UNIT 1. Introduction to Biology: Themes, COncepts

Biology is the science that studies life. What exactly is life? This may sound like a silly question with an obvious answer,
but it is not easy to define life. For example, a branch of biology called virology studies viruses, which exhibit some of the
characteristics of living entities but lack others. It turns out that although viruses can attack living organisms, cause diseases,
and even reproduce, they do not meet the criteria that biologists use to define life

1. INTRODUCTION
TO BIOLOGY
April Joy A. Fabella
College of Agriculture, Forestry, And Environmental Science
Romblon State University

2. Lesson Objectives
01 Identify and describe the properties of life.
02
Describe the levels of organization
among living things.
03
Understand the process of scientific
inquiry.
04
Compare inductive reasoning with
deductive reasoning.
05
Describe the goals of basic science and
applied science.

3. Themes and Concepts
of Biology
01
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4. WHAT IS LIFE?
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5. 1.1 Properties of Life
Order
•Organisms are highly organized structures that
consist of one or more cells.
Sensitivity
•Organisms respond to diverse stimuli.
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6. 1.1 Properties of Life
Reproduction
•Organisms can grow and reproduce
independently.
Adaptation
•Organisms adapt to their environment.
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7. 1.1 Properties of Life
Growth and Development
•Organisms grow and develop consistent with the
instructions coded for by their genes.
Regulation
•Organisms exhibit multiple regulatory
mechanisms to coordinate internal functions.
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8. 1.1 Properties of Life
Homeostasis
•Organisms has the ability to maintain
constant internal conditions.
Energy Processing
•Organisms use a source of energy for their
metabolic activities.
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9. 1.2 Levels of Organization of Living Things
Atom Molecule Organelles Cells Tissue Organs
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10. 1.2 Levels of Organization of Living Things
Organ
Systems
Organisms PopulationCommunity Ecosystem Biosphere
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11. 1.3 The Diversity of Life
Evolution -the process of gradual change during which new
species arise from older species. (Charles Darwin)
Carl Linnaeus (18
th
century)
●first proposed organizing the known species of organisms
into a hierarchical taxonomy.
●proposed binomial nomenclature.
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12. CAFES -Romblon State University

13. 1.3 The Diversity of Life
Carl Woese
●proposed the domainas a new taxonomic level.
●Constructed phylogenetic tree
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DOMAIN
Bacteria
(Eubacteria)
Archaea
(Archaebacteria)
Eukarya

14. CAFES -Romblon State University
Phylogenetic Tree
-diagram showing
the evolutionary
relationships among
biological species
based on genetic
and/or physical
traits.

15. 1.4 Branches of Biological Study
•Molecular biology-studies biological processes at the
molecular level.
•Microbiology-study of the structure and function of
microorganisms.
•Neurobiology-studies the biology of the nervous system.
•Paleontology-study life’s history using fossils.
•Zoology–study of animals.
•Botany–study of plants.
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16. THE PROCESS OF
SCIENCE
02
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17. 2.1 The Nature of Science
●Scientific method -method of research with
defined steps.
●Hypothesis -suggested explanation for an
event.
●Scientific theory -accepted, thoroughly
tested and confirmed explanation for a set of
observations or phenomena.
●Scientific laws-describe how elements of
nature will behave under certain specific
conditions.

18. 2.1 The Nature of Science
Natural Sciences
●fields of science related to the physical world and its
phenomena and processes.
●Life sciences–studies that focuses on living things.
●Physical sciences-studies nonliving matter.
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19. 2.1 The Nature of Science
Scientific Inquiry
●Inductive reasoning-uses results to
produce general scientific principles.
●Deductive reasoning-predicts results by
applying general principles.
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20. 2.2 Hypothesis Testing
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Scientific method
•Sir Francis Bacon–first
to document the scientific
method.
•A hypothesismust be
testableand falsifiable.
•Experiment includes one
or more variables and
controls.

21. 2.3 Basic and Applied Science
Basic Science -seeks to expand knowledge
regardless of the short-term application of that
knowledge.
Applied Science -aims to use science
to solve real-world problems.
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22. THANK YOU!
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