Introduction to Botany

Botany

• Botany is the scientific study of plants. It includes their structure, growth, reproduction, diseases, and evolution.
• Plants are essential for life on Earth. They produce oxygen through photosynthesis, vital for nearly all aerobic organisms. They also form the base of most food chains.
• Basic plant structures include roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Each part has specific functions in the plant's life cycle.
• Plant cells are characterized by chloroplasts, containing chlorophyll for photosynthesis. Cell walls composed of cellulose provide rigidity.
• Plant reproduction can be sexual (gamete fusion) or asexual (new plants from existing parts).
• Plant groups include:
  • Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, hornworts): non-vascular plants
  • Pteridophytes (ferns, horsetails, clubmosses): vascular plants reproducing with spores
  • Gymnosperms (conifers, cycads, ginkgoes, gnetophytes): vascular plants with naked seeds
  • Angiosperms (flowering plants): vascular plants with seeds enclosed in flowers and fruits.
• Plant adaptations vary by species and environment. These include water conservation structures in arid regions, and pollination adaptations.

Zoology

• Zoology studies animals.
• Animal diversity is vast in form, structure, behavior, and habitat.
• Animal classification, based on shared traits, groups them into phyla:
  • Porifera (sponges)
  • Cnidaria (jellyfish, corals, anemones)
  • Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
  • Annelida (segmented worms)
  • Mollusca (snails, clams, squids)
  • Arthropoda (insects, crustaceans, spiders)
  • Echinodermata (starfish, sea urchins)
  • Chordata (vertebrates - fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals)
• Animal physiology investigates body systems (circulatory, respiratory, digestive, nervous, excretory).
• Animal behavior (ethology) studies communication, social interactions, learning, and environmental adaptation.
• Animal reproduction can be sexual (gamete fusion) or asexual (new individuals from single parents).
• Animal evolution explores relationships between different animal groups.

Chemistry

• Chemistry investigates matter's composition, structure, properties, and reactions.
• It studies elements, compounds, and their interactions.
• Matter is made of atoms, the fundamental building blocks. Atoms have a nucleus with protons (positive) and neutrons (neutral), surrounded by electrons (negative).
• Elements are pure substances of one type of atom, arranged in the periodic table based on atomic structure and properties.
• Compounds form when elements chemically combine in fixed ratios.
• Chemical reactions involve atom rearrangements, described by chemical equations. Types include synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, double displacement, and combustion.
• States of matter (solid, liquid, gas) have distinctive properties due to particle arrangement and movement.
• Chemical bonding (ionic, covalent, metallic) explains forces holding atoms together.
• Key chemistry concepts include stoichiometry (chemical reaction calculations), thermodynamics (energy changes), and kinetics (reaction rates).
• Modern chemistry uses techniques like spectroscopy, chromatography, and titration for substance analysis and identification.