Chapter 1 - Themes In Biology

Question 0

What is a cell?

Answer 0

The basic building blocks of all living things.

Question 1

What is biology?

Answer 1

The study of life; a multidisciplinary science that can be unified by fundamental themes.

Question 2

What are emergent properties?

Answer 2

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life as a result of interactions between components.

Question 3

What are examples of emergent properties of a water molecule?

Answer 3

1. Cohesion & adhesion
2. Temperature moderation
3. Freezing.
4. Polarity.

Question 5

List the levels of biological organization in order from biggest to smallest.

Answer 5

The biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Organ and organ system 
Tissues
Cells
Organelles
Molecules
Atoms

Question 6

What is holism?

Answer 6

The principle that a higher level of order cannot be explained by examining the component parts in isolation.

Question 7

What is systems biology?

Answer 7

Attempts to address the complexity of living things by modeling the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems through the study of interactions among the system parts. “Big picture system”

Question 8

What are some properties of life?

Answer 8

Order, regulation, energy processing, reproduction, growth and development, response to the environment, evolutionary adaptation

Question 9

What is reductionism?

Answer 9

The approach of reducing complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study.

Question 10

Biologists must balance what 2 things when studying the complexity of life?

Answer 10

The reductionist strategy with the larger scale, holistic objective of understanding emergent properties.

Question 11

What is the ultimate aim of systems biology?

Answer 11

Answer large scale questions such as, “how might a gradual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide alter ecosystems and the entire biosphere?”

Question 12

What do interactions between biotic and abiotic organisms result in?

Answer 12

Cycling of nutrients

Question 13

What is an example of a consequence of human interactions with the environment?

Answer 13

Global climate change

Question 14

In the process of energy flow in an environment, what happens to some of the energy?

Answer 14

Energy is converted to thermal energy, which dissipates to the surroundings as heat. Energy usually enters an ecosystem as light and exists as heat.

Question 15

What are the common characteristics of cells?

Answer 15

• encoded by a membrane

- uses DNA as it’s genetic information

Question 16

Compare and contrast the two groups of cells.

Answer 16

Prokaryotic (before nucleus):

• domain: bacteria & archaea
• kingdom: bacteria & archaea
• no membrane bound nuceleus
• no membrane bound organelles
• least complex
• generally smaller

Eukaryotic (true nucleus)

• domain: eukarya
• kingdoms: Protista, plantae, fungi, animalia
• membrane bound nucleus
• membrane bound organelles
• most complex
• generally larger

Question 17

What is a nucleotide?

Answer 17

The building block of a Nucleic acid that consists of a nitrogenous base, a phosphate molecule and a sugar molecule. Thousands of nucleotides are linked to form a DNA and RNA molecule.

Question 18

What is a gene?

Answer 18

Unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA

Question 19

What is a genome?

Answer 19

The entire “library” of genetic instructions that an organism inherits.

Question 20

What is gene expression?

Answer 20

The process where DNA is transcribed into RNA and then translated into a gene product or polypeptide.

Question 21

The differences between organisms is a reflection on what?

Answer 21

Differences in their nucleotide sequence, rather than between their genetic codes.

Question 22

How does DNA ensure inheritance of genetic information from generation to generation?

Answer 22

By carrying the instructions for making proteins and RNAs and by replicating with each cell division.

Question 23

What is the genetic code?

Answer 23

How information contained in DNA is interpreted or translated into polypeptides.

Question 24

What is genomics?

Answer 24

Study of genomes. Researching whole sets of genes of a species as well as comparing genomes between species.

Question 25

What are the 3 important research developments that made the genomic approach possible?

Answer 25

1) “high-throughput” technology, tools that analyze materials rapidly and produce enormous amounts of data. Eg. DNA sequencing machine
2) bioinformatics- the use of computational tools to store, organize and analyze huge data volume that result from high-throughput methods.
3) research teams of diverse specialists.

Question 26

What are the two processes of biological self regulation and give an example of each.

Answer 26

Negative feedback- output or end product slows the process. Eg. Excess ATP from sugar sends feedback to stop producing.

Positive feedback- output of end product accelerates the process. Eg. Clotting of blood in response to injury.

Question 27

What is the core theme of biology?

Answer 27

Evolution.

Question 28

What are the 3 domains of classification based on characterization of 16rRNA from prokaryotes and 18s rRNA from eukaryotes.

Answer 28

Bacteria. Archaea, and Eukarya.

Question 29

What are the 8 classification levels in the “Linnaean” system?

Answer 29

Species>genus>family>order>class>phylum>kingdom>domain

Question 30

How does the evolutionary theory explain the diversity AND similarity of all life?

Answer 30

Natural section and genetic change.

Question 31

What are the 3 kingdoms of multicellular eukaryotes that the domain Eukarya includes?

Answer 31

Plantae, fungi, animalia.

Question 32

What is taxonomy?

Answer 32

The branch of biology concerned with naming and classification of organisms.

Question 33

What is systematics?

Answer 33

The study if biodiversity in an evolutionary context.

Question 34

What are the two main points of the origin of species?

Answer 34

1) species change, and contemporary species arise from a succession of ancestors trough a process of “descent with modification.”
2) a mechanism of evolutionary change is natural selection.

Question 35

How does Darwin’s “descent with modification” capture the duality of life’s unity and diversity?

Answer 35

Similarities between two species may be a reflection of their descent from a common ancestor.

Differences between species may be a result of natural selection modifying the ancestral equipment in different environmental contexts.

Question 36

What 3 observations from nature did Darwin develop his theory of natural selection?

Answer 36

1) individuals in a population vary in their traits, many seem to be heritable.
2) a population can produce far more offspring than can survive to produce offspring of their own.
3) individuals with traits best suited to their environment leave a larger number of offspring, which increases the proportion of inheritable variations in the next generation.

Question 37

What mechanism of evolutionary adaptation did Charles Darwin call “natural selection”?

Answer 37

Mechanism of evolutionary change:
Natural environment “selects” certain traits among variations. Over generations, a higher proportion of individuals will have the advantageous traits.

Question 38

What is the product of natural selection?

Answer 38

Adaptation to the environment.

Question 39

In the Five Kingdom system, deviled by Robert Whittaker, what are the five kingdoms?

Answer 39

Miners, Protista, plantae, fungi, animalia

Question 40

Carl Woese proposed that Monera was composed of 2 groups to become the Six Kingdom System. What are the 2 groups of Monera?

Answer 40

Archaebacteria- inhabiting extreme environments such as hot springs and salt ponds and anaerobic conditions.

Eubacteria- most prokaryotes.

Question 41

What is the current taxonomic scheme?

Answer 41

Three domain system.

Question 42

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 42

Collecting and analyzing observations and then draw conclusions or generalizations.

Question 43

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 43

Involves an “if… then” logic. Flashlight example.

Question 44

What is the key ingredient of the scientific process?

Answer 44

Hypothetical-deductive method:

1) asking a question and formulating a tentative answer or hypothesis by inductive reasoning.
2) using deductive reasoning to make predictions from the hypothesis and then testing the validity of those predictions.

Question 45

What are the components of a hypothesis?

Answer 45

1) must be testable by making observations or performing experiements
2) must be some observation/experiment that could reveal such an idea to be false
3) depend on observations and measurements others can verify(reproducible)
4) not confirmed with absolute certainty

Question 46

What is a control group/experimental group/variable?

Answer 46

Control group- group that provides basis for comlarison

Experimental group- one with factor varied

Variable- condition of experiment that is subject to change, may influence outcome of experience

Question 47

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

Answer 47

A theory is an idea that is widely accepted, proven.

A hypothesis is a proposal that is to be tested and proven until it becomes a theory.