#DNA SPIRAL GIF SERIES#

Properties of LifeĪll living organisms share several key characteristics or functions: order, sensitivity or response to the environment, reproduction, adaptation, growth and development, regulation/homeostasis, energy processing, and evolution. Similarly, some biologists study the early molecular evolution that gave rise to life since the events that preceded life are not biological events, these scientists are also excluded from biology in the strict sense of the term.įrom 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. Consequently, virologists are not biologists, strictly speaking. It turns out that although viruses can attack living organisms, cause diseases, and even reproduce, they do not meet the criteria that biologists use to define life. For example, a branch of biology called virology studies viruses, which exhibit some of the characteristics of living entities but lack others. Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry.ġ.B.1 Organisms share many conserved core processes and features that evolved and are widely distributed among organisms today.ģ.1 The student can pose scientific questions.ġ.14 The student is able to pose scientific questions that correctly identify essential properties of share, core life processes that provide insights into the history of life on Earth.ĥ.3 The student can evaluate the evidence provided by data sets in relation to a particular scientific question.ġ.18 The student is able to evaluate evidence provided by a data set in conjunction with a phylogenetic tree or simply cladogram to determine evolutionary history and speciation.īiology is the science that studies life, but what exactly is life? This may sound like a silly question with an obvious response, but it is not always easy to define life. The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life. A Learning Objective merges required content with one or more of the seven Science Practices. The Learning Objectives listed in the Curriculum Framework provide a transparent foundation for the AP ® Biology course, an inquiry-based laboratory experience, instructional activities, and AP ® Exam questions.

The information presented and the examples highlighted in this section support concepts and Learning Objectives outlined in Big Idea 1 of the AP ® Biology Curriculum. A Learning Objective merges content with one or more of the seven Science Practices. The AP ® program has identified seven major categories of Science Practices, which can be described by short phrases: using representations and models to communicate information and solve problems using mathematics appropriately engaging in questioning planning and implementing data collection strategies analyzing and evaluating data justifying scientific explanations and connecting concepts. The scientific method begins with an observation and follows with a hypothesis to explain the observation then experiments are conducted to test the hypothesis, gather results, and draw conclusions from data.

#DNA SPIRAL GIF SERIES#

Scientific inquiry usually uses a series of steps to gain new knowledge. The redesigned AP ® Biology course also emphasizes the investigative practices that students should master. All biological systems interact, and these interactions result in emergent properties and characteristics unique to life, Big Idea 4.

Living systems also store, transmit, and respond to information, from DNA sequences to nerve impulses and behaviors, Big Idea 3. Evolution explains both the unity and diversity of life, Big Idea 1, and all organisms require energy and molecules to carry out life functions, such as growth and reproduction, Big Idea 2. Simple descriptions define the focus of each Big Idea: Big Idea 1, Evolution Big Idea 2, Energy and Homeostasis Big Idea 3, Information and Communication and Big Idea 4, Systems and Interactions. Each Big Idea identifies key concepts called Enduring Understandings, and Essential Knowledges, along with supporting examples. The AP ® Biology curriculum is organized around four major themes called the Big Ideas that apply to all levels of biological organization-from molecules and cells to populations and ecosystems. Recognize and interpret a phylogenetic tree.Describe the levels of organization among living things.

Identify and describe the properties of life.By the end of this section, you will be able to:

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