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Introduction: Biology Today
Chapter 1 Introduction: Biology Today
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What is Biology ? Derived from Greek words:
Life Study of Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. The study of biology encompasses a wide scale of size and a huge variety of life, both past and present. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 2
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Biology and Society: Biology All Around Us
We are living in a golden age of biology. Biology provides exciting breakthroughs changing our culture. Molecular biology is solving crimes and revealing ancestries. Ecology helps us address environmental issues such as the causes and consequences of global climate changes Neuroscience and evolutionary biology are reshaping psychology and sociology. Biology is the scientific study of life. Life is structured on a size scale ranging from the molecular to the global. Biology’s scope stretches across the enormous diversity of life on Earth. © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
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What is Life Life can not be explained in a simple, one-sentence definition Life is recognized by what living things do Life has properties and processes © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.
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The Properties of Life Order (Cells and organization)
Regulation and homeostasis Growth and development Energy utilization Response to environmental changes Reproduction Biological evolution
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a) Order: All living things exhibit complex but ordered organization, as seen in the structure of a pinecone. Figure 1.1ba b) Regulation: The environment outside an organism may change drastically, but the organism can adjust its internal environment, within limits. Figure 1.1bb Order: All living things exhibit complex but complex, ordered organization as seen in the structure of pinecone Regulation and Homeostasis One way that organisms can respond to environmental variation is to change themselves. The growth of thick fur in the winter time is an example. Living cells & organism regulate their cells and bodies, maintaining relatively stable internal condition (homeostasis). Most mammals and birds maintain constant body temperature in spite of changing environmental temperature whereas reptiles and amphibians tolerate a wider fluctuation in body temperature
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c) Growth and Development: Information carried by genes controls the pattern of growth and development. Figure 1.1bc d) Energy Utilization: Organisms take in energy and use to perform all of life’s activities. Figure 1.1bd (c) Growth and development Growth and development: growth produces more or larger cells, whereas development produces organisms with a defined set of characteristics – series of changes in the state of cells, tissues, organ or organism etc. An early stage chicken embryo is just a ball of cells that all look alike. But as it develops, all of the cells differentiate-some become muscles, some become bone, some become feathers, and so on. Energy processing. Living things must be able to convert energy from one form to another. Producers convert the energy from the sun into a form their cells can use. Plants, photosynthetic bacteria and many protists do this by photosynthesis. This is why plants form the base of any food web. Consumers depend on energy from the producers through cellular respiration. For example-butterflies get energy from plant nectar, birds get energy from eating butterflies, cats get energy from eating birds, and so on. During every transfer of chemical energy, some is lost as heat. Decomposers such as fungi, bacteria, and worms, feed on dead organisms, releasing energy that may be used by other organisms. Chemical nutrients continually cycle through an ecosystem. If cells cannot convert energy into a usable form, the cells will die. If enough cells die, the organism will die. Energy intake, conversion, and flow through the ecosystem are essential for survival.
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e) Response to the Environment: All organisms respond to environmental stimuli.
Figure 1.1be Response to the environment. For example, at this time of year in Houston, it is essential to be able to respond appropriately to heat. Some animals sweat, some pant, some hide from the sun, but they all have developed ways to adapt.
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f) Reproduction: Organisms reproduce their own kind.
g) Evolution: Reproduction underlies the capacity of populations to change (evolve) over time. Evolutionary change has been a central, unifying feature of life since life arose nearly 4 billion years ago. Figure 1.1bg Figure 1.1bf Reproduction: To sustain life over many generations, organisms must reproduce. All living things have DNA as their genetic material. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) provides instructions for constructing the body of an organism and for controlling how that body functions. Specific sequences of nitrogenous bases in DNA are called genes. Growth involves the reproduction of single cells. When a cell divides, it makes a copy of its DNA to pass down to the new cell that is produced. When an organism reproduces, it also must pass down its DNA. Regulation of cell division and genetic inheritance is important for all species. Biological evolution: populations of organisms change over the course of many generations. Evolution results in traits that promote survival and reproductive success. The appearance of katylid insect help them to camouflage with its surroundings and escapes from its predators. They survive to reproduce and if these traits are genetic, they will be passed down to the offspring, so that more individuals in the next generation will have them.
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Life at Its Many Levels Biologists explore life at levels ranging from the biosphere to the molecules that make up cells. Biosphere: consists of all the environments on Earth that support life. It takes many molecules to build a cell, many cells to make a tissue, multiple tissues to make an organ etc. At each new level, novel properties emerge, properties that were not part of the components of the preceding level. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We’ll take a closer look at two biological levels near opposite ends of the size scale: ecosystems and cells.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 10 9 7 8 Biosphere Ecosystems Communities Populations
Organisms 6 Organ Systems and Organs 10 Molecules and Atoms 9 Organelles 7 Tissues Atom Nucleus 8 Cells Figure 1.2-3
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1 Biosphere Figure 1.2a Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 1) 12
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2 3 13 Ecosystems Communities Figure 1.2b
Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 2) 13
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4 5 14 Populations Organisms Figure 1.2c
Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 3) 14
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6 15 Organ Systems and Organs Figure 1.2d
Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 4) 15
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7 Tissues Figure 1.2e Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 5) 16
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8 9 17 Nucleus Cells Organelles Figure 1.2f
Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 6) 17
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10 18 Atom Molecules and Atoms Figure 1.2g
Figure 1.2 Zooming in on life (part 7) 18
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Life at many levels Atoms Molecules and macromolecules Cells Tissues
Organs Organism Population Community Ecosystem Biosphere If you follow the figure in opposite direction, you can see the life’s hierarchy from molecules to the biosphere. At each new level, novel properties emerge, properties that were not part of the components of the preceding level. These are called Emergent Properties, the important theme of biology. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts capture the idea. The emergent properties of whole result from the specific arrangements and interactions of the component parts.
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Ecosystems Each organism interacts continuously with its environment.
Organisms interact continuously with the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) factors in the environment. All the living organisms in a specific area, along with all of the nonliving factors with which they interact, form an ecosystem. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 20
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Ecosystems The dynamics of any ecosystem depend on two main processes:
recycling of chemical nutrients and flow of energy. Within ecosystems nutrients are recycled but energy flows through. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 21
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Figure 1.3 Nutrient and energy flow in an ecosystem
Outflow of heat energy Inflow of light energy Consumers (animals) Chemical energy (food) Producers (plants and other photosynthetic organisms) Decomposers (in soil) Cycling of nutrients Figure 1.3 Nutrient and energy flow in an ecosystem Figure 1.3 Nutrient and energy flow in an ecosystem Life does not exist in vacuum. Each organism interacts continuously with its environments which include other organisms and nonliving factors. Example, tree. Nutrients are recycled within an ecosystem, whereas energy flows through ecosystem (the actions of decomposers ensures that nutrients are recycled within an ecosystem) In contrast to recycling nutrients, an ecosystem gains and loses energy constantly. 22
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Cells and Their DNA Cells are the lowest level of structure that can perform all activities required for life. All organisms are composed of cells. Cells are the subunits that make up multicellular organisms such as humans and trees. All cells share many characteristics. All cells are enclosed by a membrane that regulates the passage of materials between the cell and its surroundings. Every cell uses DNA as its genetic information. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Now, come back to the lowest level of biological organization, the cell which has a special place in the hierarchy – it is the level at which the properties of life emerge, the lowest level of structure that can perform all activities required for life. 23
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The prokaryotic cell is simpler and smaller and contains NO MEMBRANES around the nucleus or organelles. Bacteria have prokaryotic cells.
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Cells and Their DNA We can distinguish two major types of cells:
The prokaryotic cell is simpler and usually smaller and characteristic of bacteria. The eukaryotic cell is larger, more complex, and subdivided by internal membranes into different functional compartments called organelles and contains MEMBRANE-ENCLOSED nucleus and the nucleus is the largest organelle in most eukaryotic cells found in plants and animals. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 25
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Cells and Their DNA We can distinguish two major types of cells:
The prokaryotic cell is simpler and usually smaller and characteristic of bacteria. The eukaryotic cell is larger, more complex, and contains MEMBRANE-ENCLOSED nucleus and organelles. The nucleus is the largest organelle in most eukaryotic cells. subdivided by internal membranes into different functional compartments called organelles and found in plants and animals. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 26
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Two main kinds of cells: prokaryotic and eukaryotic
Prokaryotic cell (bacterium) Eukaryotic cell • Smaller Simpler structure DNA concentrated in nucleoid region, which is not enclosed by membrane Lacks most organelles Organelles • Larger More complex structure Nucleus enclosed by membrane Contains many types of organelles Nucleoid region Nucleus Colorized TEM Figure 1.4 Figure 1.4 Two main kinds of cells: prokaryotic and eukaryotic 27
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The language of DNA All cells use DNA as the chemical material of genes. Genes are the units of inheritance that transmit information from parents to offspring. The language of DNA is common to all organisms and contains just four letters A, G, C, T The entire book of genetic instructions that an organism inherits is called its genome. An average-sized gene may be hundreds or thousands of chemical “letters” long. The nucleus of each human cell packs a genome that is about 3 billion chemical letters long. Though very much different in structural complexity, both cells have much common at the molecular level. Most importantly, all cells use DNA as the chemical material of genes – the discrete units of hereditary information. Of course, bacteria and humans different genes, but that information is encoded in a chemical language common to all organism. Gene encodes the information in its specific sequences of nucleotides with 4 of its building blocks.
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29 The four chemical building blocks of DNA A DNA molecule Figure 1.5
Figure 1.5 The language of DNA 29
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DNA technology in the Drug Industry
Genetic engineering and biotechnology have allowed us to manipulate the DNA and genes of organisms. Bacteria can make insulin because a gene for insulin production was transplanted into their DNA. The bacteria can make insulin because a gene for human insulin production has been transplanted into their DNA. It is possible because biological information is written in the universal chemical language of DNA
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Life in Its Diverse Forms
Diversity is the hallmark of life. The diversity of known life includes 1.8 million species. Estimates of the total diversity range from 10 million to over 100 million species. This is a small sample of biological diversity. Estimates of total no of species range from million. New species are added to the list everyday.
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Grouping Species: The Basic Concept
Biodiversity can be beautiful but overwhelming. Taxonomy is the branch of biology that names and classifies species. It formalizes the hierarchical ordering of organisms. The three domains of life are Bacteria Archaea Eukarya Bacteria and Archaea (prokaryotic cells); Eukarya (eukaryotic cells). Biological diversity is complex but we tend to categorize them into smaller groups. Grouping species that are similar is quite natural for us.
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33 DOMAIN BACTERIA Kingdom Plantae DOMAIN ARCHAEA DOMAIN EUKARYA
Figure 1.8 DOMAIN BACTERIA Kingdom Plantae DOMAIN ARCHAEA Kingdom Fungi DOMAIN EUKARYA Kingdom Animalia Protists (multiple kingdoms) Figure 1.8 The three domains of life The Domain Archaea was recognized recently. 20th century, living things were classified as plant or an animal. 1950s and 1960s, this system failed to accommodate the fungi, protists, and bacteria. By the 1970s, a system of Five Kingdoms, fundamental distinction between the prokaryotic bacteria and the four eukaryotic kingdoms (plants, animals, fungi, & protists). Late 1970s the group Archaea was discovered by Dr. Carl Woese and colleagues at the University of Illinois while studying relationships among the prokaryotes using DNA sequences, found that there were two distinctly different groups. Archaea = Those "bacteria" that lived at high temperatures or produced methane clustered together as a group well away from the usual bacteria and the eukaryotes. Because of this vast difference in genetic makeup, Woese proposed that life be divided into three domains: Eukaryota, Eubacteria, and Archaebacteria. 33
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Bacteria and Archaea have prokaryotic cells
DOMAIN BACTERIA DOMAIN ARCHAEA Figure 1.8a Figure 1.8 The three domains of life (part 1) 34
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Domain Eukarya Eukarya includes Kingdom Plantae Kingdom Fungi
Kingdom Animalia Protists (multiple kingdoms) Protists are generally single celled. Most plants, fungi, and animals are multicellular Kingdom Plantae Kingdom Fungi Kingdom Animalia Protists multiple kingdoms LM
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Mode of Nutrition These three multicellular kingdoms are distinguished by how they obtain food. Plants produce their own sugars and other foods by photosynthesis. Fungi are mostly decomposers, digesting dead organisms. Animals obtain food by eating and digesting other organisms.
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Test Yourself Match the following description to its most likely domain and/or kingdom a. A foot-tall organism capable of producing its own food from sunlight Bacteria b. A microscopic, simple, nucleus-free organism found growing in a riverbed 2. Eukarya/Animalia c. An inch-tall organism growing on the forest floor that consumes material from dead leaves 3. Eukarya/fungi d. A thimble-sized organism that feeds on algae growing in a pond 4. Eukarya/Plantae
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Unity in the Diversity of Life
Diverse forms of life in diverse environments how, in adapting to their environments, organisms have developed different traits Underlying the diversity of life is a striking unity, especially at the lower levels of structure. For example, all life uses the genetic language of DNA. All life displays a common set of characteristics all organisms have the same types of DNA molecules many seemingly unrelated organisms share similar features Biological evolution accounts for this combination of unity and diversity. Underlying the diversity of life is a striking unity, especially at the lower levels of biological organization The universal genetic language
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EVOLUTION: BIOLOGY’S UNIFYING THEME
Life evolves. Each species is one twig of a branching tree of life extending back in time through ancestral species more and more remote. Species that are very similar, such as the brown bear and polar bear, share a more recent common ancestor. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 39
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polar bear and brown bear
Giant panda Spectacled bear Ancestral bear Sloth bear Sun bear Common ancestor of all modern bears American black bear Asiatic black bear Common ancestor of polar bear and brown bear Polar bear Brown bear 30 25 20 15 10 5 Millions of years ago Figure 1.10 This tree is based on both the fossil record and a comparison of DNA sequences among modern bears.
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The Darwinian View of Life
The evolutionary view of life came into focus in 1859 when Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species. Darwin’s book developed two main points: Descent with modification Natural selection The evolutionary view of life become popular after Darwin published his book, The origin of species. Darwin’s book developed two main points: Descent with modification: the diversity of bears is based on different modifications of a common ancestor from which all bears descended Natural selection: he proposed a mechanism for descent with modification and called this process, natural selection.
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Natural Selection Darwin was struck by the diversity of animals on the Galápagos Islands. He thought that adaptation to the environment and the origin of new species were closely related processes. As populations separated by a geographic barrier adapted to local environments, they became separate species. Darwin synthesized the theory of natural selection from two observations Darwin gathered important evidence for his theories during the world voyage. Darwin was struck by the diversity of animals on the Galápagos Islands. The finches in Galapagos Island probably descended from one type of ancestor and then, due to isolation and through chance, different climates and natural forces such as food availability and type, they evolved into thirteen different types of finches. He thought that adaptation to the environment and the origin of new species were closely related processes. Natural selection is, that the strongest survive and propagate and therefore increase the strength of the species.
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Darwin’s Inescapable Conclusion
Observation 1: Overproduction and competition Observation 2: Individual variation Conclusion: Unequal reproductive success It is this unequal reproductive success that Darwin called natural selection. The product is adaptation, the accumulation of favorable variation in a population over time Example, fur color in polar and brown bear Observation 1: Overproduction and competition Any population of a species has the potential to produce far more offspring than the environment can possibly support with available resources such as food and shelter. This overproduction leads to competition among the varying individuals of a population for these limited resources Observation 2: Individual variation No two individuals in a population are exactly alike. Individuals in a population of any species vary in many inherited traits. Example, polar and brown bears, as closely related as they are, ech display an evolutionary adaptation that resulted from natural selection operating in their respective environment. Conclusion : in the struggle for existence, those individuals with trait best suited to the local environment will, on average, have the greatest reproductive success. They will leave greatest number of surviving, fertile offspring.
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Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution
Enhances the reproductive success of individuals with beneficial traits 1 Population with varied inherited traits 2 Elimination of individuals with certain traits 3 Reproduction of survivors 4 Increasing frequency of traits that enhance survival and reproductive success Figure 1.12 Population with varied inherited traits: initally, the population varies extensively in the coloration of individual beetles, from very light gray to charcoal. Elimination of individuals with certain traits: for hungry birds that prey on the beetles, it is easiest to spot the lighter ones. Reproduction of survivors: The selective predation favors survival and reproductive success of the darker beetles. Thus, genes for dark color are passed along to the next generation in greater frequency than genes for light color. Increasing frequency of traits that enhance survival and reproductive success : Generation after generation, the beetle population adapts to its environment through natural selection
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Population with varied inherited traits. Initially, the pop
Population with varied inherited traits. Initially, the pop. varies extensively in the coloration of ind. beetles, from light gray to charcoal. Elimination of individuals with certain traits. For hungry birds that prey on beetles, it is easiest to spot the beetles that are lightest in color. Reproduction of survivors. The selective predation favors survival and reproduction success of the darker beetles. Thus, genes for the dark color are passed along to next gen. in greater frequency. Increasing frequency of traits that enhance survival and reproductive success. Generation after gen., the beetles pop. adapts to its environment through natural selection. Figure 1.12
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Observing Artificial Selection
Artificial selection is the selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals by humans. In artificial selection, humans do the selecting instead of the environment. a Vegetables descended from wild mustard Cabbage from terminal bud Brussels sprouts from lateral buds Kohlrabi from stem Kale from leaves Broccoli from flower and stems Cauliflower from flower clusters Wild mustard In artificial selection humans were substituting for the environment in screening the heritable traits of populations. The humans customized crop plants through many generations of artificial selection by selecting different parts of the plant to accentuate as food.
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(b) Domesticated dogs descended from wolves Gray wolves
Figure 1.13b The power of selective breeding is apparent in our pets, which have been bred for fancy and for utility.
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THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE The word science is derived from Latin verb meaning “to know.” Science is a way of knowing. Science developed from people’s curiosity about themselves and the world around them. Discovery Science Enables us to describe life at its many levels. Verifiable observations and measurements are the data of discovery science. Discovery science can lead to important conclusions based on a type of logic called inductive reasoning. An inductive conclusion is a generalization that summarizes many concurrent observations. Example all organisms are made of cells all organisms are made of cells – this induction was based on 2 centuries of biologists discovering cells in every biological specimen they observed with mocroscope.
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Figure 1.14a Figure 1.14 Careful observation and measurement: the raw data for discovery science (part 1) Figure 1.14 Careful observation and measurement: the raw data for discovery science (part 2) 49
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Hypothesis-Driven Science
The scientific method consists of a series of steps. The key element of the scientific method is hypothesis- driven science. A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a set of observations—an idea on trial. Once a hypothesis is formed, an investigator can use deductive logic to test it. In deduction, the reasoning flows from general to specific. In the process of science, the deduction usually takes the form of predictions about experimental results. Then the hypothesis is tested by performing an experiment to see whether results are as predicted. This deductive reasoning takes the form of “If…then” logic. The observation of discovery science stimulates us to ask questions and seek explanations. Such investigation make use of what is called the scientific method
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Applying the scientific method to a common problem
Observation The remote doesn’t work. Hypothesis The batteries are dead. Prediction With new batteries, it will work. Question What’s wrong? Figure Figure 1.15 Applying the scientific method to a common problem (step 1) 51
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52 Observation The remote doesn’t work. Hypothesis The batteries
are dead. Prediction With new batteries, it will work. Question What’s wrong? Experiment Replace batteries. Experiment supports hypothesis; make more predictions and test. Figure Figure 1.15 Applying the scientific method to a common problem (step 2) 52
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53 Experiment does not support hypothesis. Revise. Observation
The remote doesn’t work. Hypothesis The batteries are dead. Prediction With new batteries, it will work. Question What’s wrong? Experiment Replace batteries. Experiment supports hypothesis; make more predictions and test. Figure Figure 1.15 Applying the scientific method to a common problem (step 3) 53
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Test Yourself If you are sitting in HCCS cafeteria and watching how many students are eating pizza or burger during lunch time, what kind of science are you performing? If you come up with a tentative explanation for their dietary behavior and then test your idea, what kind of science you are performing?
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The Process of Science: Are Trans Fats Bad for You?
Case study is an in-depth examination of an actual investigation. Dietary fat comes in different forms. Trans fat is a non-natural form produced through manufacturing processes. Trans fat Adds texture Increases shelf life Is inexpensive to prepare A study of 120,000 female nurses found that high levels of trans fat nearly doubled the risk of heart disease. © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. One way to better understand how the process of science can be applied to real-world problems is to examine a case study
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The Process of Science: Are Trans Fats Bad for You?
A hypothesis-driven study published in 2004 Started with the observation that human body fat (adipose tissue) retains traces of consumed dietary fat. Asked the question: Would the adipose tissue of heart attack patients be different from a similar group of healthy patients? Formed the hypothesis that it would be predicted that healthy patients’ body fat would contain less trans fat than the body fat in heart attack victims.
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The Process of Science: Are Trans Fats Bad for You?
The researchers set up an experiment to determine the amounts of fat in the adipose tissue of 79 patients who had a heart attack. They compared these patients to the data for 167 patients who had not had a heart attack. This is an example of a controlled experiment, in which the control and experimental groups differ only in one variable—the occurrence of a heart attack. The results showed significantly higher levels of trans fat in the bodies of the heart attack patients.
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Trans fats in adipose tissue (g trans fat per 100 g total fat)
2.0 1.77 1.48 1.5 Trans fats in adipose tissue (g trans fat per 100 g total fat) 1.0 0.5 Heart attack patients Control group Figure 1.16 Figure 1.16 Levels of trans fats
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Theories in Science What is a scientific theory, and how is it different from a hypothesis? A theory is much broader in scope than a hypothesis. Theories only become widely accepted in science if they are supported by an accumulation of extensive and varied evidence. For example Hypothesis: “white fur is an evolutionary adaptation that helps polar bears survive in an arctic habitat”. Theory: “Adaptations evolve by natural selection”
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The Culture of Science Scientists build on what has been learned from earlier research. They pay close attention to contemporary scientists working on the same problem. Cooperation and competition characterize the scientific culture. Scientists check the conclusions of others by attempting to repeat experiments. Scientists are generally skeptics. Science has two key features that distinguish it from other forms of inquiry. Science depends on observations and measurements that others can verify and requires that ideas (hypotheses) are testable by experiments that others can repeat. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 60
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Science, Technology, and Society
Science and technology are interdependent. New technologies advance science. Scientific discoveries lead to new technologies. For example, the discovery of the structure of DNA about 60 years ago led to a variety of DNA technologies. Technology has improved our standard of living in many ways, but it is a double-edged sword. Technology that keeps people healthier has enabled the human population to double to 7 billion in just the past 40 years. The environmental consequences of this population growth may be devastating. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 61
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Evolution Connection: Evolution in Our Everyday Lives
Antibiotics are drugs that help cure bacterial infections. When an antibiotic is taken, most bacteria are typically killed. Those bacteria most naturally resistant to the drug can still survive. Those few resistant bacteria can soon multiply and become the norm and not the exception. The evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a huge problem in public health. Antibiotics are being used more selectively. Many farmers are reducing the use of antibiotics in animal feed. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 62
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Evolution Connection: Evolution in Our Everyday Lives
It is important to note that the adaptation of bacteria to an environment containing an antibiotic does not mean that the drug created the antibiotic resistance. Instead, the environment screened the heritable variations that already existed among the existing bacteria. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. 63
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