Intro to Biology

• Biology is the accumulated knowledge about living things and the principles and laws governing life.
• A biologist is someone who specializes in biology.

Scientific Approaches

• Discovery-based science involves collecting and analyzing data without a preconceived hypothesis.
• Information gained from discovery-based science can lead to new hypotheses and practical applications.
• Hypothesis testing is also known as the scientific method.

Scientific Method

• England’s Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) first defined and documented the scientific method and set up inductive methods for scientific inquiry.
• The scientific method involves systematically pursuing knowledge through problem recognition, data collection via observation and experiment, and hypothesis formulation and testing.

Steps of experimentation

• Observation: The first step in experimentation
• Identify the Problem: Ask proper and testable questions that begin with "what" or "how."
• Formulate a Hypothesis: Must be testable and also falsifiable and follow the format "If . . . then . . . .”
• Test the Hypothesis (Experiment): Requires experimental conditions and control procedures.
• Analyze Gathered Data
• Formulate Conclusion/Generalization
• Communicate the Result

Variables in Experimentation

• A variable is any part of the experiment that can vary or change.
• Experimental variable or Independent variable: The factor being tested.
• Responding variable or Dependent variable: The factor being measured.
• Controlled variable: Factors to remain consistent between treatments in an experiment.

History of Biology

• The study of life dates back to ancient peoples.
• Ancient people observed and wondered about the characteristics of animals and plants.

Figures in Biology's History

• Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) founded the first medical school on the Greek island of Cos.
• Aristotle (382-322 B.C.) is known as the Father of Biology and developed the first organized study of natural history.
• He was a keen observer, writer, and illustrator of plants and animals.
• Theophrastus (380-287 B.C.) specialized in the organized study of plants and is called the "ancient father of botany."
• Galen (A.D. 130-200) was the unchallenged authority on anatomy.
• After the Dark Ages (A.D. 200 to 1200), the 14th century ushered in the revival of scientific thought and inquiry.
• Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) studied the human body through dissection, disregarding the authority of Galen.
• Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) contributed to the science of microscopic anatomy.
• William Harvey (1578-1667) demonstrated blood circulation in the human body.
• Robert Hooke (1635-1703) discovered and named "cells" in cork.
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was the first person to see living cells through his microscope.
• Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) is the Father of Modern Taxonomy and devised the system of binomial nomenclature for naming plants and animals
• George Cuvier (1769-1832) founded the study of comparative anatomy.
• Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) devised the word biology by combining the Greek words "bios" (life) and "logos" (study).

Major Fields of Biology

• Botany is the study of plants and their life cycles.
• Zoology is the study of animals and their life histories.
• Anatomy focuses on body structure visible to the naked eye.
• Physiology studies the functions of body organs and systems.
• Embryology examines embryo development in plants and animals.
• Genetics covers inheritance and variations in living organisms.
• Evolution explores the origins and relationships among living species.
• Ecology examines environmental relationships among plants and animals.

Living vs. Non-Living

• Living things are alive, made of cells, and perform life functions.
• Non-living things do not possess life.

Life Functions of Living Things

• Nutrition is the total activities through which a living organism obtains nutrients for fuel and growth.
• Transport is the absorption and distribution of materials within the body of the organism.
• Respiration consists of breathing (inhaling and exhaling) as well as cellular respiration (energy released from nutrient molecules).
• Synthesis involves the biochemical processes where small molecules are built into larger ones.
• Excretion removes waste products.
• Regulation includes all processes that control and coordinate the activities of a living thing.
• Growth describes the increase of cell size and cell numbers, resulting in growth of the body.
• Reproduction is the process by which new individuals are produced by parent organisms.

Characteristics of Non-Living Things

• Non-living things are lifeless and not made up of cells.
• They have a definite size and shape.
• They "grow" through accretion, by adding external materials.
• They are immortal and do not die.
• They do not respond to stimuli.

Basic Concepts of Biology

• Metabolism includes all the chemical activities that the body uses to produce or use energy.
  • Anabolism, from a Greek word meaning 'to build up', is a building process where small molecules are combined into larger molecules, thereby using energy.
• Catabolism, from a Greek word meaning 'to tear down', is a metabolic process in the body that breaks apart large molecules, thereby releasing energy.
• Homeostasis, developed by Claude Bernard, the French physiologist, helps maintain 'staying the same.'
• The body maintains a 'steady state' of its life functions in an almost unchanging internal environment, enabling adaptation to environmental changes.
• Adaptation is a trait that aids the survival of an individual or a species. -It can be structural (e.g., hump of a camel), behavioral (e.g., mating call of a bull frog), or physiological (e.g., controlling tissue cells' workings).
• It permits the survival of species in environments that sometimes seem forbidding.

This quiz covers fundamental concepts in biology, including the contributions of key scientists, characteristics of living organisms, and essential biological processes like metabolism and homeostasis. Test your knowledge about the foundations of life sciences.