A View of Life

Chapter 1
 Learning Objective 1
What are the three basic themes of
biology?
1. Evolution
2. Information Transfer
3. Energy for Life
 3 Basic Themes of Biology
Evolution Populations change over time

Information Genetic information is transferred:

Transfer •Within cells
•Within organisms
•Among organisms
•From one generation to another
Energy for Life Energy flows
•From the SUN to Earth
•From producers to consumers
 Learning Objective 2

What characteristics distinguish

living organisms from nonliving
things?
 Cell Structure

• Plasma membrane
• Surrounds and protects cell
• Separates cell from environment
• DNA
• Codes genetic instructions
• Organelles
• Internal structures for special functions
 Two Types of Cells

• Prokaryotic cells
• Bacteria and archaea
• Single celled organisms
• No membrane-bound organelles
• Eukaryotic cells
• Organelles enclosed by membranes
• Nucleus contains DNA
 Organisms Grow and Develop

• Biological growth
• Increases size and/or number of cells
• Development
• Changes that take place during an organism’s
lifetime
 Organisms Regulate Their
Metabolic Processes

• Metabolism
• All the chemical activities of the organism

• Homeostasis
• Homeostatic mechanisms regulate and
balance the internal environment
 Organisms Respond to Stimuli

• Stimuli
• Physical or chemical changes in the internal
or external environment
• Cause the organism to respond
Fig. 1-2, p. 4
Fig. 1-3a, p. 4
Fig. 1-3b, p. 4
 Organisms Reproduce

• Asexual reproduction
• Low genetic variability

• Sexual reproduction
• High genetic variability
Populations Evolve and
Become Adapted to the
Environment
What are the Characteristics of Life?

1. Composed of cells
• Prokaryotic vs Eukaryotic
2. Grow and Develop
3. Metabolism and Homeostasis
4. Respond to Stimuli
5. Reproduce
6. Evolve
 Learning Objective 3

What are the hierarchical levels of

biological organization?
How are you the “organism”
arranged?
 The
Hierarchy of
Biological
Organization
 Organism

Population
Organ system

Organ

Community
Tissue
Bone cells
Cell
Nucleus
Organelle
Ecosystem
Macromolecule
Biosphere
Molecule Oxygen atom

Hydrogen atoms
Water Fig. 1-6, p. 7
Learning Objective 4

What is the importance of

information transfer to living
organisms?
 DNA

• Transmits information from one generation

to the next
• Contains 4 types of nucleotides
• Makes up genes
• Codes for proteins
 The
DNA Molecule
 Information is Transmitted

• Chemical and electrical signals

• Proteins
• Hormones
• Cell signaling
• Neurotransmitters
 Evolution:
The Unifying Concept of Biology

• Theory of Evolution
• Explains changes in populations over time
• Evolution
• Processes by which populations change
overtime
 Learning Objective 5

What is the binomial system of

nomenclature used to classify living
organisms?
 Organizing the Study of Life

• Systematics
• Study of organisms and their evolutionary
relationships
• Taxonomy
• Science of naming and classifying organisms
• Species
• Populations capable of breeding with one
another
Taxonomic Classification is
Hierarchical

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Taxonomic Classification
 Learning Objective 6

What are the 3 domains and

6 kingdoms of living organisms?
Tree of
Life
Three
Domains: Bacteria Archaea Eukarya
Six Kingdoms:

Bacteria Archaea Protista Plantae Animalia Fungi

Common
ancestor of
all organisms
Fig. 1-9, p. 12
Three Domains
• Bacteria

• Archaea

• Eukarya
Six Kingdoms
• Archaea
• Bacteria
• Protista
• Plantae
• Fungi
• Animalia
 Learning Objective 7

What is the theory of evolution, and

why is it the unifying principle of
biology?
 Adaptation

• Interactions between environmental

conditions and genes
• Takes place over many generations
• An evolutionary process
 Learning Objective 8

How can natural selection cause

adaptations to evolve?
 Natural Selection

• Theory of natural selection

• Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace

• Applies to populations, not individuals

 Darwin’s 4 Observations
1. Individuals of a species vary
2. More offspring are produced than survive
3. Organisms compete for resources; some
are better adapted to succeed
4. Best-adapted individuals survive to
reproduce
 Mutations

• Chemical or physical changes in DNA

• Can be inherited

• Cause genetic variation

 Evolution

• Process by which populations change over

time as a result of selective pressures
from changes in environment
 Gene Pool

• All the genes in a population

Fig. 1-11a, p. 13
Fig. 1-11b, p. 13
Fig. 1-11c, p. 13
 Learning Objective 9

What are the roles of producers,

consumers, and decomposers in the
flow of energy through ecosystems?
 Energy for Life
• Life
depends on
energy from
the sun
 NUTRITION

Nutrients

Some used as Some used as

raw materials fuel

OTHER CELLULAR
SYNTHESIS
ACTIVITIES RESPIRATION
Manufacture of
• Homeostasis needed materials Biological process
• Movement of and structures of breaking down
materials in and molecules
out of cells
• Growth and
development
• Reproduction

Energy

Fig. 1-12, p. 14
Energy Flow
 Light
energy

Heat

Food

Consumer
(caterpillar)

Consumer
(robin)
Producer
(plant)

Plant litter, Dead

wastes bodies
Decomposers
Soil (bacteria, fungi)
Fig. 1-13, p. 14
 Autotrophs
• Producers (autotrophs)
• Make their own food
• Transform light energy to chemical energy
through photosynthesis

•Photosynthesis
CO2 + water + light → sugars + oxygen
 Heterotrophs
• Consumers (heterotrophs) use energy
stored by producers through cellular
respiration

sugars + oxygen → CO2 + water + energy

• Decomposers (heterotrophs) break down

wastes and dead organisms
 Learning Objective 10

What procedures and terminology

are used to test a hypothesis using
the scientific method?
 The Process of Science

• Deductive reasoning draws specific

conclusions based on information (facts)

• Inductive reasoning draws general

conclusions based on specific
observations
The Scientific Method
• Observation
• Question or problem
• Hypotheses
• Testable predictions
• Experiments
• Analyze data
• Conclusions
 The Hypothesis

• A tentative explanation for observations

• Consistent with facts
• Can be tested
• Tests can be repeated by others
• Can be rejected
• Is falsifiable
 Testing Predictions by Experiment

• Prediction
• Deductive product of a hypothesis
• Control group
• Closely matches experimental group
• Experimental group
• Differs from control group in 1 variable
Testing a Prediction
 Amoeba
dies

(a) Experimental group. When its nucleus is surgically

removed with a microloop, the amoeba dies.

Amoeba
lives

(b) Control group. A control amoeba subjected to similar

surgical procedures (including insertion of a microloop),
but without actual removal of the nucleus, does not die. Fig. 1-17, p. 18
 Interpreting Experiments
• Data analysis
Sampling Error
• Can lead to
inaccurate
conclusions
Fig. 1-19a, p. 20
 Curtain

Single selection
Marbles

produces

Assumption

Actual ratio 100% blue

20% blue
80% white
Fig. 1-19a, p. 20
Fig. 1-19b, p. 20
 Curtain

Multiple selections
Marbles
produce

Assumption

Actual ratio 30% blue

20% blue 70% white
80% white
Fig. 1-19b, p. 20
 Scientific Theory

• An explanation of the natural world

• Based on testable hypotheses

• Supported by reproducible observations