Study this to ace the

Pre-quarterly test in
Biology! ☺
Biologists blend two main approaches in
scientific investigations

• Relies mainly on
verifiable observations
DISCOVERY- and measurements
BASED SCIENCE

• Involves the use of

scientific method
HYPOTHESIS-
BASED SCIENCE
 HYPOTHESIS – possible logical answer; not an

INDUCTIVE
ordinary guess; based on existing knowledge

BOTTOM-UP TOP-DOWN
approach approach
Specific to General General to Specific

Allows a biologist to Used by biologist to test

formulate a tentative existing theories or

DEDUCTIVE
hypothesis that can hypothesis
later be tested before
producing a general
conclusion.
INDUCTIVE LEAP – common pitfall where
one tends to jump into general observations
from only few specific things.
 PROPERTIES OF LIFE
• GATHERING AND USING ENERGY
(Nutrient Uptake and Processing)

• MAINTAINING INTERNAL BALANCE

(Excretion and Homeostasis)

• RESPONDING, ADAPTING AND EVOLVING

(Motility, Irritability, Adaptation)

• REPRODUCING AND CONTINUING LIFE

(Growth, Development, Reproduction, Heredity)

• LIVING AND INTERACTING

(Levels of biological organization in vertical and horizontal dimensions)
 Gathering and Using Energy
• Using energy and matter for survival
• All living things require ENERGY,
which is produced when complex
organic matter are broken down into
simpler units
• CELLULAR RESPIRATION – the
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6H2O + 6CO2 + energy process by which energy is released
by the breakdown of food substances
• METABOLISM – chemical processes,
reactions and energy changes
happening inside the body of an
organism
 Gathering and Using Energy
NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND PROCESSING

• NUTRITION – the process by which

organisms acquire food
• Plants absorb water and minerals from
the soil and take CO2 from the air
• Animals feed / consume organic food
obtained from plants and animals
• Living organisms process these raw
materials inside their bodies through
various chemical reactions for essential
activities of the human body.
Nutrient Uptake and Processing
 Maintaining Internal Balance
WASTE ELIMINATION

• Enzymes ensure efficient coordination during chemical reactions inside the

organism’s body. (Metabolic Level)
• Hormones are chemical regulators of the body as they control the functions of
activities, growth and development. (Organismal Level)
• HOMEOSTASIS – maintenance of the body’s internal environment
• Organ systems work together to keep the organism alive
 Excretion and Homeostasis
• EXCRETION – process of eliminating wastes from the
body
• HOMEOSTASIS – maintaining internal balance
 Responding, Adapting, and
Evolving
• Organisms react to changes in their
surroundings in a predictable and
meaningful way.
• Motility
• Irritability
• Adaptation
 Responding, Adapting,
and Evolving
MOTILITY and IRRITABILITY

• Motility or Locomotion – movement • Tropism or response – reaction of

organism
• Animals move for a variety of reasons
– for food, for reproduction and for • Sensitivity or irritability – ability to
response to changes in the respond appropriately against a
environment. stimulus
 Adapting and Evolving
ADAPTATION and EVOLUTION

• ADAPTATION is the ability to adjust to • EVOLUTION – change over time

changes in the environment • Evolutionary adaptation is a gradual
• Limited food supply, temperature or rapid change in body structure or
fluctuations and natural calamities behavior to be better suited and to
may be experienced by the organism survive a new environment
 Reproducing and Continuing Life
GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT

• GROWTH – increase in size and

volume through the body cells
• INTUSSUSCEPTION – growth
from within the cells
• ORGANOGENESIS – complex
processes of cell differentiation
and formation of new organs • DEVELOPMENT – undergoing defined
• ACCRETION – external addition stages of living things’ life cycle
of substances
 Reproducing and Continuing Life
REPRODUCTION and HEREDITY

• REPRODUCTION – the process of HEREDITY : Unity in Diversity

passing genetic information to The presence of DNA in every living
produce offspring organism explains the unity of life.
HUMAN CCAAGGTCACGACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCACGACTGTTGAACGA
CHIMPANZEE CCAAGGTCACGACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCATGACTGTTGAACGA
GORILLA CCAAGGTCACAACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCACGACTGTTGAACGA

Genetic code of chimps and gorillas is almost identical to humans

• Atoms
• Molecules
• Organelles
• Cells
• Tissues
• Organs
• Organ Systems
• Organisms
• Populations
• Communities
• Ecosystems
• Biosphere
Biological organization in
vertical dimension
Biological organization in
horizontal dimension
Microscopes have a very long history.
 THE CELL THEORY
the explanation of the relationship between cells and all living organisms

SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN

01 All organisms are

SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN composed of one or
Cells are the smallest more cells.
and basic units of 02
structure and
function in organism. 03
VIRCHOW
Cells arise only from
previously existing cells.
THE CELL THEORY TIMELINE
• Every living thing on the planet is related, connected by
series of cell divisions from earliest ancestors
• The first cells inhabit inconceivable places in the planet.
• Existing forms of living organisms today are the products
of long and still continuing evolution from much simpler
organisms.
Life originated as primitive cells (protocells) from inorganic
and organic molecules in Earth’s prebiotic oceans some
3.5 – 4 billion years ago.

This is known as ORGANIC CHEMICAL EVOLUTION.

ORGANIC CHEMICAL
EVOLUTION

• 1938 – Russian Biochemist Aleksandr

Ivanovich Oparin proposed that
organic molecules might have been
assembled in Earth’s primitive
atmosphere in the presence of strong
energy
 MILLER-UREY Experiment
• 1953 – American chemist Stanley Miller
and Harold Urey designed an
experiment to test Oparin’s hypothesis by
placing a mixture of inorganic
compounds in a closed system, that
resembles the primitive Earth.

• Miller heated, circulated the mixture and

applied an electric spark.

• After a week, amino acids and other

organic compounds were recovered
from the setup.
• The experiment used water
(H2O), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3),
and hydrogen (H2). The chemicals were
all sealed inside a sterile 5-liter glass flask
connected to a 500 ml flask half-full of
water.

• Modern day analysis indicate that an

even more complete list of amino acids
were successfully synthesized in
the Miller-Urey Experiment.

• Miller and Urey concluded that the basis

of spontaneous organic compound
synthesis or early earth was due to the
primarily reducing atmosphere that
existed then.
• The ORGANIC CHEMICAL EVOLUTION
hypothesis states that the first life
forms have evolved from
PROTOCELLS.

• Protocells are hypothesized to have

been formed by the polymerization
of organic molecules in heated rocks
or in clay.

• These might have been enclosed by

a lipid-protein membrane and might
have possessed an enzymatic
activity.

• It evolved over billions of years into a

self-replicating system that gave rise
to the first true living cell.
 Current Interpretation of Modern Cell Theory
Scientists, biologists, researchers and scholars, though still
using the fundamental tenets of cell theory, conclude the
following on the modern interpretation of cell theory:
• Energy flow – metabolism and biochemistry – happens
within cells.
• Cells contain passed on from cell to genetic
information in the form of DNA cell during division.
• In the organisms of similar species, all cells are
fundamentally the same.
• All living organisms consist of one or more cells.
 MICROGRAPHS
are images produced by a microscope.

A micrograph specifies the type of microscope used to produce the

image as well as the magnification value of the image.
 What separates a basic microscope
from a powerful machine used in a
research lab?

Two important parameters in

microscopy:
MAGNIFICATION
RESOLUTION
 MAGNIFICATION RESOLUTION
is a measure of how much larger a the smallest distance by which two points
microscope (or set of lenses within a can be separated and still be
microscope) causes an object to appear. distinguished as separate objects.

It is the measure of optical instruments

for an object to appear larger than its It indicates clarity of an image.
 Both magnification and resolution are important if you want a clear
picture of something very tiny.
For example, if a microscope has high magnification but low resolution,
all you’ll get is a bigger version of a blurry image.
High magnification and resolution are important in revealing the
intricacies of extremely small specimens with enough clarity.

Microscopes in a biology laboratory differ in terms of their

magnification and resolution capabilities.
 • Commonly used in schools
• Can enlarge objects up to
hundred times, most powerful
type has a 2000x magnification
• Used to examine cells and
sections of tissues with the use of
sunlight or artificial light
• A benefit of light microscopy is
that it can often be performed on
living cells, so it’s possible to
Light microscope / watch cells carrying out their
normal behaviors (e.g., migrating
Compound microscope or dividing) under the
microscope.
 Stereo microscope
• Stereo Microscopes enable 3D
viewing of specimens visible to
the naked eye.
• They are commonly known as
Low Power or
Dissecting Microscopes.
• An estimated 99%
of stereo applications employ
less than 50x magnification. Use
them for viewing insects, crystals,
plant life, circuit boards.
 Electron microscope
• Uses streams of electrons instead of beams of light to
enlarge objects up to 10 000 000x
• Electrons have much a shorter wavelength than visible
light, and this allows electron microscopes to produce
higher-resolution images than standard light
microscopes.
• Electron microscopes can be used to examine not just
whole cells, but also the subcellular structures and
compartments within them.
 Light microscopy VS
Scanning electron microscopy
 Comparing light microscopes
and electron microscopes

LIGHT MICROSCOPE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

Uses visible light Uses beam of electrons
Lower resolution and Higher resolution and
magnification magnification
Cells can be alive or dead Cells must be dead
Inexpensive, relatively small Expensive, very large
 There are two major types of electron microscopy.

Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

• In transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the sample is cut into

extremely thin slices (for instance, using a diamond cutting edge)
before imaging, and the electron beam passes through the slice
rather than skimming over its surface.
• TEM is often used to obtain detailed images of the internal structures
of cells through sectioned specimens.
 There are two major types of electron microscopy.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

• The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in contrast, is used to

study the 3D surface structures or shapes of objects such as
viruses.
• These micrographs are always black and white, scientists often
add artificial colors for better visibility.
 Fluorescent
microscope
• It illuminates objects stained
with fluorescent dyes that glow
in the dark.

• Fluorescent microscopy had

been used extensively in
studying the location of certain
organelles or substances inside
the cell.
 VIDEO MICROSCOPY
• A process where objects examined using different microscopes can
be photographed or viewed on TV or computer screens.

• Brought by technological advancements in image processing

The figure above shows the sizes of prokaryotic, bacterial, and eukaryotic, plant and animal, cells as well as other molecules
and organisms on a logarithmic scale. Each unit of increase in a logarithmic scale represents a 10-fold increase in the
quantity being measured, so these are big size differences we’re talking about!
 WHY ARE CELLS SO SMALL?
In order to survive, cells must constantly
interact with their surrounding environment.
• Nutrients, water, oxygen, carbon
dioxide and waste products enter
or leave a cell through plasma
membrane.
• Each cell must have abundant
surface area to accommodate
these changes.
• As an object grows, its volume
increases much more quickly than
its surface area.
• Small size maximizes the ratio of
surface area to volume.
Cells need to produce chemical energy (via metabolism) to survive and this
requires the exchange of materials with the environment
• The rate of metabolism of a cell is a function of its mass / volume (larger cells
need more energy to sustain essential functions)
• The rate of material exchange is a function of its surface area (large
membrane surface equates to more material movement)
 Nerve cells are long, yet they are
extremely slender, to keep the SA to Many microscopic extensions of an amoeba’s
Vol Ratio high. membrane provide a large surface area for
absorbing oxygen and providing food.

Cells avoid surface area

limitation in several ways.
The flattened shape of a red blood cell
maximizes its ability to carry oxygen.
 A large surface area maximizes contact with the environment.

A pine tree’s pollen grains Root hairs have tremendous The broad, flat leaves of plants
have extensions that enable surface area for absorbing water. maximize exposure to light.
them to float on air currents.

Feathery gills help in absorbing oxygen Jackrabbits’ enormous ears help the animal
from water. lose excess body heat in the desert air.
 Conversely, low surface areas minimize the
exchange of materials or heat with the
environment.

A hibernating animal conserves warmth by Cactus plants produce few if any leaves,
tucking its limbs close to its body. reducing water loss in its dry habitat.
Lesson 2.3 - BASIC CELL TYPES
Organisms are either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells.

How useful is the cell in classifying organisms?

 Major Cell Types
Greek words:
Pro – before
Karyon – nut
“before the nut”

before
nucleus
The presence
of a specific
type of cell
allows
biologists to
classify true
organisms nucleus Greek words:
Eu – true
based on their Karyon – nut
complexity. “true nut”
 Fossil records show that the first kind of
cell to develop about 3.5 b.y.a. are
PROKARYOTES.

This small size

and simple
structure allow
these
organisms to BACTERIA BLUE-GREEN ALGAE ARCHEANS
reproduce that can thrive / can be found in

very fast.

Air, water, soil, bodies of host Bodies of water Extreme environments

 About 1.8 b.y.a., a new kind of cell
evolved to a larger size and more
complex structural components.
• Complex cells known as EUKARYOTIC CELLS

• Possessed by HIGHER FORMS of organisms

- Fungi, Animals, Plants, and Protists

• Distinct NUCLEUS
- Houses its genetic material, DNA

• They are HIGHLY-ORGANIZED

- Membrane-bound compartments and organelles are neatly
arranged