Chapter 1 Biology

Front 1

Define Biology

Back 1

Is the scientific study of life

Front 2

define atom

Back 2

Te smallest unit of amtter that retains the properties of an element.

Front 3

define molecule

Back 3

A group of two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds.

Front 4

define macromolecule

Back 4

A giant molecule in a living organism: a protein, carhydrate, lipid, or nucleic acid.

Front 5

define organelle

Back 5

A structure with a specialized function within a cell.

Front 6

define cell

Back 6

A basic unit of living matter separated from its environment by a plasma membrane; the fundamental structural unit of life.

Front 7

define tissue

Back 7

A cooperative unit of many similar cells that perform a specific function within a multicellular organism.

Front 8

define organ

Back 8

A structure consisting of several tissues adapted as a group to perform specific functions.

Front 9

define organ system

Back 9

A group of organs that work together in performing vital body functions.

Front 10

define organism

Back 10

An individual living thing, such as a bacterium, fungus, protist, plant, or animal.

Front 11

define population

Back 11

A group of interacting individuals belonging to one species and living in the same geographic area.

Front 12

define community

Back 12

An assemblage of all the organisms living together and potentially interacting in a particular area.

Front 13

define ecosystem

Back 13

All the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment.

Front 14

define biosphere

Back 14

The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.

Front 15

define energy flow

Back 15

The passage of energy through the components of an ecosystem.

Front 16

define producer

Back 16

An organism that makes organic food molecules from CO(2), H(2)O,and other inorganic raw materials: a plant, alga, or autotrophic bacterium.

Front 17

define consumer

Back 17

An organism that obtains its food by eating plants or by eating animals that have eaten plants.

Front 18

define decomposer

Back 18

An orgnaism that derives its energy from organic wastes and dead organisms: aka detritivore.

Front 19

define prokaryote

Back 19

An organism with prokarotic cells.

Front 20

define prokaryotic cell

Back 20

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and other membrane-ennclosed organelles; found only in the domains Bacteria and Archaea.

Front 21

define eukaryote

Back 21

An organism with eukaryotic cells.

Front 22

define eukaryotic cell

Back 22

A type of cell that has a membrane-enclosed nucleus and other membrane-enclosed organelles. All organisms except bacteria and archaea are composed of eukaryotic cells.

Front 23

define Eukarya

Back 23

The domain of eukaryotes, organisms made of eukaryotic cells; includes all of the protists, plants, fungi, and animals.

Front 24

define order

Back 24

In classification, the taxonomic category above family.

Front 25

define entropy

Back 25

A measure of disorder. One form of disorder is heat, which is random molecular motion.

Front 26

define homeostasis (regulation)

Back 26

The steady state of body functioning; a state of equilibrium characterized by a dynamic interplay between ouside forces that tend to change an organism's internal environment and the internal control mechanisms that oppose such changes.

Front 27

define reproduction

Back 27

The creation of new individuals from existing ones.

Front 28

define evolution

Back 28

Genetic change in a population or species over generations; all the changes that transform life on Earth; the heritable changes that have produced Earth's diversity of organisms.

Front 29

define taxonomy

Back 29

The branch of biology concerned with identifying, naming, and classifying species.

Front 30

define domain

Back 30

A taxonomic category above the kingdom level. The three domains of life are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaya.

Front 31

define Bacteria

Back 31

One of two prokaryotic domains of life, the other being Archaea.

Front 32

define Archaea

Back 32

One of two prokaryotic domains of life, the other being Bacteria.

Front 33

define kingdom

Back 33

In classification, the broad taxomomic category above phylum of division.

Front 34

define Protista

Back 34

In the five-kingdom classificaation system, the kingdom that contains the unicellular eukaryotes (and closely related multicellular organisms) called protists.

Front 35

define Plantae

Back 35

The kingdom that contains the plants.

Front 36

define Fungi

Back 36

The kingdom that contains fungi.

Front 37

define Animalia

Back 37

The kingdom that contains animals.

Front 38

define theory

Back 38

A widely accepted explanatory idea that is broad in scope and supported by a large body of evidence.