You are correct. Biologists might study any living thing and also study things in the environment that influence the biota (living things). For example, a biologist who studied herbivores (things that eat plants) might be very interested in the non-living nutrients that end up in plants, then animals. A biologist studying microscopic bacteria in lakes would be very interested in water quality. The science of ecology includes all living things and their interactions with each other and the environment.

Humans are animals, to biologists may study humans, but when the focus is on humans, we often use other words. For example, animal behavior is a subject in biology, but if you’re only studying how groups of humans behave, you might be a sociologist and not consider yourself a biologist at all.

Yes! Biology is the study of life and also living organisms. When you learn biology, you learn the structures, functions, ecology, development, and heredity of living things. Also, "ology" always means the study of, so if you're every confused as to what a term means, like Mycology, you can deduce it to "the study of myco" (myco means fungi).

Your teacher was right! The word "biology" does mean "the study of life and living organisms." Biology is a broad topic and includes the study of many aspects of life, including cells and their function, genetics, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, physiology, and many more sub-disciplines!