Bio Assignment one

1. What are some of the characteristics shared by all living organisms?

2. Why is energy so important to living organisms?

3. What is metabolism and what is its purpose?

4. How is life perpetuated from one generation to the other?

5. How does sexual reproduction help species adapt to a changing environment?

6. What are the principal steps in the scientific method?

7. What is a hypothesis, and what is its importance to the scientific investigation?

8. How would a scientific investigator define the concept of "truth"?

9. How does the fossil record help us understand our natural world today?

10. How do Darwin's concepts of evolution and natural selection help explain the diversity of life on Earth today?

Answers.

1. All living things are made of cells. All living things require and use energy. All living things grow, develop, reproduce and repair themselves. All living things produce waste All living things respond and adapt to their environment. All living things have a life span.

2. The difference between an inanimate object and a living one is that one must have an energy source to replicate. In order to replicate, they need a food source to create that exchange of energy to transform molecules into cells and exhaust the molecules as waist that do not.

3. Metabolism refers to all biochemical reactions which occur in the living organisms. The metabolic reactions differ by the type of the organism. The most intricate form of metabolism is found in mammalians and in particular in humans.

4. Through reproduction.

5. Sexual reproduction produces greater variation amongst individuals, giving rise to different genetic traits. If the environment changes, those with the more favorable characteristics stand a better chance of survival. This ensures that each time there is an alteration to the environment, at least some individuals will survive the change and therefore the species is less likely to become extinct.

6. 1.)Form a question 2.)research 3.) Experiment 4.) Observations 5.) Conclusion

7. The scientific method allows for one to prove, or disprove, a theory or hypothesis. It allows for results from an experiment to be repeated, or validated. 'Smart' people can always come up with an explanation for something. But, the scientific method is a standardized method for proving, or disproving that explanation. It is important in understanding how and why the things around us function as they do.

8. Scientific