Biology For Dummies®

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and that is stored in DNA, and that's true in both prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotes are ones that don't Communication is a huge part of science. Without it, discoveries can’t be passed on, and old conclusions can’t be tested with new experiments. When scientists complete some work, they write a paper that explains exactly what they did, what they saw, and what they concluded. Then they submit that paper to a scientific journal in their field. Scientists also present their work to other scientists at meetings, including those sponsored by scientific societies. In addition to sponsoring meetings, these societies support their respective disciplines by printing scientific journals and providing assistance to teachers and students in the field. DISCOVERY SCIENCE OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Quantitative data is numerical data, such as height, weight, and number of individuals who showed a change. It can be analyzed with statistics and presented in graphs. Qualitative data is descriptive data, such as color, health, and happiness. It’s usually presented in paragraphs or tables. The shoot system, located above ground, helps plants capture energy from the sun for photosynthesis. Organs found within the shoot system include leaves, stems, cones, and flowers. Organisms with the best-suited characteristics for their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.This is the heart of natural selection. If there’s competition for survival and not all the organisms are the same, then the ones with the advantageous traits are more likely to survive. If these traits can be inherited, then the next generation will show more of these advantageous traits. Following is a summary of how different molecules break down in the first two pathways of cellular respiration: Yet as humans draw more heavily upon the Earth’s resources, we’re putting stress on many other species and possibly driving them to extinction. The great lesson of biological evolution (a topic we cover in Chapter 12) is that not only do populations change over time but they’re also capable of going extinct. The challenge that humans face today is discovering ways to get what we need but still live in balance with the Earth’s various ecosystems. Getting Up Close and Personal with the Anatomy and Physiology of Animals

Discovery science: When scientists seek out and observe living things, they’re engaging in discovery science, studying the natural world and looking for patterns that lead to new, tentative explanations of how things work (these explanations are called hypotheses). If a biologist doesn’t want to disturb an organism’s habitat, he or she may use observation to find out how a certain animal lives in its natural environment. Making useful scientific observations involves writing detailed notes about the routine of the animal for a long period of time (usually years) to be sure that the observations are accurate. The true heart of science isn’t a bunch of facts — it’s the method that scientists use to gather those facts. Science is about exploring the natural world, making observations using the five senses, and attempting to make sense of those observations. Scientists, including biologists, use two main approaches when trying to make sense of the natural world: Those individuals must have different characteristics.During Darwin’s time, no one knew where these differences came from. Now scientists know that differences in organisms arise due to mutations in DNA combined with the mixing of genetic information during sexual reproduction.

Digestion involves the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food molecules into their smallest subunits. Digestion begins in the mouth and continues in the stomach and small intestine. Responding variables: The factor you measure is the responding variable (also called a dependent variable). Each cell is capable of converting fuel to useable energy. Therefore, cells not only make up living things; they are living things. Cells are found in all plants, animals, and bacteria. Many of the basic structures found inside all types of cells, as well as the way those structures work, fundamentally are very similar, so the cell is said to be the fundamental unit of life. How living things grow, develop, and reproduce, including how these processes are regulated by DNA, hormones, and nerve signals Gene: The fundamental unit of heredity; a specific section of DNA within a chromosome that codes for a specific molecule, usually a proteinAngiosperms (or flowering plants) have vascular tissue and produce both flowers and seeds. Scientists divide the most familiar flowering plants into two groups based on the number of cotyledons they contain in their seeds: Controlled variables: Any factors that you want to remain the same between the treatments in your experiment are controlled variables. Whatever your situation, the table of contents and index can help you find the information you need. The connections between living things, as well as the connections between living things and their environment