Bio Midterm

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Adaptation

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A heritable trait that enhances an individual’s fitness in a particular environment.

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Cell

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Smallest unit of life.

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Conclusion

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Final overview or statement.

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Control Group

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Group of individuals identical to an experimental group except for the independent variable under investigation.

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Dependent Variable

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In an experiment, a variable that is presumably affected by an independent variable being tested.

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Evolve

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Change in a line of descent.

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Experiment

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A test designed to support or falsify a prediction.

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Homeostasis

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Process in which an organism keeps its internal conditions within tolerable ranges by sensing and responding to change.

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Independent Variable

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variable that is controlled by an experimenter in order to explore its relationship to a dependent variable.

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Manipulated Variable

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The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to determine its effect(s) on variable(s) reliant to it.

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Metabolism

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The process involving a set of chemical reactions that modifies a molecule into another for storage, or for immediate use in another reaction or as a by product.

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Multicellular

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Organism composed of interdependent cells that vary in their structure and function.

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Scientific Method

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Making, testing, and evaluating hypotheses.

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Theory

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a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained.

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Unicellular

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Having or consisting of a single cell.

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Variable

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In an experiment, a characteristic or event that differs among individuals or over time.

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Acid

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Substance that releases hydrogen ions in water.

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Adhesion

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The molecular force of attraction in the area of contact between unlike bodies that acts to hold them together.

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Atom

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The smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction; the number of protons determines the identity of the element.

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Base

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Substance that accepts hydrogen ions in water.

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Buffer

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Set of chemicals that can keep the pH of a solution stable by alternately donating and accepting ions that contribute to pH.

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Cohesion

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The molecular force between particles within a body or substance that acts to unite them.

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Compound

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Molecule that has atoms of more than one element.

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Concentration

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Amount of solute per unit volume of solution.

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Covalent Bond

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Chemical bond in which two atoms share a pair of electrons.

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Hydrogen Bond

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Attraction between a covalently bonded hydrogen atom and another atom taking part in a separate covalent bond.

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Ion

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Charged atom.

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Isotope

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Forms of an element that differ in the number of neutrons their atoms carry.

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Conservation of Matter

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The principle that in any closed system subjected to no external forces, the mass is constant irrespective of its changes in form; the principle that matter cannot be created or destroyed.

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Polar Covalent Bond

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A covalent bond between two atoms where the electrons forming the bond are unequally distributed.

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Solute

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A dissolved substance.

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Solution

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Uniform mixure of solute completely dissolved in solvent.

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Solvent

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Uniform mixure of solute completely dissolved in solvent.

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Surface Tension

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The tension of the surface film of a liquid caused by the attraction of the particles in the surface layer by the bulk of the liquid, which tends to minimize surface area.

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Valence Electron

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An electron of an atom, located in the outermost shell (valence shell) of the atom, that can be transferred to or shared with another atom.

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Dehydration

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An abnormal loss of water from the body, especially from illness or physical exertion.

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Condensation

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Chemical reaction in which an enzyme builds a large molecule from smaller subunits; water also forms.

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Reaction

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Process of molecular change.

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Functional Group

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An atom (other than hydrogen) or a small molecular group bonded to a carbon of an organic compound; imparts a specific chemical property.

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Hydrolysis

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Water-requiring chemical reaction in which an enzyme breaks a molecule into smaller subunits.

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Inorganic

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Of, relating to, or denoting compounds that are not organic (broadly, compounds not containing carbon).

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Monomer

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Molecules that are subunits of polymers.

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Organic

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Describes a molecule that consists mainly of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

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Peptide Bond

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A bond between the amine group of one amino acid and the carboxyl group of another. Joins amino acids in proteins.

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Polymer

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Molecule that consists of multiple monomers.

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Saturated Fatty Acid

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A fatty acid whose carbon chain cannot absorb any more hydrogen atoms; found chiefly in animal fats.

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Unsaturated Fatty Acid

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A fatty acid whose carbon chain can absorb additional hydrogen atoms.

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Chloroplast

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Organelle of photosynthesis in the cells of plants and photosynthetic protists.

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Endoplasmic Reticulum

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Organelle that is a continuous system of sacs and tubes extending from the nuclear envelope. Smooth ER makes lipids and breaks down carbohydrates and fatty acids; ribosomes on the surface of rough ER synthesize proteins.

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Golgi Apparatus

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Organelle that modifies proteins and lipids, then packages the finished products into vesicles.

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Lysosome

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Antibacterial enzyme in body secretions such as saliva and mucus.

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Mitochondria

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Double-membraned organelle that produces ATP by aerobic respiration in eukaryotes.

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Nucleus

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Of a eukaryotic cell, organelle with a double membrane that holds the cell’s DNA.

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Organelle

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Structure that carries out a specialized metabolic function inside a cell.

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Ribosome

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Organelle of protein synthesis.

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Activation Energy

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Minimum amount of energy required to start a reaction.

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Active Transport

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Energy-requiring mechanism in which a transport protein pumps a solute across a cell membrane against its concentration gradient.

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Diffusion

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Spontaneous spreading of molecules or ions.

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Endocytosis

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Process by which a cell takes in a small amount of extracellular fluid (and its contents) by the ballooning inward of the plasma membrane.

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Equilibrium

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The condition existing when a chemical reaction and its reverse reaction proceed at equal rates.

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Exocytosis

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The transport of material out of a cell by means of a sac or vesicle that first engulfs the material and then is extruded through an opening in the cell membrane.

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Hypertonic

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Describes a fluid that has a high solute concentration relative to another fluid separated by a semipermeable membrane.

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Hypotonic

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Describes a fluid that has a low solute concentration relative to another fluid separated by a semipermeable membrane.

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Isotonic

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Describes two fluids with identical solute concentrations and separated by a semipermeable membrane.

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Lock and Key Theory

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The enzyme and substrate have to have a very specific shape and size in order to work.

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Osmosis

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Diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane; occurs in response to a difference in solute concentration between the fluids on either side of the membrane.

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Passive transport

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The movement of a chemical substance across a cell membrane without expenditure of energy by the cell, as in diffusion.

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Phospholipid Bilayer

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A two-layered arrangement of phosphate and lipid molecules that form a cell membrane, the hydrophobic lipid ends facing inward and the hydrophilic phosphate ends facing outward.

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Plasma Membrane

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A cell’s outermost membrane.

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Selectively Permeable

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A membrane that allows certain molecules or ions to pass through it by means of active or passive transport.

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Substrate

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Of an enzyme, a reactant that is specifically acted upon by the enzyme.

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Aerobic Respiration

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Oxygen-requiring metabolic pathway that breaks down sugars to produce ATP.

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Alcohol Fermentation

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Anaerobic sugar breakdown pathway that produces ATP, CO2, and ethanol.

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Anaerobic Respiration

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A form of respiration in which molecular oxygen is not consumed, for example, nitrate respiration, sulfate respiration.

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ATP

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Adenosine triphosphate. Nucleotide that serves an important role as an energy carrier in cells.

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Electron Transport System (ETS)

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Array of enzymes and other molecules that accept and give up electrons in sequence, thus releasing the energy of the electrons in steps.

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FADH2

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A redox cofactor that is created during the Krebs cycle and utilized during the last part of respiration.

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Glycolysis

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GlycolysisSet of reactions in which a six-carbon sugar (such as glucose) is converted to two pyruvate for a net yield of two ATP.

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Kreb's Cycle

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Cyclic pathway that, along with acetyl-CoA formation, breaks down pyruvate to carbon dioxide during aerobic respiration.

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Lactic Acid Fermentation

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Anaerobic sugar breakdown pathway that produces ATP and lactate.

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NADH

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An abbreviation for the reduced form of NAD in electron transport reactions.

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Cell Cycle

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A series of events from the time a cell forms until its cytoplasm divides.

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Centriole

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Barrel-shaped organelle from which microtubules grow.

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Centromere

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Of a duplicated eukaryotic chromosome, constricted region where sister chromatids attach to each other.

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Chromatin

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The readily stainable substance of a cell nucleus, consisting of DNA, RNA, and various proteins, that forms chromosomes during cell division.

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Chromosome

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A structure that consists of DNA and associated proteins; carries part or all of a cell’s genetic information.

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Cytokinesis

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Cytoplasmic division.

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Diploid

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Having two of each type of chromosome characteristic of the species (2n).

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Interphase

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In a eukaryotic cell cycle, the interval between mitotic divisions when a cell grows, roughly doubles the number of its cytoplasmic components, and replicates its DNA.

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Mitosis

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Nuclear division mechanism that maintains the chromosome number.

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Spindle

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Temporary structure that moves chromosomes during nuclear division; consists of microtubules.