Biology

 It is the science of life. Biologists study the structure, function,

growth, origin, evolution and distribution of living organisms.
 Its name is derived from the Greek words "bios" (life) and "logos"
(study) and is defined as the science of living organisms.
 An organism is a living entity consisting of one cell (e.g. bacteria), or several cells (e.g. animals,
plants and fungi). Aspects of biological science range from the study of molecular mechanisms in
cells, to the classification and behavior of organisms, how species evolve and interaction between
ecosystems. There are certain concepts governing research and study making it diverse fields.
 The cell is recognized as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, while evolution
deals with creation of species and their synthesis.

Branches of Biology
• Aerobiology is the study of airborne organic particles.

• Agriculture is the study of producing crops and raising livestock.

• Anatomy is the study of the internal structures of living things.

• Bacteriology is the study of bacteria.

• Biochemistry is the use of chemistry in the study of living things.

• Bioengineering is the study of living things through the means of engineering.

• Biogeography is the study of the geographical distribution of living things.

• Bioinformatics is the use of information technology for the study, collection, and storage of genomic and other
biological data.

• Biomechanics is the study of the mechanics of living beings.

• Biological Earth Sciences are the use of earth sciences, such as geography, in the study of living things.

• Biomathematics is the application of math to the study of living things.

• Biomedical research is the study of health and disease.

• Biomusicology is the study of music from a biological perspective.

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• Biophysics is application of physics to the study of living things.

• Biological Psychology is the application of biology to the study of the human mind.

• Biosemiotics is the study of biological processes through semiotics, by applying the models of meaning-making
and communication.

• Botany is the study of plants.

• Building biology is the study of the indoor living environment.

• Cell biology is the study of the cell as a complete unit.

• Cognitive biology is the study of cognition as a biological function.

• Conservation biology is the study of preservation, restoration, and protection of the natural environment.

• Cryobiology is the study of lower than normally preferred temperatures on living beings.

• Cytology is the study of cells.

• Developmental biology is the study of the processes through which an organism forms.

• Ecology is the study of the relationships of living things to each other and to the environment.

• Embryology is the study of the formation and development of living things from fertilization to birth as
independent organisms.

• Endocrinology is the study of hormones.

• Entomology is the study of insects.

• Environmental biology is the study of the natural world especially as affected by human activity.

• Epidemiology is the study of the health of populations.

• Evolutionary biology is the study of the origin and descent of species over time.

• Genetics is the study of heredity and the lifelong development of living things.

• Histology is the study of tissues.

• Helminthology is the study of worms.

• Hematology is the study of blood and blood-forming organs.

• Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians.

• Ichthyology is the study of fish.

• Integrative biology is the study of whole organisms.

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• Lichenology is the study of lichen.

• Limnology is the study of inland waters.

• Mammology is the study of mammals.

• Marine biology is the study of ocean ecosystems.

• Microbiology is the study of microrganisms.

• Molecular biology is the study of biological functions at the molecular level.

• Mycology is the study of fungi.

• Nanobiology is the study of biological functions at the nanoscale.

• Ornithology is the study of birds.

• Paleontology is the study of fossils.

• Pathology is the study of diseases, generally in animals.

• Pharmacology is the study of the actions of chemicals on and within living things.

• Phyology is the study of algae.

• Physiology is the study of the normal functions of living things.

• Phytogeography is the study of the land and its plants.

• Phytopathology is the study of diseases in plants.

• Population biology is the study of groups of species.

• Protozoology is the study of one-celled organisms.

• Psychobiology is the study of the biological bases of psychology.

• Quantum biology is the study of quantum mechanics on biological functions.

• Sociobiology is the study of the biological bases of sociology.

• Structural biology is the study of the molecular structure of biological macromolecules.

• Taxonomy is the study of the classification and naming of living things.

• Virology is the study of viruses.

• Zoology is the study of animals.

• Zoogeography is the study of the land and its animals.

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Some Famous Biologists and their works
 Aristotle - was the first to person to recognize the relationships between species and organize
accordingly known as the Ladder of Life
 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - well known for his contributions to microscopy. He revolutionized a
technique for creating powerful lenses, which some speculate were able to magnify up to 500 times. He
is known as the father of microbiology. Leeuwenhoek used the microscopes to find out more about the
living world – his discoveries include bacteria, the vacuole of the cell, and the banded pattern of muscle
fibers.
 Robert Hooke - Hooke had an extraordinary ability to manipulate microscopes, and when applying
this ability to looking closely at a thin slice of cork observed empty spaces contained with walls -
terming them cells.
 Carl Linnaeus - Linnaeus came up with the system of naming, ranking, and classifying organisms that
we still use today. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy.
 Gregor Mendel - Mendel used peas to discover and demonstrate the laws of genetic inheritance,
coining the terms dominant and recessive genes in the process. He is the founder of modern genetics.
 Watson and Crick – Famous for discovering the structure of DNA. Their model of DNA (double helix)
explains how DNA replicates and how hereditary info is coded and passed on. The discovery of
structure has led to a much more developed understanding of function – used in disease diagnosis and
treatment, forensics, etc.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

 Abiotic factors refer to non-living physical and chemical elements in the ecosystem.
 (e.g. Water, sunlight, air)

 Biotic factors are living or once-living

organisms in the ecosystem.
 (e.g. Plants, animals)

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Levels of Organization in an Ecosystem
 Organism – An individual animal or plant.
 Species – Defined as the largest group of
organisms
 Population – A group of organisms of one
specie that interbreed and live at the same place
 Society – Group of organisms involved in
persistent social interaction
 Community – An interacting group of
various species in the same location.
 Ecosystem – An interacting biological
community by their organisms and environment
.

Autotrophs & Heterotrophs

 Autotrophs - Most autotrophs transform sunlight to make food, we call the process they use photosynthesis.
Only three groups of organisms - plants, algae, and some bacteria - are capable of this life-giving energy
transformation. Autotrophs make food for their own use, but they make enough to support other life as
well.
 Heterotrophs – Organisms that cannot make their own food, so they must eat or absorb it. For this reason,
heterotrophs are also known as consumers. For example, the bear above. ^^

Carnivores
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  Carnivores eat meat. Example; the Eagle.

Herbivores
 Herbivores are animals which only eat plant material. Example; Goats.

Omnivores
 Omnivores eat both plants and meat. Example; Wild Boars, Chickens.

Decomposers
 Decomposers can be referred to as nature’s recyclers because they help keep nutrients moving in food
webs. Example; Worms and Bacteria.

Habitat & Niche

 Niche is the role a species plays in the ecosystem.

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  Habitat is the physical area where a species lives.

Food Chain
 Is the sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism.

Food Web
 These are individual food chains intertwined together.

Energy Pyramid
 Used in quantifying the energy transfer from one organism to another along the food chain. Energy
decreases as you move through the trophic levels from the bottom to the top of the pyramid.

 This is an example of an Energy Pyramid.

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Keystone Species
 is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be
dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

Symbiotic Relationships
 Mutualism - occurs when both species benefit from the interaction. Because mutualism is beneficial to
both species involved
 Parasitism - an association between two different species where the parasite benefits and the host is
harmed.
 Commensalism - is an association between two different species where one species enjoys a benefit, and
the other is not significantly affected.
 Amensalism - is a relationship between organisms of different species in which one organism is inhibited
or destroyed while the other organism remains unaffected.
 Competition - individuals seek to obtain the same environmental resource.
 Predation - one population is the resource of the other.

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Parts of a Light Microscope

 Eyepiece - The lens the viewer looks through to see the specimen. The eyepiece usually contains a 10X or
15X power lens.
 Diopter Adjustment - Useful as a means to change focus on one eyepiece so as to correct for any
difference in vision between your two eyes.
 Body tube (Head) - The body tube connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses.
 Arm - The arm connects the body tube to the base of the microscope.
 Coarse adjustment - Brings the specimen into general focus.
 Fine adjustment - Fine tunes the focus and increases the detail of the specimen.
 Nosepiece - A rotating turret that houses the objective lenses. The viewer spins the nosepiece to select
different objective lenses.
 Objective lenses - One of the most important parts of a compound microscope, as they are the lenses
closest to the specimen.
 A standard microscope has three, four, or five objective lenses that range in power from 4X to 100X.
When focusing the microscope, be careful that the objective lens doesn’t touch the slide, as it could
break the slide and destroy the specimen.
 Specimen or slide - The specimen is the object being examined. Most specimens are mounted on slides,
flat rectangles of thin glass.

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  Stage - The flat platform where the slide is placed.
 Stage clips - Metal clips that hold the slide in place.
 Stage height adjustment (Stage Control) - These knobs move the stage left and right or up and down.
 Aperture - The hole in the middle of the stage that allows light from the illuminator to reach the specimen.
 On/off switch - This switch on the base of the microscope turns the illuminator off and on.
 Illumination - The light source for a microscope. Older microscopes used mirrors to reflect light from an
external source up through the bottom of the stage; however, most microscopes now use a low-voltage
bulb.
 Iris diaphragm - Adjusts the amount of light that reaches the specimen.
 Condenser - Gathers and focuses light from the illuminator onto the specimen being viewed.
 Base - The base supports the microscope and it’s where illuminator is located.

Parts of a Cell (Plant and Animal)

Cell Parts and Function

 Cell Membrane - controls all of the cells activities; controls which proteins are made

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  Nucleus - controls all of the cells activities; controls which proteins are made
 Cytoplasm - contains all the organelles outside of the nucleus
 Cytoskeleton - supports the cell and helps the cell keep its shape; also helps certain cells move
 Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) - moves materials (especially proteins) around the cell; acts like a conveyor
belt or passageway; is the cell’s transportation system.
 Ribosomes - to make protein; gets instructions for protein production from the DNA in nucleus; the DNA
gives the ribosomes the codes for which amino acids to put together to make a specific kind of protein
 Golgi Bodies - sort and modify proteins from the ER to do different job
 Mitochondria - release energy from the sugar (glucose) in food by combining it with oxygen (cell
respiration); it stores this energy in special energy-rich molecules (called ATP) that the cell uses to do its
work
 Lysosomes -. break down large food (sugar) molecules into small ones so they can enter the mitochondria;
2. digest waste products, worn out organelles, and dead or injured cells to make room for new cells (the
cell’s materials can be reused by other cells); 3. protect the cell from foreign invaders
 Vacuole - storage area for food, water, wastes, and other materials
 Cell Wall - protects and supports plant cells; allows materials to pass through
 Chloroplasts - food-making sites in plant cells; they trap the sun’s energy and use it to combine water and
carbon dioxide to make sugar (glucose) for the plant—this process is called photosynthesis.

Plant Cell vs. Animal Cell

Biomes
 Commonly determined by its climate.

Temperate Rainforest
 Has moderate temperature

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  Found in some parts of Northern America
 Inhabited by many huge trees

Tropical Rainforest
 Found in Regions near the Equator
 Warm and humid climate
 Has the biggest diversity of plants and animals

 Trees can form layers like Canopy and Understory

Canopy – Tallest trees that roof the forest
Understory – Smaller tress underneath the canopy, grows well on the shade
 Some problems in Rainforests are Denudation, Kaingin, Forest Fires and Illegal Logging.

Desert
 Recieves less than 25cm of rain a year; some doesn’t receive at all
 Hot at day, cold at night.
 Organisms here should adapt to the weather like cactuses and snakes.

Grasslands (Savannah)
 Fires and droughts are common
 Close to the Equator
 Has scattered shrubs
 Home to largest animals on Earth like elephants and giraffes

Taiga (Boreal Forest)

 Contains corniferous trees

Deciduous Forests
 Forests that changes color in winter

Tundra
 Permanent Frozen Soil

Aquatic
 Can be divided into two parts: the Marine and the Freshwater.

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