Questions and Answers
What is the literal meaning of the word 'biology'?
What is a characteristic of unicellular organisms?
Which of the following is an example of a physiological adaptation?
What is the term for the ability of an organism to maintain a steady internal environment?
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What is the branch of biology that studies fish?
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Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of life?
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What is the term for the set of chemical reactions that convert 'food' into energy?
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According to Kirchoff's laws, what is a characteristic of a black surface?
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What is the main focus of Ornithology?
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What is the term for the build-up of chemicals or toxins in living things?
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What is the branch of biology that deals with the study of hereditary and genetic material?
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What is the study of the relationships between all life forms and their environment in a particular area?
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What is the scientific attitude that involves being open to new ideas and learning?
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Who is considered the 'Father of Biology'?
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What is the study of the structure and organization of living things?
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What is the term for the process by which non-living materials turn into living things?
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Study Notes
Biology Overview
- Biology is the science of living things, an unified science that combines biology, chemistry, and physics.
Characteristics of Life
- Cellular Composition: living things are made up of at least one cell.
- Types of Cellular Composition:
- Unicellular: one cell, only visible using a microscope (e.g., bacteria, amoeba, paramecium).
- Multicellular: more than one cell (e.g., plants, fungi, animals).
- Growth: increase in cell size or cell number.
- Reproduction:
- Asexual: cell division (mitosis), one cell becomes two (e.g., bacteria).
- Sexual: union of sex cells (sperm and egg cells), seen in plants and animals.
- Movement:
- Place to place: bear running, birds flying.
- External part: phototropism, plants orient leaves toward the sun.
- Internal part: cytoplasmic streaming.
- Adaptation:
- Changing to meet the needs of the environment (e.g., bird migration, human body temperature).
- Metabolism: set of chemical reactions that convert "food" into energy (e.g., glycolysis, Krebs cycle).
- Specific Organization: certain parts do specific jobs (e.g., heart, nucleus, chloroplasts).
- Homeostasis: maintaining the same state (e.g., water balance inside and outside of cell, human body temperature).
- Responsiveness: reactions to various stimuli (e.g., light, heat, pH, vibration).
Kirchoff's Laws
- White: good reflector, poor radiator (heat is lost slowly).
- Black: good absorber, good radiator (heat is lost quickly).
Branches of Biology
- Zoology: study of animals.
- Ichthyology: study of fish (fish are indicator species, alerting humans to potential environmental problems).
- Mammalogy: study of mammals (e.g., NASA).
- Ornithology: study of birds.
- Botany: study of plants (e.g., food production, medicines).
- Microbiology: study of small life (e.g., medicines, bioterrorism).
- Anatomy: study of an organism's parts.
- Physiology: study of how organism's parts work (e.g., health professions, veterinarians).
- Entomology: study of insects (e.g., West Nile virus, Yellow Fever - carried by mosquitoes).
- Genetics: study of hereditary and genetic material (e.g., DNA/RNA, chromosomes, genes).
- Ecology: study of all life in a particular area, the relationships between those life forms and the environment (e.g., AMD, overpopulation, ozone depletion/greenhouse effect, rainforest destruction).
- Cell Biology: study of cells.
Biology as a Science
- Three science perspectives: teacher, student, and person on the street.
- Scientific Attitudes:
- Careful Judgement
- Desire to Learn
- Cause and Effect
- Concern for Human Welfare
- Science Examples:
- Galileo's sun-centered universe vs earth-centered universe theory
- Peace Corps and vitamin A shots
- Spontaneous Generation: non-living materials cannot turn into living things.
Biology Pioneers
- Aristotle: Greek philosopher, considered the "Father of Biology".
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Description
This quiz covers the basics of biology, including the definition and characteristics of life, cellular compositions, and growth. Learn about the science of living things!