Invitation to Biology

Chapter 1

1.1 Impacts/Issues: The Secret Life of Earth

Biology
The systematic study of life

We have encountered only a fraction of the organisms that live on Earth

Scientists constantly discover new species Extinction rates are accelerating

Video: Lost worlds and other wonders

Exploring New Guinea

A rare golden-mantled tree kangaroo

1.2 Lifes Levels of Organization

The building blocks (atoms) that make up all living things are the same ones that make up all nonliving things The unique properties of life emerge as certain kinds of molecules become organized into cells

Lifes Levels of Organization

Atom
Fundamental building block of all matter

Molecule
An association of two or more atoms

Cell
Smallest unit of life

Organism
An individual; consists of one or more cells

Lifes Levels of Organization

Population
Group of individuals of a species in a given area

Community
All populations of all species in a given area

Ecosystem
A community interacting with its environment

Biosphere
All regions of Earth that hold life

Nature and Life

Nature
Everything in the universe, except what humans have manufactured

Emergent property
A characteristic of a system that does not appear in any of a systems component parts

Levels of Organization in Nature

2 3 1 7 8

6 4 5

Fig. 1-2, p. 5

Animation: Lifes levels of organization

Active Figure: Levels of organization

1.3 Overview of Lifes Unity

All living things have similar characteristics

Require energy and nutrients Sense and respond to change Reproduce with the help of DNA

Energy Sustains Lifes Organization

One-way flow of energy through the biosphere and cycling of nutrients among organisms sustain lifes organization Energy
The capacity to do work

Nutrient
Substance that is necessary for survival, but that an organism cant make for itself

Organisms and Energy Sources

Producers
Organisms that make their own food using energy and simple raw materials from the environment Example: plants

Consumers
Organisms that get energy and carbon by feeding on tissues, wastes, or remains of other organisms Example: animals

Energy Flow and Material Cycling

Fig. 1-3a, p. 6

sunlight energy A Producers harvest energy from the environment. Some of that energy flows from producers to consumers. PRODUCERS plants and other self-feeding organisms
B Nutrients that become incorporated into the cells of producers and consumers are eventually released by decomposition. Some cycle back to producers.

CONSUMERS animals, most fungi, many protists, bacteria

C All energy that enters the world of life eventually flows out of it, mainly as heat.
Fig. 1-3a, p. 6

sunlight energy A Producers harvest energy from the environment. Some of that energy flows from producers to consumers. PRODUCERS plants and other self-feeding organisms
B Nutrients that become incorporated into the cells of producers and consumers are eventually released by decomposition. Some cycle back to producers.

CONSUMERS animals, most fungi, many protists, bacteria

C All energy that enters the world of life eventually flows out of it, mainly as heat.

Stepped Art Fig. 1-3a, p. 6

Fig. 1-3b, p. 6

Animation: One-way energy flow and materials cycling

Organisms Sense and Respond to Change

Organisms sense and respond to change to keep conditions in their internal environment within a range that favors cell survival (homeostasis) Homeostasis
Set of processes by which an organism keeps its internal conditions within tolerable ranges

Receptor
Molecule or structure that responds to a stimulus

Response to Stimuli

Organisms Grow, Develop and Reproduce

Organisms grow, develop, and reproduce based on information encoded in DNA, which they inherit from their parents Growth
Increase in size, volume, and number of cells in multicelled species

Development
Multistep process by which the first cell of a new individual becomes a multicelled adult

Organisms Grow, Develop and Reproduce

Reproduction
Process by which parents produce offspring

Inheritance
Transmission of DNA from parents to offspring

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)

Molecule that carries hereditary information about traits

1.4 Introduction to Lifes Diversity

The millions of species on Earth vary greatly in details of body form and function Each species is given a unique two-part name that includes genus and species names Species
A type of organism

Genus
Group of species that share a unique set of traits

Classification Systems
Classification systems group species according to traits and organize information about species One system sorts all organisms into one of three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya The eukaryotes include plants, protists, fungi and animals

Lifes Diversity: Three-Domain Classification System

Bacteria

Archaea

Eukarya
Fig. 1-5, p. 8

Animation: Lifes diversity

Prokaryotes
Prokaryotes
Single celled organisms in which DNA is not contained in a nucleus

Bacterium
A member of the prokaryotic domain Bacteria

Archaeans
A member of the prokaryotic domain Archaea

Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes
Organisms whose cells typically have a nucleus

Fungus
Eukaryotic consumer that obtains nutrients by digestion and absorption outside the body

Protists
Eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi

Eukaryotes

Plant
Typically a multicelled, photosynthetic producer

Animal
Multicelled consumer that develops through a series of embryonic stages and moves about during all or part of the life cycle

Animation: Three domains

1.5 The Nature of Scientific Inquiry

Critical thinking
Mental process of judging the quality of information before deciding whether or not to accept it

The Scope and Limits of Science

Science is a way of looking at the natural world which helps us to communicate our experiences without bias by focusing only on testable ideas about observable phenomena
Science does not address the supernatural

Science
The systemic study of nature

1.6 How Science Works

Researchers make and test potentially falsifiable predictions about how the natural world works Generally, scientific inquiry involves forming a hypothesis (testable assumption) about an observation then making and testing predictions based on the hypothesis A hypothesis that is not consistent with the results of scientific tests is modified or discarded

Common Research Practices

1. Observe some aspect of nature 2. Frame a question about your observation 3. Propose a hypothesis (a testable explanation of the observation)

Common Research Practices

4. Make a prediction a statement based on a hypothesis, about some condition that should exist if the hypothesis is not wrong 5. Test the accuracy of the prediction by experiments or gathering information (tests may be performed on a model)

Common Research Practices

6. Assess the results of the tests (data) to see if they support or disprove the hypothesis 7. Conclusions: Report all steps of your work and conclusions to the scientific community

Making Observations: A Field Study

A Scientific Theory

Scientific theory
A hypothesis that has not been disproven after many years of rigorous testing Useful for making predictions about other phenomena

Laws of Nature

Law of nature
Generalization that describes a consistent and universal natural phenomenon for which we do not yet have a complete scientific information Example: gravity

Examples of Scientific Theories

Animation: An example of the scientific method

1.7 The Power of Experiments

Natural processes are often influenced by many interacting variables Variable

A characteristic or event that differs among individuals

The Power of Experiments

Experiments simplify interpretations of complex biological systems by focusing on the effect of one variable at a time Experiment
A test to support or falsify a prediction

Experimental and Control Groups

Experimental group
A group of objects or individuals that display or are exposed to a variable under investigation

Control group
A group of objects or individuals that is identical to an experimental group except for one variable

Potato Chips and Stomachaches

A Hypothesis Olestra causes intestinal cramps. B Prediction People who eat potato chips made with Olestra will be more likely to get intestinal cramps than those who eat potato chips made without Olestra. C Experiment Control Group Experimental Group Eats regular Eats Olestra potato chips potato chips D Results 93 of 529 people 89 of 563 people get cramps later get cramps later (17.6%) (15.8%) E Conclusion Percentages are about equal. People who eat potato chips made with Olestra are just as likely to get intestinal cramps as those who eat potato chips made without Olestra. These results do not support the hypothesis.
Fig. 1-7, p. 12

Hypothesis Olestra causes intestinal cramps. Prediction People who eat potato chips made with Olestra will be more likely to get intestinal cramps than those who eat potato chips made without Olestra

Experiment

Control Group Eats regular potato chips

Experimental Group Eats Olestra potato chips

Results

93 of 529 people get cramps later (17.6%)

89 of 563 people get cramps later (15.8%)

Conclusion Percentages are about equal. People who eat potato chips made with Olestra are just as likely to get intestinal cramps as those who eat potato chips made without Olestra. These results do not support the hypothesis.

Stepped Art Fig. 1-10, p. 14

Example: Butterflies and Birds

Question
Why does a peacock butterfly flick its wings?

Two hypotheses
Exposing wing spots scares off predators Wing sounds scare off predators

Two predictions
Individuals without spots are eaten more often Individuals without sounds are eaten more often

Peacock Butterfly Defenses

Experiments and Results

Four groups of butterflies were exposed to predators (birds)
Butterflies without spots Butterflies without sounds Butterflies without spots or sounds Control group

Test results support both original hypotheses

Results: Peacock Butterfly Experiment

Sampling Error

Biology researchers experiment on subsets of a group, which may result in sampling error Sampling error
Difference between results derived from testing an entire group of events or individuals, and results derived from testing a subset of the group

Sampling Error

Wing-flicks per minute

24 20 16 12 8 4 0 spots + sound spots sound + spots sound

Fig. 1-9, p. 14

Probability

Researchers try to design experiments carefully in order to minimize sampling error Statistically significant
Refers to a result that is statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance

Animation: Sampling error

1.8 Impacts/Issues Revisited

Biologists constantly discover new species
Mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara), discovered in Madagascar in 2005

Digging Into Data: Peacock Butterfly Predator Defenses