1 / 32

Introduction to Biology: Exploring Life and its Diversity

This text provides an overview of biology, covering topics such as the biosphere, biodiversity, species, organisms, systems, structure and function, homeostasis, evolution, scientific inquiry, technology in biology, and the importance of biology in making informed decisions about health and the environment.

johneyoung
Download Presentation

Introduction to Biology: Exploring Life and its Diversity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. KEY CONCEPT Biology is the study of all forms of life.

  2. biosphere = everywhere life exists Earth is home to an incredible diversity of life. • The biosphere includes all living things and all the places they are found.

  3. Every part of the biosphere is connected with every other part. • The biosphere includes many environments. • land environments

  4. Tidepool Estuary • saltwater and freshwater environments • portions of the atmosphere

  5. Biodiversity is the variety of life. • Biodiversity generally increases from the poles to the equator. • Biodiversity is greater in areas with consistently warm temperatures. Biodiversity is greater closer to the equator.

  6. A species is one particular type of living thing. • Members of a species can interbreed to reproduce. • There are about 2 million different living species have been identified.

  7. All organisms share certain characteristics.

  8. An organism is any individual living thing. • made of one or more cells. • need energy for metabolism. • respond to their environment. • have DNA that they pass on to offspring.

  9. KEY CONCEPTUnifying themes connect concepts from many fields of biology.

  10. All levels of life have systems of related parts. • A system is an organized group of interacting parts. • A cell is a system of chemicals and processes. • A body system includes organs that interact. • An ecosystem includes living and nonliving things that interact.

  11. Biologists are scientists who study life and many different systems.

  12. Structure and function are related in biology. • Structure determines function. • Proteins with different structures perform different functions. • Heart muscle cells have a different structure and function than stomach muscle cells. • Different species have different anatomical structures with different functions.

  13. Organisms must maintain homeostasis to survive in diverse environments. • Homeostasis is the maintenance of constant internal conditions.

  14. Homeostasis is usually maintained through negative feedback (systems return a condition to its normal point).

  15. Behaviors and adaptations can help maintain homeostasis.

  16. Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life. • Evolution is the change in living things over time. • genetic makeup of a population of a species changes • can occur through natural selection of adaptations • Adaptations are beneficial traits that are passed to future generations.

  17. KEY CONCEPTScience is a way of thinking, questioning, and gathering evidence.

  18. Like all science, biology is a process of inquiry. Scientists… • make careful and systematic observations. • record observations as data. • form a hypothesis as a possible answer to a question. • test their hypotheses and analyze their data.

  19. Biologists use experiments to test hypotheses. • Observational studies allow scientists to describe a phenomenon.

  20. Experimental studies allow scientists to determine what causes a phenomenon. • Independent variables are manipulated (tested). • Dependent variables are observed and measured. • Constants are conditions that are kept the same.

  21. A theory explains a wide range of observations. • A theory is supported by a wide range of scientific evidence. • Theories can change based on new evidence.

  22. KEY CONCEPTTechnology continually changes the way biologists work.

  23. stoma Imaging technologies provide new views of life. • A microscope provides an enlarged image of an object. • transmission electron microscopes (TEM) • light microscopes (LM) • scanning electron microscopes (SEM)

  24. Imaging technology is used in medicine. • functional MRI (fMRI) • X-ray images • magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

  25. Complex systems are modeled on computers. Normal heartbeat • Computer models used to study systems that cannot be studied directly. • heart attacks • effect of medicines • movement of water molecules in a cell • spread of a disease Heart attack • Computer models used if experiments are not safe, ethical, or practical.

  26. The tools of molecular genetics give rise to new biological studies. • A gene is a segment of DNA that stores genetic information.

  27. By understanding DNA, we can study genetics on a molecular level.

  28. KEY CONCEPTUnderstanding biology can help you make informed decisions.

  29. Your health and the health of the environment depend on your knowledge of biology. • Knowledge of biology helps you understand your health. • food allergies • effects of obesity • cancer • effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs

  30. Knowledge of biology can help you understand environmental issues. • interactions in ecosystems • pollution • biodiversity

  31. Questions about the use of biotechnology: • safety of genetically modified crops • spread of undesirable genes • decrease in biodiversity • ethical considerations

  32. capsid nucleic acid lipid envelope surface proteins • There are still many questions to answer in biology. • How are memories stored in the brain? • How do viruses mutate? • Does life exist on planets other than Earth?

More Related