Fundamentals of Biology Mrs. Young

1. Fundamentals of BiologyMrs. Young • Welcome to B101 • Please take a syllabus and an index card • On the front of the card write your Last name, first name • Underneath your name write cellphone number and email where you can be reached if necessary, major (if decided), year in school, sport if you play one here at TWC, and what hobbies/ subjects you are interested in • Then read your syllabus until class begins

2. Favorite Class • Take a couple of minutes to describe for me (on the back of your index card) your favorite class and why you liked it

3. Mrs. Young • Office Fisher 105 • 252-1116 • cyoung@twcnet.edu • cyoung.athens@yahoo.com • Webpage www.twcnet.edu/cyoung

4. Background • M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics University of Louisville, Louisville, KY • Research at University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Neurology • Studied treatment of epileptic seizures in an animal model • Participated in multicenter drug trial for antiepileptic medication

5. Taught at Univ. of Louisville • Taught at Brown Mackie College in Cincinnati • Teaching at TWC: A and P I and II (B155, B156) Environmental Science (B102) Fundamentals of Biology (B101) Fundamentals of Microbiology (B165) Many other Biology and Chemistry labs

6. Syllabus • Please read this syllabus completely • Keep it in your notebook for reference throughout the semester.

7. What it will take to succeed You will need to read your textbook, take notes, pay attention in class, do assignments (which includes answering questions in the textbook), study until you understand and can answer questions on the material, attend lab, do lab work, and prepare for lab quizzes…. Whew! That sounds like an awful lot of work!

8. Why so much work? • We learn only 10% of what we read, and 20% of what we hear • We have to do moreto learn more • In biology we are going to be covering some complex topics: for example we will start with a quick review of basic and organic chemistry, move into cell biology, and then go into enzymes, respiration, and photosynthesis. These topics cannot be learned well by simply listening to lectures.

9. Memory Tip • Memory researcher Robert Bjork “The typical college student spends far too much time reading and underlining and far too little time summarizing, paraphrasing, and testing his or her ability to retrieve what has been studied” • Inputting and encoding vs retrieval and outputting of information • Testing has to do with retrieval and outputting of information so don’t forget this important step when you are studying

10. Some tips • Bring textbook to class • Always bring your lab book to lab unless otherwise specified! • Take notes; rework them after class to clear up anything that is unclear. Look at a classmates notes as well as your own. Have a study buddy. Get their phone number so you will have someone to call if you have to miss class. • Power points will be posted on my website before the exam; www.twcnet.edu/cyoung. Take advantage of this resource

11. Learning Styles • Visual Learners: draw diagrams and chart concepts • Auditory Learners: listen to lecture tapes • Kinesthetic or Tactile Learners: learn from models and specimens, learn by doing

12. Chapter 1 Lecture Outline See PowerPoint Image Slides for all figures and tables pre-inserted into PowerPoint without notes.

13. Chapter 1 Assignment 1) List the parts of the scientific method in order and describe each 2) Discuss how the birdsong experiment we discussed in class exemplifies the scientific method in terms of the first 4 steps. 3) Define independent variable vs dependent variable • Inductive reasoning vs deductive reasoning • List 5 characteristics of living things

14. Why a Study of Biology is Important • 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

15. So then, what is biology? • Biology is the science that deals with life. • What is science? • A process used to solve problems and understand natural events • Involves the scientific method

16. Basic Assumptions in Science • Scientists approach their work with some basic assumptions: • Natural events have specific causes. • The causes for events in nature 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.

17. Scientists Look for Cause and Effect Relationships • Events that happen simultaneously are correlated, but • may or may not have a cause and effect relationship. • Events have a cause and effect relationship • when one event happens as a direct result of a preceding event.

18. *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.

19. Components of the Scientific Method • Observation • Questioning and exploration • Forming and testing hypotheses • Evaluation of new information • Review by peers

20. Scientific Method • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZaCy5Z87FA

21. *Scientific Method Identify question Form testable hypothesis Consult prior Collect data to test hypothesis If hypothesis is knowledgerejected Interpret results Report for peer review Publish findings

22. Observation, Questioning and Exploration • Anobservationis 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.

23. Constructing Hypotheses • Once the question is asked, scientists propose answers. • These answers are hypotheses. • Hypotheses must: • be logical • account for all current information • be testable • make the least possible assumptions

24. Testing Hypotheses • Hypotheses need to be tested to see if they are supported or disproved. • Disproved hypotheses are rejected or modified. • 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

25. 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 two groups. • Experimental group: variable is altered • Control group: variable is not altered

26. Experimental Design • The variable that is altered is called the independent variable. (What we are changing) • 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. (What we are measuring) • Data from the experiment is analyzed and hypotheses are rejected and revised or supported.

27. *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: • Independent variable: • Dependent variable: • Data: • Conclusion:

28. *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. Why do surgery on these birds? • 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.

29. 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.

30. *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

31. 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. (IGA) • 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.

32. Scientific Communication • Data is shared with the scientific community through research articles published in scientific journals. • These articles are scrutinized by other scientists before they are published. • Scientists present preliminary data at conferences. • Scientists collaborate

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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.

38. The Science of Biology • Biology is the study of living things. • Theoretical biology • Evolutionary biology, animal behavior, biochemistry • Applied biology • Medicine, crop science, plant breeding, wildlife management

39. What makes something alive?

40. *What makes something alive? • Living things can manipulate energy and matter.

41. *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.

42. Characteristics of Living Things • Responsive processes • Organisms react to changes in their environment. • Irritability: the ability to recognize that something in its surroundings has changed (a stimulus) and respond to it quickly. • Individual adaptation: a longer term response to an environmental change. • Evolution: changes in a population over time.

43. 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.

44. *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.

45. 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.

46. The Significance of Biology in our Lives • 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