What is Biology

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What is Biology?

• The study of life

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Biology is Relevant

• Global problems are often Biological Problems
• Medicine
• Bioengineering
• Environment

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Biology can be Controversial

• If I choose to limit my family size, what methods
  of birth control do I use?
• Is it right to protect an endangered species at
  the expense of jobs?
• Is it ethical to use fetal tissue in biomedical
  research?
• Are there dangers in cloning humans?
• Are irradiated foods safe to eat?

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What is Life?

• Give your own definition

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Living Organisms

• Are highly organized, complex entities
• are composed of one or more cells
• contain a blueprint of their characteristics
• acquire and use energy
• carry out and control numerous chemical reactions
• produce offspring similar to themselves
• respond to changes in the environment
• may evolve into new types of organisms

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• Inanimate objects may possess some of these
  characteristics, but not all of them.

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Biology is a Branch of Science

• Biology, physics, chemistry, geology, etc. are
  branches of science
• All branches
• pursuit of information
• bodies of knowledge
• have unique features/attributes

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Study of Life Has Unique Questions

• Question 1 What happens when you push a
  stationary ball?
• Question 2 What happens when you push a
  sleeping dog?

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• Physical sciences are deterministic
• Action A leads to Response B
• Biology is probabilistic
• Action A leads to Response B, C, D or E
  with each having W, X, Y and Z probabilities of
  occurring

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Disciplines of Biology

• The disciplines of biology are all interrelated
  and should not be viewed as separate, independent
  entities.

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Key Course Concept

• The living world is a hierarchy, with each level
  of biological structure building on the level
  below it.

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Hierarchy of Life
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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection

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T. Dobzhansky (geneticist)

• Nothing in biology makes sense
• except in the light of evolution

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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Gregor Mendels experiments leading to the
  discovery of hereditary factors (genes)

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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Cell Theory

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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Cell Theory
• Biological Classification
• Carolus Linnaeus system of nomenclture
• Scientific names unique to a species
• Hierarchical system based on relatedness

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Italicized Scientific Name
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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Cell Theory
• Biological Classification
• Bioenergetics
• energy that powers life
• operates under same rules that govern energy in
  the inanimate universe

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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Cell Theory
• Biological Classification
• Bioenergetics
• Homeostasis
• organisms function best under narrow range of
  conditions
• maintain stable internal conditions
• allows organism to live in a wider range of
  conditions

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Major Theories of Biology

• Evolution by Natural Selection
• Inheritance
• Biological Classification
• Bioenergetics
• Homeostasis
• Ecosystem
• organisms interact with each other and their
  environment
• Entangled Bank

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How is Biology/Science Studied?

• Observation
• Questioning
• Hypothesis
• Testing
• Explanation
• These topics comprise the Scientific Method

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Observation

• Seeing and recognizing something that is of
  interest, concern, or a curiosity

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Questioning

• Asking why does this happen, how does this
  work, etc.
• Is it a testable question?
• If yes, then it is a question that fits the
  scientific method

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Testing

• Develop a study or experiment that will test the
  hypothesis
• Should have sound experimental design
• Should be repeatable

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Explanation

• Interpretation of findings
• Was the hypothesis rejected?
• How do findings relate to those of others?
• What is the significance of the findings?

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Hypothesis

• A preliminary answer
• previous experience
• published information
• best guess
• A hypothesis does not have to be correct
• Scientific investigation attempts to falsify a
  hypothesis

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Report Your Findings!!!!

• Graphically
• Numerically
• Written
• Orally