Biology 101- Intro to Biology

-Cells and organization: organisms have an internal order; Each is composed of a cell, the simplest form of life
- Energy Use and Metabolism: breaking down of nutrients for energy
- Response to Environmental Changes: adaptation: process and structures which organisms adjust to short term or long term changes in environment
- Regulation and Homeostasis: maintaining of the stable internal conditions
- Growth and Development: produces organisms with a defined set of characteristics
- Reproduction: copy of DNA passed from one organism to another
- Biological Evolution: changing of organisms over the course of many generations

Atoms, Molecules and macromolecules, Cells, Tissues, Organs, Organisms, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biosphere

Many molecules that bond together to form a polymer. Examples: Carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids (i.e. DNA and RNA)

A group of organisms of the same species that occupy the same environment

Community: assemblage of populations of different species; determined by the environment and the interactions of the species
Ecosystem: Formed by interactions of a community of organisms with the physical environment
Biosphere: includes all of the places on Earth, where living organisms exist, encompassing the air, water and land

Traditional way to view evolution involves a progression of changes in a series of ancestors (lineage).
New species evolve through mutations (change in genetic material of organisms)
Beneficial mutations lead to natural selection

Genetic exchange between different species.
Example: bacteria transfer genes between cells, tend to occur between members of the same bacterial species

Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya

Eukaryotic cells have a cell nucleus, where the genetic material is surrounded by a membrane.

Fungi, Animals, Plants, and Protists

Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

The two part scientific name given to organisms.
Example: homo sapiens

Refers to the complete genetic makeup of an organism

Acts as a stable informational unit: Genome of every organism stores information that provides a blueprint to create their characteristics
Provides continuity from generation to generation: Genome is copied and transmitted from generation to generation
Acts as an instrumental of evolutionary change: undergoes a mutation, may acquire new genes from a horizontal transfer

The technology used to analyze the DNA sequence of genomes; allowing the comparison of genomes of different species, their similarities and differences