Bishwajit Mazumder

Nursing Instructor
Dhaka Nursing College, Dhaka
Subject: Biology
Topic: Organization of living matter
Level of student: Midwifery 1st year
Date:
Science: Science is a methodology for learning about the world. It
involves the application of knowledge. The scientific method deals
with systematic investigation, reproducible results, the formation and
testing of hypotheses, and reasoning.
Biology - The Life Science
The word biology means, "The science of life", from the Greek bios,
life, and logos, word or knowledge. Therefore, Biology is the science of
Living Things. That is why Biology is sometimes known as Life
Science.

Definition of Life: Life is the condition that distinguishes animals and

plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth,
reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
Characteristics of life:
Living things are composed of matter structured in an orderly way
where simple molecules are ordered together into much larger
macromolecules. An easy way to remember this is GRIMNERD C All
organisms; - Grow, Respire, Interact, Move, Need Nutrients, Excrete
(Waste), Reproduce, Death, Cells (Made of)
Living things are sensitive, meaning they are able to respond to
stimuli.
Living things are able to grow, develop, and reproduce.

 Living things are able to adapt over time by the process of natural
selection.
All known living things use the hereditary molecule, DNA .
Organization of living matter:
Biology is the study of Living Matter, a configuration of organic
matter in a dynamic non equilibrium state that exhibits complex patterns
of spatial and temporal organization. Living matter is a dynamic mixture
of organic polymers, nucleic acids and polypeptides, with significant
contributions from carbohydrate and lipids. Inorganic ions and other
organic compounds e.g vitamins, play significant additional roles in the
mixture. It is a mixture far from thermodynamic equilibrium that
generates dissipative structures.
All living things are made of cells. The cell is the smallest unit of a
living thing. Living organisms are two types such as unicellular
organisms and multi cellular organisms.
Unicellular organisms: Some organisms are made of a single cell.
Unicellular organisms are made up of just one cell that performs all the
functions necessary for life. Unicellular organisms do not have levels of
organization. Unicellular organisms need fewer resources and some can
live in harsh conditions. They are very small and are easily eaten by
other organisms. They include bacteria, yeast, amoeba and paramecia.
Multi cellular organisms: Multi cellular organisms have multiple cells
that are grouped into different levels of organization. Multi cellular
organisms are larger, more efficient, and have a longer lifespan than
unicellular organisms. Multi cellular organisms need more resources
than unicellular organisms. The cells are specialized and must depend on
each other for survival of the organism.

Levels of organization:

Biosphere-Ecosystem:
A biosphere is the sum of all the ecosystems established on Earth.
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed
as the zone of life on Earth, a closed system (apart from solar and
cosmic radiation and heat from the interior of the Earth), and largely
self-regulating.
By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is
the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their

relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the

lithosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
Specific biospheres:
For this list, if a word is followed by a number, it is usually referring to a
specific system or number. Thus:
Biosphere 1, the planet Earth.
Biosphere 2, laboratory in Arizona, United States, which contains
3.15 acres (13,000 m2) of closed ecosystem.
BIOS-3, a closed ecosystem at the Institute of Biophysics in
Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, in what was then the Soviet Union.
Biosphere J (CEEF, Closed Ecology Experiment Facilities), an
experiment in Japan.
Biomes:
Biomes are very large ecological areas on the earths surface, with
fauna and flora (animals and plants) adapting to their environment.
Biomes are often defined by abiotic factors such as climate, relief,
geology, soils and vegetation. A biome, in simple terms, is a set of
ecosystems sharing similar characteristics with their biotic factors
adapted to their environments.
Ecosystems:
An ecosystem consists of the biological community that occurs in
some locale, and the physical and chemical factors that make up its nonliving or abiotic environment. There are many examples of ecosystems
-- a pond, a forest, an estuary, a grass land.
The study of ecosystems mainly consists of the study of certain
processes that link the living, or biotic, components to the non-living, or
abiotic, components. Energy transformations and biogeochemical
cycling are the main processes that comprise the field of ecosystem

ecology. As we learned earlier, ecology generally is defined as the

interactions of organisms with one another and with the environment in
which they occur. We can study ecology at the level of the individual,
the population, the community, and the ecosystem.
Components of an Ecosystem
We can clarify the parts of an ecosystem by listing them under the
headings "abiotic" and "biotic".
ABIOTIC COMPONENTS
BIOTIC COMPONENTS
Sunlight
Primary producers
Temperature
Herbivores
Precipitation
Carnivores
Water or moisture
Omnivores
Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+) Detritivores
etc.
etc.
Population- Individual:
A population is a group of individuals of a given species that live
in a specific geographic area at a given time. (example is Gill and his
family and friends and other fishes of Gills species) Note that
populations include individuals of the same species, but may have
different genetic makeup such as hair/eye/skin color and size between
themselves and other populations.
An individual is any living thing or organism. Individuals do not
breed with individuals from other groups. Animals, unlike plants, tend to
be very definite with this term because some plants can cross-breed with
other fertile plants
Community-Species:
A community is all of the populations of different species that live
in the same area and interact with one another. A community is
composed of all of the biotic factors of an area. This includes all the

populations in a specific area at a given time. A community includes

populations of organisms of different species.
A species is a group of individuals that are genetically related and
can breed to produce fertile young. Individuals are not members of the
same species if their members cannot produce offspring that can also
have children. The second word in the two word name given to every
organism is the species name. For example, in Homo sapiens, sapiens is
the species name.
Organ system-organ, tissue, cell, organelle:
A cell is the smallest independently functioning unit of a living
organism. Even bacteria, which are extremely small, independentlyliving organisms, have a cellular structure. Each bacterium is a single
cell. The organism level is the highest level of organization. An
organism is a living being that has a cellular structure and that can
independently perform all physiologic functions necessary for life. In
multi cellular organisms, including humans, all cells, tissues, organs, and
organ systems of the body work together to maintain the life and health
of the organism.
Organ:
An organ is an anatomically distinct structure of the body
composed of two or more tissue types. Each organ performs one or more
specific physiological functions. An organ system is a group of organs
that work together to perform major functions or meet physiological
needs of the body. In fact, most organs contribute to more than one
system.
Tissues:
Tissue is a collection of cells working together to perform a
specific job. Ex: epithelial, connective.
Cells:

Cell is the smallest unit of life; a cell is a collection of organelles

functioning together. Ex: bacteria, animal, plant cell.
Organelles:
Several macromolecules bonded together form these building
blocks of a cell. Ex: mitochondria, nucleus.
Molecules, atoms, subatomic particles:
Living matter is very complex. This is one of the characteristics
which most differentiate it from inert or inanimate matter. To study the
chemical level of organization, scientists consider the simplest building
blocks of matter: subatomic particles, atoms and molecules. We can find
the following levels of organization in living matter:
Atom:
All matter in the universe is composed of one or more unique pure
substances called elements. The smallest unit of any of these pure
substances (elements) is an atom. Atoms are made up of subatomic
particles such as the proton, electron and neutron.
Molecule:
Molecules are the chemical building blocks of all body structures.
Two or more atoms combine to form a molecule, such as the water
molecules, proteins, and sugars found in living things. Ex: water, carbon
dioxide.
Macromolecule:
When two or more molecules are bonded together to form large
molecules. Ex: proteins, lipids, carbohydrates.