HS+BIO+Life+Cycles+Lesson+1

Today and for the next few months in science class we will be discussing biology. In short, we'll be discussing life. In this lesson we will talk about different life cycles of living things. We will also discuss how a biologist conducts their work. This lesson will conclude with a short review of key points, so pay attention!

This photo shows the different stages of a butterfly's life.



The caterpillar could be called the infant stage. The middle object is called a chrysalis, a shell that the caterpillar waits in while in changes. When the insect finally breaks out, it is an adult winged butterfly.



All living things go through life cycles.

This week we will learn about different life cycles and how scientists study it.



Biology is the name for a whole field of science. It is the study of life.

Life is complex. Animals, plants, insects, and even germs are living.



Many different organisms make up life. An organism is a living thing, one of many different forms of life.

Life means more than just a list of different forms.



Life includes how you and other life forms life in our world.



Watering a garden is part of life. Birds flying south for the winter is part of life. Eating, drinking, cleaning yourself, even feeding your pets is part of life.

Biology is a science that studies all of these things and more. A biologist studies life.

There are many different type of biologists. Some study plants, some study animals.



There are many different ways to study life.

How might a biologist study life?



Biologists observe the world around them and find something they do not understand. When they find something they don't understand, they ask questions about it.



Using different methods, they try to answer those questions. As biologists answer more and more questions, they notice patterns.

One pattern seen in different parts of life is a cycle.



Saying life runs in cycles means that many of life's activities repeat themselves. It also means that many actions start at one point. When they return to that point, they start the cycle again.

Some cycles take a long time.



Others take seconds.

Mayfly's have the shortest life span on Earth, lasting only 24 hours.

To better understand biology, we will look at some cycles that make life work. There are four major groups of life cycles which are the energy cycle,