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    The Science of Life: Projects and Principles for Beginning Biologists
    The Science of Life: Projects and Principles for Beginning Biologists
    The Science of Life: Projects and Principles for Beginning Biologists
    Ebook191 pages2 hours

    The Science of Life: Projects and Principles for Beginning Biologists

    By Frank G. Bottone

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    About this ebook

    This activity book for budding biologists introduces kids to the five kingdoms of life through 25 engaging projects using materials commonly found around the house, yard, or classroom. Kids will learn how to conduct experiments using the scientific method in a carefully controlled environment. They'll make their own culture media and determine which is more effective at inhibiting the growth of bacteria: an antiseptic, a disinfectant, or plain soap and water. They will delight in collecting and comparing night-flying versus day-flying insects and learn how to clone a mushroom from a piece of its own tissue. Plenty of background information is provided, along with fun facts, a glossary, and wonderful Web sites to explore.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateJul 1, 2001
    ISBN9781613742785
    The Science of Life: Projects and Principles for Beginning Biologists

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      Book preview

      The Science of Life - Frank G. Bottone

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Bottone, Frank G.

      The science of life : projects and principles for beginning biologists / Frank G. Bottone, Jr.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 1-55652-382-3

      1. Biology—Experiments—Juvenile literature. [1. Biology—Experiments. 2. Experiments.] I. Title.

      QH316.5 .B68 2001

      570’.78—dc21

      00-065873

      Cover design: Joan Sommers Design

      Interior design: Monica Baziuk

      Interior illustrations: E. Kulak

      ©2001 by Frank G. Bottone, Jr.

      All rights reserved

      Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

      814 North Franklin Street

      Chicago, Illinois 60610

      1-55652-382-3

      Printed in the United States of America

      5 4 3 2 1

      To my favorite aunt, Lisa Behan

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Safety First

      Introduction

      What Is Biology?

      Understanding the Scientific Method

      Iron in Your Food

      1. Bacteria Are Everywhere (Kingdom Prokaryotae)

      Growing Bacteria

      Hand Washing

      Antiseptics and Disinfectants

      Bacteria and Antibiotics

      2. Plants Grow, Move, and Respond to the Environment (Kingdom Plantae)

      Transpiration

      Germinating Seeds

      Growing Grass

      Gravitropism

      Test Foods for Starch

      Saliva Test

      Carnivorous Plants

      Species

      3. Animals That Fly, Walk, and Wiggle (Kingdom Animalia)

      Ant Food

      Living Garbage Disposal

      Trapping Flying Insects

      Trapping Grasshoppers and Crickets

      Spider Webs

      4. There Is a Fungus Among Us (Kingdom Fungi)

      Yeast Metabolism

      Bread Mold

      Mushroom Spores

      Growing Fungi

      Cloning

      5. Last but Not Least: The Protozoans (Kingdom Protoctista)

      Growing Protozoans

      Protozoan Succession

      Conclusion

      Resources

      Glossary

      Bibliography

      Index

      Acknowledgments

      MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE goes out to everyone who had an influence on the final outcome of this book. I especially want to thank Stacy Kimberley, Monica Bottone, Jane Katergis, Mair Downing, Kathleen Veness-Meehan, M.D., and of course my parents for all of their kind words, encouragement, and insightful criticisms.

      A special thanks goes out to Dr. Paul M. Resslar, professor of biology, Virginia Wesleyan College, for his critical reviews of the manuscript and the inspiration he and Dr. James F. Harris continue to provide to so many students, such as myself, who spent time in the laboratories of Virginia Wesleyan College.

      Safety First

      THE FIRST LESSON that every beginning biologist should learn is that safety must always come first. Whether you are planning to perform the exercises in this book at home or at school, the first step you should take is to become aware of your surroundings. Begin by making sure there is an adult nearby at all times in the event of an emergency or just to assist you with a procedure. Next, locate a sink with running water in case you get something in your eyes or on your skin and need to rinse the affected area. Finally, look for tripping hazards, such as clutter on the floor of your primary walkways, and remove them. If you are working with a stove or burner, make sure that you have access to water or a fire extinguisher in case of fire.

      Here are a few more safety tips.

      Never eat or drink anything while you are working on an experiment. Never eat the Jell-O or SlimFast used in this book. The bacteria that you grow on these foods could make you sick.

      Never eat fruit from the wild.

      Always throw away items such as disposable cups, leaves, sugar solutions, soil, seeds, or any food items as soon as you are finished with them so that you or someone else do not accidentally use or eat these items.

      Iodine is used in this book, and it can be poisonous if you swallow it. If you get any iodine on you, rinse the affected area immediately with water for several minutes and tell an adult. Dispose of any food that has been contaminated with iodine. Dispose of the items once they have been exposed to iodine.

      Always use caution when handling chemicals. Even common household chemicals such as those in Lysol and other disinfectants or antiseptics can be harmful because they may irritate your skin. If you get any on your hands or in your eyes, rinse the affected area immediately with plenty of water.

      Take special precautions when working with plants, insects, and spiders that are naturally found outdoors because they may be poisonous, bite, or cause you to have an allergic reaction. Never experiment with plants such as ivy or mushrooms from the wild—they may be poisonous or cause your skin to break out in a rash. Some spiders, generally those with bright yellow or red markings, are poisonous, so be careful when handling them.

      Only operate a stove or blender under adult supervision and always wear a pair of oven mitts when handling hot liquids.

      Wash your hands before and after each experiment if you take a food break during an experiment.

      If you live in an area where Lyme disease is present, do not perform any outdoor experiments without first getting your parent’s permission.

      If you are allergic to mold, do not perform any of the experiments in the chapter about fungi.

      Introduction

      What Is Biology?

      Biology is a fascinating science that helps us understand most of what we see, hear, feel, and even taste in our world today. All human beings experience the science of biology firsthand in their everyday lives although they may not always be aware of it.

      In order to become more aware of the biology that surrounds you, you need to be able to define and understand what biology is. So you may be asking yourself, what exactly is biology? Biology is the science of life and all that deals with the life of animals and plants, including their morphology (form and structure), physiology (function and activities of their cells and organs), origin and development (how they grow and reproduce), and distribution (where they live). As you will soon learn, biology encompasses a much wider range of organisms than just plants and animals. Biology is more than the study of living organisms. It deals with the compounds they produce and the reactions they perform. More simply put, biology is the science of life and the process of studying all that is, or once was, living.

      So how do you know if something is living, especially if it is not an animal or if it is a newly discovered organism? In this book, many of the experiments require that you work with living things such as bacteria, worms, insects, and even spiders. You will see that while almost no single definition can describe what it is to be living, life is something that you as a biologist can measure and observe. However, something that is living can loosely be defined as something that reacts to changes in its environment, is capable of respiring (a complicated word for breathing, which includes forms of breathing not limited to the use of oxygen), and is organic (derived from or related to something living).

      Biology sometimes has a different meaning to us in our everyday lives. Biology can also be thought of as the interaction of oneself, through all of one’s senses, with any of the living or once-living things in our world, in an attempt to gain insight into how they work. Biology is both learning and experiencing the world in which we live. Biology, and its specimens, takes on many forms; some are obvious, some not. For example, the piece of paper that this text is written on has its own biology. It is made from wood pulp that came from a living tree. Each page, therefore, has a history as a living organism. This page has a future biology as well. One day, perhaps a hundred years from now, this book may lie dormant in a landfill with other books that have grown very old. In this landfill, microorganisms (tiny animals that cannot be seen with the unaided eye) will begin to degrade the paper, thereby obtaining nutrients so that they can divide and multiply into even more microorganisms. This page will be transformed into part of a new, living organism.

      Biology encompasses many more organisms than just animals and plants. In fact, there are five kingdoms of life, and this book is structured so that it includes information about organisms from each of these kingdoms. A kingdom is the highest level of classification in biology. Organisms representative of the five kingdoms include the bacteria (Prokaryotae), plants (Plantae), animals (Animalia), fungi (Fungi), and protozoans (Protoctista). Scientists who study these kingdoms are called microbiologists, botanists, zoologists, mycologists, and protozoologists, respectively. If you are interested in a career in one of these branches of science, or you just want to become more aware of the diversity of life that surrounds you, this book will introduce you to the world of biology.

      Understanding the Scientific Method

      A second theme that you will find throughout this book is that the experiments follow the scientific method, which is used in most every branch of science. The scientific method is a series of steps that scientists use to pose questions, design experiments, and form a theory, or hypothesis, about how

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