Bio 201 Chapter 1: A View Of Life

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Evolution

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Any cumulative genetic changes in a population from generation to generation.

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Cells

Back 2

The basic structural and functional unit of life, which consists of living material enclosed by a membrane.

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Metabolism

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The sum of all the chemical processes that occur within a cell or organism.

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Homeostasis

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The balanced internal environment of the body.

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Stimuli

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Physical or chemical change in the external or internal environment.

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Cilia

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A short, hairlike structure that projects from the surface of some eukaryotic cells and are used for locomotion or movement of materials across the cell surface.

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Flagella

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A long, whiplike structure extending from certain cells and used in locomotion.

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Sessile

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Permanently attached to one location.

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Asexual Reproduction

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Reproduction in which there is no fusion of gametes and in which the genetic makeup of parent and of offspring is usually identical.

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Sexual Reproduction

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Reproduction in which two gametes fuse to form a zygote.

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Adaptation

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An evolutionary modification that improves an organism's chances of survival and reproductive success.

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Tissue

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A group of closely associated, similar cells that work together to carry out specific functions.

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Organ

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A specialized structure made up of tissues and adapted to perform a specific function or group of functions.

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Organ System

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An organized group of tissues and organs that work together to perform a specialized set of functions.

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Population

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A group of organisms of the same species that live in a defined geographic area at the same time.

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Community

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An association of populations of different species living together in a defined habitat with some degree of interdependence.

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Ecosystem

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The interacting system of that encompasses a community and its nonliving, physical environment.

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Biosphere

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All the Earth's living organisms, collectively.

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DNA

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Double stranded nucleic acid that contains genetic information coded in specific sequences of nucleotides.

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Gene

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A segment of DNA that serves as a unit of hereditary information.

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Proteins

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A large, complex organic compound composed of covalently linked amino acid subunits. Usually contain carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.

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Hormone

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An organic chemical messenger in multicellular organisms that is produced in one part of the body and often transported to another part where it signals cells to alter some aspect of metabolism.

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Cell Signaling

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Mechanisms of communication between cells by combining receptors of two cells.

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Neurotransmitters

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A chemical signal used by neurons to transmit impulses across a synapse.

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Species

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One or more population whose members are capable of interbreeding in nature to produc fertile offspring and do not interbreed with other species.

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Gene pool

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All of the alleles of all the genes present in a freely interbreeding population.

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Binomial System of Nomenclature

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System of naming species by the combination of the genus name and a specific epithet.

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Genus

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A taxonomic category made up of related species.

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Specific Epithet

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The second part of the name of a species, designated a specific species belonging to that genus.

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Family

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A taxonomic category made up of releated genera.

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Order

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A taxonomic category made up of related families.

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Class

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A taxonomic category made up of related orders.

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Phylum

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A taxonomic grouping of related, similar classes.

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Kingdom

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A broad taxonomic category made up of related phyla.

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Domain

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The broadest taxonomic category, each contains one or more kingdoms.

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Taxon

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A formal taxonomic group at any level.

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Prokaryotic Cell

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A cell that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-enclosed organelles.

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Eukaryotic Cell

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An organism whose cells have nuclei and other membrane enclosed organelles.

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Archaea

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Prokaryotic organisms with a number of features, such as the absence of peptidoglycan, that set themselves apart from bacteria.

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Bacteria

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Prokaryotic organisms that have peptidoglycan in their cell walls and most are decomposers.

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Eukarya

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Domain that only includes organisms made up of eukaryotic cells.

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Protista

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One of a vast kingdom of eukaryotic organisms, primarily unicellular and simply multicellular; most are aquatic.

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Fungi

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Organisms that do not photosynthesize, mainly composed of yeasts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms.

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Plantae

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Complex multicellular organisms adapted to carry out photosynthesis.

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Animalia

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Multicellular organisms that eat other organisms for nutrition.

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Natural Selection

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The mechanism of evolution proposed by Darwin. The tendency of organisms that have favorable adaptations to their environment to survive and become parents of the next generation.

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Mutation

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Any change in DNA that may include a change in the nucleotide base pair, rearrangement of genes, or a change in the chromosome itself.

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Photosynthesis

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The biological process that captures light energy and transforms it into chemical energy of organic molecules, which are manufactured from carbon dioxide and water.

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Cell Respiration

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The process by which cells generate ATP through a series of redox reactions.

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Producer/Autotroph

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An organism that synthesizes complex organic compounds from simple inorganic raw materials.

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Consumers/Heterotroph

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An organism that cannot synthesize its own food from inorganic raw materials and therefore must obtain energy and body-building materials from other organisms.

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Decomposers

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Microbial heterotrophs that break down dead organic material and use the decomposition products as a source of energy.

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Process of Science

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The dynamic approach to investigation.

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Scientific Method

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The general framework that scientists use in their work that includes observing, recognizing a problem/stating a critical question, developing a hypothesis, making a prediction that can be tested, making observations, performing experiments and interpreting results, and drawing conclusions that support or falsify data.

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Deductive Reasoning

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Proceeds from general principles to specific conclusions that helps people discover relationships among known facts.

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Inductive Reasoning

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Begins with specific observations and draws conclusions from them that helps people discover general principles.

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Hypothesis

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Tentative explanaiton for observations or phenomena; this can be tested.

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Control Group

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In a scientific experiment, a group in which the experimental variable is kept constant; this group provides a standard of comparison.

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Experimental Group

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In a scientific experiment, a group in which the experimental variable is tested.

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Theory

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An integrated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is based on a number of hypotheses, each supported by consistent results from many observations or experiments.

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Systems Biology

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Utilizes knowledge provided by reductionism.