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For example, the muscles in the leg of the hare in Figure
0.1 interact with the leg bones, tendons, and nerves to pro-
vide movement and remarkable agility. The Canada lynx,
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using its nervous, sensory, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular,
and respiratory systems working together, is able to note the
presence of the snowshoe hare, plan a strategy, hunt, chase,
and possibly catch the hare.
If we examine the various components that interact with
one another in an organism, we will observe the resulting
emergent property, which is life. The interactions among the
parts of a biological system are hallmarks of life and are found
at all levels of biological organization. For example, when fresh
water from a large river meets the ocean, the ocean’s salty water
becomes diluted with fresh water. The mixture of these waters FIGURE 0.4 Estuaries as a biological system
results in a number of new environments where animals, plants,
Estuaries such as the Sado Estuary Natural Reserve in Portugal are
and microorganisms may live, including estuaries, like the one formed in areas where salt water from oceans and fresh water from
shown in FIGURE 0.4. The environment of the estuary is dif- rivers mix. Photo: Maurício Abreu/AGE Fotostock
ferent from the river and ocean systems that created it and it
provides a unique habitat for many different species.
From the molecular to the cellular to the organismal ✓ Concept Check
to the biosphere levels, biological systems are diverse and
complex. These features enable biological systems to have 1. Describe how a comparison of a fire ant and an
a robustness that helps them to withstand, tolerate, and army ant shows both the unity and diversity of life.
respond to the changes in the environment. Like evolution, 2. Identify why a lack of energy would result in the
energy, and information storage and transmission, biologi- death of an organism.
3. Describe what would happen if organisms were
cal systems interactions help ensure the survival and repro- unable to retrieve the information contained in their
duction of organisms, populations, species, and—on a larger genes.
scale—life. Visual Synthesis 1.1: The Four Big Ideas of 4. Describe an example of how a systems interaction
®
AP Biology, on page 18, illustrates the connectedness of allows an organism to adjust to its environment.
these concepts.

0.2 Scientific inquiry is a As shown in FIGURE 0.5, scientific inquiry consists of
deliberate way of asking and three parts: exploration, investigation, and communica-
tion. We will now examine how scientists use scientific
answering questions about inquiry to conduct an orderly and logical investigation of
nature the natural world and communicate their findings with
others.
How do we go about trying to understand the vastness and
complexity of nature? Scientific inquiry is the process sci- Making Observations and
entists use to ask questions and seek answers about the natu-
ral world in a deliberate and ordered way. Scientific inquiry Asking Questions
is limited to investigations of the natural world. Examina- For most scientists, studies of the natural world begin with
tion of questions not in the natural world, such as questions exploration. In the exploration phase, scientists make obser-
about religion, faith, and morality, are outside the realm of vations and ask questions. Observation is the act of viewing
scientific inquiry. the world around us. Observations allow us to ask focused
Scientific inquiry provides the opportunity to observe, questions about nature. For example, Charles Darwin ini-
investigate, and explain how natural phenomena occur. tially made many observations about anatomy, embryology,

MODULE 0 IntroductIon 5

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