Bio Vocabulary Review From Middleschool

Front 1

Adaption

Back 1

A characteristic of an organism that increases its chances of survival in its environment.

Front 2

Carnivore

Back 2

An animal that obtains nutrients from eating other animals.

Front 3

Chemical Change

Back 3

Process by which substances are changed into different substances with different properties.

Front 4

Climate

Back 4

The average pattern of weather that occurs in a certain location over many years.

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Community

Back 5

Populations of different species of organisms living together in the same geographic area.

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Condensation

Back 6

The process by which water is changed from a gas (water vapor) to a liquid; a stage of the water cycle.

Front 7

Consumer

Back 7

An organism in a food chain that obtains nutrients from producers or other consumers; consumers may be herbivores or carnivores

Front 8

Control Group

Back 8

A group in a scientific experiment that serves as a reference for comparison to the experimental group; a group that is untreated by the factor being tested.

Front 9

Ecosystem

Back 9

All the living and nonliving things that interact with each other in an environment.

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Endangered Species

Back 10

A species whose population is so small that it is in danger of extinction.

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Environment

Back 11

An area that includes all living organisms and the surrounding physical features such as air, water, soil, weather, and landforms.

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Erosion

Back 12

The process by which rock, soil, and other weathered earth materials are moved from one place to another.

Front 13

Experiment

Back 13

A scientific test or procedure that is carried out under controlled conditions to answer a scientific question.

Front 14

Extinct Species

Back 14

A species that no longer exists.

Front 15

Fertilization

Back 15

The process by which the female reproductive cell (egg) is united with the male reproductive cell (sperm ro pollen).

Front 16

Food Chain

Back 16

A diagram representing the transfer of energy from the Sun through producers and a series of consumers.

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Germination

Back 17

The process by which plants begin to grow from seed to spore or from seed to bud.

Front 18

Hemisphere

Back 18

Half of Earh (i.e. Northern, Southern, Easter, or Western).

Front 19

Herbivore

Back 19

An animal that obtains nutrients only from plants.

Front 20

Inference

Back 20

An explanation based on evidence that is not directly observed.

Front 21

Inherited Trait

Back 21

A trait or characteristic that is passed from parent to the offspring.

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Invertebrate

Back 22

An animal that lacks a backbone.

Front 23

Investigation

Back 23

An organized scientific study of the natural world that may include making systematic observations, asking questions, gathering information, analyzing data, summarizing results, drawing conclusions, and/or communicating results.

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Life Cycle

Back 24

The stages of an organism's growth and development.

Front 25

Mass

Back 25

The amount of matter a substance or object has.

Front 26

Matter

Back 26

Anything that takes up space and has mass.

Front 27

Nutrient

Back 27

A substance that an organism needs to survive and grow.

Front 28

Observation

Back 28

Information about the natural world gathered through the senses and/or scientific instruments.

Front 29

Omnivore

Back 29

An organism that obtains nutrients from both plants and animals.

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Organism

Back 30

A living thing.

Front 31

Ovary

Back 31

The female reproductive organ that produces and contains egg cells.

Front 32

Pollinate

Back 32

To transfer the pollen from the male reproductive structure to the female reproductive structure to fertilize flowering plants.

Front 33

Population

Back 33

All members of the same species living together at the same time in the same area.

Front 34

Predator

Back 34

An organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms.

Front 35

Predict

Back 35

To state what one thinks will happen under certain conditions based on data or observations.

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Prey

Back 36

An organism that is hunted and/or eaten by another organism (predator).

Front 37

Producer

Back 37

An organism that produces its own food.

Front 38

Reproduction

Back 38

The process of making more organisms for the same kind.

Front 39

Species

Back 39

A group of the same kind of organisms that can mate and produce offspring that can reproduce.

Front 40

Spore

Back 40

A seedlike structure that produces a new plant (e.g. ferns or mosses).

Front 41

Variable

Back 41

An event, condition, or factor that can be changed or controlled in order to study or test a hypothesis in a scientific experiment.

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Vertebrate

Back 42

An animal that has a backbone.

Front 43

Water Vapor

Back 43

The gas state of water.

Front 44

Weight

Back 44

A measure of the force of gravity on an object.

Front 45

Allele

Back 45

Any of two or more alternate forms of a gene that an organism may have for a particular trait.

Front 46

Autotroph

Back 46

An organism that can produce food from inorganic materials (makes its own food).

Front 47

b.i.d.

Back 47

two times a day
(bis in die)

Front 48

Boiling Point

Back 48

The temperature at which a liquid changes to a gas.

Front 49

Controlled variable

Back 49

A factor or condition in a scientific experiment that is purposefully kept the same.

Front 50

Dominant

Back 50

The form of a trait that is expressed or shown when the conbination of alleles for this trait is heterozygous.

Front 51

Eukaryote

Back 51

An organism whose cells contain a nucleus surrounded by a membrane.

Front 52

Heterogeneous

Back 52

A type of mixture in which different parts can be easily distinguished. (Pennies and Water)

Front 53

Heterotroph

Back 53

An organism that cannot produce its own food.

Front 54

Heterozygous

Back 54

A cell or organism that has two different alleles for a particular trait (Tt for height).

Front 55

Homeostasis

Back 55

The tendency of a cell, organism, or population to maintain internal stablility.

Front 56

Homogeneous

Back 56

The type of mixture in which the different parts are blended evenly so that the mixture is the same throughtout. (dissolved sugar and water)

Front 57

Homozygous

Back 57

A type of cell or organism that has identical rather than different alleles for a particular trait.

Front 58

Hypothesis

Back 58

A statement that can be tested scientifically through experiments and/or other scientific investigations.

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Kingdom

Back 59

The highest Linnaean classification into which organisms are grouped, above phylum.

Front 60

Law (scientific law)

Back 60

A scientific principle based on many observations of naturally occurring events that demonstrate it to be without exception under certain stated conditions.

Front 61

Molecule

Back 61

The smallest unit of matter of a substance that retains all the physical and chemical properties of that substance; consists of a single atom or a group of atoms bonded together.

Front 62

Niche

Back 62

The unique position occupied by a particular species in terms of the area it inhabits and the function it performs within the community.

Front 63

Nucleus

Back 63

The center region of an atom where protons and neutrons are located; also, the cell structure that contains a cell's genetic material.

Front 64

Outcome variable (dependent variable)

Back 64

A factor, usually being measured or observed, that responds to, or depends on, another factor. (test variable)

Front 65

pH

Back 65

A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution based on a scale from zero to fourteen. (0 - 14)

Front 66

Prokaryote

Back 66

An organism whose cells are characterized by the lack of a defined nucleus.

Front 67

Recessive

Back 67

The form of a trait that will be masked unless the organism is homozygous for this trait.

Front 68

Regeneration

Back 68

The growth of new tissues or organs to replace those lost or damaged by injury.

Front 69

Test variable (independent variable)

Back 69

The variable manipulated (changed) by the experimenter in order to study changes in the outcome variable.

Front 70

Theory (scientific theory)

Back 70

An explanation for some naturally occurring event developed from extensive observations, experimentation, reasoning.