Summary
• Defining Life and Its Characteristics The study of life, biology, focuses on living organisms that share common traits, including responsiveness to their surroundings, growth, reproduction, energy use, and maintaining internal stability (homeostasis).
• Cell Structure and Function The fundamental unit of life is the cell, categorized into prokaryotic (lacking a nucleus) and eukaryotic (containing a nucleus) types, with the latter housing organelles like mitochondria (energy production), vacuoles (storage), and ribosomes (protein synthesis). DNA, housed in the nucleus, carries genetic information.
• Genetics and Heredity Genes located on chromosomes contain the code for specific proteins and are the basic unit of heredity. Traits are expressed through an individual's genetic makeup, and Gregor Mendel's experiments laid the foundation for understanding traits passed from one generation to the next.
• Diversity of Life and Evolution Life is classified into six kingdoms, and organisms reproduce either asexually or sexually, leading to a variety of life. Natural selection, as theorized by Charles Darwin, explains how organisms with favorable traits survive and pass these traits to the next generation, potentially leading to new species. • Energy and Metabolism Every organism and cell needs energy to create ATP. Metabolism, which is converting food into energy and building materials, is essential for life. Organisms like animals (heterotrophs) consume other organisms for glucose and utilize cellular respiration to produce ATP, while plants produce their own sugar through photosynthesis.
0 comments:
Post a Comment