What is Biology?
Biology is the scientific study of life, encompassing all living organisms and their interactions with the environment. This chapter introduces the fundamental concepts and properties that define life.
Definition: Biology is the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, and distribution.
The chapter emphasizes that living things must have cells to be considered alive, and viruses are not classified as living organisms. It also highlights the importance of evolutionary adaptation and the seven properties of life biology:
- Reproduction
- Growth and development
- Response to the environment
- Energy processing
- Evolutionary adaptation
- Metabolism
- Homeostasis
Highlight: Cells are the basic unit of life, serving both structural and functional purposes in all living organisms.
The chapter also touches on the concept of evolution, defining it as changes in species over time. It provides examples of evolutionary adaptations, such as variations in bird beak sizes.
Example: The evolutionary adaptation of bird beaks demonstrates how species change over time to better suit their environment and food sources.