Chapter 1:

I.

Introduction
Biology: the scientific study of life Evolution: the process of change that has transformed life on earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity of organisms living today. What is life? Order (structure), regulation, evolutionary adaption, energy processing, response to the environment, reproduction, growth and development.

II.

Concepts of Biology
Evolution, the Overarching Theme of Biology - Life has been evolving on earth for billions of years, resulting in a vast diversity of past and present organisms - Along with diversity there are many similarities - Evolution is the idea that organisms living on the earth today are the modified descendants of common ancestors New properties emerge at each level in the biological hierarchy (pyramid) - Emergent properties: new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases. (Example: head injury could cause malfunctions to the brain although all the parts are there.) - Biological organization is based on a hierarchy of structural levels, each building on the levels below. - At the lowest level are atoms that are ordered into complex biological molecules. - Cells are the fundamental unit of structure and function of living things. - Whether multicellular or unicellular, all organisms must accomplish the same functions: uptake and processing of nutrients, excretion of wastes, response to environmental stimuli, and reproduction. - Multicellular organisms exhibit three major structural levels above the cell: similar cells are grouped into tissues, several tissues coordinate to form organs, and several organs form an organ system. - Organisms belong to populations, localized groups of organisms belonging to the same species. - Populations of several species in the same area comprise a biological community. - Populations interact with their physical environment to form an ecosystem. - The biosphere consists of all the environments on Earth that are inhabited by life.

Reductionism: the reduction of complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study - Levels of Biological Organization: The biosphere, ecosystems, communities, populations, organisms, organs and organ systems, tissues, cells, organelles, molecule. Organisms interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy - Ecosystem Dynamics: two major processes involved in the operation of the ecosystem are the cycling of nutrition and the oneway flow of energy from sunlight to producers (plants or other photosynthetic organisms) to consumers (animals). - A plant absorbs light energy and converts it to chemical energy, which is stored in the sugar molecules. The animal then uses sugar as fuel to power movements, they convert chemical energy to kinetic energy (energy of motion). Some of the energy is converted into thermal energy, which dissolves to the surrounding as heat. - In contrast to chemical nutrients, which recycle within an ecosystem, energy flows through an ecosystem, usually entering as light and exiting as heat. Structure and function are correlated at all levels of biological organization - For example, a leaf is thin which gives it maximum opportunity to absorb sunlight. - This theme is a guide to the anatomy of life at all its structural levels. - Analyzing a biological structure gives us clues about what it does and how it works, Cells are an organisms basic units of structure and function - A cell is the lowest level of organization that can preform all the activities required in life. The activities of organisms are all based on the activities of the cells. (Ex. reproduction of cells for growth and repair) - Every cell is enclosed by a membrane that regulates the passage of materials between the cell and its surroundings. - Two types of cells: Prokaryotic cells- microorganisms and bacteria. Eukaryotic cells- in all other forms of life (plants and animals) - A eukaryotic cell is subdivided by internal membranes into various membrane-enclosed organelles. Largest organelle is the nucleus, which contains the cells DNA. - A prokaryotic cell is simpler and a lot smaller than eukaryotic cells. DNA is not separated inside of nucleus. It has no nucleus. The continuity of life is based on heritable info in the form of DNA - Chromosomes have almost all of the cells genetic material (DNA). DNA is a substance of genes, the units of inheritance that transmit info from parents to offspring.

DNA is in each and every cell in your body. Genes encode the info for building the cells other molecules DNA controls the development and maintenance for the entire organism and everything it does (indirectly) DNA- central database - DNA molecule is made up of two long chains arranged in a double helix. Each link is one of four kinds of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. Special sequential arrangement (like the arrangement of letters to for words) of the four chemical letters encodes the precise info in genes. - Genes programs the cell production of protein. Proteins include, muscle cells contraction proteins and defense proteins called antibodies. Enzymes are a protein crucial to all cells, which catalyze (speeds up) specific chemical reactions. - DNA serves as a blueprint while protein serves as the tools that actually build and maintain the cell and carries out its activities. - The DNA of genes indirectly controls the production of protein using molecule called RNA as an intermediary (middle). - The sequence of nucleotides along a gene is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated into a specific protein with a unique shape and function. - Genome: the entire library: of genetic instruction that an organism inherits. Within this genomic library of nucleotide sequences are genes for about 75000 kinds of and an unknown amount of RNA molecules. Feedback mechanisms regulate biological systems - Each type of enzyme catalyzes a specific chemical reaction - The key to self-regulate sugar consumption and storage is done by a mechanism called feedback. In feedback regulation, the output, or product or a process regulates that very process. The most common regulation is negative feedback, in which accumulation of an end product of a process of a process slows down that process. - Less common is positive feedback, in which an end product speeds up its production (ex. Blood vessels damaged, chemicals are released platelets to attract more platelets.

III.

Evolution accounts for the unity and diversity

(2) Evolutionary mechanism natural selection. Individuals in a population vary in their traits, many of which see to be heritable. A population could produce more offspring that could survive to produce offspring of their own. Darwin reasoned that individuals with inheritable traits that are best suited to the local environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than less fit individuals. Over many generations, a higher and higher proportion of individuals will have the advantageous traits. Evolution occurs as the unequal reproductive success of individuals adapts the population to its environment. Observation 1: Individual variation. Individuals in a population of any species vary in many heritable traits. Observation 2: Overpopulation and competition. Any population can potentially produce far more offspring than the environment can support. This creates a struggle for existence among variant members of a population. Inference: Unequal reproductive success. Darwin inferred that those individuals with traits best suited to the local environment would leave more healthy, fertile offspring. Inference: Evolutionary adaptation. Unequal reproductive success can lead to adaptation of a population to its environment. Over generations, heritable traits that enhance survival and reproductive success will tend to increase in frequency among a populations individuals. The population evolves. Natural selection, by its cumulative effects over vast spans of time, can produce new species from ancestral species. For example, a population fragmented into several isolated populations in different environments may gradually diversify into many species as each population adapts over many generations to different environmental problems. Fourteen species of finches found on the Galpagos Islands diversified after an ancestral finch species reached the archipelago from the South American mainland. Each species is adapted to exploit different food sources on different islands. Biologists diagrams of evolutionary relationships generally take a treelike form. Just as individuals have a family tree, each species is one twig of a branching tree of life. Similar species like the Galpagos finches share a recent common ancestor. Finches share a more distant ancestor with all other birds. The common ancestor of all vertebrates is even more ancient. Trace life back far enough, and there is a shared ancestor of all

living things. All of life is connected through its long evolutionary history.

IV. Scientists use two main forms of inquiry in their study of nature
Key elements of the scientific method - Observations derived from discovery science lead to questions. - Proposing and testing of hypothetical explanations (hypotheses) for observations - It is curiosity driven and employs a series of steps to answer questions. These steps are called the scientific method. - Asking a question and formulating a tentative answer (hypothesis) by inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning: Making an inference from a set of specific observations to reach a general conclusion. Hypotheses - Must be testable by making additional observations or performing experiments - Must be falsifiable (to prove false) must be some observation or experiment that could reveal if such an idea is actually not true - Depend on observations and measurements that others can verify (reproducible) - Can be eliminated but not confirmed with absolute certainty. - Using deductive reasoning to make predictions from the hypothesis and then testing the validity of those predictions. Deductive reasoning: Making an inference from general premises to specific results we should expect if the premises are true. "If...then" logic. Deduction usually takes the form of predictions about what outcomes of experiments or observations we should expect if a particular hypothesis is true. Controlled experiments 1. Control group - In a controlled experiment, this group provides the experimental group with a basis for comparison. One is able to draw conclusions about the effect of the experimental treatment because the control group cancels the effects of all variables except for the factors that the experiment is designed to test. 2. Experimental group - In a controlled experiment, the group in which one factor or treatment is varied. Variable - Condition of the experiment that is subject to change and that may influence the outcome of the experiment