The production of offspring is a characteristic of life that enables the continuation of a species

What is Biology?

• The principles and concepts of biological science explain nature’s puzzles.

The Science of Biology

• The concepts, principles, and theories that allow people to understand the natural environment for the core of biology, the study of life.

  Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

  • What is Biology?
  • The Science of Biology
  • Biologists study the interactions of life
  • Biologists Study the Diversity of Life
  • Biologists study the interactions of the environment
  • Biologists study problems and propose solutions
  • Characteristics of Living Things
  • Living things are organized
  • Living things make more living things
  • Living things change during their lives
  • Living things adjust to their surroundings
  • Living things adapt and evolve
  • What is the characteristic of life that enables the continuation of a species?
  • What is known as the production of offspring?
  • What is the term that defines the ability of an individual to produce viable offspring?
  • What is a set of moral principles or values that guide decisions about scientific and medical topics?

• A key part of biology is learning about the different kinds of living things around you.

• General biological principles and rules are developed from the answers to questions about life.

Biologists study the interactions of life

• Living things do not live in isolation; they are all functioning parts in the delicate balance of nature.

• Living things depend on other living and nonliving things in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons.

Biologists Study the Diversity of Life

• Many individuals study biology simply for the pleasure or learning about the world of living things.

Biologists study the interactions of the environment

• Because no species can exist in isolation, biology includes the investigation of the interaction between species.

• The study of one species always involves the study of other species with which it interacts.

Biologists study problems and propose solutions

• Biological research can lead to advances in medical treatment and disease prevention in humans and other species.

• The study of biology will teach you how humans function and we fit into the rest of the natural world. It will also equip you with the knowledge required to sustain this planet’s web of life.

Characteristics of Living Things

• Biologists have a formulated list of characteristics by which we can recognize living things.

  • To be considered living, something has possess all of the characteristics.

• Anything that possesses all of the characteristic of life is known as an organism.

• All living things have an orderly structure, produce offspring, grow and develop, and adjust to changes in the environment.

Living things are organized

• All livings things show an orderly structure, or organization.

• All living things are composed of cells. Each cell contains the genetic matter, or DNA, that provides all of the information needed to control the organism’s life processes.

• All living things, despite their number of cells, have parts that function together in an orderly, living system.

Living things make more living things

• Reproduction is the production of offspring.

• Although reproduction is not essential for the survival of an individual organism, it is essential for the continuation of the organism’s species.

• A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring in nature.

Living things change during their lives

• All organisms’ lives originate from a single cell that grows and takes on the characteristics of its species.

• Growth results in an increase in the amount of living material and the formation of new structures.

• All of the changes that take place during the live of an organism are known as its development.

Living things adjust to their surroundings

• An organism’s surroundings are known as their environment.

  • An organism’s environment includes the air, water, weather, temperature, and other organisms in the area, and many other factors.

• Any condition in the environment that requires an organism to adjust is a stimulus. A reaction to a stimulus is a response.

• The ability to respond to stimuli in the environment is an important characteristic of living things.

  • Many of the structures and behaviours of organisms enable them to adjust to the environment.

• Homeostasis is the regulation of an organism’s internal environment to maintain conditions suitable for its survival.

  • Homeostasis is a characteristic of life because it is a process that occurs in all living things.

• Living things reproduce themselves, grow and develop, respond to external stimuli, and maintain homeostasis by using energy. Energy is the ability to do work.

  • Organisms get their energy from food.

Living things adapt and evolve

• Any structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to stimuli and better survive in an environment is called an adaptation.

  • Adaptations are inherited from previous generations.

  • 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.

• The gradual accumulation of adaptations over time is evolution.