Introduction to

Biology

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 Biology – The Study of Life
 Life arose more
than 3.5 billion
years ago
 First organisms
(living things) were
single celled
 Organisms changed
over time (evolved)

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 New organisms
arose from older
kinds
 Today there are
millions of species
 They inhabit
almost every
region of Earth
today
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BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY

(-OLOGY, -ONOMY = STUDY

OF)
ANATOMY

Structure of
living things
BACTERIOLOGY

Bacteria
BIOCHEMISTRY
Chemical
processes in living
organisms
 BOTANY

Plant life
CYTOLOGY

Cells function,
structure, and
chemistry
 DERMATOLOGY

Skin
ECOLOGY

Interrelationships
between
organisms and
their environment
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Epidemics,
Widespread
diseases
ENTOMOLOGY
Insects
ETHOLOGY
Animal
behavior
 GENETICS
The process
by which
genetic
information is
passed from
parents to
offspring
(Genes and
heredity)
 HERPETOLOGY
Reptiles and amphibians
Reptiles Amphibians
Crocodiles Frogs
Alligators Toads
Turtles Salamander
Lizards Anurans
ICHTHYOLOGY
Fish
MARINE BIOLOGY/
OCEANOGRAPHY
Sea creatures
and the
underwater
environment
MAMMALOGY
Mammals

(Warm blooded,
Have hair,
Make milk)
MICROBIOLOGY

Microscopic
organisms
 MYCOLOGY
Fungi
 NUTRITION
Diet and
health
 ORNITHOLOGY

Birds
 PALEONTOLOGY

Prehistoric
life
PATHOLOGY
Diseases caused
by organisms
(bacteria, fungi,
protist, viruses)

Pathos- sickness
SCATOLOGY

Animal
droppings
PHYSIOLOGY
How
organisms
function
and carry
out
physical/
chemical
processes
TAXONOMY
The
groupings
of living
things
VIROLOGY

Viruses and
virus-like
agents (prions)
ZOOLOGY

The animal
kingdom
The World of Biology

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What are the shared properties
that make something “alive”?
 How do we find meaning level of
organization in its structure?
How do we organized the different
kinds of organisms so that we can
better understand them?

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Characteristics of Life

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Organization ( Order )
 Organized at both the
molecular and cellular
levels
 Take in substances
from the environment
and organize them in
complex ways
 Specific cell
structures (organelles)
carry out particular
functions
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 In multicellular
organisms, cells
and groups of
cells (tissues) are
organized by
their function
 Cells 
tissues
 Tissues 
organs
 Organs 
systems
 Systems 
 ORGANISM
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Energy Use / Energy Processing

 Use energy in a process called metabolism

 Sum of all chemical processes
 Require energy to maintain their molecular
and cellular organization, grow and
reproduce

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Homeostasis
 Maintain stable internal conditions
 Temperature, pH, etc.

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Growth
 Grow occurs as the result of cell
division and cell enlargement
 Cell division is the formation of two
cells from a preexisting cell
 New cells enlarge as they mature
 When a cell grows to a size where
its surface area isn’t big enough
for its volume, the cell divides
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Development
 The process by which an adult organism
arise is called development
 Repeated cell divisions and cell
differentiation

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 Reproduction
 All species have the ability to reproduce
 Not essential to survival of individual
but is essential for continuation of a
species

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Responsiveness ( Sensitivity )
 Respond to stimuli in the
external environment
 Detect and respond to
changes in light, heat,
sound and chemical and
mechanical contact
 Coordinates it’s
responses

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Evolve ( Adaptation )
 Ability to adapt to their environment
through the process of evolution
 Favorable characteristics are selected for
and passed on to offspring
 Called adaptations
 Driven by
natural selection
or “survival of the
fittest”

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Biologists study many different systems
from the molecular to the biosphere level.
 From the
smallest level…
1. ATOMS
2. Molecules
The smallest unit of matter that
cannot be broken down into
anything simpler by chemical The smallest units of most
means. compounds formed by the
chemical bonding of atoms.

3. Organelles
Specialized structures that
perform important cellular
functions within cells.
4. Cell
The smallest unit of life –
collections of living matter
enclosed by a barrier that
separates them from their
surroundings.
 From the smallest
level…
6. Organs
5. Tissues

Groups of tissues that work

Groups of similar cells that together to perform closely
perform a particular function. related functions.

7. Organ Systems
Groups of organs that work
together to perform closely
related functions.
8. Organisms
Living things composed cells
(multicellular organisms).
Species =a group of organisms so
similar to one another that they can
breed and produce FERTILE
OFFSPRING.
…to the largest level.
10. Community
9.Population

Groups of different populations that

Groups of individuals of the
live together in a defined area.
same species that live in the
same area.

12. Biome
11.Ecosystem
Groups of ecosystems that
Groups of all the organisms have the same climate and
that live in a particular place, similar dominant
together with their nonliving communities
environment.

13. Biosphere
Part of the Earth in which life exists including
land, water, air and atmosphere.