Four Big Ideas

• Big Idea 1: the process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

• Big Idea 2: biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

• Big Idea 3: living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processess.

• Big Idea 4: biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organization

• Atoms

• Simple Molecules

• Macro-molecules

• Organelle

• Cells

• Tissues

• Organ• Organ System• Organism• Populations• Community• Ecosystems• Biosphere

Structure and Function

• Correlation of structure and function– Example

• Leaf of a plant– The thin, flat shape maximizes the capture of sunlight by

chloroplast.

Structure and Function

• Knowing the function of something provides insight into its structure and organization.– Example: Hummingbird’s body

• the unusual bone structure of a hummingbird’s wing allows the bird to rotate its wings in all directions,

– Enabling it to fly backwards and to hover while it feeds.

The Cell

• An organism’s basic unit of structure and function.

• The cell is the smallest unit of organization that can perform all required activities of life.

Properties of Life

• Order

• Reproduction

• Growth and Development

• Energy utilization

• Response to the environment

• Homeostasis

• Evolutionary adaptation

Life’s Processes Involve the Expression and Transmission of Genetic Infomation

• DNA Structure and Function– Double helix, monomers of nucleotides– 4 bases: A, C, G, T– Genes– Chromosomes

Evolution accounts for the unity and diversity of Life

• Domain

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• Species

Three Domains of Life

• Domain Bacteria– Prokaryotes, multiple kingdoms

Three Domains of Life

• Domain Archaea– Prokaryotes, multiple kingdoms,– Live in extreme environments

• Salty lakes, boiling hot springs, swamps, sewage

Three Domains of Life

• Domain Eukarya– Eukaryotes, – Kingdoms: Protista, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia

Evolution

• Descent with modification– Species have risen from succession of ancestors that

differed from them.

• Natural Selection– Mechanism of evolution

• Individuals have variation in their traits.

• Populations produce far more offspring than can survive to produce offspring of their own.

– Creates Competition

• Species are generally suited to their environment.

Biological InquiryForming & Testing Hypotheses

based on observations• Making Observations

– Careful and verifiable observation and analysis of data are the basis of scientific inquiry.

– Involve ours senses and tools that extend our senses.

– Data, both quantitative and qualitative, are recorded observations.

– Using inductive reasoning, generalizations can often be drawn from collections of observations.

Biological InquiryForming & Testing Hypotheses

based on observations• Forming and Testing Hypotheses

– Hypothesis is a tentative answer to a question or an explanation of observations,

• It leads to predictions that can be tested.

– Deductive reasoning uses “if….then” logic to proceed from the general to the specific.

• From a general hypothesis to specific predictions of results if the general premise is correct.

Experimental Control

• Controlled experiment– Compare an experimental group with a control

group.– They differ only in one factor.– Without the control group, the researches

would not be able to rule out other factors as causes of the affect seen in the experiment.

Biological InquiryForming & Testing Hypotheses

based on observations– In science, the ideal is to frame two or more

alternative hypotheses and design experiments to test each candidate explanation.

– A hypothesis cannot be proven true; the more attempts to falsify it that fail, however, the more a hypothesis gains credibility.

• Science seeks natural causes for natural phenomena; it does not address questions of the supernatural.

Biological InquiryForming & Testing Hypotheses

based on observations• Theories in Science

– A theory is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates many specific hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence.

– A theory can be modified or even rejected when results and new evidence no longer support it.