Introducing Biology

What is Biology?

= organisms

study of

Different fields in biology

Botany Zoology Microbiology Cytology Anatomy Genetics Ecology

Why study biology?

To help develop scientific thinking skills To understand how biology is applied in daily life Better understanding of biologyrelated social issues Prepare for a future career

What are organisms?

All organisms have seven characteristics in common

Nutrition
Process of obtaining food Functions of food:
To release energy by respiration As raw materials for growth To keep organisms healthy

Green plants: by photosynthesis to make food Animals: depend on other organisms for food (i.e. to eat other organisms)

Respiration
The process of releasing energy from food to support daily activities Carbon Food + Oxygen + Water dioxide + Energy Aerobic respiration : requires oxygen Anaerobic respiration : does not require oxygen

Movement
Movement in animals:
Can move from place to place
Locomotion

Fast Purposes of locomotion:

To find food and mates To find place to live To escape from enemies and dangers

Movement
Movement in plants:
Cannot move their whole bodies Cannot move from place to place By growth Slow Purposes of movement in plants:
To get more sunlight for photosynthesis To reach more water for absorption

Growth
Increase in size Increase in complexity Irreversible Animals grow faster than plants Animals
occur all over the body stop growing when reached a certain size

Plants
occur at only some regions of the body throughout their lives

Irritability (Sensitivity)
To detect changes from the To detect stimuli from the environment To make suitable responses to the changes Animals: to make responses quickly by movement Plants: to make responses slowly by growth

Reproduction
To produce offspring similar to their parents To enable them to continue to exist through generations
To avoid extinction

May involve one or two parents

Excretion
The removal of metabolic wastes produced by the body Metabolic wastes are harmful when accumulated Metabolic wastes include:
Carbon dioxide Urea Faeces Not produced by the body

Excretion
Animals remove metabolic wastes by:
sweating breathing out urination

Plants remove metabolic wastes by:

turning them into harmless substances storing them into leaves and remove them when the leaves fall

Nature of science
The world is understandable
People can discover patterns in all of nature

Nature of science
Scientific ideas are dynamic and subject to change
New discoveries may challenge preexisting theories

Nature of science
Scientific knowledge is durable
Modification of ideas is the norm in science

Nature of science
Science cannot provide complete answers to all questions

Scientific method
Making observations Asking questions Proposing a hypothesis Making predictions Doing experiments
If the hypothesis is rejected

Drawing conclusions

Experimental and control set-up

Control set-up
Same as experimental set-up but the factor under investigation is absent

Variables
Independent variable
can be manipulated during the experiment

Dependent variable
cannot be manipulated during the experiment its change is caused by the change in the independent variable during the experiment

Controlled variable
maintained constant throughout the experiment

Observation

Asking question

Proposing hypothesis

Making prediction

Doing experiments
Independent variable
Presence / absence of cover

Dependent variable
Presence / absence of flies

Controlled variables
Size of meat used Kind of meat used Size of jar used Temperature Time

Doing experiments
Experimental set-up

Doing experiment
Control set-up

Drawing conclusion

Forwarding questions
Does this experiment REALLY support his hypothesis?? i.e. are there any mistakes in the design of the experiment that may not allow the result obtained to draw the conclusion he wants?

Homework: P.9 Practical 1.1

The homework should include:
Independent variable Dependent variable Controlled variables (at least 3 examples) Steps (You should have experimental and controlled set-up)