Blueprint Series
01
Study Guide for Campbell Biology:
Concepts & Connections
Seventh Edition
,Study Guide
Biology: Exploring Life
Focus on the Concepts
This chapter is an introduction to the study of biology — its major themes, methods, and
relevance to our lives. As you study this chapter, focus on these major concepts:
• All forms of life share common properties: They are ordered, they reproduce,
process energy, regulate their internal environment, grow and develop, respond
to stimuli, adapt, and evolve.
• Life encompasses a hierarchy of organization, from atoms and molecules to the
entire biosphere. Novel properties emerge at each level. The cell is the fundamen-
tal biological system where the properties of life appear. There are two basic
kinds of cells — prokaryotic and eukaryotic.
• Living things interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy
in their roles as producers, consumers, or decomposers.
• All organisms share a common DNA genetic code. DNA is the chemical
substance of genes, the units of inheritance which direct all cell activities and
are transmitted from parents to offspring.
• Scientists have identified nearly two million species of living things. These
species are grouped into three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
Domain Eukarya is further subdivided into more familiar categories — plants,
animals, fungi, and protists.
• The idea of evolution by natural selection, first articulated by Charles Darwin,
is the core theme of biology; it explains the common features of living things as
well as their diversity.
• Science is an approach to understanding natural phenomena that involves mak-
ing observations, forming hypotheses, and testing predictions. Scientists apply
inductive and deductive reasoning, and they collect qualitative and quantitative
data. They often test hypotheses via controlled experiments. Ultimately, scientists
build theories, which are broad explanations backed by substantial evidence.
• While science seeks to understand nature, technology applies scientific knowl-
edge to specific needs and purposes. Many issues facing individuals and society
relate to biology, and it is important for everyone to achieve some understanding
of biology and scientific ideas such as evolution.
1
, Study Guide: Biology: Exploring Life
Review the Concepts
Work through the following exercises to review the concepts in this chapter. For additional
review, check out the activities at www.masteringbiology.com. The website offers a pre-test
that will help you plan your studies.
Exercise 1 (Section 1)
What is life? What are some of properties and processes common to all living things?
Review these characteristics of life in Section 1, and then match each with its description.
1. Order A. A maple tree captures sunlight to make food.
2. Reproduction B. Over millions of generations, a species of moth has come to
3. Energy processing resemble a dead leaf.
4. Regulation C. The brain of a mouse is more complex than the most sophisti-
5. Growth and development cated computer.
6. Response to environment D. A single fertilized egg divides to form trillions of specialized
7. Evolutionary adaptation cells in an adult elephant.
E. A fish maintains just the right balance of salt and water in its
body fluids.
F. A sunflower turns toward the sun.
G. A bacterium copies its DNA and divides in two to form two
identical bacteria.
Page 2 of 14
, Study Guide: Biology: Exploring Life
Exercise 2 (Section 2)
This module discusses the hierarchy of structural levels into which life is organized. Each
of these levels has unique emergent properties, which arise from the organization of its
component parts. Review this structural hierarchy by completing the chart that follows.
Level Description
1. All environments on Earth that support life
Ecosystem 2.
3. All the organisms in a particular ecosystem
Population 4.
5. An individual living thing
6. Organs that work together to perform particular functions
Organ 7.
8. A group of similar cells with a specific function
9. A living unit, separated from its environment by a membrane
Organelle 10.
11. A cluster of atoms held together by bonds
Exercise 3 (Section 3)
All living things are built from complex systems called cells. Cells are the smallest units that
display the properties of life; they are highly organized, process energy, and reproduce. There
are two kinds of cells — prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. See if you can match each of
the cell types with the correct descriptions. Some descriptions apply to both kinds of cells.
1. Prokaryotic cells A. The first to evolve
2. Eukaryotic cells B. Use DNA for genetic information
C. Larger and more complex of the cell types
D. Simpler and smaller
E. Biological systems
F. Cells of animals, plants, protists, and fungi
G. Bacteria
H. Subdivided into membranous organelles
I. Able to process energy, respond, reproduce
J. Complex and ordered
K. Have nuclei containing DNA
L. Cells that make up the human body
3
01
Study Guide for Campbell Biology:
Concepts & Connections
Seventh Edition
,Study Guide
Biology: Exploring Life
Focus on the Concepts
This chapter is an introduction to the study of biology — its major themes, methods, and
relevance to our lives. As you study this chapter, focus on these major concepts:
• All forms of life share common properties: They are ordered, they reproduce,
process energy, regulate their internal environment, grow and develop, respond
to stimuli, adapt, and evolve.
• Life encompasses a hierarchy of organization, from atoms and molecules to the
entire biosphere. Novel properties emerge at each level. The cell is the fundamen-
tal biological system where the properties of life appear. There are two basic
kinds of cells — prokaryotic and eukaryotic.
• Living things interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy
in their roles as producers, consumers, or decomposers.
• All organisms share a common DNA genetic code. DNA is the chemical
substance of genes, the units of inheritance which direct all cell activities and
are transmitted from parents to offspring.
• Scientists have identified nearly two million species of living things. These
species are grouped into three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
Domain Eukarya is further subdivided into more familiar categories — plants,
animals, fungi, and protists.
• The idea of evolution by natural selection, first articulated by Charles Darwin,
is the core theme of biology; it explains the common features of living things as
well as their diversity.
• Science is an approach to understanding natural phenomena that involves mak-
ing observations, forming hypotheses, and testing predictions. Scientists apply
inductive and deductive reasoning, and they collect qualitative and quantitative
data. They often test hypotheses via controlled experiments. Ultimately, scientists
build theories, which are broad explanations backed by substantial evidence.
• While science seeks to understand nature, technology applies scientific knowl-
edge to specific needs and purposes. Many issues facing individuals and society
relate to biology, and it is important for everyone to achieve some understanding
of biology and scientific ideas such as evolution.
1
, Study Guide: Biology: Exploring Life
Review the Concepts
Work through the following exercises to review the concepts in this chapter. For additional
review, check out the activities at www.masteringbiology.com. The website offers a pre-test
that will help you plan your studies.
Exercise 1 (Section 1)
What is life? What are some of properties and processes common to all living things?
Review these characteristics of life in Section 1, and then match each with its description.
1. Order A. A maple tree captures sunlight to make food.
2. Reproduction B. Over millions of generations, a species of moth has come to
3. Energy processing resemble a dead leaf.
4. Regulation C. The brain of a mouse is more complex than the most sophisti-
5. Growth and development cated computer.
6. Response to environment D. A single fertilized egg divides to form trillions of specialized
7. Evolutionary adaptation cells in an adult elephant.
E. A fish maintains just the right balance of salt and water in its
body fluids.
F. A sunflower turns toward the sun.
G. A bacterium copies its DNA and divides in two to form two
identical bacteria.
Page 2 of 14
, Study Guide: Biology: Exploring Life
Exercise 2 (Section 2)
This module discusses the hierarchy of structural levels into which life is organized. Each
of these levels has unique emergent properties, which arise from the organization of its
component parts. Review this structural hierarchy by completing the chart that follows.
Level Description
1. All environments on Earth that support life
Ecosystem 2.
3. All the organisms in a particular ecosystem
Population 4.
5. An individual living thing
6. Organs that work together to perform particular functions
Organ 7.
8. A group of similar cells with a specific function
9. A living unit, separated from its environment by a membrane
Organelle 10.
11. A cluster of atoms held together by bonds
Exercise 3 (Section 3)
All living things are built from complex systems called cells. Cells are the smallest units that
display the properties of life; they are highly organized, process energy, and reproduce. There
are two kinds of cells — prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. See if you can match each of
the cell types with the correct descriptions. Some descriptions apply to both kinds of cells.
1. Prokaryotic cells A. The first to evolve
2. Eukaryotic cells B. Use DNA for genetic information
C. Larger and more complex of the cell types
D. Simpler and smaller
E. Biological systems
F. Cells of animals, plants, protists, and fungi
G. Bacteria
H. Subdivided into membranous organelles
I. Able to process energy, respond, reproduce
J. Complex and ordered
K. Have nuclei containing DNA
L. Cells that make up the human body
3
