Biology Year 10
Biology: the study of life and living organisms (1.1/ pg. 3)
structure and function are correlated (codependent)- an organism’s structure determines how it will function
- observing how an organism functions aids in understanding how it is structured
- example: a leaf’s thin, flat shape (structure) maximizes the amount of sunlight able to be captured by its chloroplasts (function)
- recently more stress has been placed on studying function (rather than structure)
- most secular scientists believe that the Earth was formed 5 billion years ago
- some scientists believe in a younger age of the earth looking at the same evidence from a different point of view
- most scientists believe that life on Earth appeared 2.8 billion years ago
- some Christian scientists believe that life was created somewhere around 6,000 years ago according to the Biblical account of creation in Genesis (for more information: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n2/key-age-of-earth)
- most scientists believe that the simplest living organisms evolved from a primordial soup of biotic molecules
- some scientists believe that life was created by a Divine Creator as described in Genesis
Natural Selection in Action (11.14/ pg. 214)
How Fossils Form
- the best fossils are found in sedimentary rocks
- fossils are formed when organisms die and are covered with sediment
- the sediment hardens and the remains turn to stone
- newer layers containing newer remains form over the old
- the rock layers (strata) are formed over time and exposed by wind, rain and faults
Evidence for Evolution: Fossils Tell the Story (11.14/ pg. 214)
- the oldest sedimentary rocks (and the fossils in them) are found on the lowest layers of rock and the newest rocks are found on top
- palaeontology is the study of fossils
- most scientists believe that the different types of fossils in the different strata are evidence of macroevolution over time
- some Christian scientists believe that the different types of fossils in the different strata are evidence of fossilization along different elevation levels during the flood described in Genesis (for more information: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v5/n1/order-fossil-record)
Fossil Record (11.14/ pg. 214)
- Equus (10-present my)
- Merychippus (30-10 my)
- Mesohippus (40-30 my)
- Hyracotherium (60-40 my)
most scientists believe that the different rock strata represent different eras of time in biological history (i.e. the supposed connection from Hyracotherium to the modern horse Equus) the similarity among the tooth structures is thought to be evidence of evolutionary adaptation to chewing coarse vegetation the similarity between the single toe of the modern horse and the four toes of the Hyracotherium is thought to be evidence of evolutionary adaptation from wet environments to dry environments however, some scientists conclude that the Hyracotherium was actually not related to horses at all, but to conies (similar to rabbits) (for more information: http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i1/horse.aspCharacteristics of Living Organisms (1.1/ pg. 6)
All living things exhibit the following characteristics:
Respiration – process by which living cells release energy from organic molecules
Irritability (or sensitivity) – ability to detect changes in the environment and respond to them
Nutrition – supplies organism with food it needs for respiration, growth, repair and reproduction. Plants make their foods using the process of photosynthesis, whilst animals obtain their foods ‘ready-made’
Growth – processes by which an organism changes in size and in form. For example, as a young animal increases in size (as it grows), the relative sizes of its body parts change (it develops).
Excretion – removes the products of processes such as respiration and nutrition from the organism’s body
Reproduction – the generation of offspring – new individuals. An organism may simply split into two (binary fission), or reproduction may be a more complex process involving fertilization. Reproduction makes new organisms of the same species as the parents. This depends on a set of chemical plans (the genetic information).
The Characteristics of Life Depend on Each Other
Depending on Energy
Energy must be expended to maintain life (metabolism)
Energy is liberated from food molecules and trapped in usable form
Molecules are organized into the structures of living organisms
Living organisms use to drive their life processes
