Honors Seminar Biology - Chapter 1 Test

Mr. Matzen; Hon Sem Bio - P. 1

Evolution

The process of change that has transformed life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity of organisms living today; The gradual process of change and development in living organisms over successive generations.

Evolution accounts for the unity and diversity of life, as well as for the adaptation of organisms to their environments.

Evolutions primary claim is that modern organisms are modified descendants of common ancestors.

Who developed the theory of evolution, and in what year?

Charles Darwin (and partially Alfred Russel Wallace) in 1859. He published the theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species.

Biology

The scientific study of life.

What are the 7 characteristics/properties of life?

1) Order - Cellular organization; all living things are made of cells, the basic unit of life. (This property can also include symmetry / bilateral symmetry as a form of ordered structure)

2) Evolutionary Adaptation - Living organisms pass genetic traits down to their offspring; This causes adaptations to arise over many generations as those with favorable traits that are well suited to their environments survive to reproductive maturity.

3) Regulation - Living organisms maintain homeostasis ( a stable, constant internal environment) despite external changes. (Examples, are temperature regulation, blood glucose regulation, fluid regulation)

4) Energy Processing - Living organisms undergo chemical reactions to process energy (through metabolism/metabolic processes) and fuel cellular processes.

5) Growth and Development - Living organisms increase in size and mature or change structurally over the course of a life cycle. Inherited information carried by genes (DNA) controls the pattern of growth and development of organisms.

6) Response to the Environment/Stimuli - Living organisms sense and react to external and internal changes in their environment.

7) Reproduction - Living organisms have the ability to produce new individual organisms.

What are the five unifying themes of biology?

1) Organization

2) Information

3) Energy and Matter

4) Interactions

5) Evolution

What are the levels of Biological Organization? (From broadest to most specific)

1) Biosphere - Earth; Consists of all life on Earth and all the places where life exists.

2) Ecosystems - Consists of all the living things in a particular area, along with all the nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts, such as soil, water, atmospheric gases, and light (includes biotic and abiotic factors)

Biome - a large geographic region that is linked together based on climate and geography (Fits between Biosphere and Ecosystem)

3) Communities - The array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called a biological community. (The set of populations that inhabit a particular area)

4) Populations - Consists of all the individuals of a species living within the bounds of a specified area.

5) Organisms - Individual living things

6) Organs and Organ Systems - An organ system is a group of individual organs that work together to perform major life functions. An organ is a collection of different types of tissues that work together to perform a specific, vital job in a living organism.

7) Tissues - A group of cells that work together, performing a specialized function.

8) Cells - Life’s fundamental unit of structure and function; Organisms can be single-celled or multicellular (Multicellular organisms have a division of labor among specialized cells).

9) Organelles - The various functional components present in cells (ribosomes, mitochondria).

10) - Molecules - A chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms.

Species

A fundamental group of living organisms that share similar features and can breed with each other to produce fertile offspring.

Reductionism

Reduces complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study. Applied in a biological setting to break down complex living systems into smaller, fundamental components—such as organs, cells, molecules, and genes—to understand how the whole organism works.

Emergent Properties

Characteristics that a complex system has, but the individual parts do not have on their own; They appear only when the separate pieces interact with each other inside a larger whole due to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

Systems Biology

The exploration of a biological system by analyzing the interactions among its parts.

What is the relationship between structure and function?

Analyzing biological structures gives us clues about what it does and how it works; knowing the function of something provides insight into its structure and organization.

Cell

The smallest unit of organization that can perform all activities required for life. Every cell is enclosed by a membrane that regulates the passage of materials between the cell and its surroundings.

What are the two types of cells? Which forms of life are classified under which label?

Prokaryotic (bacteria and archaea) and Eukaryotic (all other forms of life, e.g., plants and animals)

Eukaryotic Cell

A complex type of cell that has a true, membrane-bound nucleus and specialized, membrane-bound structures called organelles (the organelles within a specific cell are specific to particular cell types).

Prokaryotic Cell

A simple, single-celled organism that does not have a true nucleus or membrane-bound organelles; Prokaryotic cells are generally smaller than eukaryotic cells.

Chromosome

Thread-like structures made of histone proteins and a single molecule of DNA that carry genetic information from cell to cell. (Humans have 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs)

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

The hereditary molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all living organisms.

Genes

The basic physical and functional unit of heredity made up of DNA. They encode the information necessary to build all of the molecules synthesized within a cell, which in turn establish that cell’s identity and function.

What is the structure of DNA?

A DNA molecule is made up of two long chains (called strands) in a double helix structure. Each chain is built out of four kinds of nucleotides: Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G).

How do genes control protein production?

Genes indirectly control proteins by using RNA as an intermediary. The sequence of nucleotides along a gene is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated into a series of protein-building blocks called amino acids. (This process is called gene expression)

Gene Expression

The cellular process by which the instructions in our DNA are converted into a functional product, such as a protein or a functional RNA molecule

What are the other functions of RNA molecules?

Some RNAs in the cell perform other important tasks, such as serving as components of the cellular machinery that manufactures proteins. There are also RNAs that plays other roles in the cell, such as regulating the functioning of protein-coding genes

Genome

The complete set of genetic instructions, or all the DNA, found in a living organism.

Genomics

The study of an organism’s complete set of DNA, known as its genome, including all of its genes and non-coding regions.

Proteomics

The large-scale study of the structure, function, and interactions of proteins within cells, tissues, or entire organisms.

Proteome

The entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell or group of cells.

What is high-throughput technology?

Tools that can analyze many biological samples very rapidly.

Bioinformatics

The use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of data that results from high-throughput methods.

Producer

Organisms that create their own organic food molecules from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy

Consumer

An organism that gets its energy and nutrients by eating other organisms.

How does energy flow through an ecosystem?

When an organism uses chemical energy to perform work, some of the energy is lost as heat. Energy flows one way through an ecosystem, entering as light and exiting as heat.

How do chemicals flow through an ecosystem?

Chemicals are recycled within an ecosystem. The chemicals that producers absorb are passed on to consumers when they are eating, then returned to the soil by decomposers.

What are the types of biological relations/interactions? (Organisms interactions with other organisms)

Mutualism - Both organisms benefit from their relationship with each other

Commensalism - One organism benefits, the other organism is not helped or harmed

Parasitism - One organism benefits while the other is harmed

What is an example of how organisms interact with their environment/physical factors?

The leaves of a tree absorb light from the sun, take in carbon dioxide from the air, and release oxygen into the air

What is an example of an interaction within an organism?

After a meal, the level of the sugar glucose in your blood rises (Figure 1.11). The increase in blood glucose stimulates the pancreas to release insulin into the blood. Once it reaches liver or muscle cells, insulin causes excess glucose to be stored in the form of a very large carbohydrate called glycogen, reducing blood glucose level to a range that is optimal for bodily functioning. The interactions between components that make up living organisms—organs, tissues, cells, and molecules—are crucial to their smooth operation.

What biological molecules/proteins catalyze chemical reactions?

Enzymes - specialized biological molecules—mostly proteins—that act as catalysts to speed up chemical reactions in living organisms.

Feedback Regulation

A biological or mechanical control process where the output of a system turns around to influence and adjust its own input or production rate.

What is a negative feedback loop vs. a positive feedback loop?

A positive feedback loop amplifies changes, driving a system away from its starting point, while a negative feedback loop counteracts changes, stabilizing a system. (Negative feedback loops are more common in biological organisms)

Taxonomy

The scientific study of naming, describing, and classifying living and extinct organisms into organized groups. This branch of biology names and classifies species and formalizes the ordering of species into groups of increasing breadth, based on the degree to which they share characteristics.

What are some ways scientists classify the diversity of life?

Comparisons of structure and function, and a more modern method is comparisons of DNA sequences.

What are the three domains?

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

What are the biological kingdoms?

Prokaryotic:

• Eubacteria

• Archaeabacteria

Eukaryotic

• Plantae

• Fungi

• Animalia

• Protists

Fossil Record

The total collection of all discovered fossils worldwide, organized chronologically by their placement in Earth's rock strata, that documents the history and evolution of life on Earth.

Descent with Modification

The passing of traits from parents to offspring with small, heritable changes over many generations

Natural Selection

The process where organisms with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and pass those advantageous traits on to future generations. (Natural Selection is what gives rise to new species)

What were Darwin’s three observations from nature that led him to the theory of evolution?

1) Individuals in a population vary in their traits, many of which seem to be heritable (passed on from parents to offspring)

2) A population can produce far more offspring than can survive to produce offspring of their own

3) Species generally suit/are adapted to their environments

Homologous Structures

Homologous structures share a common evolutionary origin and internal anatomy.

Analogous Structures

Analogous structures perform a similar function but have different developmental origins and structures.

Adaptive Radiation

An evolutionary process where a single ancestral species rapidly diversifies into a wide variety of new forms to exploit different environmental roles or space.

Science

A way of knowing — an approach to understanding the natural world.

Inquiry

A search for information and explanations of natural phenomena.

Hypothesis

A tentative, testable, and falsifiable explanation for a specific observation, phenomenon, or scientific question; a tentative answer to a well-framed question (must lead to predictions that can be tested by conclusion).

Observation

The gathering of information, either through direct use of the senses or with the help of tools such as microscopes, thermometers, and balances that extend our senses.

Data

Recorded observations; items of information on which scientific inquiry is based.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data

Qualitative data describes qualities or characteristics using words and observations, while quantitative data expresses information numerically through counts and measurements.

Inductive Reasoning

A logical process that uses specific observations and data to arrive at a broader, general conclusion or hypothesis; Deriving generalizations from a large number of specific observations.

Deductive Reasoning

A top-down logical process that uses general principles, established theories, or known laws to forecast specific, testable result; involves logic that flows from general to specific.

What are the steps of the scientific process?

• Forming and testing hypotheses: Forming hypotheses, Predicting results, Doing experiments and/or making observations, Measuring results (Core Activity)

• Exploration and Discovery: Observing nature, asking questions, sharing data and ideas, finding inspiration, exploring the scientific literature

• Community Analysis and Feedback: feedback and peer review, Replication of experiments and observations, Discussion with colleagues, Publication, Devising new ideas and questions, Theory building

• Societal Benefits and Outcomes: Developing technology, Addressing societal issues, Informing policy, Solving everyday problems, Satisfying curiosity, Building knowledge

Experiment

A controlled scientific procedure carried out to test a hypothesis, discover new phenomena, or establish cause-and-effect relationships; Involves the manipulation of one factor in a system to see the effects of changing it

Variables

Any factor, trait, or condition that can change, be manipulated, or be measured in an experiment; factors that vary in an experiment.

Control Group

A standard baseline in an experiment or study that does not receive the test treatment or intervention; It shows what happens under normal or untreated conditions ,helps prove that the test treatment caused any changes, rather than outside factors, and prevents false conclusions caused by coincidence or expectations

Experimental Group

The group in a research study that receives the treatment, intervention, or specific change being tested; Comparing the outcomes of this group against a control group measures the impact of the treatment.

Independent Variable

The cause or input in an experiment or equation that a researcher changes or controls to see how it affects something else; (Text Example: Mice Color — changing this factor allows us to see which color allows mice to better camouflage)

Dependent Variable

The exact outcome, result, or response that you measure in an experiment or study; (Text Example: The amount of predation — changes in response to the indep. variable, mouse color, being changed)

Experimental Control

A standard reference, baseline, or constant factor used in a scientific study to minimize outside influences and isolate the effect of the variable being tested.

What does it mean if a scientific claim/experiment cannot be repeated?

If experimental results cannot be repeated by scientific colleagues, this failure may reflect some underlying weakness in the original claim, which will then have to be revised.

Model Organism

A species that is easy to grow in the lab and lends itself particularly well to the questions being investigated. Because all species are evolutionarily related, such an organism may be viewed as a model for understanding the biology of other species and their diseases (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), E. coli bacteria, mice).

Technology

Its primary use in science is to apply scientific knowledge for some specific purpose (understanding natural phenomena). Science and technology are interdependent.

Who discovered the structure of DNA and when?

James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, relying heavily on the critical X-ray diffraction data produced by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.

What dictates the direction technology takes?

The current needs and wants of people and the social environment of the times. The advancement of technology also has ethical implications; we need to consider if something should be done, rather than just whether we can do it when applying technology.

What are the different types of RNA and what do they do?

• Messenger RNA (mRNA): A single-stranded molecule that carries genetic instructions from DNA in the cell nucleus to the ribosome for protein synthesis.

• Transfer RNA (tRNA): A small adapter molecule with a cloverleaf shape that transports specific amino acids to the ribosome during translation.

• Ribosomal RNA (rRNA): A structural and catalytic component of ribosomes that makes up most of cellular RNA and helps assemble proteins.

Convergent Evolution

The process where unrelated species independently evolve similar physical traits or behaviors because they live in similar environments or face identical survival challenges.