Biology, Assignment 1kbmarion 1.

1 Lifes Levels of Organization

From Smallest to Largest 1. Atoms:  building blocks which make up all organisms 2. Molecules:  two or more joined atoms  some are organized into cells 3. Cell:  smallest unit of organization that can live and reproduce on its own 4. Multi-celled organism:  made of interdependent cells  usually organized as organs, organ systems or tissue 5. Population:  a group of single celled or multi-celled individuals of the same species in a specified area  a school of fish 6. Community  all populations of all species occupying one area  the Red Sea 7. Ecosystem  a community together with it's physical and chemical environment 8. Biosphere  all regions of the Earth's crust, waters and atmosphere in which organisms live

1.2 Overview of Life's Unity

DNA

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nucleic acid holds information for building proteins from smaller molecules each organism inherits DNA from parents  Inheritance  an acquisition of traits after parents transmit their DNA to offspring  Reproduction  mechanism by which parents transmit DNA to offspring  Development  the transformation of the first cell of a new individual into a multi-celled adult structural material regulators of cell activity enzymes  build, split and rearrange "molecules of life" to keep cells alive

Proteins

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Molecules of life

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Energy

complex carbohydrates lipids proteins DNA RNA

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the capacity to do work metabolism  every cell acquires and uses energy to maintain itself, grow and make more cells 2. Producers  plants and other organisms that make their own food molecules from simple raw materials 3. Consumers  animals and decomposers  cannot make their own food 4. Decomposers

bacteria and fungi that break down sugars and other molecules to simpler materials

Lifes Response to Change Living things sense changes in their surroundings and make controlled responses to them receptors  molecules and structures that detect stimuli  different receptors respond to different stimuli homeostasis  state at which organisms keep the internal environment within a range that cells can tolerate 1.3 Why So Many Species?

Species

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kinds of organisms Carolus Linnaeus  created a scheme for classifying organisms 1. Genus (plural, genera)  one or more species grouped together on the basis of traits that are unique to that group 2. Particular species within the genus  three domains 1. bacteria 2. archaea 3. eukarya single celled prokaryotic  do not have nuclei live in harsh habitats single celled prokaryotic live in diverse habitats sometimes referred to as "eubacteria", or true bacteria

Archaea

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Bacteria

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Eukarya

have nuclei plants, animals and protists 1.4 Evolution and Diversity y Traits o different aspects of an organism's form, function or behavior o mutations  heritable changes in DNA cause variations in traits o Adaptive traits  make an individual better able to secure food, mates, hiding places, etc. o Evolution  heritable change in a line of descent y Diversity o variations in traits that have accumulated in lines of descent o natural selection  a favoring of some forms of a given trait over others in nature 1. populations increase in size so members must compete 2. individuals differ in the details of their shared traits 3. when individuals differ in their ability to survive and reproduce, the traits that help them do so become more common over time o artificial selection  one form of a trait is favored over others in an artificial environment  think breeding 1.5 Biological Inquiry y Observations, hypotheses and tests o sometimes referred to as the "scientific method" 1. OBSERVE some aspect in nature, then frame a question related to the observation 2. form a HYPOTHESIS (educated guess) about possible answers to your question 3. make a PREDICTION, a statement of what you should find

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4. 5. 6. 7.

 often called the "if-then" process TEST the accuracy of your predictions if your tests do not confirm your prediction, CHECK to see what might have gone wrong REPEAT the tests or devise new ones objectively ANALYZE and report test results and conclusions drawn from them

Theory

o when a hypothesis cannot be disproved 1.6 The Power of Experimental Tests y Cause and Effect o scientific experiment  any aspect of nature has an underlying cause that can be tested by observation o Variable  a specific aspect of an object or event that can differ among individuals or changes over time o Control group  a standard for comparison with one or more experimental groups y Example: Experimental Design o If Olestra causes ntestinal problems, then people who eat products that contain Olestra will end up with gastrointestinal cramps.  1,100+ people  13 to 88 years old  unmarked bags of chips, some with Olestra, some without  15.8% of Olestra group complained of cramps  17.6% of non-Olestra group complained of cramps  Olestra chips do not cause gastrointestinal distress y Example: Field Experiment o Mimicry  a visual similarity between different species that may confuse potential predators o two forms of a distasteful species of butterfly  one with yellow  one with white o both resemble native species with yellow o birds that had already learned not to prey on native species would also avoid introduced species with yellow  introduced species released into habitat  daily counts of transplanted butterflies  white markings were less likely to survive than yellow