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 Course Overview ....... Course Objectives 
Biology is the study of life in its many manifestations. Evidence suggests that life originated approximately 3.8 million years ago. This unit is an introductory unit which will allow students to develop an awareness of the great diversity of life forms which make up the biosphere of our Earth. There may be as many as up to 30 million estimated different species in existence today.
Even though the world of life shows immense diversity, there is an underlying theme of unity as all living organisms are alike in certain key characteristics. All organisms are composed of one or more cells. All cells are composed of the same basic chemicals. The majority of cells carry out the same basic metabolic processes. The age old question of ‘when does a collection of non-living chemicals start to possess the characteristics of a living organism’ will be examined.
In this unit the theory of evolution will be introduced to help explain the meaning of both the UNITY and the DIVERSITY which exists among living organisms.
Scientists try to systematize and make sense of the diversity of life forms and this results in the classification of organisms according to inferred evolutionary relationships. Students will study how classification groups are formed and how they can change according to the constant updating of scientific knowledge.
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