K01299 20190218093759 Chapter 1 Invitation To Biology

CHAPTER 1
INVITATION TO BIOLOGY
CONTENT
 1. Levels of organization
 2. The basis of inheritance
 3. Energy and life’s organization
 4. Evolution and diversity
 5. The nature of biological enquiry
 6. Scientific experiment
CONTENT
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
 All matter consists of atoms, which combine as
molecules.
 Organisms are individuals that consist of one or
more cells.
 Cells of larger multi-celled organisms are
organized as tissues, organs, and organ systems.
Atoms is the fundamental building block of

all substances (living and non-living),
joined together to form molecules (exp:
carbohydrate, lipids, proteins, DNA,
RNA..etc).
Many molecules are organized as cells, the

smallest subunit of life that can survive
and reproduce based on information in
DNA, energy inputs, raw materials.
In multi-celled organisms, trillion of cells

organized into tissues to carry out a specific
function. Exp: Connective tissue, muscle
tissue, epidermis tissue.
Organs are formed by the functional

grouping together of multiple tissues to
serve a common function (exp: Heart (cardiac
tissue + sporadic tissue + connective tissue).
Two or more organs working together for a

specific body function, form an organ
system (also known as biological system or
body system).
Organism is any contiguous living system,

capable of response to stimuli,
reproduction, growth and development.
Population is a group of individuals of the

same kind of organism, or species, in a
specific area.
Exp: Blue fin tuna in the Indian Ocean
A community consists of all populations of

all species in a specified area.
Exp: Coral reef community of the Indian
Ocean
A community that is interacting with its

physical environment through inputs and
outputs of energy and materials.
Exp: Coral reef ecosystems flourish in
warm, clear sea water in the Indian Ocean.
 The Science of Nature
 We understand life by studying it at different levels of
organization, which extend from atoms and molecules
to the biosphere.
 The quality we call “life” emerges at the level of cells.
CONTENT
THE BASIS OF INHERITANCE
 To carry on life processes, an organism must have:
 Precise instructions;
 Communication among cells through chemical
substances and electrical impulses.
 DNA:
 Contains instructions, necessary for cells to make

proteins.
 The signature molecule of life which provides the
basis of growth, survival and reproduction.
 Source of each organism’s distinct features, or traits.
 Usually a double-helix and has two strands running in
opposite directions.
 DNA makes up genes that code for polypeptides (protein)
which functionally important for the organisms.
 Proteins determine the structure and function of cells
and tissues.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CELLS
 Cell-to-cell communication is a critical and complex
process called cell signaling.
 Information transmitted from one part of the body to
another is important in regulating life processes
 Information is transmitted by:
 Hormones
 Neurotransmitters and their receptors
CONTENT
ENERGY AND LIFE’S ORGANIZATION
 Living organisms need energy and nutrients to keep the
body’s functions.
 Energy is the capacity to do work, that is generated
through cellular respiration.
 Nutrient is a particular type of atom or molecule that
has an essential role in growth and survival.
 Different organism may obtain their energy and
nutrients differently.
 The differences allow us to put organisms into one or two
broad categories: producers or consumers
 Producers (exp: plants):
 Get energy and simple raw materials from environmental sources
and make their own food (through photosynthesis in plants)
 Consumers:
 Can’t make their own food and they get energy and nutrients
indirectly by eating producers and other organisms
 Producers and consumers cycle their nutrients among
themselves (?).
 Energy is not cycled.
 Energy flows through the world of life in one direction-
from the environment through producers, then through
consumers.
 It is a one way flow, because with each transfer, some
energy escapes as heat.
 Cells do not use heat to do work.
 Thus, energy that enters the world of life ultimately

leaves it permanently.
 Question: Who is the producer?
CONTENT
EVOLUTION AND DIVERSITY
 Individuals of a population are alike in certain aspect of
their body form, function and behavior…But, rarely that
these traits are exactly alike.
 Exp: Over 7 million individuals of the human species
shows variation in many traits.
 Why?
 Variations in most traits arise through mutations or

changes in DNA.
 Mutations create adaptive traits.
 More likely to survive and pass on its DNA to offspring.
 Charles Darwin:
 Natural population tends to increase in size, therefore creates
higher competition for limited resources.
 Adaptive forms of traits make their bearer more competitive
and become more common over generations.
 The differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a
population that differ in the details of their heritable traits is
called natural selection.
 Artificial selection through selective agents.
 In biology, evolution means change in a line of descent.
 Evolutionary processes and events underlie life’s
diversity.
TAXONOMY
 Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying
organisms.
 Binomial systems of nomenclature:
 Developed in the 18th century by Linnaeus, a Swedish

botanist
 Names and classifies organisms
 Basic unit is a species
 Each species assigned a two part name
TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
TAXONOMY
CONTENT
THE NATURE OF BIOLOGICAL ENQUIRY
 Critical thinking means systematically judging the
quality of information as you learn its content and
implications.
 Science looks for natural explanation of objects and
events. It does not address supernatural…
 Explanations must be testable in the natural world in
ways that others can repeat.
 Scientists make potentially falsifiable predictions
about how the natural world works. They search for
evidence that may disprove an explanation.
CONTENT
SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT
 Scientific experiments can simplify the study of a
complex natural process by restricting the researcher’s
focus to a single aspect of that process.
 Example: Water in Lake X is green and smelly.
Why?
 Researchers try to design experiments carefully in
order to minimize the potential for bias.
 Experiments cannot be performed on all individuals of
a group or in each part of the places where organisms
live.
 Experiment on subsets of a population, event, or some
other aspect of nature that they select to represent the
whole.
 Sampling error and bias in scientific experiments:
 Is a difference between results from a subset and results from
the whole.
 More serious when sample sizes are small.
 Large samples or repeating the experiment may reduce error
or bias.

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CHAPTER 1

Atoms is the fundamental building block of

Many molecules are organized as cells, the

In multi-celled organisms, trillion of cells

Organs are formed by the functional

Two or more organs working together for a

Organism is any contiguous living system,

Population is a group of individuals of the

A community consists of all populations of

A community that is interacting with its

 Contains instructions, necessary for cells to make

 Thus, energy that enters the world of life ultimately

 Variations in most traits arise through mutations or

 Developed in the 18th century by Linnaeus, a Swedish

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