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1: The Study of Life

Last updated

Jan 30, 2025
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- 1.1: Chapter 1 Introduction

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1.1: Chapter 1 Introduction
The first forms of life on Earth are thought to have been microorganisms that existed for billions of years in the ocean before plants and animals appeared. The mammals, birds, and flowers so familiar to us are all relatively recent, originating 130 to 200 million years ago. Humans have inhabited this planet for only the last 2.5 million years, and only in the last 200,000 years have humans started looking like we do today.
1.2: The Nature of Science
In simple terms, biology is the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments. This is a very broad definition because the scope of biology is vast. Biologists may study anything from the microscopic or submicroscopic view of a cell to ecosystems and the whole living planet.
1.3: The Scientific Process
Biologists study the living world by posing questions about it and seeking science-based responses. This approach is common to other sciences as well and is often referred to as the scientific method.
1.4: Themes and Concepts of Biology
From its earliest beginnings, biology has wrestled with three questions: What are the shared properties that make something “alive”? And once we know something is alive, how do we find meaningful levels of organization in its structure? And, finally, when faced with the remarkable diversity of life, how do we organize the different kinds of organisms so that we can better understand them? As new organisms are discovered every day, biologists continue to seek answers to these and other questions.
1.E: The Study of Life (Exercises)

Thumbnail: Woman pointing at biological specimen in glass case. (Public Domain; Ioanna Chernova, via Wikimedia Commons)

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