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Human A&P BIO 304 · American River College ← Course home (Week 1)

BIO 304 . WEEK 1 . MONDAY . LAB WORKBOOK

Levels of Organization

From atoms to organism: how living structure builds up in nested levels.

Print this page. You will draw your own diagrams from the directions below, then hand-label the structures listed. Drawing by hand is the integrity mechanism for this course.

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Part 1 of 2

Anatomy Lab

1A. What you will draw

Living matter is organized in nested levels. Each level has properties that emerge from the level below but cannot be predicted from any single component. Today you will draw the six levels twice: once in the abstract, once for a specific concrete example.

Box A. The six levels (abstract)

Directions

  1. Draw six nested or stacked boxes from smallest to largest.
  2. Label them in order: Chemical level (atoms, molecules), Cellular level (cells), Tissue level, Organ level, Organ system level, Organism level.
  3. Beside each level, write one to two specific structural examples (e.g., Chemical: water, glucose, protein).
  4. Draw an arrow up the stack labeled Emergent properties. Note: each level has properties not present at the level below.

Box B. The six levels (worked example: skeletal muscle to movement)

Directions

  1. Use skeletal muscle as your example.
  2. Chemical level: draw an actin or myosin protein molecule. Label.
  3. Cellular level: draw a single skeletal muscle fiber (long, striated, multinucleate cell).
  4. Tissue level: draw a small bundle of muscle fibers wrapped together (skeletal muscle tissue).
  5. Organ level: draw a whole muscle (e.g., biceps brachii) with tendons.
  6. Organ system level: draw a simple stick figure with the musculoskeletal system highlighted (arrows to bones and muscles).
  7. Organism level: draw a person performing a movement (e.g., lifting a bag). Note: function emerges only at the organism level.

1C. Structures to label (13)

After you finish each drawing, label every structure below directly on your sketch.

  1. Chemical level
  2. Cellular level
  3. Tissue level
  4. Organ level
  5. Organ system level
  6. Organism level
  7. Atom or molecule
  8. Cell
  9. Tissue
  10. Organ
  11. Organ system
  12. Organism
  13. Emergent property

Part 2 of 2

Physiology Lab

2A. At which level does it happen?

For each phenomenon below, identify the LOWEST level of organization where it occurs. Choose from: chemical, cellular, tissue, organ, organ system, organism. Briefly justify.

1. An enzyme breaks a covalent bond.
2. A neuron fires an action potential.
3. A wound heals by laying down new collagen.
4. The heart pumps blood through the body.
5. Blood pressure is regulated by the cardiovascular, urinary, and nervous systems working together.
6. A person feels hungry and decides to eat lunch.

2B. Synthesis questions

Answer each in 2 to 4 sentences. Use the language from this week's lecture and your drawings as evidence.

1. Explain what an emergent property is using one of your own examples. Why is the property not present at the level just below?
2. A drug poisons the mitochondria in every cell. Predict which higher levels of organization will be affected and in what order they will fail.
3. Pick one organ system. Argue, in two or three sentences, why no single cell or tissue could perform that system's function alone.

3. What to submit

Complete both the Anatomy Lab (your own drawings, hand-labeled, plus the structures list) and the Physiology Lab (activity and synthesis questions). Photograph or scan every page and upload to Canvas before the deadline listed on the schedule. Hand-drawn, hand-labeled work is the integrity mechanism for this course. Typed or AI-generated diagrams are not accepted.