The Science of Biology

The Science Of Biology:

* Biology is the study of life

* Biology is formed by the concepts, principles and theories that allow people to understand the natural environment

* There is an order in the natural world

Biologists Study The Interactions Of Life:

* Living things do not exist in isolation: they all contribute to the fragile balance of nature

* Livings things depend on each other and nonliving things

Biologists Study The Diversity Of Life

Biologists Study The Interactions Of The Environment:

* The study of one species always involves the study of another species with which it interacts

Biologists Study Problems And Propose Solutions:

* Biological research can lead to advances in medical treatment and disease

* The study of biology will teach you how humans function and how we fit with the rest of the natural world

Characteristics Of Living Things:

* Sometimes nonliving things have characteristics of living things (i.e. fire)

* An organism is something possesses all of the characteristics of life

* All Organisms:

-have and orderly structure

-produce offspring

-grow and develop

-adjust to changes in the environment

Living Things Are Organized:

* All living things show an orderly structure (organization)

* All living things are

-filled with one or more cells

-contain the genetic material DNA (provides info needed to control the organisms life processes)

-are unified by cellular organization

Living Things Make More Living Things:

* Reproduction (the production of offspring) is the most obvious of all characteristics of life

* It is not essential for the survival of an organism to reproduce

* It is essential for the continuation of a species (group of organisms that can interbreed)

Living Things Change During Their Lives:

* Organisms begin as a single cell

* An increase in the amount of living material and the formation of new structures is growth

* Development is the changes your body undergoes in a lifetime

Living Things Adjust To Their Surroundings:

* Environment is your surroundings

* A condition that requires an organism to adjust is a stimulus

* A reaction to a stimulus is a response

* Adaptation is an important characteristic of a living thing

* Homeostasis is the regulation of an organisms internal environment to maintain conditions suitable for its survival

* Homeostasis occurs in all living things

* Organisms would die without the ability to make internal changes

* Energy is the ability to do work

* Energy makes it possible for all life processes to occur

Living Things Adapt And Evolve:

* An adaptation is anything that enables an organism to respond to a stimulus and better survive

* Adaptations are inherited

* Organisms with the most adaptations are the most likely to survive and reproduce

* Evolution is the gradual accumulation of adaptations

Observing And Hypothesizing

The Methods Biologists Use:

* Scientific methods are common steps that biologists use to gather information and answer questions

* Scientists often identify problems (questions to be answered)

The Question Of Brown Tree Snakes:

* Was accidentally introduced to the island of Guam in the 1940's

* Was rumored to be beneficial for the environment because it feeds on rats, mice, and other small rodents

* It was also hypothesized that it was responsible for the decrease in the bird population

* A hypothesis is an explanation for a question or a problem that can be formally tested

* A hypothesis is not a random guess

* Before a hypothesis is made some research is done

Experimenting:

* An experiment is a procedure that tests a hypothesis

What Is A Controlled Experiment?

* Control is the group in which all conditions are kept the same

* The experimental group is the test group, in which all conditions are kept the same except for the single condition being tested

Designing An Experiment:

* Independent variable is the condition that is changed because it is the only variable that affects the outcome of the experiment

* The dependent

variable is the condition that results from the change because any changes in it depends in changes made to the independent variable

* Controlled experiments are most often used in laboratories

* Non-controlled experiments are most often used in field work

Using