INTRODUCTION TO

BIOLOGY
BIOLOGY
 Bios-: greek for life
 -logy: study of
 A biologist uses the scientific method to study living
things
 Biology is the study of life
 Zoology
 Botany
 Microbiology
 Ecology
 Marine Biology
 Genetics
 Cell biology
 Anatomy and physiology
 Paleontology
SO….WHAT MAKES SOMETHING
“LIVING”?
 Made up of cells
 Reproduce
 Genetic code
 Growth and development
 Obtain and use materials (resources) and
energy
 Respond to their environment
 Maintain a stable internal environment
 As a group, they change over time
MADE UP OF CELLS

 Cell
 Collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier
 Smallest structural unit of all living things
 Prokaryotic cells
 Cell without a nucleus, DNA is in cytoplasm
 Eukaryotic Cells
 Cell with a nucleus that contains the genetic material (DNA)
 Unicellular
 “uni-” means one
 Organism that is made of one cell
 Example: bacteria
 Prokaryotic cells
 Multi-cellular
 “multi-” means many
 Contain hundreds, thousands, even trillions of cells
 Many cells work together to make the living organism function
 Cells vary in size, shape and function
 Example: plants and animals
ABILITY TO REPRODUCE
 Asexual reproduction
 Organism has single parent
 Genetically identical to parent
 Splits in half
 Sexual reproduction
 Cells from two different parents unite to form
new organism
 Increases genetic variety and survival of
species
BASED ON A GENETIC CODE
 DNA nucleic acid that caries all the
information about the organism
 All living organisms have DNA, the “blue
prints” of life
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
 Growth means increase in size, such as
certain bacteria
 Development refers to cells dividing to
 Includes periods of rapid growth and dramatic
change
 Sometimes different stages (think caterpillar)
 During development, cells multiply and are
assigned specific functions and roles within the
multi-cellular organism…DIFFERENTIATION
OBTAIN AND USE MATERIALS
AND ENERGY
 Obtain energy by taking in resources
 Plants-sunlight
 Lizard-insects
 Metabolism
 Combination of chemical reactions through
which an organism builds up or breaks down
materials to carry out life processes
RESPOND TO THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
 Stimulus
 A signal to which an organism responds
 External Stimuli
 From environment outside organism
 Example- water in soil stimulates germination
 Internal Stimuli
 Comes from inside an organisms body
 Low sugar levels in blood will stimulate you to
feel hungry
MAINTAIN A STABLE INTERNAL
ENVIRONMENT
 Homeostasis: “steady state”
 When organisms maintain a stable internal
environment that is different from the
changing external environment
 Examples: shivering and sweating
AS A GROUP, THEY CHANGE
OVER TIME
 Evolution
 Process of change
 When a group of organisms change over time
 Could occur over hundreds or millions of years
 Adaptation
 An inherited trait that’s helps an organisms ability to
survive and reproduce in a particular environment
 Natural selection
 The most beneficial traits for a specific group of
organisms is passed on
 Organisms that have that specific trait will live longer and
produce more offspring than those who do not have it
 The mechanism by which evolution occurs