Biology: Unifying Themes Quiz

Unifying Themes and Components of Biology

• The unifying theme that ties biology together as a single, coherent field is the study of life at multiple levels of organization.

Hereditary Information and Organism Functionality

• DNA encodes hereditary information in organisms.
• Cells allow organisms to move, grow, and reproduce.

Scientific Method and Research in Biology

• The scientific method is used by biologists to develop and test hypotheses, and to explain natural phenomena.
• Subdisciplines within biology are defined by the nature of their research questions and the tools that they use.

History of Biology

Ancient Greek Contributions

• Aristotle extensively contributed to the development of biological knowledge.
• Theophrastus began the scientific study of plants in ancient Greece.

17th and 18th Century Contributions

• Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made dramatic improvements to the microscope and discovered spermatozoa, bacteria, and infusoria.
• Carolus Linnaeus published a basic taxonomy for the natural world in 1735.

Cell Theory and Evolution

• In the 19th century, biologists pointed to the central importance of the cell.
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck presented a coherent theory of evolution before Charles Darwin.
• John Ray is known for treating species as artificial categories and suggesting the possibility of common descent.

Islamic World Contributions

• Ibn Sina (Avicenna) made significant contributions to medicine and wrote on anatomy and physiology in the medieval Islamic world.

Opposition to Cell Theory

• Louis Pasteur opposed the idea that all cells come from the division of other cells, continuing to support spontaneous generation.