Biology, 11e Eldra Solomon, Charles Martin, Diana
Martin, Linda Berg. Martin (Instructor Manual All
Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+ Grade)
1 A View of Life
Key Concepts
1.1 Basic themes of biology include evolution, interactions of biological systems, inter-
relationships of structure and function, information transfer, and energy transfer.
1.2 Characteristics of life include cellular structure, growth and development, self-regulated
metabolism, response to stimuli, and reproduction.
1.3 Biological organization is hierarchical and includes chemical, cell, tissue, organ, organ
system, and organism levels; ecological organization includes population, community,
ecosystem, and biosphere levels.
1.4 Information transfer includes DNA transfer of information from one generation to the next,
chemical and electrical signals within and among the cells of every organism, and sensory
receptors and response systems that allow organisms to communicate with one another and
interact with their environment.
1.5 Individual organisms and entire ecosystems depend on a continuous input of energy.
Energy is transferred within cells and from one organism to another.
1.6 Evolution is the process by which populations of organisms change over time, adapting to
changes in their environment; the tree of life includes three major branches, or domains.
1.7 Biologists ask questions, develop hypotheses, make predictions, and collect data by careful
observation and by performing experiments; based on their results, they come to conclusions
and then share their work with other scientists and with the public.
Learning Objectives
1-1 Describe five basic themes of biology.
1-2 Distinguish between living systems and nonliving things by describing the features that
characterize living organisms.
1-3 Construct a hierarchy of biological organization, including levels characteristic of individual
organisms and levels characteristic of ecological systems.
1-4 Summarize the importance of information transfer within and between living systems,
giving specific examples.
1-5 Summarize the flow of energy through ecosystems and contrast the roles of producers,
consumers, and decomposers.
1-6 Demonstrate the binomial system of nomenclature by using specific examples and classify
an organism (such as a human) in its domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus,
and species.
1-7 Identify the three domains and the kingdoms of living organisms, and give examples of
organisms assigned to each group.
1-8 Give a brief overview of the scientific theory of evolution and explain why it is the principal
unifying concept in biology.
1-9 Apply the concept of natural selection to any given adaptation and suggest a logical
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.
,Chapter 1: A View of Life
explanation of how the adaptation may have evolved.
1-10 Design a study to test a given hypothesis, using the procedure and terminology of the
scientific method.
1-11 Compare the reductionist and systems approaches to biological research.
Chapter Outline
I. Major Themes of Biology
II. Characteristics of Life
A. Organisms are composed of cells
B. Organisms grow and develop
C. Organisms regulate their metabolic processes
D. Organisms respond to stimuli
E. Organisms reproduce
F. Populations evolve and become adapted to the environment
III. Levels of Biological Organization
A. Organisms have several levels of organization
B. Several levels of ecological organization can be identified
IV. Information Transfer
A. DNA transmits information from one generation to the next
B. Information is transmitted by chemical and electrical signals
C. Organisms also communicate information to one another
V. The Energy of Life
VI. Evolution: The Basic Unifying Concept of Biology
A. Biologists use a binomial system for naming organisms
B. Taxonomic classification is hierarchical
C. Systematists classify organisms in three domains
D. Species adapt in response to changes in their environment
E. Natural selection is an important mechanism by which evolution proceeds
F. Populations evolve as a result of selective pressures from changes in their environment
VII. The Process of Science
A. Science requires systematic thought processes
B. Scientists make careful observations and ask critical questions
C. Chance often plays a role in scientific discovery
D. A hypothesis is a testable statement
E. Researchers must avoid bias
F. Scientists interpret the results of experiments and make conclusions
G. A scientific theory is supported by tested hypotheses
H. Many hypotheses cannot be tested by direct experiment
I. Paradigm shifts accommodate new discoveries
J. Systems biology integrates different levels of information
K. Science has ethical dimensions
L. Science, technology, and society interact
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.
, Instructor’s Manual for Solomon, Berg, and Martin’s Biology, 11th Edition
Research and Discussion Topics
• Discuss how the unifying themes in biology, cell theory, and evolution are connected.
• Research the theory of spontaneous generation. How was this theory disproved?
• Explain the four observations behind Darwin’s theory of evolution. How are they
interconnected?
• Describe how the four basic concepts behind Darwin’s theory of evolution might relate to
the evolution of, for example, a population of marine invertebrates.
• Discuss ethics as it relates to the scientific method. Investigate an example of unethical
behavior in the sciences.
• Compare and contrast the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in the
ecosystem. How does this relate to the hierarchical level of organization we see in biology?
• Discuss the medical and ethical implications of stem cell research. How does stem cell
research relate to cloning?
Teaching Suggestions
• A good example of unethical behavior in the sciences is the hoax of the Piltdown Man.
Students often find this story very interesting. Another example of unethical behavior in the
field of medical research is the Tuskegee syphilis study.
• This is a logical time to impress upon students the importance of attendance in lecture and
lab, study techniques, etc. A recent article in The American Biology Teacher (“Showing Up:
The Importance of Class Attendance for Academic Success in Introductory Science
Courses,” May 2003. 65 (5): 325-329) discusses this topic using data from large Introductory
Biology class sections. Class attendance increased when the subject of attendance was
stressed during the semester, as did the average grade. Interestingly, the correlation
coefficients for grades versus attendance (0.75 for the section in which attendance was
stressed and 0.76 for the section in which attendance was not stressed) were not obviously
different; the equations for the data were also strikingly similar. Stressing attendance did
result in higher attendance rates and therefore higher grades, but attendance itself was a
very good indicator of grades!
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.
, Chapter 1: A View of Life
Lecture Enrichment
• Take your students through an exercise that demonstrates the explanatory power of natural
selection/evolution. One excellent example is from David Sloan Wilson’s book, Evolution for
Everyone, which describes how the elements of natural selection are like a recipe. Variation is
followed by consequences. The differences between us (variation) can make a difference in
our ability to survive and reproduce (consequences). The final ingredient is heritability. The
power of natural selection is that you can make predictions about the properties, including
behaviors of organisms, without even knowing what they are made of (e.g., genes). Give
students infanticide as an example. Tell them that if natural selection is all about
reproducing, killing offspring seems to be a contradiction. Instruct your students to take a
moment to discuss amongst themselves possible reasons that infanticide could be adaptive,
without giving them any additional information. The following are three major hypotheses
developed to explain the existence of infanticide.
1) Lack of resources
2) Poor offspring quality
3) Uncertain parentage
There is a good chance your students will come up with these explanations for infanticide
without knowing anything about a particular organism, its habitat, etc. You can do this
exercise with any behavior or trait. Other ideas include: Why are males of some species
bigger than females? Why do some species reproduce only once and then die while other
reproduce over and over again? Why are some creatures social and others solitary?
• Biophilia
Take a few minutes in the first week to discuss biophilia, as described by E. O. Wilson.
Biophilia is an innate attraction to life, which is seen in all people. We keep pets and
houseplants, we garden, and we go to zoos. In the United States and Canada, annual
attendance at zoos and aquariums is higher than at all professional athletic activities. The
amount of money spent on birdwatching alone leads the list.
• Information explosion
It is important early in the semester to impress students with the rapidity of the information
explosion in the sciences. They are often amazed to learn that most of the scientists who
have ever lived are still alive. Biologists alone publish nearly half a million articles per year.
Suggested Reading
Blackwell, W. H., and M. J. Powell. “Where Have All the Algae Gone, or, How Many Kingdoms
Are There?” The American Biology Teacher. March 1995. 57 (3): 160–167. A review of the treatment
of the kingdoms in the most popular texts and the placement of algae.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.
