Bio-Pac 02: Vocabulary

Question 1

Prokaryote

Answer 1

One of the two kinds of cells that organisms are made out of. It is a type of cell that lacks internal structures surrounded by membranes. Most are single celled organisms.

Question 2

Eukaryote

Answer 2

One of the two kinds of cells that organisms are made out of. It is a type of cell that contains internal, membrane-bound structures (organelles). Either single cellular or multi cellular.

Question 3

Organelle

Answer 3

The membrane-bound structures within a cell. Each organelle has a membrane surrounding it, so it is isolated from the rest of the cell.

Question 4

Cellulose

Answer 4

Cellulose molecules make up the cellulose fibers which are interwoven to produce a strong, protecting, supporting, and inflexible cell wall. Basically cellulose makes up cell walls.

Question 5

Chitin

Answer 5

A nitrogen containing polysaccharide that makes up the cell wall of fungi.

Question 6

Nucleolus

Answer 6

A region within the nucleus (nucleus: the largest membrane-bound organelle in a cell; it also contains the cell’s DNA and manages its functions.) that produces tiny cell particles that are involved in protein synthesis (ribosomes).

Question 7

Chromatin

Answer 7

DNA forms long tangled strands called chromatin, which is packed into identifiable chromosomes when the cells are ready to reproduce.

Question 8

Cristae

Answer 8

The long narrow folds in the mitochondria covered with enzyme systems involved in producing energy molecules for many cell functions. (Mitochondria is found in every cell except prokaryotes.)

Question 9

Chlorophyll

Answer 9

Molecules within chloroplasts that have a green pigment that helps trap the energy from the sunlight. The chloroplast then changes that energy into usable chemical energy and changes the chemical energy into food molecules called plastids.

Question 10

Plastids

Answer 10

The organelles that are used for storing the chemical energy. Some plastids may also store lipids or even starches. Plastids are named after their color or the pigment they contain.

Question 11

Cytoskeleton

Answer 11

The network of thin, fibrous elements (microtubules and microfilaments) that act as a sort of scaffold to provide support for organelles. It provides support for the organelles.

Question 12

Unicellular

Answer 12

Single-celled organisms, meaning that the cell must do all the jobs by itself to carry out life rather than working with other cells and relying on other cells.

Question 13

Multicellular

Answer 13

Organisms made up of many cells, each with a specialized function. This way cells can work together. A group of cells that work together to carry out an activity make up tissues, groups of two or more tissues that work together make up an organ, and a group of organs that work together to carry out a life function make up organ systems.

Question 14

Host cell

Answer 14

Viruses can’t reproduce on their own so they need a host cell which is a cell in which they reproduce.

Question 15

Bacteriophage

Answer 15

A virus that infects bacteria. Bacteria can’t give you diseases unless it has been infected by a bacteriophage.

Question 16

Capsule

Answer 16

The sticky gelatinous thing that surrounds some bacteria’s cell wall. The capsule also allows bacteria not to be engulfed easily by white blood cells, so bacteria with capsules are likely to cause diseases (only if the bacterium has been infected by a bacteriophage).

Question 17

Pili

Answer 17

The extensions of the plasma membrane found in some bacteria that help the bacteria to stick to some surfaces and each other, it is also a passageway through which DNA is exchanged during sexual reproduction.

Question 18

Capsid

Answer 18

Depending on how the proteins are arranged in the viral coat/protein coats of a virus, it will give the viruses different shapes. The viral coat is called a capsid.