Chapter 1

1)      Characteristics of Life

a)      Living things are organized

i)        Atoms>Cells>Tissues>Organs>Organ Systems>Organisms>Populations>Communities>Ecosystems> and the Biosphere

b)      Living things acquire materials and energy

i)        Energy (E) is the capacity to do work, it takes work to maintain the organization of organisms

ii)       The ultimate source of E for all life is the SUN

iii)     Metabolism

iv)     Photosynthesis

v)      Homeostasis: maintaining a state of biological balance.

(1)   This is regulated through feedback mechanisms

c)      Living things respond

i)        Living things interact with then environment as well as with other living things.

ii)       movement

iii)     survival

d)      Living things reproduce and develop

i)        Sexual

ii)       Asexual

e)      Living things have adaptations

i)        Adapations: Modifications that make organisms suited to their way of life.

(1)   Natural Selection: the process of organisms becoming modified over time

(2)   Species: group of interbreeding individuals

(3)   Evolution: descent with modification over time.

2)      Organization of Biosphere

a)      Ecology: study of the the interactions living organisms with one another and with their physical environment`

b)      Biosphere: zone of air, land, and water at the surface of the Earth where organisms exist.

c)      Ecosystem: biological community together with the associated abiotic environment; characterized by a flow of energy and a cycling of inorganic nutrients.

d)      Community:  populations interacting with one another within the same environment

e)      Population: groups of organisms of the same species occupying a certain area and sharing a common gene pool.

f)        Species: groups of similarly constructed organisms that are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring; organisms that share a common gene pool.

3)      Classification of Living Things

a)      Taxonomy:  the discipline of identifying and classifying organisms according to certain rules.

b)      Categories

i)        Domain : 3 domains.

(1)   Bacteria :

(2)   Archaea:

(3)   Eukarya:

ii)       Kingdom: Domain Eukarya has four kingdoms

(1)   Protists ex. Algae, the protozoans, and water molds

(2)   Fungi: mushroom

(3)   Plants

(4)   Animals

iii)     Phylum

iv)     Class

v)      Order

vi)     Family

vii)   Genus :  The scientific name of an organism is the Genus and species names put together

viii)  Species

4)      The process of Science

a)      Scientific Method

i)        Observation

ii)       Hypothesis

iii)     Test Hypothesis

iv)     Analyze data

v)      Conclusion

b)      Scientific Theory

c)      Controlled Studies

i)        General

(a)    Most common type of investigation. 

(b)   All groups get the same treatment

(c)    Ensure that the result is due to the experimental (independent) variable, which is the factor that is being tested.

(i)      Experimental (independent) variable, which is the factor that is being tested.

(ii)    Responding (dependent) variable is the result or change that occurred in due to the experimental variable.

d)      Field Studies

i)        Rely heavily on observation