UNIFYING THEMES IN

THE STUDY OF LIFE

&
PERPETUATION OF LIFE

Group 5 Report
Earth is home to a variety of organisms, including animals,
plants, and microorganisms. Ecosystems consist of living
organisms (biotic factors) such as animals, plants, insects, and
bacteria, as well as non-living components (abiotic factors) such
as rock, soil, water, and sunlight. These abiotic factors are
essential to biotic factors.
Life Science or Biology is the study of life, which involves
different disciplines. The ten unifying themes include emergent
properties, the cell, heritable information, structure or function,
interaction with the environment, regulation, unity and diversity,
evolution, scientific inquiry, science, technology, and society.
Biology is the discipline of science that deals with the
study of life. This comprises number of disciplines such as
biochemistry and ecology. As a wide-ranging and complex
science, biologists designed the term “unifying themes”, which
serve as the bases for the study of life.
The unifying theme connects the different subdisciplines that
make biology as a science. In addition to, the living organisms
differ from non-living organisms in various aspects.
ALL LEVELS OF LIFE HAVE SYSTEMS
OF RELATED PARTS.
A. A system is an organized group of interacting parts.
1. A cell is a system of chemicals and processes. It is the
basic unit of life.
2. A body system includes organs that interact.
3. An ecosystem includes living and non-living things that
interact.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION ARE
RELATED IN BIOLOGY
A. Structure determines function.
1. The structure is the shape of the object.
2. The function is the object’s specific role.
ORGANISMS MUST MAINTAIN
HOMEOSTASIS TO SURVIVE IN
DIVERSE ENVIROMENTS
A. Homeostasis is the maintenance of constant internal
conditions.
1. example: sweating, shivering, blood sugar
B. All living organisms must live in a stable environment.
EVOLUTION EXPLAINS THE UNITY
AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE
A. Evolution is the change in living things over time.
1. The genetic makeup of a population of a species changes.
2. Evolution can occur through natural selection adaptations
3. Adaptations are beneficial inherited traits that are passed
future generations
B. It accounts for both the diversity and the unity of life.
TRAITS ARE BEING INHERITED AND
TRANSFERRED
A. The continuity of life depends on the inheritance of biological
information in the form of DNA molecules.
B. The genetic information is encoded in the nucleotide sequences
of the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid).
GENETIC INHERITANCE
ORGANISMS REPRODUCE
A. It is necessary part of living; process of making more of
one’s own kind.
ORGANISMS ACQUIRE AND PROCESS
ENERGY
A. Living organisms use a source of energy for their metabolic
activities.
1. Some living organisms capture the light energy and
convert it into chemical energy in food.
2. Some living organisms use chemical energy stored in
molecules obtained from food.
In addition to the properties mentioned, the two additional
unifying themes in the study of life include the scientific inquiry
and science, technology and society.
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
A. The process of science includes observation-based discovery
and the testing of explanations through the hypothetic-
deductive.
B. Scientific credibility depends on the repeatability of observation
and experiments
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
A. Many technologies are goal-oriented applications of science.
B. The relationships of science and technology to society are now
more crucial to understand than ever before.
PERPETUATION OF LIFE
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Asexual reproduction is defined as the formation of new
individuals from the cells of a single parent. This is very common in
plants and is less common in animals.

Asexual reproduction does not involve the union of

gametes (sperm cell and egg cell) and it does not change the
number of chromosomes present. The resulting offspring is similar
or identical to the parent and without the need for a mate, they are
able to reproduce. There are different types of asexual reproduction
in animals.
FRAGMENTATION
• A form of asexual reproduction where a fragment of the parent
breaks off and develops into an entirely new but genetically
identical individual. The parent will then regenerate, or
regrow, the piece that broke off, so in the end there are two
new individuals from one.
BUDDING
• Some organisms reproduce by budding, where buds
develop on the parent body. Each new bud develops into
a new organism.
PARTHENOGENESIS
• A form of asexual reproduction wherein the offspring
develops from the egg or female gamete without the prior
fertilization from the male gamete. Parthenogenesis is
regarded as a form of asexual reproduction because a zygote
develops without the union happening between female and
male gametes.
It is common in honey bees, ants, wasps.
REGENERATION
• A type of asexual reproduction in which the organism is
capable of regrowing certain body parts. Regeneration occurs
via mitosis. Lizards can regenerate their tails, star fish can
regenerate their arms while humans have the ability to
regenerate their liver to a certain extent.
BINARY FISSION
• One of the modes of asexual reproduction is binary fission.
Mostly seen in single-celled organisms, the cell divides into
two halves. Each half grows at a rapid pace to become an
adult. Examples are Amoeba, Paramecium.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Sexual reproduction is the perpetuation of a new organism from two
organisms with the use of gametes. In this process, male gametes
which is the sperm cell fuses with a female gamete known as the egg
cell to form a diploid cell called zygote containing two sets of
chromosomes.
During sexual reproduction, the genetic material
contained in their chromosomes combine to produce genetically
diverse offspring that are different from both parents. Most mammals
and amphibians reproduce through the method of sexual reproduction
STAGES OF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

1. Pre Fertilization
- This stage involves gamete formation and transfer prior to
fertilization. Gametes are sex cells that are haploid and distinct in
males and females. Male gametes are called sperm, while female
gametes are called ovum or egg. Since female gametes are immobile,
male gametes need to be transferred for fertilization.
STAGES OF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
2. Fertilization
- Once the haploid male and female gametes meet and fuse
together to form a zygote, this is known as fertilization or syngamy.
This can occur either outside the body called external fertilization or
inside the body called internal fertilization.
STAGES OF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
3. Post-Fertilization
- Fertilization results in diploid zygote formation. Eventually, the
zygote divides mitotically and develops as an embryo. This process
is called embryogenesis. During embryogenesis, cell differentiates
and modifies accordingly. Zygote development depends on the
organism and its life cycle.
OVIPAURUS & VIVIPAURUS
In the animal kingdom, external fertilization is a type of fertilization
where the sperm-egg fusion takes place externally, outside the female
body. The embryo develops and matures in the external environment.

While in internal fertilization, the sperm-egg fusion takes place

inside the female body. But the development of embryo may take
place either internally or externally. Based on this, animals are
classified into two, namely, oviparous and viviparous animals.
A. OVIPAURUS
Animals that lay eggs are called oviparous. In oviparous animals,
fertilization takes place internally but embryo development takes
place externally.

The eggs of birds such as hen and duck carry immature embryo in
them. The hard shells of eggs protect them from damage. Once the
fetus is matured, the egg hatches. The trait of egg-laying animals is
known as oviparity.
A. VIVIPAROUS
Animals that give birth to offspring are called viviparous. In
viviparous animals, both fertilization, as well as the development of
the embryo, takes place inside the female reproductive system.

Once the fetus development is complete, the mother delivers the

baby. This condition is referred to as matrotrophy where the embryo
obtains the nutrients directly from the mother.
THANK
YOU!