1. Welcome to Biology!

2. What is Biology? It is the study of life. Branch of science
A way of understanding nature.
A human endeavor
An attempt to understand, explain, integrate and describe the world of living things.

3. What is Biology? It includes: Zoology: Study of animals
Botany: Study of plants
Microbiology: Study of microscopic life
Ecology: Study of the relationships between life and the environment
Genetics: The study of how living things reproduce and pass on their genes
Biochemistry: Study of the chemistry of life.

4. Characteristics of Life
Cellular composition
Growth
Reproduction
Movement
Adaptation
Metabolism
Specific organization
Homeostasis
Responsiveness

5. Cellular Composition Made up of at least one cell
Unicellular - made of one cell (bacteria, amoeba, paramecium)
Multicellular - made up of two or more cells (plants, fungi, animals)

6. Growth
Increase in cell size (unicellular) and/or an increase in cell number (multicellular)

7. Reproduction
Asexual- cell division (mitosis)—one cell becomes two Ex: bacteria
Sexual- union of sex cells (sperm and egg) Ex: plants and animals

8. Movement 3 types: Place to Place- (ex: bear running, bird flying, etc)
External Part- (ex: + phototropism, plants orient leaves toward sun)
Internal- (ex: cytoplasmic streaming)

9. Adaptation Changing to meet the needs of the environment Examples:
1. Bird migration- behavioral adaptation

10. Adaptation (continued)
Human body temperature- Physiological adaptation
Hibernation- physiological adaptation
Hare ear length (desert vs. arctic hares)- structural adaptation

11. Metabolism
Set of chemical reactions that convert “food” into energy

12. Specific Organization
Certain parts do specific jobs (ex: heart, nucleus, chloroplasts, etc)

13. Homeostasis Maintaining the same state Homeo = same, steady
Stasis = state
Examples:
-Water balance inside and outside of cell
-Human body temperature
*Cells function best when these are in balance

14. Responsiveness Reaction(s) to various stimuli
Examples of stimuli: light, heat, pH, vibration, smell, etc.– earthworms respond to all of these

15. How is Biology studied?
Insert F01-06

16. Scientific Method Begins with observations about our surroundings.
Next, ask questions about the phenomena we are observing.

17. Scientific Method Followed by generating a hypothesis.
Tentative explanation to the question.

18. Scientific Method Testing
Scientists perform tests to determine the accuracy of their hypothesis.

19. Scientific Method Explanation
It is a hypothesis that has passed the widest and most comprehensive series of tests.
Still subject to review and consideration.
May be elevated to a theory = well demonstrated principle.