1: Introduction to Biology
All living things share the characteristics of life.
Levels of Organization of Living Things
1. Atom
• Living things are highly organized and structured, following a hierarchy on a scale from
small to large.
• The atom is the smallest and most fundamental unit of matter. It consists of a nucleus
surrounded by electrons.
2. Molecule
• Atoms form molecules. A molecule is a chemical structure consisting of at least two atoms
held together by a chemical bond.
3. Organelles
• Some cells contain aggregates of macromolecules surrounded by membranes; these are
called organelles.
• Organelles are small structures that exist within cells and perform specialized functions.
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Levels of Organization of Living Things
4. Cell
• All living things are made of cells; the cell itself is the smallest fundamental unit of structure
and function in living organisms.
5. Tissues
• In most multicellular organisms, cells combine to make tissues, which are groups of similar
cells carrying out the same function.
6. Organs
• Organs are collections of tissues grouped together based on a common function.
• Organs are present not only in animals but also in plants.
7. Organ system
• An organ system is a higher level of organization that consists of functionally related organs.
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Levels of Organization of Living Things
8. Organisms
• Organisms are individual living entities.
• Single celled prokaryotes and single celled eukaryotes are considered organisms and are
typically referred to as microorganisms.
9. Population
• All the individuals of a species living within a specific area are collectively called a population.
• Different populations may live in the same specific area.
10. Community
• A community is the set of populations inhabiting a particular area.
11. Ecosystem
• An ecosystem consists of all the living things in a particular area together with the abiotic, or
non-living, parts of that environment such as nitrogen in the soil or rainwater.
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Levels of Organization of Living Things
12. Biosphere
At the highest level of organization, the biosphere is the collection of all ecosystems, and it
represents the zones of life on Earth. It includes land,water, and portions of the atmosphere.
The Science of Life
• Biology comes from the Greek bio, meaning life, and from logos, meaning
study
• Study the origins and history of life and once-living things
• Study the structures of living things
• Study how living things interact with one another
• Study how living things function
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The Characteristics of Life
1. Made of one or more cells
2. Displays organization
3. Grows and develops
4. Reproduces
5. Responds to stimuli
6. Requires energy
7. Maintains homeostasis
8. Adaptations evolve over time
An organism is anything that has or once had all these characteristics
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The Characteristics of Life
1. Made of one or more cells
• Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in all living things.
• Living things can be unicellular (one cell) or multicellular (many cells).
2. Displays Organization
• Living things display organization, which means they are arranged in
an orderly way.
• Single cells: contains organized functional structures
• Multicellular:
• Specialized cells organized into tissues
• Tissues are organized into organs
• Organ systems work together to support an organism
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The Characteristics of Life
3. Grows and develops
• Most organisms begin as a single cell.
• The addition of mass to an organism, often in the form of new cells and structures, is
called growth.
• The process of natural changes over the lifetime of an organism is called development.
4. Reproduces
• Reproduction = the production of offspring
• Organisms that can breed with one another and produce fertile offspring are know as
a species.
• Reproduction is not essential for the survival of an individual, but it is essential for the
continuation of the species.
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The Characteristics of Life
5. Responds to stimuli
• Anything that is part of the internal or external environments and causes a reaction by
the organism is called a stimulus.
• The reaction to a stimulus is a response.
6. Requires energy
• Living things get their energy from food.
• Most plants and some unicellular organisms use light energy from the Sun to make their
own food.
• Organisms that cannot make their own food get energy by consuming other organisms.
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The Characteristics of Life
7. Maintains homeostasis
• Regulation of an organism’s internal conditions to maintain life is called
homeostasis.
• If anything happens within or to an organism that affects its normal state,
processes to restore the normal state begin.
8. Adaptations evolve over time
• An adaptation is any inherited characteristic that results from changes to a species
over time.
• Adaptations enable species to survive and pass on their genes to the
next generation.
• Adaptations are usually developed in response to an environmental factor.
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2: The Nature of Science
Science is a process based on inquiry that develops explanations.
What is science?
• Science is a body of knowledge based on the study of nature.
• The nature, or essential characteristics, of science is scientific inquiry.
• Scientific inquiry is both a creative process and a process rooted in unbiased observations
and experimentation.
Scientific theories vs Scientific laws
• A theory is an explanation of a natural phenomenon supported by many observations and
experiments over time.
• A scientific law describes relationships under certain conditions in nature but does not
explain why the relationship is the way it is.
• Theories do not become laws and laws do not become theories.
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What is science?
Makes observations and draws conclusions
• Scientists choose subjects to study and decide what types of data to collect.
• They analyze the data collected to draw conclusions.
Expands knowledge
• Scientific explanations combine what is already know with evidence from additional
observations and experiments.
• Driven by the search for new knowledge
• Constantly reevaluate what is known
• Pseudosciences imitate science
• Driven by cultural or commercial goal
• New questions and additional research are not welcomed
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What is science?
Challenges accepted theories
• Scientists welcome debate about one another’s ideas.
• Sciences advance by accommodating new information as it is discovered.
Questions results
• In science, observations or data that are not consistent with current scientific
understanding are of interest.
• These inconsistencies often lead to further investigations.
• In pseudoscience, inconsistencies are discarded, or ignored.
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What is science?
Tests claims
• Scientists use standard experimental procedures.
• Their claims based on a large amount of data and observations obtained from unbiased
investigations and carefully controlled experimentation.
• Pseudoscientists make claims that cannot be tested or are a mixture of fact and opinion.
Undergoes peer review
• Peer review is a process by which the procedures used during an experiment and the
results are evaluated by other scientists who are in the same field or who are conducting
similar research.
Science literacy
• A person who is scientifically literate combines a basic understanding of science and its
processes with reasoning and thinking skills.
• Ethics is a set of moral principles or values.
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3: Methods of Science
Biologists use specific methods when conducting research.
1. Ask a Question
• Scientific inquiry involves asking questions and processing information from a
variety of reliable sources.
Scientific methods
• Scientific inquiry begins with observation, a direct method of
gathering information in an orderly way.
• The process of combining what you know with what you have learned to
draw logical conclusions is called inferring; the conclusions themselves are
called inferences.
• The methods scientists use to gather data and answer questions are referred
to as scientific methods.
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2. Form a Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a testable explanation of a situation.
• When a hypothesis is supported by data from multiple investigations, the
hypothesis is usually considered valid and is accepted by the scientific
community.
• If the hypothesis is not supported by scientific investigations, the hypothesis
is revised, and additional investigations are conducted .
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3. Collect the Data
Controlled experiments
• When a scientist conducts an experiment, they investigate a phenomenon in a
controlled setting to test a hypothesis.
• The control group in an experiment is the group used for comparison.
• An experimental group is a group exposed to the factor being tested.
Experimental design
• During a controlled experiment, only one factor can change at a time.
• Independent variable—the tested factor that might affect the outcome of
the experiment
• Dependent variable—results from or depends on changes to the
independent variable.
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3. Collect the Data
Data gathering
• As scientists test their hypotheses, they gather data– information gained from observations.
• Quantitative data can be collected as numbers, such as measurements of time,
temperature, length, mass, etc.
• Qualitative data are descriptions of what our senses detect.
• Data is organized in notebooks and tables
Investigations
• Not all scientific inquiry is based on controlled experiments
• Investigations rely on observation and collection of data rather than manipulating
variables
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4. Analyze the Data
• After data collection, scientists use analyses to ask questions, such as “Has my
hypothesis been supported?” or, “Are more data needed?”
• Patterns in data can be displayed in tables and graphs.
• Data analysis determines if the hypothesis is supported or rejected.
5. Report Conclusions
• Before a scientist can publish their findings, it must be peer-reviewed.
• If the reviewers agree on the merit of a paper, it is published in a
scientific journal.
• Other scientists use published papers to evaluate and develop their
own research.
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4: Water and Solutions
The properties of water make it well suited to help maintain
homeostasis in an organism.
Water’s Polarity
• Water molecules are formed by covalent bonds that link two hydrogen (H)
atoms to one oxygen (O) atom.
• Water molecules have a slightly positive end near the H atoms and a
slightly negative end near the O atom.
• Molecules that have an uneven distribution of charge are called polar
molecules, meaning they have oppositely charged regions.
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Water’s Polarity
• When a charged region of a polar molecule comes close to the oppositely
charged region of another polar molecule, a weak attraction forms.
• A hydrogen bond is a weak interaction involving a hydrogen atom and a
fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen atom.
• A hydrogen bond is a strong type of van der Waals force.
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Mixtures with Water
• A mixture is a combination of two or more substances in which each substance retains its
individual characteristics and properties.
Homogeneous mixtures
• When a mixture has a uniform composition throughout, it is called homogenous.
• A solution is another name for a homogeneous mixture.
• In a solution, there are two components:
• A solvent is a substance in which another substance is dissolved.
• A solute is the substance that is dissolved in the solvent.
Heterogeneous mixtures
• When the components in a mixture remain distinct, it is a heterogeneous mixture.
• A suspension is a type of heterogeneous mixture where the particles settle out over
time
• A colloid is a heterogeneous mixture in which the particles do not settle out.
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Mixtures with Water
Acids and bases
• Many solutes readily dissolve in water because of water’s polarity.
• Substances that release H+ when they are dissolved in water are called acids.
• Substances that release hydroxide ions (OH−) when they are dissolved in water are
called bases.
pH and buffers
• The amount of hydrogen or hydroxide ions in a solution determines the strength of an
acid or base.
• The measure of concentration of H+ in a solution is called pH.
• Acids have pH values < 7; bases have pH values > 7
• Buffers are mixtures that can react with acids or bases to keep the pH within a
particular range.
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5: The Building Blocks of Life
Organisms are made up of carbon-based molecules.
Organic Chemistry
• Organic chemistry is the study of organic compounds – compounds that
contain carbon.
• Carbon is a component of almost all biological molecules.
• Carbon atoms bond together to form a variety of important organic
compounds.
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Macromolecules
• Macromolecules are large molecules that are formed by joining smaller
organic molecules together.
• Polymers are molecules made from repeating units of identical or nearly
identical compounds called monomers.
• Macromolecules are organized into four major categories:
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids
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Macromolecules
Carbohydrates
• Compounds composed of a ratio of 1 carbon :2 hydrogen :1 oxygen are
called carbohydrates.
• Carbohydrates have a general formula of (CH 2O)n where n indicates the
number of CH2O units in the chain.
• Carbohydrates are a central energy source in organisms, as well as
functioning as cellular support in plants, fungi, and animals.
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Macromolecules
Lipids
• Lipids are molecules made mostly of carbon and hydrogen that make up
the fats, oils, and waxes.
• A lipid’s primary function is to store energy, but they are also used to
prevent water loss in plants and form the honeycomb in beehives.
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Macromolecules
Proteins
• Proteins are compounds made of smaller carbon compounds called amino
acids.
• All amino acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and
sometimes sulfur and share the same general structure.
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Macromolecules
Proteins
• There are 20 different amino acids, and proteins are composed of various
combinations
• Proteins are responsible for structural support in cells, transporting
substances within and between cells, signaling within and between cells,
speeding up chemical reactions, and controlling cell growth.
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Macromolecules
Nucleic acids
• Nucleic acids are complex macromolecules that transmit and store genetic
information.
• Nucleic acids are composed of smaller repeating subunits composed of
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and hydrogen called nucleotides.
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Macromolecules
Nucleic acids
• There are two types of nucleic acids in living organisms:
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
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6: DNA: The Genetic Material
The discovery that DNA is the genetic code involved many
experiments.
DNA Structure
Nucleotides
• Nucleotides are the subunits of nucleic acids, and consist of
• 5-carbon sugar
• Phosphate group
• Nitrogenous base
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DNA Structure
Chargaff
• Analyzed the amount of A, G, T, and C in the DNA of various species
• Chargaff’s rule: C = G and T = A
The structure question
• Search for the structure of DNA was lead by four scientists:
• Rosalind Franklin, British chemist
• Maurice Wilkins, British physicist
• Francis Crick, British physicist
• James Watson, American biologist
X-ray diffraction
• X-ray diffraction techniques indicated that DNA was a double helix, or twisted ladder
shape.
• The double helix shape was formed by two strands of nucleotides twisted around
each other.
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DNA Structure
DNA structure
• DNA often is compared to a twisted ladder.
• Rails of the ladder are represented by the
alternating deoxyribose and phosphate.
• The pairs of bases (cytosine-guanine or
thymine-adenine) form the steps.
• Purine base always binds to a pyrimidine base
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DNA Structure
Orientation
• DNA molecules have specific orientations of the two strands
• On the top rail, the strand is said to be oriented 5’ to 3’.
• The strand on the bottom runs in the opposite direction and is
oriented 3’ to 5’.
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Chromosome Structure
• In prokaryotes, DNA molecules are contained in the cytoplasm, and consist mainly of a
ring of DNA and associated proteins.
• In eukaryotes, DNA is organized into individual chromosomes.
• To fit into a cell, DNA coils around a group of beadlike proteins called histones.
• DNA + histones form a nucleosome, which group together into chromatin fibers, which
supercoil to form a chromosome.
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