1. Biology: The Study of LifeCHAPTER 1 1

2.  Biology = the study of life  Interactions of Life  Living things do not exist isolated from other living things.  Living things interact with other living and non-living things within their environment. 2

3. Biologists study the diversity of life…  Learning about the world of living things in our environment…  Biologists study the interactions of the environment.  Since no living thing exists in isolation, we must study their interactions with other living things and non-living components in their environment.  Population of rabbits: what they eat, and what eats them  Humans? What are our interactions within our environments? 3

4. Biologists study problems and propose solutions.  Water pollution  Air pollution  Over-fishing  Deforestation  Acidity of our water  Illness  Etc... 4

5. All living things:  Have an orderly structure  Produce offspring  Grow and develop  Adjust to changes in the environment 5

6. Living things are organized.  Orderly structure = organization  1+ cells  Each cell contains the genetic material (DNA), which provides all the information necessary to control the life processes of an organism.  Living things are unified in having cellular organization.  All of the parts of a cell, whether single cell, or multi-cell, function together in an orderly, living system. 6

7. Living things make more living things.  Reproduction = the production of offspring  Organisms do not live forever.  For life to continue, they must replace themselves.  Reproduction is not essential for the survival of an individual organism, but it is essential for the continuation of the organism’s species.  A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring in nature.  If a species did not reproduce, it would mean the end to that species’ existence on Earth. 7

8.  Living things change during their lives.  An organism’s life begins as a single cell.  Over time, it grows and takes on the characteristics of its species.  Growth = increase in the amount of living material and the formation of new structures  Development = all of the changes that take place during the life of an organism  Embryo – baby – toddler – child – adolescent – teenager – adult 8

9.  Organisms live in a constant interface with their environment.  The environment includes other living things, and also non-living things, such as:  Air  Water  Earth  Weather  Temperature  Etc… 9

10.  Stimulus = anything in an organism’s external or internal environment that causes the organism to react  Response = is a reaction to a stimulus  i.e., The fox responds to the presence of a rabbit (the stimulus) by quietly moving toward it.  If the rabbit spots the fox (now the fox is the stimulus), the rabbit will respond by hopping away… very quickly. 10

11. Homeostasis = regulation of an organism’s internal environment to maintain suitable conditions for its survival  Water/mineral content within their cells  Blood pressure  Internal temperature  pH  Without the ability to adjust to internal changes, an organism would die. 11

12.  Living things reproduce themselves, grow & develop, respond to external stimuli, and maintain homeostasis by using energy.  Energy = is the ability to cause change.  Organisms get their energy from food.  Plants make their own food.  Animals, fungi, other organisms get their food from plants or other organisms that consume plants. 12

13. Living things adapt and evolve.  Adaptation = any inherited structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to environmental factors and live to reproduce  Adaptations are inherited from previous generations.  There are some differences in the adaptations of individuals within a population of organisms. 13

14.  As an environment changes, some adaptations are better suited to the new conditions than others.  Organisms with better suited adaptations are more likely to survive and reproduce.  Individuals with these adaptations become more numerous in the population. 14

15. Evolution = gradual change in a species through adaptations over time Clues to the diversity of life may be understood by the study of evolution. 15