Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life

Topics, Concepts, and Themes Topics are the subject areas Concepts are the most important ideas that form our current understanding of a particular topic Themes are an overarching feature that applies throughout the curriculum

Topics (as we discuss in AP Biology) Molecules and cells Heredity and evolution Organisms and populations

Concepts, some examples Water: How do the unique chemical and physical properties of water make life on the earth possible Membranes: How do variations in the structure of the cell membrane account for functional differences? How do the structures of DNA and RNA relate to their functions?

Major Themes (as we discuss in AP Biology) Science as a Process Evolution Energy Transfer Continuity and Change Relationship of Structure to Function Regulation Interdependence in Nature Science, Technology, and Society

Course Topics Chemistry of Life Cells Cellular Energetics Heredity Molecular Genetics Evolutionary Biology Diversity of Organisms Structure and Function of Plants and Animals Ecology

Biological Systems System: has properties that are based on the arrangement and interactions of its parts Examples: cells, organisms, and ecosystems Hierarchies illustrate emergent properties of systems Reductionism: seeks to find mechanisms, not reasons, for observed phenomena, assumes biological systems can be understood in terms of physical laws

Grouping Species: The Basic Idea Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

What is Science? Science: to know Limited to falsifiable and testable hypotheses Experimental results must be repeatable Utilizes modeling to represent ideas Discovery science: describes natural phenomena Hypothesis-based science attempts to seek natural causes and explanations of observations.

Evolution: Fact and Theory Fact: it occurs Theory: how it occurs What is a theory? 1. Much broader than a hypothesis! 2. General enough to lead to new, testable hypotheses 3. Supported by a massive body of evidence

Online Labs for AP Biology: APBioLabs/course/index.html APBioLabs/course/index.html gy_place/labbench/ gy_place/labbench/ Videos and Websites