Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life

Properties of Life (Figure 8.1.3): Order: highly ordered structure that classifies life (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, etc.) Evolutionary Adaptation: adaptations that evolve over many generations by the reproductive success of those individuals with heritable traits that are best suited to their   environments (ex. ability camouflage) Response to the Environment: response to environmental stimulus (Venus fly trap closing its trap rapidly by the landing of a fly) Regulation: regulation of the body (ex regulation of blood flow, regulation of body temperature, etc.) Energy Processing: the ability to convert food into fuel, using chemical energy stored in the food in order for the organism to function Growth and Development: inherited information carried by gene controls the patter of growth and development of organisms. Reproduction: the ability to reproduce their own kind/offspring. Concept 1.1 Theme Connect the Concepts of Biology Evolution is the overarching theme of biology; the scientific explanation for unity in diversity       Evolution: the idea that the organisms living on Earth today are the modified descendants of common ancestors       Descendants from a common ancestor -> heritable changes have occurred along the way Theme 2: New properties emerge at each level in the biological hierarchy       Emergent Properties: novel properties that emerge at each step, properties that are not present at the preceding level; these properties are due to the arrangement and       interactions of parts as complexity increases.        Reductionism: the reduction of complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study       Systems Biology: to construct models for the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems; used to predict change in one or more variables and how it will affect other         components; relevant to the study of life at all levels       Goal for biologist when studying biology is to maintain a balance btwn reductionism and systems biology to figure out stuff.       All of this can be applied when looking at levels of biological organization (Figure 8.1.4)                1. Biosphere: Earth                2. Ecosystems: consists of all the living things in a particular area, with their nonliving components as well (ex. air, water, soil, etc.)                3. Communities: the entire array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem                4. Populations: consists of all individuals of a species living within the bounds of a specified area                5. Organisms: individuals living things                6. Organ and Organ Systems: groups of similar tissue and organs                7. Tissues: groups of similar cells                8. Cells: life's fundamental unit of structure and function                9. Organelles: parts of a cell                10. Molecules: chemical structure which consist of 2 or more atoms Theme 3: Organisms interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy       Each organism interacts with their environment in one of 2 ways: ecosystem dynamics and energy conversion       Ecosystem Dynamics involves 2 major processes: cycling of nutrients and the one-way flow of energy from sunlight to producers to consumers (Figure 8.1.5)

      The exchange of energy between an organism an its surrounding often involves the transformation of one form of energy to another (ex. leaves absorb light energy and convert it into chemical energy stored in sugar molecules)       Some of the energy is converted to thermal energy, which dissipates to the surroundings (indicated by the red arrows).       Thus, energy flows through an ecosystem, usually entering as light and exiting as heat.  Theme 4: Structure and function are correlated at all levels of biological organization Theme 5: Cells are an organism's basic units of structure and function       Cells are placed in the lowest level of organization and perform all activities required for life, such as cell division (mitosis and meiosis)       There are 2 main forms of cells: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic 

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