CHAPTER 1

UNIFYING THEMES OF BIOLOGY

I. Life defined:
A. metabolism
1. autotrophs
2. heterotrophs
B. homeostasis
C. reproduction and mutation
1. genetic material duplicates
a. errors
2. cell divides in two
D. biological evolution

II. Evolution
A. early philosophers of evolution
B. Buffon (1749), E. Darwin (1794), Lamarck (1809)
C. Charles Darwin – 1859
1. individual species within a population vary
2. they compete for limited resources
3. those who possess the traits best suited in
the competition will survive to pass on those
genes coding for those traits to their offspring
4. this will result in a change in the genetic
composition of that population = evolution
(in this case by means of natural selection)

III. Hierarchy of organization (fig. 1.6)

A. atoms
molecules
organic macromolecules

B. cell
tissues
organ
organism
C. population
community
ecosystem
biosphere
IV. Major events in life’s history
A. chemical evolution produced organic
macromolecules
B. formation of cells
1. organic macromolecules enclosed in
compartments - membranes
2. prokaryotes
C. photosynthesis
1. accumulation of O2
2. accumulation of O3
D. evolution of eukaryotes
E. multicellularity with specialization

V. Diversity – fig. 1.11

A. ≅ 30 million species
B. 3 domains
1. Bacteria
2. Archaea
3. Eukarya
a. fungi, protists, animals, plants
C. use of binomials
D. model organisms
1. bacteria
2. Chlorella, Arabidopsis thaliana
3. Drosophila melanogaster
4. sea urchins, nematodes, Mus musculus

VI. Scientific method

A. observations/problem/data collection
B. questions
C. hypothesis-prediction
 D. experimentation
1. repetition
2. reproducibility
E. acceptance/rejection of hypothesis
F. theory

OBJECTIVES FOR CHAPTER 1

1. Know the levels of organization of living things

2. Distinguish between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the two types of cells
3. Define autotroph, heterotroph, homeostasis, metabolism, evolution
4. Describe the three domains and describe organisms within these domains
5. Know the Latin use of genus and species
6. Understand the basic concepts of evolution
7. Contrast "theory" with "hypothesis"
8. Understand how the accumulation of oxygen and oxone altered earth’s environment
9. Describe the steps of the scientific method
10. Describe early philosopher’s ideas about evolution

SAMPLE QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 1

1. Cells of the same type are organized together to form

a. tissues
b. organs
c. organ systems
d. molecules
e. organisms

2. Which of the following is the smallest living unit structure of living things?
a. atoms
b. molecules
c. cells
d. organic molecules
e. autotrophs

3. Cells with a nucleus and membranous organelles are called

a. prokaryotes
b. eukaryotes
c. autotrophs
d. heterotrophs
4. Organisms that get their carbon and energy from consuming organic molecules are
called
a. parasites d. protists
b. autotrophs e. heterotrophs
c. symbionts

5. Evolution is just a hypothesis

a. true
b. false

6. A relatively constant internal environment is known as

a. metabolism
b. homeostasis
c. autotrophism
d. heterotrophism
e. thermoregulation

7. Examples of prokaryotes can be found in which domain?

a. Archaea
b. Eukarya
c. Bacteria
d. a and b only
e. a and c only

8. Autotrophs make their own organic compounds

a. from eating other organisms
b. by extracting carbon from the soil
c. from CO2 in the atmosphere
d. by the absorption of H2O
e. a and b only

9. Which of these is true concerning ozone?

a. ozone is produced during photosynthesis
b. ozone accumulation in the upper atmosphere is considered air pollution
c. ozone depletion is caused by global warming
d. ozone blocks ultra-violet radiation
e. all of the above are true

10. Which of the following proposed that characteristics acquired during an organism’s
life were passed on to its offspring?
a. Charles Darwin d. Buffon
b. Erasmus Darwin e. Aristotle
c. Lamarck