Exploring Life

Welcome to biology, the scientific study of life. You are becoming with biology during its most exciting era. The largest and best-equipped community of scientist in history is beginning to solve biological puzzles that once seemed unsolvable. We are moving ever closer to understanding how a single microscopic cell develops into a complex plant or animal; how plants convert solar energy to the chemical energy of food;how the human mind works; how various forms of life network in biological communities such as forest and coral reefs; and how the great diversity of life on Earth evolved from the first microbs.

• The biosphere; this is our first view of the biosphere which consist of all the environments on earth tha are inhabited by life The biosphere includes most bodies of water ; most regions of land ; and the atmosphere to analtitude of several kilometers




• Ecosystems As we approach Earth's sirface for an imaginary landing in Ontario' we can begin to make out a forest with an abundance of deciduous trees. Such as deciduous forest is an example of ecosystem. Grassland, deserts, and the ocean's coral reef. All of Earth's ecosystems combined make up the biosphere.




• Population A population consist of all the individuals of a species lining within the bounds of a specified area. For examples, our Ontanio forest includes a population of sugar maple trees and a popukation of American black bears. We can now refine out definition of a community as the set of populations that inhabit a particular area




• Organism. Individual living thing are called organisms. Each of the maple trees and the maple trees and other plants in the forest is an organism, and so is each forest animal such as sheep, squirrel, bear , and insect. The soil teems with microorganisms such as bacteria.




• Organ and organ systens The structural hierarchy of life continues to unfold as we explore the architecture of the more complex organisms. A maple leaf is an examples of an organ, a body part consisiting of two or more tissues . Stems and roots are the other major organs of plants. Examples of human organs are the brain, heart, and kidney. The oragans of humans and other complex animals are organized into organ systems, each a team of organs that cooperate in a specific fuction.