Biology

Biology as a science
Key components of scientific
inquiry
Characteristics of life
 Branches of Biology
• molecular biology and biochemistry
 biological processes at the molecular and chemical level, including interactions
among molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, as well as the way they are
regulated.
• Microbiology
 study of microorganisms, is the study of the structure and function of single-
celled organisms.
• Neurobiology
 studies the biology of the nervous system
 different functions of the nervous system using molecular, cellular,
developmental, medical, and computational approaches.
• Paleontology
 uses fossils to study life’s history
• Zoology and botany
 study of animals and plants
 FORENSIC SCIENCE

• application of science to answer questions related to the law.

• Biologists as well as chemists and biochemists can be forensic
scientists.

Forensic scientists
• provide scientific evidence for use in courts, and their job involves
examining trace materials associated with crimes.
• Their job activities are primarily related to crimes against people
such as murder, rape, and assault.
• analyzing samples such as hair, blood, and other body fluids and
also processing DNA
• analyze other biological evidence left at crime scenes

This forensic scientist works in a DNA

extraction room at the U.S. Army
 Scientific Inquiry

 best approach we have to understanding the natural world and predicting

natural phenomena.
 Evidence for this claim can be found in the successes of science-based
technologies.
 has not displaced faith, intuition, and dreams. These traditions and ways of
knowing have emotional value and provide moral guidance to many
people. But hunches, feelings, deep convictions, old traditions, or dreams
cannot be accepted directly as scientifically valid. Instead, science limits
itself to ideas that can be tested through verifiable observations.
Supernatural claims that events are caused by ghosts, devils, God, or other
spiritual entities cannot be tested in this way.
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry

 Experiments and Hypotheses

 Forming a Hypothesis
 Experimental Design
 Experimental Variables
 Interpreting Results
 Gathering Data
 Methods of logical thinking

 Inductive reasoning
 form of logical thinking that analyzes trends or relationships in data to arrive
at a general conclusion.
 making generalizations from careful observation and the analysis of a
large amount of individual data points.
 Generalizations arrived are not always correct.

 Deductive reasoning
 begins from a general principle or law and applies it to a specific
circumstance to predict specific results
 Methods of logical thinking

 Inductive reasoning
 Starts with INdividual pieces of information
 Looks for trENds in the information
 Makes an INformed guess based on those trends
 Results may be INcorrect

Example
Last week your best friend discovered a new
restaurant that he really loves. He's eaten there five
times already. In describing the restaurant to you, he
says, "everything on the menu is delicious!”
 Methods of logical thinking

 deductive reasoning
 Starts with broad DEclarations like
principles or laws
 Applies these generalizations to make
a DEcision about a specific case
 Results are DEfinitely correct

Example
 Driving on icy roads is dangerous.
 The roads are icy today.
 Therefore, driving will be dangerous today!
 Methods of logical thinking

1. Police recently investigated a home burglary. DNA evidence

at the crime scene allowed them to narrow the list of
suspects to two brothers. After confirming that the first brother
was out of the country at the time the burglary took place,
police arrested the second brother. Which kind of reasoning
did they use?
inductive reasoning
OR
2. Three years ago, a city announced a goal of cutting crime deductive reasoning
rates in a specific neighborhood by 50% within five years. The
next year, crime in the neighborhood was down 15%. In year
two, crime had been cut by 28%. At the end of year three,
crime was down 42%. The city just announced they are "very
confident" they will reach the goal. What kind of reasoning
did they use to reach that conclusion?
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry

 Experiments and Hypotheses

 carefully organized procedure in which the
scientist intervenes in a system to change
something, then observes the result of the
change.
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry

 Forming a Hypothesis
 a suggested explanation that is both
testable and falsifiable.
 must be able to test your hypothesis, and it
must be possible to prove your hypothesis
true or false.
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry

Experimental Design
 how you will test the hypothesis and find
the answer to the question or problem.
 The plan should include a description of, or
information about of each of the following
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry

Experimental Variables
identified to make sure the results are accurate (correct)
and that the experiment could be repeated in exactly the
same way, with the same results.

Three types of variables:

• manipulated
• responding
• controlled
 Methods of Scientific Inquiry
Interpreting Results

• Gather data and record observations

 Quantitative data: observations and facts that can be easily
measured.
 Qualitative data: observations that cannot be easily measured

• Interpret data
 answering the question and responding to your hypothesis with
information discovered by conducting the experiment
 drawing conclusions or inferences based on what you learned.
 The Characteristics of Life

How do you know if

something is alive?
 The Characteristics of Life

What do all living

things have in
common?

Which of these are alive?

 The Characteristics of Life

1. Adaptation through evolution

All forms of life evolve. They adapt to the external environment, change
their heritable traits, and prepare future generations for more efficient life
processes.
 The Characteristics of Life

2. Cellular organization

The general structures move along a line from cell to tissue to organ to
being, which gives us the word “organism,” a living thing with organ
systems. Cellular organization is seen in something as simple as a fungus
cell. From simple bacteria up to mammals, life uses cellular organization.
 The Characteristics of Life
3. Growth and development

Living things grow. To conserve resources, organisms reproduce with

immature and small copies of themselves. Without straining the parent
organism, these small copies gather their own resources to grow,
enlarge, mature, age, and reproduce themselves. Humans are excellent
examples of growth and development. Eventually, organisms die,
returning their gathered resources to the earth for reuse by new
organisms.
 The Characteristics of Life
4. Heredity

Life transfers characteristics to offspring via deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

and ribonucleic acid (RNA); these are the building blocks of life. From
viruses to humans, traits that benefit the parents are transferred in genes
to the offspring. For humans, this genetic material holds our genetic
information such as eye color, skin color, and hair type, just to name a
few.
 The Characteristics of Life
5. Homeostasis
 Maintaining a stable internal environment

Your body, like that of a cat or a cactus, must maintain a stable

environment inside.
 The Characteristics of Life
6. Metabolism
 an organism’s chemical reactions

 Chemical reactions inside cells, tissues,

organs, and living beings perform various
actions that keep the organism alive.
 These reactions break down incoming
food, send nutrients to cells, remove
waste products, transform energy, and
synthesize new chemicals.
 Together, these processes lead to growth,
system repair, and excretion.
 Photosynthesis in plants is a metabolic
process.
 The Characteristics of Life
7. Reproduction
Reproduction can be either asexual, involving a single parent organism,
or sexual, requiring two parents. Single-celled organisms, like the dividing
bacterium can reproduce themselves simply by splitting in two!
 The Characteristics of Life
8. Response To Stimuli
Living organisms show “irritability,” meaning that they respond to stimuli
or changes in their environment. For instance, people pull their hand
away—fast!—from a flame; many plants turn toward the sun; and
unicellular organisms may migrate toward a source of nutrients or away
from a noxious chemical.
The Characteristics of Life

Are
Crystals
Alive??
 The Characteristics of Life

Word Search Activity

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Biology