the experiment

dependent variable

measures the result of an experiment

theory

a broad explanation supported by much evidence

Inductive reasoning

builds a general idea from many observations (be careful to make observations and not inferences)

Deductive reasoning

predicts a specific result from a general idea (if...then)

Model organisms

such as E. coli, Drosophila, and mice stand in for larger groups

Correlation is not causation

only a controlled experiment shows cause

Data must be

 analyzed to determine effect of the independent variable.

Bar graphs

 categorical (group) data and comparisons

Line Graph/Scatterplot

data over a continuous independent variable (like time), associations

Pie charts

parts of a whole/percentages

metric (SI) system

The shared language of measurement in science

Base units are..

 meter (length), gram (mass), liter (volume), second (time)

Natural selection results in:

 

populations changing over generations as favorable heritable traits become more common

The three domains of life are:

 

Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya

 

Which two domains contain prokaryotes?

 

Bacteria and Archaea

A nearly universal genetic code in all organisms is evidence of:

 

common ancestry

An adaptation is a heritable trait that:

 

increases survival and reproduction in a given environment

On the Galápagos Islands, Darwin observed finches with different beak shapes suited to different foods. This variation best illustrates:

 

adaptation shaped by natural selection

A dog breeder selecting which dogs reproduce to produce a desired trait is an example of:

 

artificial selection

The similar bone arrangement in a human arm, a whale flipper, and a bat wing is evidence of:

 

common ancestry (homologous structures)

In evolutionary terms, an organism’s ‘fitness’ is best measured by its:

 

number of offspring that survive to reproduce

Which condition must be present for natural selection to occur in a population?

 

there is heritable variation that affects survival or reproduction