Chapter 1
The Study of Life
By Boundless
Biology is the study of life and living things through rigorously-tested and peer-reviewed scientific research methods.
Science is knowledge obtained from logical inferences and deductive experimentation that attempts to comprehend nature.
The scientific method is a process by which observations are questioned; hypotheses are created and tested; and the results are analyzed.
Basic science increases the knowledge base of a field of research while applied science uses that knowledge to solve specific problems.
Publication of scientific research in a peer-reviewed journal allows other scientists access to the research.
The field of biology can be divided into various branches and subdisciplines, which leads to careers that result in more focused fields.
Key characteristics or functions of living beings are order, stimuli, reproduction, growth/development, regulation, homeostasis, and energy.
The biological levels of organization range from a single organelle all the way up to the biosphere in a highly structured hierarchy.
The diversity of life can be classified within the three major domains (Bacteria, Eukarya and Archaea) using phylogenetic trees.