Chapter 1 - Introduction to Biology
(Concepts and Methods in Biology)
Characteristics of living things
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contain hereditary information
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grow and reproduce
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are capable of changing over time
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are highly organized
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require energy
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sense and respond to the environment
Nature of inheritance
- DNA
- DNA to protein
- development
- mutations
Biological Organization
- cell is the smallest living unit
- subatomic particles to biosphere
Acquiring and Consuming Energy
- definition of energy
- interdependency among organisms
- producers, consumers, decomposers
- one-way flow of energy, but nutrients cycle
- acquiring energy - photosynthesis
- consuming energy - cellular respiration
Sense and respond to the environment
- feedback systems
- homeostasis - def.
Unity and Diversity
Nature of biological inquiry
- it's a process
- make an observation
- make a testable, falsifiable hypothesis
- make a prediction
- test the prediction
- objectively examine results and make a conclusion
- theory - def.
© Carol L. Wymer, 2003