[Biology] Chapter 1 - Key Terms

Front 1

animal

Back 1

Multicelled, motile heterotroph that has embryonic stages and usually tissues, organs, and organ systems.

Hint 1

[Consumers that ingest tissues of other organisms. May be herbivores (grazers), carnivores (meat eaters), scavengers, and parasites. All develop by a series of embryonic stages, and actively move about during their life.]

Front 2

archaea

Back 2

Evolutionarily distinct domain of prokaryotic organisms.

Hint 2

[Single-celled. Does not have a nucleus (prokaryotic). Live in boiling ocean water, freezing desert rocks, sulfur-rich lakes, and other habitats as harsh as those thought to have prevailed when life originated.]

Front 3

atom

Back 3

Fundamental form of matter that has mass and takes up space, and cannot be broken apart by everyday means.

Front 4

bacteria

Back 4

The most widespread and diverse group of prokaryotic organisms.

Hint 4

[Single-celled. Does not have a nucleus (prokaryotic). Sometimes called "eubacteria" (true bacteria). Live throughout the world in diverse habitats. Far more common than archaeans.]

Front 5

biosphere

Back 5

Encompasses all regions of the Earth's waters, crust, and atmosphere where organisms live.

Hint 5

[The highest level of life.]

Front 6

cell

Back 6

Smallest living unit, with a capacity to survive and reproduce on its own (given raw materials, energy inputs, information encoded in its DNA, and suitable conditions in its environment).

Front 7

classification system

Back 7

A way of organizing and retrieving information about species.

Front 8

community

Back 8

All species living and interacting in some habitat.

Hint 8

[All populations of all species occupying one area.]

Front 9

consumer

Back 9

Heterotroph that obtains carbon and energy by feeding on other organisms.

Hint 9

[Cannot make their own food. Survive by feeding on tissue of producers and other organisms (animals and decomposers).]

Front 10

control group

Back 10

A group used as a standard for comparison with an experimental group.

Front 11

DNA

Back 11

(Deoxyribonucleic acid.) Carries the primary hereditary information for all living organisms and many viruses.

Hint 11

[Holds information for building proteins from smaller molecules, the amino acids.]

Front 12

ecosystem

Back 12

An array of species and their physical environment.

Hint 12

[A community together with its physical and chemical environment.]

Front 13

Eukarya

Back 13

Domain of eukaryotic cells; all protists, plants, fungi, and animals.

Hint 13

[Has nuclei. Generally larger and far more complex than the prokaryotes.]

Front 14

evolution

Back 14

(Biological) Genetic change in a line of descent. Outcome of microevolutionary events: gene mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow.

Hint 14

[Heritable change in a line of descent.]

Front 15

experimental group

Back 15

A group upon which an experiment is performed, and compared with a control group.

Front 16

fungus

Back 16

Eukaryotic heterotroph that obtains nutrients by extracellular degestion and fabsorption; notable for prolific spore formation.

Hint 16

[Multicelled decomposers and consumers. Secretes enzymes that digest food outside the fungal body, then individual cells absorb the digested nutrients.]

Front 17

homeostasis

Back 17

Maintenance of physical and chemical aspects of the internal environment within ranges suitable for cell activities.

Front 18

hypothesis

Back 18

In science, a possible explanation of a phenomenon, one that has the potential to be proven false by experimental tests.

Hint 18

[Educated guess.]

Front 19

metabolism

Back 19

All the controlled, enzyme-mediated chemical reactions by which cells acquire and use energy to synthesize, store, degrade, and eliminate substances.

Hint 19

[A process in which every cell acquires and uses energy to maintain itself, grow, and make more cells.]

Front 20

mimicry

Back 20

Close resemblance of one species to another; confers a selective advantage upon one or both species by deceiving predatores.

Front 21

model

Back 21

Theoretical description of something that has not been directly observed.

Front 22

molecule

Back 22

Two or more atoms of the same or different elements joined by chemical bonds.

Front 23

mutation

Back 23

Heritable change in DNA.

Hint 23

[Some mutations lead to novel traits that make an indvidual better able to secure food, a mate, hiding places, and so on.]

Front 24

natural selection

Back 24

Microevolutionary process; the outcome of differences in survival and reproduction among individuals that differ in the details of their heritable traits.

Hint 24

[When individuals differ in their ability to survive and reproduce, the traits that help them do so tend to become more common in the population over time.]

Front 25

organ

Back 25

Two or more tissues arrayed in a specific pattern and interacting in some task.

Front 26

organ system

Back 26

Two or more organs interacting chemically, physically, or both in a task.

Front 27

plant

Back 27

A multicelled photoautotroph with well-developed roots and shoots.

Hint 27

[Multicelled, photosynthetic producer. Make their own food by using simple raw materials and sunlight as an energy source.]

Front 28

population

Back 28

A group of single-celled or multicelled individuals of the same species occupying a specified area.

Front 29

prediction

Back 29

Statement about what you expect to observe in nature.

Front 30

producer

Back 30

Autotroph (self-feeder); nourishes itself using sources of energy and carbon from the environment. Photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs are examples.

Hint 30

[Plants and other organisms that make their own food molecules from simple raw materials.]

Front 31

protist

Back 31

One of the mainly single-celled species of eukaryotes traditionally grouped in the catch-all "kingdom Protista." Currently being classified into groupings that reflect evolutionary relationships.

Front 32

scientific theory

Back 32

An explanation of the cause of a range of related phenomena; has been rigorously tested but is still open to revision.

Front 33

species

Back 33

One kind of organism. Of species that reproduce sexually, one or more groups of natural populations in which individuals interbreed and are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

Front 34

test, scientific

Back 34

A means to determine the accuracy of a prediction, as by conducting experiments, making observations, or developing models.

Front 35

tissue

Back 35

Of multicelled organisms, a group of cells and intercellular substances that function together in one or more specialized tasks.

Front 36

variable

Back 36

A specific aspect of an object or event that may differ over time and among individuals. In an experimental test, a single variable is directly manipulated in an attempt to support or disprove a prediction.