EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

AN INTRODUCTION
TO LIFE SCIENCE
MODULE 1: LOOKING AT LIFE
PANDEMIC

A PANDEMIC IS A SUDDEN OUTBREAK OF DISEASE THAT

SPREADS THROUGHOUT A LARGE AREA.

INFLUENZA
VIRUS
HAS LONG BEEN IDENTFIED TO AFFECT ANIMALS

AND PEOPLE.
SWINE FLU
A (HINI) STRAIN IS BELIEVED TO HAVE ORIGINATED

IN PIGS.
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

LIFE AND ITS

REMARKABLE
BEGINNINGS
MODULE 1: LOOKING AT LIFE
PALEONTOLOGIST

ARE SCIENTIST WHO COLLECT,

IDENTIFY, AND STUDY PIECES OF

EVIDENCE ABOVE EARLIER LIFE FORMS

AND TRY TO DETERMINE HOW THESE

HAVE EVOLVED INTO THE ORGANISMS

OF TODAY.
FOSSIL

IS A REMNANT OR TRACE OF A PLANT,

AN ANIMAL, OR OTHER ORGANISM THAT

MAY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY ROCK

MATERIAL OR LEFT IMPRINTED ON A

SEDIMENTARY ROCK DEPOSITED IN

RIVERBEDS OR ON THE OCEAN FLOOR.

 MICROFOSSILS STROMATOLITES
ARE VERY SMALL AND CAN BE SEEN THE FOSSILS THAT ARE

ONLY WITH THE AID OF A CONSIDERED THE OLDEST ON

MICROSCOPE. EARTH
 CYANOBACTERIA
SINGLE-CELED PHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROBES. BACTERIA ARE

CONSIDERED TO BE THE FIRST LIFE FORMS THAT EXISTED ON

EARTH OVER TWO BILLION YEARS AGO.

HYDROTHERMAL

VENTS

VERY HOT WATER FROM EARTH'S INTERIOR

ESCAPES THROUGH THESE CRACKS,

WHICH ARE FOUND IN AREAS WHERE

VOLCANOES ARE HIGHLY ACTIVE.

SCIENTISTS MAINTAIN THAT THE ENERGY

PRESENT IN ENVIRONMENTS LIKE THIS CAN

SUPPORT VARIOUS CHEMICAL REACTIONS

ESSENTIAL FOR THE EVOLUTION OF

ORGANISMS.
 1 2

THE USE OF CHEMICAL ENERGY TO THE ABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS TO

ALL FORMS OF
HELP ORGANISMS PERFORM ADAPT TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT

LIFE SHARE ACTIVITIES AND CARRY OUT (EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTION)

CHEMICAL REACTIONS (ENERGY

COMMON PROCESSING)

CHARACTERIS-

TICS. THESE
3 4

CHARACTERIST
THE CONSISTENT GROWTH AND THE SYSTEMATIC AND HIGHLY

ICS OF LIFE DEVELOPMENT CONTROLLED BY THE ORDERED STRUCTURE OF

INHERITED GENE. ORGANISMS.

INCLUDE THE

FOLLOWING:
 5 6

THE ABILITY OF ORGANISMS TO THE ABILITY OF ORGANISMS TO

ALL FORMS OF
CONTROL THEIR INTERNAL RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL

LIFE SHARE ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION) STIMULI.

COMMON

CHARACTERIS-

TICS. THESE
7
CHARACTERIST
THE ABILITY OF EVERY ORGANISMS

ICS OF LIFE TO REPRODUCE ITS OWN KIND.

INCLUDE THE

FOLLOWING:
 BIOSPHERE
is at the highest level of the hierarchy. It supports all the ecosystems

(such as a forest ecosystem, an estuarine ecosystem, and a desert

ecosystem) that harbor organisms and the environment where they

live.

ECOSYSTEM
consist of various groups of organisms and the physical components

in a particular environment in which particular organisms interact.

COMMUNITY
different organisms living in a particular ecosystem.

POPULATION
community is divided into a number of particular species living in a

specific area.

ORGANISM

LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY

living thing n a population
 ORGAN SYSTEM
group of organ that functions together.

ORGANS
group of tissues and other structure that perform a specific funtion.

TISSUE
made up of a group of similar cells.

CELL
fundamental unit of life.

ORGANELLES
perform specific functions. 

MOLECULES
held together by chemical bonds.

ATOMS
LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY
smaller units, building blocks of matter.
THREE
MAJOR
GENETICS
FIELDS IN
BIOLOGY,
COVER THE EVOLUTION
UNIFYING
THEMES OF
BIOCHEMISTRY
LIFE
GENETICS

GENETICS SHOWS HOW THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

PARENTS ARE TRANSMITTED TO THEIR OFFSPRING THROUGH THE

REPRODUCTIVE PROCESS.
DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC
ACID (DNA)
DNA CONTAINS BIOLOGICAL

INFORMATION THAT IS PASSED ON

FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE

NEXT AND ENSURES THE EXISTENCE

OF SPECIES. EACH DNA SEQUENCE

CONTAINS INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE

A GENE. GENES MAKE UP 1% OF

THE DNA SEQUENCE.

 BACTERIA
Most diverse and widespread prokaryote

ORGANISMS ARCHAEA

CAN BE Prokaryotes, or organisms with no distinct nucleus and other

organelles, that often live in extreme environment.

GROUPED
INTO THREE EUKARYA

DOMAINS: Eukaryotic cells, or cells with true nuclei and other

organelles, that include single-celled protists and

multicellular fungi, plants, and animals.

 CHARLES DARWIN
PUBLISHED THE BOOK ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES

BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION IN 1859.

DARWIN ARTICULATED IN THE BOOK THAT ALL

SPECIES ARE DESCENDANTS OF ANCESTRAL

SPECIES (MODIFICATION BY DESCENT) AND THAT

THE MECHANISM FOR THIS PROCESS IS

EVOLUTION (NATURAL SELECTION)

CELLS ARE COMPOSED OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES. THE

BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AN ORGANISM IS IMPORTANT

IN ITS ABILITY TO ADAPT TO ITS ENVIRONMENT. FOR EXAMPLE,

LIFE FIRST EVOLVED IN WATER, AND ALL ORGANISMS REQUIRE

WATER. WHEN WATER IS REMOVED IN THE BODY, IT IS HARDER

FOR AN ORGANISM TO SURVIVE. ALSO, WHEN WATER IS

REMOVED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, ORGANISMS WILL HAVE

DIFFICULTY SURVIVING AND REPRODUCING. FURTHER,

MAJORITY OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN AN ORGANISM

HAPPEN IN THE CELLS THAT ARE MADE OF ALMOST 95% WATER.

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT ON
THE CONCEPT OF LFE
Module 1: Looking at Life
THE SIMILAR CHARACTERISTICS OF
CELLS ALLOW BIOLOGIST TO INFER
THAT CELLS ARE DESCENDED FROM A
COMMON ANCESTRAL CELL OR
KNOWN AS THE LAST UNIVERSAL
COMMON ANCESTOR (LUCA).
SCIENTIST FOUND EVIDENCE THAT
CELLS APPEARED ON EARTH AROUND
3.9 BILLION YEARS AGO.
SUMMARY OF LIFE ON EARTH THROUGH TIME AND ORIGIN OF THE CELLULAR DOMAINS
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

CLASSIC EXPERIMENTS
ON THE EVOLUTION OF
LIFE
Module 1: Looking at Life
WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN
WHEN LEFTOVER FOOD IS THROWN
INTO A GARBAGE CAN THAT IS LEFT
UNCOVERED? AFTER A COUPLE OF
DAYS, ORGANISMS SUCH AS
MAGGOTS, OR THE LARVAE OF FLIES,
CAN BE SEEN CRAWLING OVER THE
UNPROTECTED FOOD. WHERE DID
THEY COME FROM? WHEN DID THEY
START TO GROW?
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

THE THEORY OF
SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION
Module 1: Looking at Life
 BELIEVED IN SPONTANEOUS

GENERATION, STATES THAT VITAL

FORCES OR ORGANIC MATTER CAN

CREATES ORGANISMS FROM INANIMATE

OBJECTS. ARISTOTLE CLAIMED THAT

SOME CLASSES OF ORGANISMS

GENERATE SPONTANEOUSLY. THE

APPEARANCE OF MAGGOTS IN MEAT

THAT WAS LEFT IN THE OPEN AREA WAS

THOUGHT TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION.

ARISTOTLE
 AN ENGLISH SCIENTIST WHO WROTE THE

BOOK MICROGRAPHIA (1665),

ILLUSTRATED SMALL ORGANISMS SUCH

AS THE FRUITING STRUCTURE OF

MOLDS. HIS ILLUSTRATIONS AND

DESCRIPTIONS OF SMALL ORGANISMS

BECAME THE FIRST DESCRIPTION OF

MICROORGANISMS.

ROBERT HOOKE
(1635-1703)
 DUTCH SCIENTIST, THE FIRST PERSON

TO SEE BACTERIA. IN 1684,

LEEUNWENHOEK DEVELOPED A SIMPLE

MICROSCOPE TO INVESTIGATE THE

NATURAL SUBSTANCES PRESENT IN

MICROBES. HE DISCOVERED BACTERIA

WHILE STUDYING A PEPPER-WATER

INFUSION AND CALLED THESE SMALL

ORGANISMS AS "WEE ANIMALCULES"

ANTONIE VAN
LEEUWENHOEK (1632-1723)
 ITALIAN SCIENTIST. IN 1668, REDI

DESIGNED A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT

TO DEMONSTRATE THAT MAGGOTS DO

NOT JUST APPEAR SPONTANEOUSLY BUT

ARE PRODUCED FROM THE EGGS OF

FLIES.

FRANCESCO
REDI ( 1626-1697)
 FOR HIS EXPERIMENT, REDI USED TWO

GROUPS OF JARS. THREE JARS WERE USED

IN EACH GROUP. FOR THE FIRST GROUP,

REDI PLACED AN UNKNOWN OBJECT IN JAR

1, A DEAD FISH IN JAR 2, AND A CHUNK OF

RED MEAT IN JAR 3. HE COVERED EACH JAR

WITH FINE CHEESECLOTH SO THAT ONLY

AIR CAN GET INTO THEM. FOR THE SECOND

GROUP, REDI PLACED THE SAME OBJECTS

IN THE THREE JARS. HOWEVER, HE DID NOT

COVER THESE JARS WITH CHEESECLOTH.

FRANCESCO
REDI ( 1626-1697)
A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER, REDI NOTICED
MAGGOTS ON THE OBJECTS IN ALL THE
UNCOVERED JARS WHILE THERE WERE NONE
ON THE OBJECTS IN THE COVERED JARS ,
ALTHOUGH THERE WERE MAGGOTS ON
THE CHEESECLOTH ON THE COVERED
JARS. TROUGH THIS EXPERIMENT, REDI
WAS ABLE TO PROVE THAT ORGANISMS
DO NOT JUST COME TO LIFE
SPONTANEOUSLY.
 IN 1750, AN ENGLISH BIOLOGIST ATTEMPTED TO
TEST THE RELEVANCE OF REDI'S EXPERIMENT
AND TO PROVE THAT SPONTANEOUS
GENERATION CAN OCCUR UNDER THE RIGHT
CONDITIONS. AT THAT TIME, IT WAS BELIEVED
THAT HEAT COULD KILL EVEN THE TINIEST OF
ORGANISMS.

JOHN TUBERVILLE
NEEDHAM (1713-1781)
 NEEDHAM CONDUCTED AN EXPERIMENT
WHEREIN HE PUT SOME CHICKEN BROTH IN AN
OPEN CONTAINER, LET IT COOL, AND THEN
COVERED THE CONTAINER AND KEPT IT AT
ROOM TEMPERATURE. NEEDHAM CLAIMED THAT,
WHEN THE BROTH WAS BOILED, ALL THE
ORGANISM IN IT HAD DIED FROM THE HEAT.
DAYS LATER WHEN NEEDHAM EXAMINED THE
BROTH, HE NOTICED THAT A THICK SOLUTION
HAD FORMED ON THE BROTH AND CONCLUDED
THAT THIS WAS MADE UP OF MICROORGANISMS
THAT HAD BEEN GENERATED SPONTANEOUSLY.
JOHN TUBERVILLE
NEEDHAM (1713-1781)
NEEDHAM'S TEST
 WAS AN ITALIAN SCHOLAR WHO SOUGHT TO

VERIFY NEEDHAM'S TEST IN 1767.

SPALLANZANI BELIEVED THAT NEEDHAM HAD

NOT HEATED THE BROTH ENOUGH TO KILL

THE ORGANISMS IN IT. HE THEN REPEATED

NEEDHAM'S EXPERIMENT BY BOILING EQUAL

AMOUNTS OF CHICKEN BROTH IN TWO

CONTAINERS, WITH ONE CONTAINER SEALED

AND THE OTHER LEFT OPEN. AFTER A FEW

DAYS, SPALLANZANI OBSERVED THAT THE

CONTAINER THAT HAD BEEN LEFT OPEN WAS

TEEMING WITH MICROORGANISMS WHILE

THE SEALED CONTAINER REMAINED FREE OF

MICROBIAL GROWTH.

LAZZARO SPALLANZANI
(1729-1799)
SPALLANZANI'S EXPERIMENT
 HE BELIEVED THAT MICROORGANISMS

PRESENT IN PUTREFYING MATERIALS

ARE PRESENT IN THE AIR OR MIGHT

HAVE BEEN PRESENT ON THE SURFACE

WHERE DECAYING MATERIALS ARE

PRESENT. THE PROCESS OF HEATING

(CALLED STERILIZATION) WAS USED BY

PASTEUR TO ELIMINATES

CONTAMINANTS . PASTEUR DISPROVED

SPONTANEOUS GENERATION BY

CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT WHERE

HE USED THE PROCESS OF

PASTEURIZATION.

LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-

1895)
 PASTEUR FILLED A SWAN-NECKED NUTRIENT FLASK

WITH A SOLUTION THAT HE BOILED AND STERILIZE,

AFTER HEATING, THE FLASK WAS COOLED AND THE

AIR WAS ALLOWED TO REENTER, BUT THE BEND IN

THE NECK PREVENTED PARTICULATE MATTER SUCH

AS MICROORGANISMS FROM ENTERING AND MIXING

WITH THE NUTRIENT SOLUTION THAT CAUSE ROTTING.

HIS EXPERIMENT SHOWED THAT IN THE FLASK THAT

WAS STERILIZED AND SEALED, ORGANISMS DID NOT

DEVELOP. LATER ON, PASTEUR BROKE THE FLASK

AND THE FLASK SLOWLY BECAME FILLED WITH

MICROORGANISMS. THE WORK OF PASTEUR PROVED

THAT THE HYPOTHESIS OF SPONTANEOUS

GENERATION IS NOT CORRECT.

LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-

1895)
PASTEUR'S SWAN-NECKED FLASK EXPERIMENT
THAT'S ALL,
THANKYOUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!