Earth and Life Science
Quarter 2–Module 22:
UNIFYING THEMES IN THE STUDY OF LIFE
Earth is the home of human beings and organisms, including animals, plants and microorganisms.
They are found in the different parts of the said planet. The ecosystems-the biological
communities- include living organisms (biotic factors) like animals, plants, insects and
bacteria (interacting to its environment), as well as the nonliving components (abiotic
factors) like the rock, soil, water and sunlight. Non-living things are classified as inanimate
objects that may influence, alter or impact the life of biotic factors. These abiotic factors are
essential to biotic factors in various ways.
The field of science that deals with the study of life is the Life Science/Biology. It involves
different disciplines. These disciplines are connected to one another, through which the biologist
termed as unifying themes.
Biology is the discipline of science that deals with the study of life. This comprises number of
disciplines such as biochemistry and ecology. As a wide-ranging and complex science, biologists
designed the term “unifying themes”, which serve as the bases for the study of life.
CHARACTESTICS OF LIFE
In the study of life, there is an array of biological characteristics or properties and certain themes
about how the living world works that are discussed. These properties are shared by all living
things, passed down over billions of years from the first organisms to have evolved on Earth.
Cellular Organization – all cells have the same basic structures: a membrane that
encloses the cell and controls materials that move in and out; an internal fluid known as the
cytoplasm where the organelles are suspended; and a nucleus that contains the
hereditary genes called DNA.
Organisms can either be made up of only one cell (unicellular) or made up of
many cells (multicellular)
Metabolism – It is the sum of all chemical processes that maintain a living state of an
organism.
All organisms use energy to grow, and all organisms transport this energy from
one place to another within cells using special energy-carrying molecules called
ATP.
Homeostasis – It is organisms act to keep their interior conditions relatively constant in a
process
human body maintain an internal temperature of 37C (98.5F)
Organisms must maintain homeostasis to survive in diverse environments.
Reproduction – It involves the transfer of genetic information from parents to offspring.
Reproduction can be sexual or asexual. Asexual reproduction produces
offspring that are genetically identical to a single parent, while sexual
reproduction involves two parents contributing genetic information to
produce a unique offspring.
It is necessary part of living; process of making more of one’s own kind.
Heredity – It is the transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring.
All organisms possess a genetic system that is based on the replication and
duplication of a long molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
The continuity of life depends on the inheritance of biological information in the
form of DNA molecules.
The genetic information is encoded in the nucleotide sequences of the DNA.
UNIFYING THEMES OF LIFE
The unifying theme connects the different subdisciplines that make biology as a science. In
addition to, the living organisms differ from nonliving things in various aspects. What are these
shared properties (of living organisms) that make something “alive”?
Levels of Organization
There is hierarchy of increasing complexity within cells, from the molecular level of
DNA (where the chemistry of life occurs), to the organelle level (where the cellular
activities are organized), to the cellular level (the smallest level of organization).
Organizational Level of Living Things
ATOMS Simple Complex Organell
Inorganic Cc
Biological es
Molecules
Organ Organs Tissues Cells
Systems
Multicellul Populatio Communit Ecosyste
ar n y m
Biospher
e
The Flow of Energy – energy is used by organisms to grow and do work and without it, life
stops.
Almost all the energy that living things need is obtained from the sun.
Plants capture the energy from sunlight and use it to make complex molecules
in a process called photosynthesis
Some living organisms capture the light energy and convert it into chemical
energy in food.
Some living organisms use chemical energy stored in molecules obtained from
food.
Evolution – The theory of evolution helps explain how all kinds of organisms came into
existence.
Evolution is the change in living things over time. The genetic makeup of a
population of a species changes.
It accounts for both the diversity and the unity of life.
Life forms are slowly changing and have apparently been changing
Charles Darwin proposed the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection,
which presumes that organisms with more favorable traits would be
more likely to survive and reproduce in a certain environment. These
favorable traits are called adaptations.
o For example, the cactus plant is adapted to a desert environment.
In time, organisms that lack the necessary adaptations would die
out, and individual with favorable adaptations would live. This
process changes the species over time.
Interacting Systems – Living things interact with each other and with the environment
A body system includes organs that interact.
An ecosystem includes living and nonliving things that interact.
A living community is highly structured and interdependent. This
interdependence is the result of a long process of evolution in which selection
has favored cooperation.
o For example, animal cells that descended from symbiotic bacteria
possess organelles, and symbiotic fungi helped plants movie from
sea to land. The coevolution of flowering plants and insects has
been responsible for the diversity of both species.
Structure and function are related in biology.
Structure determines function.
The structure is the shape of the object.
The function is the object’s specific role.
Hierarchy of structural levels is the basis for the biology organization.
Body structures seem to be carefully designed to carry out their functions.
o For example, hummingbird sucks nectar from deep flower through
its long tongue.
Ecology – It is the interdependence of organisms with each other and with the environment
It is the study of complex communities of organisms in relation to their environment.
Organisms have evolved to live and interact with other organisms.
Ecology deals with the interactions of living organisms with one another and their
environment.
Organisms need the physical environment to survive. The stability of the
environment, in turn, depends on the healthy functioning of organisms in that
environment.
o For example, all organisms depend on the oxygen-carbon dioxide
cycle, which releases vital gases in the atmosphere. However, this
complex web of interactions is easily disrupted when the
environment is polluted and individual species become extinct,
similar to what is happening in our world today.
In addition to the properties mentioned, the two additional unifying themes in the
study of life include the scientific inquiry and science, technology and society.
Scientific Inquiry
The process of science includes observation-based discovery and the testing of
explanations through the hypothetic-deductive.
Scientific credibility depends on the repeatability of observation and experiments.
Science, Technology and Society
Many technologies are goal-oriented
The relationships of science and technology to society are now more crucial to understand
than ever before.
Knowledge from biological science can be applied to specific problems in the society to
improve human life.
o For example, the development of a vaccine against poliomyelitis
virus in the 1950s was a scientific breakthrough that had a large
impact on society. By producing the polio vaccine in bulk and
distributing it throughout the world, scientists, business leaders, and
governments have worked together to reduce the threat of polio.
Source: Earth and Life Science (PHOENIX) and DepEd Self-Learning Modules (ELS Module 22)
