1. Day 1 – Introduction to Biology
Objectives
After this class, students will be able to:
Have a better understanding of what biology is
Define “biology”
Define “organism”
List the 9 characteristics of life
Unit 1 – Introduction to Biology

2. What is Biology? Biology is the study of life.
Characteristics & behaviours
Classification
Many biological fields … botanists, zoologists, anthropologists
Biology is the study of life. It looks at the characteristics, and behaviors of living things and classifies them according to their characteristics. There are many biological fields that study certain aspects of life in more depth. For example, botanists study plants, zoologists study animals and anthropologists study human beings.
A key aspect of biology is simply learning about the different types of living things around you. Life on Earth includes not only the common organisms you notice every day, but also distinctive life forms that have unusual behaviours.
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

3. Why It’s Important
Biologists seek answers to questions about living things.
Biologists use many methods to answer their questions about life.
During this course, you will gain an understanding of the questions and answers of biology, and how the answers are learned.
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

4. Biologists Study the Diversity of Life
Biologists study the interactions of the environment.
Biologists study problems and propose solutions.
- because no living things, including humans, exist in isolation, the study of biology must include investigation of living interactions… what animals eat, where they live, what they prey on, etc. The study of one living thing always involves the study of the others with which it interacts.
- the future of biology holds many exciting promises. Biological research can lead to advances in medical treatment and disease prevention in humans and in other organisms. It can reveal ways to help preserve organisms that are in danger of disappearing, and solve other problems.
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

5. Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance
Even though the moose and plants pictured here appear to be completely different from each other, they share certain characteristics that make them both living things. Animals and plants, as well as other organisms such as mushrooms and bacteria, all exhibit the basic characteristics of life. As strange as some forms of life may appear to be, there is order in the natural world.
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

6. What is Life? difficult to define 9 Signs of life …
Life is difficult to define, but scientists have agreed upon the “signs of life”. When something possesses all of these “signs of life” they can be defined as living things or organisms
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

7. Characteristics of Living Things
Biologists have formulated a list of characteristics by which we can recognize living things.
Only when something has all of the characteristics can it be considered living:
Have an orderly structure
Produce offspring
Grow and develop
Adjust to changes in the environment
Characteristics of “life” – What do we mean when we say that something is alive? Look out the window. Do you see a dead tree? What makes you think that it is dead? In the winter, most of our trees do not look like they are alive, but in the spring, tiny buds at the end of twigs will grow into new leaves. The growth of new leaves is a sign of life. Scientists have agreed upon 9 signs of life for each living organism.
Recognizing life’s characteristics and the methods used to study life provides a basis for understanding the living world.

8. 9 Characteristics of Life
living things are made up of one or more cells, which are the smallest units that can be said to be alive
living things are highly organized and contain many complex chemical substances
living things use energy
living things have a definite form and a limited size
living things have a limited life span
living things grow
living things respond to changes in the environment
living things are able to reproduce
groups of living things evolve, or change over time
Everything on Earth can be categorized into one of three groups. Non-living things may possess some of these nine signs, but never all. Once-living things possessed all of the signs when they were living, and living things possess all nine of the signs.

9. Living things are organized
Structure is one of the first signs of life.
Composed of one or more cells.
Each cell contains the genetic makeup (DNA) that provides all of the information needed to control the organism’s life processes.
Whether an organism is made up of one cell or billions of cells, all of its parts function together in an orderly, living system.

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12. Living things make more living things
Reproduction = the production of offspring
Organisms don’t live forever, so for life to continue, they must replace themselves.
Reproduction is essential for the continuation of the organism’s species
Species = group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring in nature

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14. Living things change during their lives
An organism’s life begins as a single cell, and over time, it grows and takes on the characteristics of is species.
Growth results in an increase in the amount of living material and the formation of new structures.
All organisms grow (even single-celled organisms).
Development = all of the changes that take place during the life of an organism.
Organisms made up of only one cell may change little during their lives, but they do grow. On the other hand, organisms made up of numerous cells go through many changes during their lifetimes. Think about some of the structural changes your body has undergone since you were born.

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16. Living things adjust to their surroundings
Organisms live in a constant interface with their surroundings.
Environment – includes the air, water, weather, temperature, any other living organism in the area, and many other factors.
Anything in an organism’s external or internal environment that causes the organism to react is a stimulus.
A reaction to a stimulus is called a response.
The ability to respond to stimuli in the environment is an important characteristic of living things.

17. Living things adjust to their surrounding
Homeostasis – the regulation of an organism’s internal environment to maintain conditions suitable for its survival.
This is a process that occurs in all living things.
Maintain internal temperature necessary for life
Living things reproduce themselves, grow and develop, respond to external stimuli, and maintain homeostasis by using energy.
Energy is the ability to cause change.
Organisms get their energy from food.
without the ability to adjust to internal changes, organisms die.
Plants make their own food, whereas animals, fungi, and other organisms get their food from plants or from organisms that consume plants.

18. Living things adapt and evolve
Any inherited structure, behaviour, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to environmental factors and live to produce offspring is called an adaptation.
Inherited from previous generations.
Some are more suited to new conditions than others.
Evolution is the gradual change in a species through adaptations over time.
Adaptations are inherited from previous generations. There are always some differences in the adaptations of individuals within any population of organisms. As the environment changes, some adaptations are more suited to new conditions than others. Individuals with more suitable adaptations are more likely to survive and reproduce. As a result, individuals with these adaptations become more numerous in the population.
Clues to the way the present diversity of life came about may be understood through the study of evolution. In this course, you will study how the THEORY of evolution can help answer many of the questions people have about living things.

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All photos are from natioalgeographic.com
Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

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28. Section Assessment
What are some important reasons for studying biology?
Identify and describe how an organism could respond to an external stimulus. Describe a response to an internal stimulus.
Why is energy required for living things? How do living things obtain energy?
Describe how biologists’ research contributes to our understanding of the world.
Have students reflect on these questions, then review answers with them.

29. The Life Project
ns_lanting_s_lyrical_nature_photos.html
16:20 minutes
- Show to students if time left at the end of class. If not, show at the beginning of class #2.