LIFESCI 7A Chapter Notes - Chapter 1.2: Francesco Redi, Louis Pasteur
Document Summary
Complexity, with precise spatial organization on several scales. Ability to change in response to the environment. The living and nonliving worlds follow the same chemical rules and obey the same physical laws. Relative abundances of elements in organisms differ greatly from those in the nonliving world. Hydrogen and helium make up more than 99% of known matter. Earth"s crust contains mostly oxygen and silicon, with significant amounts of aluminum, iron, and calcium. In organisms, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen are the most abundant elements. Carbon provides the chemical backbone of life. All living organisms are subject to the physical laws of the universe. First laws of thermodynamics: energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form into another. The total energy in the universe is constant. Second law of thermodynamics: the degree of disorder in the universe tends to increase. Addition of energy increases the order of the system (decreases its disorder)
