Misunderstanding in Biology

Misunderstandings in Biology: Unit 1

1.) False: All organisms are categorized as either animal or plant.

True: All organisms are categorized as Archaea, Bacteria, or Eukaryote.

It is a common misconception that all life can be described as either plant or animal. According to modern taxonomy, the science of classifying living things, the broadest category in which life can be separated is the Domain. The order of taxons is as follows; Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus, and Species.

There are three domains in which life can be separated. The first domain is Archaea.

Archaea are single celled prokaryotes meaning their cells lack a nucleus and other membrane bound organelles. They are generally extremophiles or live in extreme conditions. The next domain of life is the Bacteria. These are also single celled prokaryotes. Bacteria are the most abundant organism on the planet. They are generally very small and simple. The last domain is the Eukaryotes. They have eukaryotic cells, cells have a nucleus and other membrane bound structures. This domain appears later in the fossil records as they evolved from the simpler prokaryotic cells. These cells have complex organization that evolved for specific functions.

2.) False: Chemistry has little importance or relevance to biology.

True: Chemistry has vital importance and relevance to biology.

Good scientists of any specialty are very interdisciplinary. In order to better understand any particular phenomena in a given field, expertise from another discipline may be needed. This is very much represented in biology. Biology is the scientific study of life. In order to fully understand life, chemistry (the study of composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter) will be needed. At the molecular level, life is run by many different processes of chemical reactions. How different elements react and what chemicals are needed is essential to explain exactly how life works....