Transcript Christina Liberto, M.S. WELCOME!!  Plans for today:  Introductions  Review Syllabus  Scientific Method.

Christina Liberto, M.S.
WELCOME!!
 Plans for today:
 Introductions
 Review Syllabus
 Scientific Method
•Meeting times: MON, WED 6:00 - 6:50 PM, Lecture
7:00 – 8:50 PM, Lab
TU, TH
6:00 - 6:50 PM, Lecture
7:00 – 8:50 PM, Lab
•LECTURE ROOM: Aberdeen Hall 139, Lecture
Aberdeen Hall 128, Lab
•Email: [email protected]
•Office Hours: By appointment
•REQURED TEXT
•Grading Policy
•Exams
Tips on test taking
DO NOT wait until the last minute to study
Study nightly
Eat and sleep well the night before the test
Take your time on exams: Read questions carefully,
do not rush and
check your answers before turning in the exam
Have a positive attitude!
Remember: SCIENCE IS FUN!!!
Major Topics
Biological chemistry
Biological molecules
Cells, Cell theory
Characteristics of living things
Living systems
Evolution
Diversity of plants and animals
Biotechnology
Course Procedures
Set aside time each week to study and complete assignments
If you don’t understand a concept taught in class,
get help from either me, someone else in the class,
or from the tutoring center
Read each assigned chapter prior to coming to class
Ask for help if you need it!!
Biology
Biology is the study of life
Science is a body of knowledge, a collection of
unified insights about nature
So…why does this matter to me?? What does this
have to do with my life??
Hierarchal Organization of Life
The living world is organized in a hierarchy, from simple to complex with each
level building upon the level(s) below it.
Ecological: population, community,
biosphere
Organismal: tissues, organs, systems, species
Cellular: organelles, cells
Chemical: atoms, molecules
Atom
• Smallest unit of
an element
• Building
blocks:
electrons
protons neutrons
Molecule
• two or more
atoms
• includes
carbs, lipids,
proteins, DNA
and RNA
Cell
• smallest unit that
can live AND
reproduce on its
own
• outer membrane
and DNA
Tissue
•Organized cells
Organ
• Two or more
tissues interacting
in some task
Organ System
• Organs interacting
physically, chemically,
or both, in some task
Multicelled Organism
•Individual made of
different types of cells
Population
•Group of single-celled
or multi-celled
individuals of the SAME
species occupying a
specified area
Ecosystem
•A community
interacting
with its
physical
environment
•Has inputs
and outputs of
energy and
materials
Biosphere
•All regions of the
Earth’s waters, crust
and atmosphere
Having reviewed how life is
organized, what exactly
characterizes life?
What is Life?
Characteristics of all living things:
a. assimilate energy, capacity to do work
b. respond to their environment, i.e. with
receptors
c. maintain a relatively constant internal
temperature (homeostasis)
d. posses an inherited information base (DNA)
that allows them to function
e. reproduce (parental transmission of DNA to
offspring)
f. are composed of at least one cell
g. are evolved from other living things
h. are highly organized
Life’s Diversity
• There are MILLIONS of living species!!
• How can we organize and classify all of
these species?
• in three domains:
PROKARYOTES =
NO NUCLEUS
EUKARYOTES =
NUCLEUS
Prokaryotes
•SINGLE CELLED!!
•NO membrane-bound organelles
•DNA is found in the nucleoid region; NOT contained in a
membrane-bound nucleus
•LACK internal membrane systems and NO internal
compartmentalization
•Includes Bacteria and Archaea cells
Prokaryotic cell
Eukaryotes
•SINGLE OR MULTI CELLED
•Have a nucleus
•Larger and more complex then prokaryotes:
•Organelles are immersed in the cytosol
•Extensive internal membrane systems
•Exhibit internal compartmentalization
•Includes plants, animals and fungi
Eukaryotic cell
Plant Cell
Eukaryotic Cell
Science is a body of knowledge, a collection of
unified insights about nature
How do we arrive at this body of knowledge?
Through the collection of facts
How do we collect these facts that encompass
science?
Through investigation, experimentation and reasoning
Therefore…Science is a DEFINED way of learning reached
by using OBSERVATIONS and the testing of HYPOTHESES
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Scientific Method
A way in which one can make predictions tested by
experiments to reject one alternative
Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Observations
2. Ask a question
3. Formulate a hypothesis – a tentative,
testable answer to your question
4. Experiment
5. Gather results
6. Make conclusions based on results
Experiments have two components
Control Group
Experimental Group
• A standard for
comparison
• Includes the variable
being studied
• Identical to the
experimental group
EXCEPT for the
variable being studied
Example
Does Olestra® cause intestinal cramps?
?
Fig.
1.8
The Limits of Science
• A hypothesis cannot be proven 100% correct
• Cannot provide answers to subjective questions
i.e. Why do we die at a particular moment?
• May conflict with supernatural beliefs
Questions
1. The diversity of life is separated into ________
kingdoms.
2. A series of steps used to answer scientific questions is
called the _________.
3. A group of individuals living together is referred to as
a(n)
a. Population.
b. Community.
d. Ecosystem.
e. Biome.
c. Species.