Biology: A Global Approach
Chapter 1 Biology and Its Themes 2
Concept 1.1 The study of life reveals unifying themes 2
Theme: New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organisation 2
Theme: Life’s Processes Involve the Expression and Transmission of Genetic
Information 3
Theme: Life Requires the Transfer and Transformation of Energy and Matter 4
Theme: From Molecules to Ecosystems, Interactions Are Important in Biological
Systems 5
1
, Chapter 1 Biology and Its Themes
Concept 1.1 The study of life reveals unifying themes
Biology is the scientific study of life. There are five unifying themes/ways of thinking about
life that will still be useful decades from now.
- Organization
- Information
- Energy and Matter
- Interactions
- Evolution
Theme: New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organisation
Organization. The study of life on Earth extends from the microscopic scale of the molecules
and cells that make up organisms to the global scale of the entire living planet.
1. The Biosphere: consists of all life on Earth and all the places where life exists.
2. Ecosystems: consists of all the living things in a particular area, along with all the
nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts.
3. Communities: the array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem. Each of the
forms of life belongs to a species (a group whose members can only reproduce with
other members of the group).
4. Population: consists of all the individuals of a species living within the bounds of a
specified area that interbreed with each other.
5. Organisms: individual living things.
6. Organs: a body part that is made up of multiple tissues and has specific functions in
the body. Within an organ, each tissue has a distinct arrangement and contributes
particular properties to organ function.
7. Tissues: a group of cells that work together, performing a specialized function.
8. Cells: life’s fundamental unit of structure and function.
9. Organelles: the various functional components present in cells.
10.Molecules: a chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms.
Reductionism is an approach that reduces complex systems to simpler components that are
more manageable to study.
Emergent properties are new properties that arise with each stem upward in the hierarchy of
life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases. Isolated
components of the living system (the objects of study in a reductionist approach), lack a
number of significant properties that emerge at higher levels of organization.
To fully explore emergent properties, biologists today complement reductionism with systems
biology, an approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole
biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts.
At each level of the biological hierarchy, we find a correlation between structure and function.
The elegant match of form and function in the structures of life is explained by natural
selection.
The cell is the smallest unit of organization that can perform all activities required for life. The
Cell Theory states that all living organisms are made of cells, which are the basic unit of life.
2
Chapter 1 Biology and Its Themes 2
Concept 1.1 The study of life reveals unifying themes 2
Theme: New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organisation 2
Theme: Life’s Processes Involve the Expression and Transmission of Genetic
Information 3
Theme: Life Requires the Transfer and Transformation of Energy and Matter 4
Theme: From Molecules to Ecosystems, Interactions Are Important in Biological
Systems 5
1
, Chapter 1 Biology and Its Themes
Concept 1.1 The study of life reveals unifying themes
Biology is the scientific study of life. There are five unifying themes/ways of thinking about
life that will still be useful decades from now.
- Organization
- Information
- Energy and Matter
- Interactions
- Evolution
Theme: New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organisation
Organization. The study of life on Earth extends from the microscopic scale of the molecules
and cells that make up organisms to the global scale of the entire living planet.
1. The Biosphere: consists of all life on Earth and all the places where life exists.
2. Ecosystems: consists of all the living things in a particular area, along with all the
nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts.
3. Communities: the array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem. Each of the
forms of life belongs to a species (a group whose members can only reproduce with
other members of the group).
4. Population: consists of all the individuals of a species living within the bounds of a
specified area that interbreed with each other.
5. Organisms: individual living things.
6. Organs: a body part that is made up of multiple tissues and has specific functions in
the body. Within an organ, each tissue has a distinct arrangement and contributes
particular properties to organ function.
7. Tissues: a group of cells that work together, performing a specialized function.
8. Cells: life’s fundamental unit of structure and function.
9. Organelles: the various functional components present in cells.
10.Molecules: a chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms.
Reductionism is an approach that reduces complex systems to simpler components that are
more manageable to study.
Emergent properties are new properties that arise with each stem upward in the hierarchy of
life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases. Isolated
components of the living system (the objects of study in a reductionist approach), lack a
number of significant properties that emerge at higher levels of organization.
To fully explore emergent properties, biologists today complement reductionism with systems
biology, an approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole
biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts.
At each level of the biological hierarchy, we find a correlation between structure and function.
The elegant match of form and function in the structures of life is explained by natural
selection.
The cell is the smallest unit of organization that can perform all activities required for life. The
Cell Theory states that all living organisms are made of cells, which are the basic unit of life.
2
