AP Bio- Introductory Presentation

Obligatory Introductory Lesson

Is a thing just the sum of its parts?

A Focus on Unifying Themes

(aka "Domains")

Make Sure You Can

Explain how science works as a process.

Contrast science with other ways of looking at the Universe.

Compare the approach taken by reductionist & systems-level modes of scientific analysis.

Explain why biology is a science.

Give a brief explanation of how life is organized across several domains of space & time, and why this organization is necessary.

Big Questions

How is science different from other ways of understanding the Universe?

What are the major questions that biologists study?

Science!

Let Us Begin...

How do living systems receive and exchange information?

How do living systems develop?

Domain 5:

2 things:

• A way to think.
• A body of knowledge

Regulation

How are living systems maintained?

How are living systems monitored and coordinated?

Notes on the "Scientific Method"

Domain 3:

Domain 2:

Domain 4:

Energy

Life is the most ordered system in the Universe

Information

Matter

Different Energy sources for different organisms

DNA is the main information molecule for life

Cells!

The fundamental units of life

Source: David Ng

James Watson & Francis Crick

Life is subject to the energy constraints of the Universe.

No magic allowed!

The high order in living systems is maintained by processing energy.

• Matter cycles through life
• Energy flows

Science is not the only way of thinking

Cells are responsible for all properties of life

Light

Heat

Chemical

Energy

Philosophy Religion

Technology Art...

Domain 1:

The Fundamental Unifying Theory of Biology

Evolution

Adaptation

Common Ancestry

How is science similar? How is it different?

Features that allow an organism to survive in an environment

Charles Darwin!

Floral adaptations in orchids

The world is a very old place.

• ~4.5 billion years of evolution

Camouflage in Whipporwhils

2 Major Modes of Scientific Thought

Systems Thinking

Reductionism: Complex Simple

A Generalized System

Natural Selection

Each Level of Organization emerges from the

interactions of the components of the level beneath

Surroundings

Life's Three Domains:

System

Mollecule

Eukarya

Archea

Bacteria

Output

Process

Input

Biosphere

Organelle

Feedback

Ecosystem

Plantae

Fungi

Animalia

Protista

Cells

Community

Positive Feedback

Negative Feedback

The output decreases the process.

"more gets you less"

Regulatory in nature

The output increases the process.

"more gets you more"

Accelerating in nature

Leads to a Transformation

Population

Tissues

Organism

Organ

To understand systems, models are necessary.

The complexity of models is inherently limited.

Life

The Seven "Science Practices":

1. Use of representations and models 4. Collect Appropriate

Data

2. Use of appropriate mathematics 5. Analyze Data

3. Engage in Scientific Questioning 6. Use Scientific

Explanations

7. Work with information across multiple domains