UNIT 1: Evolution, the Themes of Biology, and Scientific Inquiry

Question 1

What are the 5 unifying themes in Biology?

Answer 1

1. Organization
2. Information
3. Energy & Matter
4. Interactions
5. Evolution

Question 2

Can life be defined?

Answer 2

No, it can only be characterized.

Question 3

Features of living things

Answer 3

1. contain nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids
2. composed of cells
3. reproduce
4. use energy/raw materials and conduct metabolic activities
5. respond to the environment
6. maintain homeostasis
7. evolutionary adaptation

Question 4

List the organizational groups of life from most to least complex

Answer 4

1. the biosphere
2. ecosystems
3. communities
4. populations
5. organisms
6. organs
7. tissues
8. cells
9. organelles
10. molecules

Question 5

define biosphere

Answer 5

entire portion of earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems

Question 6

define ecosystem

Answer 6

all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact aka one or more communities and the physical environment around them

Question 7

define communities

Answer 7

all the organisms that inhabit a particular area aka an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction

Question 8

define populations

Answer 8

a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring

Question 9

define organisms

Answer 9

individual living things

Question 10

define organs & organ systems

Answer 10

a group of organs that work together in performing vital body functions

Question 11

define tissues

Answer 11

an integrated group of cells with a common structure, function, or both

Question 12

define cells

Answer 12

Life’s fundamental unit of structure and function

Question 13

define organelles

Answer 13

any of several membrane-enclosed structures with specialized functions suspended in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells

Question 14

define molecules

Answer 14

2 or more atoms held together by covalent bonds

Question 15

define reductionism

Answer 15

scientific approach that reduced complex systems to simple components that are manageable to study

Question 16

define emergent properties

Answer 16

opposite direction of reductionism, new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of
life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

Question 17

The reductionist approach studies the _____ components of the living system.

Answer 17

isolated

Question 18

To explore emergent properties, biologists complement reductionism with _____ _____.

Answer 18

systems biology

Question 19

define systems biology

Answer 19

analysis of the interactions among the parts of a biological system, can be used to study life at all levels

Question 20

At each level of biological hierarchy, we find a correlation between _____ and _____.

Answer 20

STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

Question 21

Cell theory states that all living organisms are made from cells, therefore…

Answer 21

if something is not made from at least one cell then it is not alive, and all living things expire

Question 22

The cells of bacteria and archaea are ____, while all other forms of life are composed of _____ cells.

Answer 22

PROKARYOTIC, EUKARYOTIC

Question 23

define eukaryotic cell

Answer 23

has membrane enclosed organelles, the larges of which is usually the nucleus

Question 24

define prokaryotic cell

Answer 24

simpler, smaller, typically does not contain a nucleus or other membrane enclosed organelles and instead have a nucleoid region.

Question 25

define the prefix “pro”

Answer 25

first/before, so it is believed that pro evolved into eu

Question 26

define the prefix “eu” and “kar”

Answer 26

“true” and “kernel” therefore the true nucleus = eukaryote

Question 27

Genes are units of _____.

Answer 27

inheritance

Question 28

Genes encode information for building the _____ synthesized within the cell. Genes are instructions for the creation of _____.

Answer 28

MOLECULES, PROTEINS