What is Biology?

The Science of Biology BBiology: study of life CCan you study a single species? No: organisms do not live alone in their environment. When you study one organism you encounter the organisms it interacts with. WWhy study biology? A true biologist studies the science for the pleasure of learning. Others study it to learn how to help nature or to help people.

Characteristics of Life  Organism:  Organism: any thing that possesses all the characteristics of life 1. Have an orderly structure: living things are composed of cells, which can organize into complex tissues. 2. Produce Offspring: living things mate and produce more of themselves Species: Species: A group of organisms that can interbred to produce fertile offspring.

Characteristics of Life 3. Grow and Develop: living things get larger and change during their life 4. Adjust to changes in the environment Environment: Environment: an organism’s surroundings, including air, water, temperature, and other organisms. Short Term Changes: responding to stimulus in the environment (if you are hungry, you eat) Long Term Changes: organisms adapt to their environment.

Other Important Vocabulary  Stimulus:  Stimulus: Anything in an organism’s external or internal environment that causes the organism to react  Response:  Response: A reaction to a stimulus  Homeostasis:  Homeostasis: regulation of an organism’s internal environment to maintain conditions suitable for its survival  Adaptation:  Adaptation: any inherited structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to environmental factors and live to produce offspring  Evolution:  Evolution: The gradual change in a species through adaptations over time

Beginning Biology Words Vocabulary #1 Write each word and define. 1. Adaptation11. sexual reproduction 2. Biology 12. asexual reproduction 3. Development13. response 4. Energy14. species 5. Environment15. stimulus 6. Growth16. control 7. Homeostasis17. data 8. Organism18. dependent variable 9. Organization19. experiment 10. reproduction 20. independent variable

Beginning Biology Vocabulary #1 21. Scientific method31. cell 22. Theory32. tissue 23. Ethics33. organs 24. Technology34. organ system 25. Louis Pasteur35. diversity 26. Franciso Redi36. biotechnology 27. Spontaneous generation 28. Biogenesis 29. Biotic 30. abiotic