CONCEPTS IN BIOLOGY

Thirteen EDITION

CHAPTER 1

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 Why study biology?

 To be an informed citizen.
 An understanding of biology is important to
address a number of social issues today.
– DNA testing
– Birth control
– Global warming
– AIDS

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 So then, what is biology?

 The science that deals with life.

 What is science?
– A process used to solve problems and
understand natural events.
– Involves the scientific method.

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 Basic assumptions in science

 Scientists approach their work with some basic

assumptions
– Natural events have specific causes.
– Those causes can be identified.
– Natural events follow general rules and patterns.
– A recurrent natural event has a common cause.
– Different people can observe the same natural
events.
– Natural laws hold true regardless of time and
place.
 Example: Lightning
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 Scientists look for cause and effect
relationships

 Events that happen simultaneously are

correlated, but
– may or may not have a cause and effect
relationship.
– Example: Autumn and falling leaves
 Events have a cause and effect relationship
– when one event happens as a direct result of a
preceding event.
– Example: Lightning causes thunder.

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 The scientific method

 A way of gaining information about the world

that involves
– forming possible solutions to questions.
– rigorous testing to determine if the solutions are
supported.
– continual checking and rechecking to make sure
that previous conclusions are still supported.
– modification of unsupported conclusions.

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 Components of the scientific method

 Observation
 Questioning and exploration
 Forming and testing hypotheses
 Evaluation of new information
 Review by peers

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 The scientific method in action

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 Observation, questioning and
exploration

 An observation is a thoughtful and careful recognition of

an event or a fact.
 The careful observation of a phenomenon leads to a
question.
– How does this happen?
– What causes it to occur?
 The question must be testable.
 Scientists then explore scientific publications to find any
information that has been gathered about the question.

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 Constructing hypotheses

 Once the question is asked, scientists

propose answers.
 These answers are hypothesis.
 Hypotheses must:
– Be logical
– Account for all current information
– Be testable
– Make the least possible assumptions

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 Testing hypotheses
 Hypotheses need to be tested to see if they
are supported or disproved.
– Disproved hypotheses are rejected.
– Hypotheses can be supported but not proven.
 There are several ways to test a hypothesis:
– Gathering relevant historical information.
– Make additional observations from the natural
world.
– Experimentation

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 Experimentation

 An experiment is a re-creation of an occurrence.

– It tests whether or not the hypothesis can be supported
or rejected.
 Experiments must be controlled.
– This means that all aspects except for one
variable must be kept constant.
– They usually include any two groups.
 Experimental group: variable is altered
 Control group: variable is not altered

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 Experimental design

– The variable that is altered is called the

independent variable.
 Experiments should have only one
independent variable.
– The variables that change in response to the
independent variable are called dependent
variables.
 Changes in the dependent variables are
documented as data.
– Data from the experiment is analyzed and
hypotheses are rejected and revised or
supported.
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 A sample experiment

 Hypothesis: Male sex hormones produced by the testes

stimulate male birds to sing.
 Experimental group: Male birds with testes removed at birth.
 Control group: Male birds subjected to a similar surgery that
were allowed to develop normally with testes.
 Independent variable: presence or absence of testes.
 Dependent variable: presence of singing behavior
 Data: Male songbirds without testes do not exhibit singing
behavior.
 Conclusion: Hypothesis is supported.

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 Experimental data

 Experiments must:
– Use large numbers of subjects or must be repeated several
times (replication)
– Be independently reproducible.
 The validity of experimental results must:
– Be tested statistically.
– Be scrutinized by other scientists.
 If the hypothesis is supported by ample
experimental data, it leads to a theory.

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 Theory

 A theory may be defined as a widely accepted,

plausible general statement about a
fundamental concept in science.
– The germ theory states that infectious diseases are
caused by microorganisms.
 Many diseases are not caused by microorganisms, so we
must be careful not to generalize theories too broadly.
– Theories continue to be tested.
 Exceptions identified
 Modifications made
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 A scientific law

 A scientific law is a uniform and constant fact of

nature that describes what happens in nature.
– An example: All living things come from pre-existing living things.
 Scientific laws promote the process of generalization.
– Inductive reasoning
– Since every bird that has been studied lays eggs, we can generalize
that all birds lay eggs.
 Once a theory becomes established, it can be used to
predict specific facts.
– Deductive reasoning
– We can predict that a newly discovered bird species will lay eggs.
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 Scientific communication

 Data is shared with the

scientific community through
research articles published in
scientific journals.
– These articles are usually
scrutinized by other scientists
before they are published.
 Scientists present preliminary
data at conferences.
 Scientists collaborate directly
by phone and e-mail.

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 Fundamental attitudes in science

 Scientists must distinguish between opinions and

scientific facts.
– Scientists’ opinions may become facts if supported by data.
 A good scientist must
– be skeptical.
– not be biased.
– be honest in analyzing and reporting data.
 The critical difference between science and non-
science is that in science, one can test the
principle. In non-science, one may not be able to.

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 Theoretical vs. Applied Science

 Initially, some scientific data

seems to be purely
informational and not very
practical.
 Practical applications usually
follow the discoveries of basic
science.
– The discovery of the structure of
DNA has led to new drug
treatments for many diseases.
– The discovery of microorganisms
has led to a dramatic decrease in
infectious disease and food
preservation.

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 Science vs. Nonscience

 Scientists continually challenge and test

principles to determine cause-and-effect
relationships.
– Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy
 Nonscientists cannot test their hypotheses
directly and often cannot establish cause-
and-effect relationships.
– History, Literature, Philosophy, Art, Sociology,
etc.

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 Pseudoscience

 A deceptive practice
that uses the language
of science to convince
people into thinking that
a claim has scientific
validity.
– Marketing claims of
nutritional supplements.
– Marketing claims of
organic foods.

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 Limitations of science
 The scientific method can only be
applied to questions that have a
factual base.
 Questions of morality, values,
social issues and attitudes cannot
be tested scientifically.
 Science is limited by scientists.
– People are fallible.
– The sun orbits the earth.
 But, science is self-correcting.
– New data shapes new
hypotheses.
– The earth rotates on its axis, so
maybe the earth orbits the sun .

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 The science of biology

 The study of living things.

 Theoretical biology
– Evolutionary biology, animal behavior,
biochemistry
 Applied biology
– Medicine, crop science, plant breeding, wildlife
management

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 What makes something alive?

 Living things can manipulate energy and

matter.

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 Characteristics of living things

 Metabolic processes
– Organisms gain and store energy in the
chemical bonds in the nutrients they take
in.
 Generative processes
– Organisms grow by increasing the number
of cells.
– Organisms reproduce either sexually or
asexually.

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 Characteristics of living things

 Responsive processes
– Organisms respond to changes in
their environment.
 Irritability:
the ability to recognize a
stimulus and respond to it quickly.
 Individual adaptation: a longer term
response to an environmental change.
 Evolution: changes in a population over
time.
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 Characteristics of living things

 Control processes
– Enable organisms to carry out metabolic
processes in the right order.
 Coordination: Enzymes coordinate metabolic
reactions.
 Regulation: Enzymes are regulated in order to
maintain homeostasis.
 Unique structural organization
– Organisms are made of cells.

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 Levels of biological organization

 Biosphere—the worldwide ecosystem.

 Ecosystem—communities that interact with one
another in a particular place.
 Communities—populations of different organisms
interacting with each other in a particular place.
 Population—a group of individual organisms in a
particular place.
 Organism—an independent living unit.

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 Levels of biological organization
 Organ system—many organs that perform a particular
function.
 Organ—many tissues that perform a particular function.
 Tissue—many cells that perform a particular function.
 Cell—simplest unit that shows characteristics of life.
 Molecules—specific arrangements
of atoms.
 Atoms—the fundamental units of matter.

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 Significance of biology

 Biology has significantly contributed to our high

standard of living.
 For example:
 Advanced food production
 Significant progress in health
 Advances in disease control
 Advances in plant and animal breeding
 Advances in biotechnology
 Progress in genome studies
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 Biological research improves food
production

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