Intro to Biology Big Ideas: Scientific Theory is well supported All Living things have certain characteristics in common Organisms are organized/classified based on evolutionary relationships Themes of biology repeated through year

Do Now: What are your thoughts on life?  What is life?  What components make up a living thing?  What do living things need to survive?  What is the opposite of life?  Where does life begin?  Where does life end?  Is it moral to take someone else’s life? (abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia)  How many lives does a living thing have?  Do you believe in reincarnation?  How do you know if you are living?  Is there life in outer space?  Do you believe in life after death?  Do you agree with altering the quality of life? (genetic engineering, pollution, medical technology)

Characteristics of Life Made of cells ◦ Unicellular or multicellular Reproduce ◦ Asexual or Sexual Based on genetic code (DNA) Grow & Develop Metabolism – the ability to obtain and use materials and energy via chemical reactions Respond to stimulus in the environment Homeostasis: maintain a stable internal environment Evolution - living things change over time in response to the environment

How is Life organized? Create a poster depicting organization of life Start at Atom  Biosphere Needs pictures, labels, and description at each level of organization

Living, nonliving, or dead? Some people avoid eating beef because they fear contracting mad cow disease, which is thought to be caused by a class of molecules called prions. These poorly understood molecules are a kind of protein that is able to infect the nervous system, eventually creating holes in brain tissue, leading to loss of mental and physical function and eventually to death. Prions are thought to spread their effects through the body like “falling dominoes”- by causing other normal molecules to mimic the prions shape and thus become infections prions themselves. Like a virus, prions can cause disease. A prion can multiply or reproduce itself by making other molecules mimic its shape and behavior. Prions can spread from one part of the body to another. Are prions alive? Why or why not?

Tree of Life Domain: Eukarya

Classification of Living things Over 1.5 million species identified Taxonomy system used to universally classify organisms Carolus Linnaeus developed binomial nomenclature Kingdom  Phylum  Class  Order  Family  Genus  Species Scientific Name: Genus & Species

Classification of Organisms Select any living or extinct organism Research its KPCOFGS (and cite sources) Title: Common Name and Scientific Name (written properly) Create a Poster showing other organisms in classification scheme

“Relativity of Wrong” Discussion Questions What does “relativity of wrong” mean? According to the author, is the theory that the Earth is flat wrong? What is the difference between scientific theory and everyday use of the word theory? What limits scientific theory? Describe the “nature of science”

The Nature of Science Question the world around us Gather data to explain observations Use explanations to make predictions Hypothesis must be testable Ongoing process Impacts society Scientific Theory: well tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations

Microscopy History: ◦ Anton von Leeuwenhoek – refined microscopes, discovered bacteria, and microscopic life in water ◦ Robert Hooke – looked at cork and coined term cell Important Factors: ◦ Magnification – enlarge image ◦ Resolution – clarity of image ◦ As magnification increases, resolution decreases Types: ◦ Compound Light Microscope ◦ Dissecting Light Microscope ◦ Electron Microscope  Scanning  Transmission

Calculating size of specimen Measure FOV in mm under low power Convert to micrometers (1mm = 1,000 µm) Estimate size of specimen under low power

Unifying Themes of Biology Interdependence Energy Flow Organization Information and Heredity Unity & Diversity of Life Evolution Structure and Function Homeostasis Science, Technology, and Society