Characteristics of Life — key features?
Cellular organization, metabolism, heredity, response, homeostasis, adaptation.
Scale of Life — units?
Micrometres (μm) and nanometres (nm).
Natural Selection — requirements?
Variation, inheritance, selection, and time.
Endosymbiosis theory — explanation?
Eukaryotic organelles originated from engulfed bacteria.
Phylogenetic trees — purpose?
Show evolutionary relationships among organisms.
Origin of Life — main hypothesis?
RNA world, mineral catalysis, panspermia, hydrothermal vents.
Fossil record — oldest evidence?
Microfossils and stromatolites, ~3.4 billion years old.
Cell size — eukaryotes?
10 to 100 micrometres (μm).
Cell size — prokaryotes?
Less than 5 micrometres (μm).
Domains of Life — three?
Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya.
Bacteria — cell wall?
Peptidoglycan present.
Archaea — temperature growth?
Can grow above 100°C.
Eukarya — features?
Nucleus, membrane-bound organelles, no peptidoglycan.
Shared characters — role?
Indicate common ancestry in phylogenetics.
Fossil cells — age?
About 3.4 billion years ago.
Organism size — examples?
Microscopic cells to organisms spanning kilometers.
Biomass distribution — significance?
Affects ecosystem energy flow and structure.
Largest organism — example?
Polyploid seagrass clone, thousands of years old.
Test your knowledge with 9 questions on Fundamentals of Life and Evolution.
1. Who is credited with proposing the concept of adaptation through evolution as a characteristic of life?
2. What is a direct effect of the vast size range of living organisms and structures on scientific study?
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