PRELIMINARIES

Module Title: Chapter 1

Course Title: General Biology
Course Number: GE111+
Course Description: This course covers the study of Basic principles of general biology as they relate
to the cellular, organismic and population levels of organization. Includes cell ultrastructure and function,
energy transfer, reproduction, genetics, evolution, diversity of organisms, and ecology.

Total Learning Time: 2 hours

Learning Outcomes:
1. Distinguish between living and nonliving things by describing the features that characterize living things.
2. Define biology, explain its scope and distinguish the different branches of modern biology.
3. Introduce the scientific method as a way of explaining phenomena, describe the steps involved in making
and testing a hypothesis.

Discussion:

Biology—The study of life. The Greek word bios means “life,” and -logy means “study of.”

It is a vast subject with many subdisciplines that concentrate on specific aspects of biology.
Microbiology, for example, concentrates on those biological processes and structures that are too small
for us to see with our eyes. Biochemistry studies the chemical processes that make life possible, and
population biology deals with the dynamics of many life forms interacting in a community. Since biology
is such a vast field of inquiry, most biologists end up specializing in one of these subdisciplines.
Nevertheless, before you can begin to specialize, you need a broad overview of the science itself. That’s
what this course is designed to give you. But first let’s look at what science really is. You may think that
science is a book full of facts that you need to learn. But that’s not what science is at all. While science is
a collection of information, it is also much more. Science is a process—a way of investigating,
understanding, and explaining the natural world around us. Scientists carefully gather and organize
information in an orderly way so that they can find patterns or connections between different
phenomena. Scientists then use the patterns, connections, and explanations to make useful predictions.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

Characteristics of living Organisms

We can easily say that human beings, a mango tree, or a cat, are living things, while rocks in the bottom
of a pond are not. Despite their differences living things share a host of characteristics that distinguish
them from nonliving things. These features include a precise kind of organization, metabolism, the ability
to maintain an appropriate internal environment despite changes in the external environment,
responsiveness, movement, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to changes in the environment.

Organization
All living things are composed of basic particles of matter, atoms which combine chemically to form
molecules. For example, a water molecule is formed from two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen. This the simplest level of organization of living things.

The next level is the cellular level where various molecules associate to form complex and highly
organized structures within dolls, the organelles. Organelles are suspended within or surrounding the
cytoplasm of the cell, the basic functional unit of living things. Examples of organelles include the
mitochondria and the nucleus that contains the hereditary materials, the genes. The simplest forms of life -
bacteria and paramecia, for example-are single-celled, also called unicellular organisms. Other life
forms are dustered in colonies. In multicellular organisms, cells which are similar in structure and
function are grouped into tissues, such as the muscle, nervous, and connective tissues in animals. Tissues,
in turn, are arranged into functional structures called organs, such as the kidney and stomach in animals,
or the leaves and roots in plants. For each biological function, a group of organs called an organ system
perform their function; for example, the digestive and excretory system Working together with precision,
the organ systems make up a complex organism.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

As organisms interact with each other, they form a more complex level of organization, the ecological
organization. The members of one species that live in the same area comprise a population, for example,
a pack of horses. The populations of organisms that inhabit a particular area and interact with one another
is a community. The pack of horses together with trees insects and grasses form a community. All
communities of living organisms are referred to as the biosphere. A community together with the
nonliving environment a referred to as an ecosystem such as a river ecosystem. The largest ecosystem is
the planet earth with all its inhabitants, forming the ecosphere. The ecosphere represents all interactions
among the biosphere, and the earth's air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere) and the earth's crust
(lithosphere). In a later chapter, we will study ecology in detail, or how organisms in a community relate
to one another and to their physical environment

Non-Living organisms such as rocks are also composed of atoms and molecules just like living things.
However, these are not grouped into cells, tissues, and organs such as those found in living things.
Metabolism
Chemical reactions and energy transformations which are needed in the maintenance of cell organization,
growth, repair and other activities of the cell, occur in all living things. For example, a tree captures a part
of the energy from the sun to manufacture energy-rich sugars from water and carbon dioxide. Animals, in
turn, eat plants and other animals, drink water, and inhale oxygen and other gases from the environment.
the sum of all the chemical activities in living organisms is called metabolism. Metabolic activities
continuously take place in living organisms. These activities must be carefully regulated to maintain an
internal balance or homeostasis. Neither metabolic activities nor homeostasis are observed in nonliving
things.
Growth and Development
A nonliving thing, like a piece of rock, may appear to increase in size or grow by accretion. This involves
the addition of materials on the surface of the rock. However, this is not growth in the biological sense.' A
biologist defines growth as the increase in mass brought about by the increase in the size of individual
cells, or by the number of cells, or by both (Solomon et al., 1993). Several parts of the body may grow
uniformly in an organism, while it may be greater in some parts than in others, thus, body proportions
may change as growth occurs. For example, in humans the body grows faster than the head, therefore the
head becomes proportionately smaller in size in relation to the body in an adult. Most animals stop
growing when a characteristic size is reached in adulthood while most plants continue growing
indefinitely. Remarkably, each part of the body continues to function while growth is taking place.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

Movement and Irritability
One of the characteristics of living things is movement, although not necessarily locomotion, or moving
from one place to another. Animals move obviously they walk, run, fly, swim, etc. Unicellular organisms
may have cília (tiny hairlike structures on the surface) or flagella (long,whiplike structures) for
locomotion. Plants, on the other hand, move more slowly and less obviously. Plants tend to orient their
leaves toward the sun, and the living materials within their cells are continuously moving. Some
organisms which are permanently attached or sessile do not move from place to place.

Living things are able to respond to stimuli-chemical or physical changes in their environment. For
instance, when you come from bright sunlight into a dark room, your eyes have to make automatic
internal adjustments. Soon, you will be able to see well despite reduced lighting. Plants possess less
readily apparent homeostatic adjustments. Stems grow up and roots grow down even if you invert the
mongo plant! The term irritability may be used to refer to short-term responses and their responses to
stimuli constitute what we call as the behavior of the organism. A nonliving thing like steel may respond
to heat by mechanically expanding, but it is not able to adapt to its environment.

Reproduction
At one time, maggots were thought to come from decaying meat and frogs from the mud of the Nile. Now
we know that a living thing can come only from a previously existing organism. One of the fundamental
principles of biology states that "life comes only from living things.” These characteristics of
reproduction may be the very essence of life. Simple organisms may reproduce by asexual means, that is,
without the union of sex cells. For instance, an amoeba simply splits into two when it reaches a certain
size. Before that, it duplicates its genetic material (gene) so that the resulting two cells will each have a
duplicate copy of the genes of the parent cell. Plants and animals reproduce sexually by means of special
cells (sperm and egg) that fuse to form a zygote. Here, the offspring is not a duplicate of a single parent,
but the product of the interactions of the genes contributed by both the father and mother.
Adaptation to the Environment
In addition to their ability for homeostatic adjustments which adapt individuals to the environment, there
are inherited adaptations that are passed on to their descendants. Adaptations are traits that enhance the
individual's ability to survive in a particular environment. Such adaptation - structural, behavioral,
physiological, or a combination of all of these - comes about through a process of natural selection. For
instance, the thick fur of the polar bear enables it to survive the cold winters of the Arctic region. Such
adaptation probably came about through the elimination of bears with thin fur. Only those with thick fur
survived and reproduced, transmitting this favorable trait to their descendants.
In summary, living things are composed of cells. They carry on metabolism, maintain homeostasis, grow,
and reproduce. They also respond to stimuli in their environment, and evolve and adapt to it.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

Biology is the study of living things. It is divided into three major branches: botany, the study of plants;
zoology, the study of animals; and microbiology, the study of microorganisms. The branches of biology,
based on concepts being studied, evolved through the years. Today, there are at least 13 various branches
of this science and these are:
1. Biosystematics - deals with the identification, naming, and classification of organisms. This is the
modern term for taxonomy. It can be further subdivided into plant, animal, and microbial systematics.
Further subdivisions of biology lead to specific fields such as entomology (the study of insects),
ornithology (the study of birds), herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians), cnidarology (the
study of corals), ichthyology (the study of fishes), bryology (the study of mosses and liverworts),
pteridology (the study of ferns), mycology (the study of fungi), phycology (the study of
algae),bacteriology (the study of bacteria), etc.
2. Biogeography - the study of the geographical distribution of organisms. This branch of biology is
subdivided into phytogeography (plant and zoogeography (animal geography).
3. Molecular biology or biochemistry - the study of the chemistry of living things. Molecular biology
includes gene biology and aspects of organic chemistry.
4. Cell biology or Cytology - the study of cells.
5. Histology - the study of tissues.
6. Organismic biology - the study of organ systems.
7. Ecology- the study of the relationships of organisms and their environment. This may include
community biology/ecology.
8. Morphoanatomy - the study of the structure (gross) of living organisms,
9. Physiology - the study of biological functions.
10. Genetics - the study of heredity and variation.
11. Reproductive biology- the study of the various aspects of reproduction.
12. Developmental biology - the study of the development of organisms from gamete formation to birth,
(embryology) and other developmental processes.
13. Paleontology - the study of fossil records.
There are other branches which are related to applied fields such, as pathology (the study of disease),
parasitology (the study of parasites) and ethology (the study of the behavior of organisms).

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

How Do We Study Living Things?

Man has always been curious about living things around him - what they are, how they live, how they
affect us, and what we can do with them. This leads us to explore, investigate, and find answers to your
questions. Different people may have different ways of obtaining answers. Our forefathers interpreted
events such as the infestation of crops and the outbreak of epidemics as judgment of the gods and as
punishment for their sins. In the Philippines, such explanations led to formulating superstitious beliefs,
some of which still prevail today. But we know for certain now that some tiny organisms around us can
be the cause of many diseases. How did we get to know all these? The process and logical approach to
explain events, occurrences and phenomena is commonly termed today as - the scientific method.

The Scientific Method

The information in your science textbooks is the result of many scientific investigations which may have
been first published in a scientific journal. The most important basis for modern science today is the
publication done by scientists and disseminated worldwide, open for further studies and validation by
other scientists. Scientists are people who are basically curious about the world around them. They
observe naturally occurring phenomena and ask questions. They have been equipped by training or by
their natural curiosity and inclination to probe answers to the questions they first posed to themselves.
The scientific method is the approach scientists use in their study of living things. It is a useful way of
reasoning that can also be applied by nonscientists to answer everyday questions. It is important for the
laymen - ordinary people like you and me - to understand and be able to apply the scientific method in our
daily lives.
The scientific method can be outlined in the following steps:
1. Keenly observe things around you. Observation leads you to ask questions such as how, why, where
and when. Your questions lead you to formulate State your problem.
2.State the question in terms of a hypothesis or an assumption. A hypothesis is a tentative explanation or
prediction that guides inquiry or investigation of a question formed.
3. Make predictions or forecast results based on the hypothesis or assumption a question.
4. Test the hypothesis through observation or conducting an experiment.
5. Compare the results of your experiment with the predictions to determine if the results support or reject
the hypothesis/assumption. In other words, arrive at a conclusion from your observations or experiments.

6. If the results support your hypothesis, make additional predictions and do more experiments or make
more observations to further validate. If the hypothesis/assumption is rejected, develop and test a new
hypothesis or assumption.
These steps are explained in more detail in the next discussion.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

Principles of the Scientific Method

It is easier to devise an experiment to test a hypothesis or an assumption with a question. This is the
reason for stating your question or inquiry in the form of a hypothesis or assumption. For example, you
make the following observation about your lawn at home: "It is the rainy season but the grass in my lawn
appears yellow and dying." That it has been raining lately rules out the lack of water as the root of the
problem. A question then comes to mind is: "I wonder if the grass needs fertilizer?
The observation and question can be restated as a hypothesis or an assumption. "Since the lawn is
receiving plenty of light and water and the weather is warm enough, the lack of fertilizer must be the
reason the grass in my lawn is dying."
A hypothesis or an assumption is a tentative explanation or an educated guess for the observations we
make. If the hypothesis or assumption is correct, we can make some predictions out of it which should be
true. In our example of the lawn, if the lack of fertilizer is the reason for the poor condition of the lawn,
we can then predict that adding fertilizer will make the lawn lush and healthy again. We have made a
prediction based on a hypothesis or an assumption.
In many cases, the prediction from a hypothesis can be stated in the generalized form of an if-then
statement if the hypothesis/assumption is true, then when I do something, this will happen. In the
particular case of the lawn: if the hypothesis rue, then when I fertilize the lawn, it will be healthy again.
An alternative when making observations is: if the hypothesis/assumption is true, when I do this action,
the following can happen.
The next step is to go ahead and test the prediction by actually conducting tests or doing experiments, in
the case of the lawn by applying fertilizer Then, observe the results and reach a conclusion. If the lawn is
still in poor shar several weeks after fertilizer application, meaning the results are not as you predicted or
hypothesized, you can conclude that the hypothesis or assumption you made is false. You proceed to
formulate and test another hypothesis. For example, fungal disease could be causing the condition. On the
other hand, if the lawn starts to grow lush green again, then the results are as predicted and you can
conclude that the experiment supports your hypothesis.
If you are a weekend gardener, you will probably be content to apply fertilizer on your lawn every season,
leave it that way and wait for results. But if you were to investigate your lawn's problem in a scientific
manner, several important points may need to be considered.
1) The concept of a control.' It is possible for your lawn to be healthy without fertilizer. Besides, how sure
are you that the lack of fertilizer was the cause for the yellowing of the grass? Perhaps fungi and dry
weather were responsible for the killing of the fungi. In a scientific experiment, you must have a control
subject which has not been applied with fertilizers, in addition to the experimental subject which receives
the treatment. In the ss of your lawn, half of the lawn can be your unfertilized control subject the other
half, the fertilized experimental treatment. If the entire lawn turns green, you reject the hypothesis; if the
fertilized half turns green. the results support your hypothesis that the lack of fertilizer was the cause why
your lawn was unhealthy

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA

2.) Need to replicate. When scientific experiments are done on an individual organism, one must have a
large number of organisms called replicates in both the control and experimental groups. In the case of
your lawn, you auld need a number of replicates or trials to make sure variations in soil type or soil
moisture from one part of the lawn to another did not affect the results. You could divide the lawn into 10
sections, pick five of those sections at random and fertilize them, leaving the other five un controls

3.) Need to modify one variable at a time. In a scientific experiment, the control must be treated in exactly
the same way as the experiment subject, except for A variable. For example, the fertilized areas of your
own lawn were watered more efficiently than the control areas; in which case you cannot conclude that
the greening was due to fertilizer; it could have been caused by the extra watering the lawn received,

4.) A Need to quantify measurements. You may be satisfied with the results of your experiment and say,
"Wow, the lawn turned green again and is now growing lush!" In a scientific experiment, impressions are
not enough. The results must be quantifiable, that is measurable in such tern as weight length, number of
individuals, rates (eg, weight change per unit time), etc. In the case of your lawn, you could mow the
fertilized areas and the control area, saving and weighing the grass clippings from each area. If the
experiment supports the hypothesis, the grass clippings from the fertilized areas will weigh heavier than
grass from the control areas (assuming an equal area devoted to both the control and experimental groups

Bear in mind several other points when applying the scientific method.
a) Be cautious in making conclusions; do not conclude more than your results justify. In the example of
the lawn, we do not know if the grass roots have grown longer in the fertilized areas. We do not know if
the neighbor's lawn needs fertilizer We do not know if shrubs and trees in or around the lawn also need
fertilizers, so we should not be tempted to make conclusions about them

b) Your hypothesis assumption must be capable of being tested. "A supernatural force is preventing my
lawn from growing is not a testable hypothesis and is therefore outside the realm of science.
c.) A scientist carefully records his observations and data so that the experiment can be repeated.
d.) A scientist publishes the results of the experiment in scientific journals so other scientists can either
repeat or extend the experimental observations.
e) The experiment must be done properly. In the case of the lawn, if too much fertilizer is applied the
grass may still die, and the results would not support your hypothesis, even if your lawn needed fertilizer.
f.) You do not always have to experimentally manipulate some variable in order to use the scientific
method. Sometimes you can test the prediction of your hypothesis by making quantitative measurements
on a system you have not disturbed experimentally.

This is the Intellectual Property of Renz Kennedy L. Dollete RMT, DTA