Biology Flashcards

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Biology

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The study of living organisms

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Organism

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A plant, animal or single-celled life form

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Organization

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an organized body of people with a particular purpose, especially a business, society, association

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Growth

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irreversible increase in the dry mass of an organism

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Development

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The study of the processes by which an organism develops from a zygote to its full structure.

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Reproduction

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Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction.

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Species

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a group of individuals that actually or potentially interbreed in nature.

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Stimulus

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A detectable change in the internal or external environment.

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Response

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any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.

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Homeostasis

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Homeostasis is the ability to maintain a constant internal environment in response to environmental changes.

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Adaptation

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process by which an animal or plant species becomes fitted to its environment

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Theory

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a theory is a well-substantiated explanation or a set of statements that have been confirmed over the course of many independent experiments.

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Observation

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The data measured, collected, perceived or noticed, especially during an experiment.

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Inference

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The logical process of passing from observations and axioms to generalizations

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Scientific method

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The scientific method is a series of steps followed by scientific investigators to answer specific questions about the natural world.

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Hypothesis

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A supposition or tentative explanation for (a group of) phenomena, (a set of) facts, or a scientific inquiry that may be tested, verified or answered by further investigation or methodological experiment

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Experiment

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A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something previously untried.

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Control group

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is a specific group of experimental subjects that are not given the experimental change.

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Independent variable

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The variable in a functional relation whose value is independent, or is not affected by other variables.

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Dependent variable

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The variable in a functional relation whose value is dependent upon, or influenced by, an independent variable.

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Ecology

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the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment.

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Biosphere

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The biosphere is the zone of air, land and water where organisms exist.

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Biotic factor

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A factor created by a living thing or any living component within an environment in which the action of the organism affects the life of another organism.

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Abiotic factor

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abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.

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Population

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A group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time

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Autotroph

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An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy.

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Heterotroph

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An organism that cannot manufacture its own food and instead obtains its food and energy by taking in organic substances

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Herbivore

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A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants.

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Carnivore

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An animal or plant (particularly insect- and invertebrate-eating plants) that requires a staple diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue through predation or scavenging.

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Omnivore

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An omnivore is a kind of animal that eats either other animals or plants.

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Detritivore

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An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, returning essential nutrients to the ecosystem.

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Trophic level

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any class of organisms that occupy the same position in a food chain, as primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers

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Food chain

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A feeding hierarchy in which organisms in an ecosystem are grouped into trophic (nutritional) levels and are shown in a succession

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Community

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an interacting group of various species in a common location. For

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Ecosystem

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A system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in an area as well as its physical environment (abiotic factors) functioning together as a unit. Supplement.

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Biome

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A large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct region.

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Habitat

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Place where an organism or abiological population normally lives or occurs.

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Niche

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The specific area where an organism inhabits

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Predation

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A form of symbiotic relationship between two organisms of unlike species in which one of them acts as predator that captures and feeds on the other organism that serves as the prey.

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Symbiosis

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Symbiotic relationships are a special type of interaction between species.

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Mutualism

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Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other.

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Commensalism

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Commensalism, in biology, a relationship between individuals of two species in which one species obtains food or other benefits from the other without either harming or benefiting the latter.

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Parasitism

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In biology/ecology, parasitism is a non-mutual relationship between species, where one species, theparasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host.

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Food web

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A graphical model showing the interconnecting food chains in an ecological community

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Biomass

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The total mass of all living material in a specific area, habitat, or region.