1.1 Introduction to AP Biology

1.1 Introduction to AP Biology  (paper edition)

🚩 paper text pages 2-2  🚫 Digital textbook is different than the paper textbook.

1. Biology is the scientific study of life (p. 2)

   1. Life-forms are represented by a wide-range of types, functions, behaviors and varieties 

   2. life is plentiful and diverse on our planet

2. AP Biology focuses our study of life through four Big Ideas. (p. 2)

• each idea is described in greater detail in sections 1.2 through 1.5. 

2. 1. Big Idea 1: Evolution

• Evolution is a core concept of biology

  • it explains how species develop adaptations to changing environments

  • Natural selection is the mechanism by which evolution change occurs

  • Evolutionary trees trace the ancestry and relatedness of different groups of organisms

2. 2. Big Idea 2: Energy and Molecular Building Blocks (Energetics)

• Living organisms capture and store free energy and nutrients from their environment for use in biological processes

• Living organisms possess characteristics, such as metabolism, that distinguish them from nonliving organisms (aka the characteristics of life).

• Living organisms use feedback and control mechanisms to monitor internal conditions and make adjustments to maintain homeostasis.

2. 3. Big Idea 3: Information, Storage, Transmission, and Response

• Living organisms interact with the environment as well as with other organisms

• Life comes from pre-existing life, and living organisms use various strategies to store, retrieve, and transfer genetic information (DNA) to new generations through reproduction. Changes in this information can result in new characteristics that, when expressed, may give an organism a better chance of survival.

2. 4. Big Idea 4: Interdependent Relationships 

• All life is based on atoms and molecules, which in turn are used to build cells, the basic unit of life. 

• Members of species form populations, and populations of different species in a given area called a community. The interaction of a community with the environment forms an ecosystem.

• Ecosystems are characterized by energy flow and chemical cycling. 

See the chart reviewing the four main ideas on page 15 of the paper textbook.