AP Bio: Notes on Nature of Science and The Chemistry of Life (Chap 1-3, 6)

FOUR BIG IDEAS:

1. The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
2. Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to
reproduce and maintain dynamic homeostasis.
3. Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to
life processes.
4. Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess
complex properties.

BIOLOGY = Study of living organisms
Organization of Life: (p 3 Textbook)
Moving up the hierarchy, each Levels build on EMERGENT PROPERTIES = properties
based on interactions between the individual parts!!
[diagram]



What are the general characteristics shared by ALL living organisms?
Organization Levels of Life (CELL = basic unit of ALL life)
Acquire materials & Energy
Energy = capacity to do work (cause chemical reactions to occur)
NOTE: Ultimate source of ALL ENERGY ON EARTH comes from Sun
Metabolism = chemical reactions that take place in cell
Maintain HOMEOSTASIS physiological factors (like temperature, moisture levels, pH,
etc.) must remain within the tolerance range of organism - biological balance
Respond to the environment (and other living things)
Reproduce & Develop genes contain specific codes for information on how an
organism is to be ordered, then genes are passed on to next generation
Have Adaptations modifications that make an organism better able to function in a
particular environment --- EVOLUTION = populations of organism change over the
course of many generations to become more suited to the environment
NOTE: Changing environment, changing characteristics of organism
PROJECT:
11 x 14 poster
board for each
Idea- together
What is the relationship between evolutionary change and the study of biology?
TAXONOMY = organizes the diversity
SYSTEMATICS = study of evolutionary relationships between organism
Levels of Classification: DOMAIN } Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
(p 6 & 7 Textbook) KINGDOM } Bacteria, Archaea, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia

PHYLUM
CLASS
ORDER
FAMILY
GENUS
SPECIES

Charles Darwin = common descent with modification} as the descent occurs from
ancestors, so do modifications that cause organisms adapted to their environment




[Examples from Survival of the Sickest]
Living organisms with advantages traits can produce more offspring than those that lack
them- in this way living organisms change over time changes are passed on from generation
to the next over long periods of time, the introduction of newer, more advantageous traits
into a population may drastically reshape a species creating biodiversity
BIODIVERSITY = the total number and relative abundance of species, the variability of their
genes, and the different ecosystems in which they live
Scientific Name = binomial nomenclature
EX: Homo sapiens or H. sapiens or
Homo sp. (italics, or underline)
PROKARYOTES
EUKARYOTES
NATURAL SELECTION
(the process that made modification or
adaptation possible - can be abiotic or biotic
factors of environment))

Our planet is estimated at ~ 15 million species with less than 2 million being identified
and named!!!
MOST DIVERSE ECOSYSTEM = Tropical Rain Forest and coral reefs
EXTINCTION = death of a species or larger classification category

How do scientists use scientific method to study living organism?
Branches of BIOLOGY
CYTOLOGY = study of cells
ANATOMY = study of structure
PHYSIOLOGY = study of function
BOTANY = study of plants
ZOOLOGY = study of animals
GENETICS = study of heredity
ECOLOGY = study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment
branches of Biology
SCIENTIFIC METHOD: (scientific process)
1. OBSERVATION = new observations are made and previous data studied; a formal way of
seeing what happens
2. HYPOTHESIS = input from various sources is used to formulate a testable statement (or
question); uses INDUCTIVE REASONING (occurs when a person uses creative thinking to
combine isolated facts into a cohesive whole
3. EXPERIMENTS, OBSERVATIONS, and DATA = the hypothesis is tested by experiment or
further observations; uses DEDUCTIVE REASONING (involves if, then logic)
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:
o Experimental variable (independent variable) =examining
the contribution of a specific variable; factor of the
experiment being tested
o Responding variable (dependent variable) = result or
change that occurs due to the experimental variable
o Control group = not exposed to the environmental variable
o Test group = exposed to the environmental variable
o Model = a representation of the actual object
o Data = results of an experiment
o Standard Deviation = statistical analysis that is a measure
of how much the data in the experiment varies
4. CONCLUSION = the results are analyzed, and the hypothesis is supported or rejected;
does the data support or reject the hypothesis
5. SCIENTIFIC THEORY = concepts that join together well-supported and related hypothesis
[p 12 in Textbook - some basic theories in Biology]


REVIEWING CHAP 1: pg 18-19 # 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, #1-12
Multiple Choice & #13-15