Biology I HonorsIntroduction and Module 1

Question?

How does Science view the world today?

Question??

What are some specific scientific discoveries that have been made in your lifetime?

In My Lifetime…

Vaccines

Walk on the Moon

Shuttle Missions

DNA Evidence

Brain Surgery for epilepsy and Parkinson’s Disease

Question??

Is science always correct? Why or why not?

How does science change?

Humm…

“Science makes predictions, not promises”

What does that statement mean to you?

4 Criteria of Life

1. All life forms contains DNA – made of one or more cells and displays organization

Made of one or more cells and displays organization

4 Criteria of Life

2. All life forms have a method by which they extract energy from the surroundings and convert it into energy that sustains them

Maintains homeostasis

4 Criteria of Life

3. All life forms can sense changes in their surroundings and respond to those changes

4 Criteria of Life

4. All life forms reproduce

What is Metabolism?

The sum total of all processes in an organization which convert energy and matter from outside sources and use energy from the surroundings to sustain the organism’s life functions

In Other Words…

Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism, the chemical reactions in the body’s cells that convert the fuel from food into the energy needed to do everything from moving to thinking to growing.

Metabolism

Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism, and each chemical reaction is coordinated with other body functions.

In fact, thousands of metabolic reactions happen at the same time – all regulated by the body – to keep our cells healthy and working.

This words hand in hand with homeostasis!

How Metabolism Works in Humans

3. When people eat the plants, they take in this energy along with other vital cell-building chemicals

4. The body breaks down the sugar so that energy can be released and used as fuel by the body’s cells

1. Plants take energy from sunlight

2. The plant uses energy and the molecule chlorophyll to build sugars from water and carbon dioxide in a process known as photosynthesis

#1 Category of Metabolism

Anabolism: or constructive metabolism.

All about building and storing

Supports the growth of new cells

Maintains body tissue

Storage of energy for future use

#2 Category of Metabolism

Catabolism or destructive metabolism

Produces energy required for all activity in the cells

Breaks down large molecules (carbs and fats) to release energy

That energy release provides fuel for anabolism, heats the body and enables the muscles to contact and the body to move

What is a Producer?

Organisms that produce its own food

Name some producers

What is a Consumer?

Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food

Name some consumers

What is a Decomposer?

Organisms that break down the dead remains of other organisms

Name some decomposers

What do they eat?

Herbivores: Organisms that eat only plants

Carnivores: Organisms that eat only organisms other than plants

Omnivores: Organisms that eat both plants and other organisms

Quick Lab

1. Each table will work as a team

2. You must first decide who is a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore

3. Use the following information to construct a food web or food chain in a meadow ecosystem

Who eats what?? Circle of Life

Red Fox

Raccoon

Grasshopper

Red Clover

Crayfish

Meadow Vole

Green Algae

Gray Squirrel

White Oak Tree

Detritus

Answers – were you correct?

Herbivores: Grey squirrels, grasshoppers, meadow voles, crayfish

Carnivores: None

Omnivores: Raccoons, red fox

Answers – were you correct??

1. Red foxes feed on raccoons, crayfish, red clover, grasshoppers, meadow voles and gray squirrels

2. Red clover is eaten by grasshoppers, meadow voles, and foxes

3. White Oak Tree is eaten by meadow voles, gray squirrels, and raccoons

4. Crayfish feed on green algae and detritus – then red foxes and meadow voles eat them

What if??

Question: How would the meadow voles be affected if disease kills the white oak trees?

Answer

Removing the white oak tree from the system would force other animals, such as the raccoons or foxes, to eat the red clover, so there would be less clover for the meadow voles to eat.

Living, Non-Living, or Dead

Define “Living”

Webster’s Dictionary Definition: Having life, active, functioning, full of vigor

Living, Non-Living, or Dead

Define “Non-Living”

Webster’s Dictionary Definition: “Non” – not :  other than :  reverse of :  absence of : of little or no consequence :  unimportant :  worthless

Living: Having life, active, functioning, full of vigor

Living, Non-Living, or Dead

Define “Dead”

Webster’s Dictionary Definition: no longer alive or living; no longer having life; not able to feel or move; very tired

Mini Lab

1. Partner with one other person

2. Look at the handouts you have been given

3. Decide which is Living, Non-Living, or Dead and WHY

Did you get it correct?

1. Potted Plant – Living

2. Baker’s Yeast – Living

3. Pupa – Living

4. Glass of water – Non-living, though it may have living things in it and it gives life (we cannot live without water)

Did you get it correct??

5. Pumpkin Seeds – Living

6. Turtle Shell – Non-living

7. Cut Hair - Dead

8. Cut Fingernails – Dead

9. Tea Leaves - Dead

Did you get it correct??

10. Chicken Sandwich – Dead

11. Rubber Band – Dead -Dead is the condition these objects enter when they are no longer alive. So, to be dead an object must once have been living.

12. Tree with no leaves in winter – Living

Did you get it correct??

13. Book – Dead

14. Rock – Non-living – Non-living is the condition of never being alive. Non-living could refer to inorganic matter. Rocks, for example are non-living. They are not dead, because they were never alive (as a rock, but they may contain chemicals that were once part of a living organism).

Sensing Changes in the Environment

Receptor: Special structures that allow organisms to sense the conditions of their internal or external environment

How to plants respond to stimuli?

How do animals respond to stimuli?

How to humans respond to stimuli?

All Life Forms Reproduce

Asexual Reproduction: Reproduction accomplished by a single organism

Sexual Reproduction: Reproduction that required two organisms

Inheritance: The process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from the parent (or parents) to the offspring

All Life Forms Reproduce

Mutation: An abrupt and marked change in the DNA of an organism compared to that of its parents

Example: Donkeys and horses mate = mule

However, adult mules cannot produce offspring

Scientific Method

Hypothesis

How do you “word” a hypothesis?

Is this a hypothesis?

If I keep a plant from getting any sunlight, it will die.

Answer

No, it is a prediction

A prediction is a guess as to what might happen based on observation

Predictions

Predictions may be:

It is raining outside and the sun is also out. One could predict that they see a rainbow.

A student is studying for a final exam and predicts he/she will receive an “A” on the exam.

A child has a fever and a sore throat. One may predict they they have strep throat.

Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a possible explanation for an observation or problem that can further be tested by experimentation.

A Hypothesis is an educated guess.

Hypothesis

How can you reword the prediction about the plant to make it a hypothesis?

“If I keep a plant from getting any sunlight, it will die.”

Answer

If sunlight is necessary to the survival of a plant, then when a plant is deprived of sunlight, it will die.”

The hypothesis implies a question to be answered.