Chapter 4
Chemistry and Physics
Connections
To learn about life, you need a few tools. In the last chapter, you
learned about some of those tools including measurement, the
scientific method, graphing, and how life is organized. Another tool
you need is some knowledge of chemistry and physics. Chemistry is
the study of matter. Life is made of matter in the form of complex
compounds. In this chapter, you will learn about those compounds.
Physics is the study of how matter interacts with energy. For
example, energy from the Sun powers life on Earth. In this chapter
you will learn about a form of energy from the Sun called light.
Biologists use light when they observe cells and other microscopic
organisms under a microscope. In other chapters, you will learn about
how living things use light for other processes.
- What are the ingredients of life?
- Why is life referred to as "carbon-based"?
- What is light and how do we use it to observe
living things?