Biology Semester Flashcards
What is homeostasis?
When organisms maintain a stable, internal environment
What does the work of science begin with?
Carful observations
What is a controlled experiment?
When one variable is changed at a time and all other variables are controlled during the experiment
How does science differ from other disciplines?
Requires facts and experimentation
When is a hypothesis useful?
When it is testable?
Where may a hypothesis come from?
A question about an observation or inference
What is spontaneous generation?
Idea that life can arise from nonliving matter
What is not the goal of science and how it works?
Something that can’t be proven or tested
What is an inference?
Logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or observation
Why do scientists need to publish details of important work?
So they can replicate each other’s experiments and compare data for further testing
A tissue is composed of what?
Individual cells that perform specific tasks
What is a theory?
A very well supported hypothesis
What is osmosis?
Diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane
What is biology?
Science that seeks to understand the living world
What are ribosomes?
Small particles in the cell on which proteins are assembled; made of RNA and protein; found in the cytoplasm
What are chromosomes?
Threadlike structures within the nucleus containing genetic material that is passed down form one generation to the next
What is the cell wall?
Strong supporting layer around cell membrane found only in plants
What is the cell membrane?
Thin, flexible barrier around the cell and regulates what comes in and out of the cell
What are the characteristics of living things?
- Reproduce
- Based on universal genetic code
- Made of cells
- Grow and develop
- Obtain energy and materials
- Respond to surrounding environment
- Change overtime
What is the nucleus?
Found in the center of the cell or atom; control center; makes all decisions of the cell; protons and neutrons are in the nucleus of an atom
What is metabolism?
Combination of reactions in which organisms build up or breakdown material
What is a microscope?
Device that produce magnified images that are too small to small to be seen with the unaided eye
What is a compound light microscope?
Microscope that allows light to pass through a specimen and uses two lenses to make an image
What is the mitochondria?
Organelle that converts chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are more convenient for cell use(powerhouse)
What are the chloroplasts?
Organelles found in plants that use sun energy to make chemical energy
What is a cell culture?
Group of cells that develop from a single, original cell
What is the Golgi apparatus?
Organelle that modifies, sorts, packages, and organizes proteins and make proteins using coded instructions from the nucleus
What are lysosomes?
Organelle filled with enzymes needed to remove or breakdown material in the cell
What are the charges of the three atomic particles?
Proton- positive
Electron- negative
Neutron- neutral
What is the function of the cytoskeleton?
Network of protein filaments that helps cell move and keep its shape
What is the function of the cell wall?
Support and protect the cell
What did Democritus believe about atoms?
They couldn’t be divided
How do you find the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a element?
Electrons- same as protons
Protons- atomic number
Neutrons- subtract electrons from atomic mass
What cell has no cell wall?
Animal
What is the difference between prokaryotes and eukaryote?
P- don’t have a nucleus
E- have a nucleus
What are isotopes?
Atoms of the same element with a different number of electrons
What is a species?
Similar organisms that can breed and produce
What are populations?
Groups of species that live in the same area
What is ecology?
Scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment
What is a biome?
Group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities
What is the biosphere?
Part of earth in which life exists including land, water, and air
What is a community?
All populations that live together in a defined area
Who was Aton van Leeuwenhoek?
First person to use a microscope to study nature
Who was Robert Hooke?
Discovered cells by looking through a cork through a microscope. Compared the chambers in a cork to a cell
What are covalent and ionic bonds?
Covalent- shares electrons between atoms
Ionic- transfer electrons between atoms
What are autotrophs and heterotrophs?
A- producers that make their own food from light energy
H- consumers that rely on other organisms for food and energy
What is a food chain and a food web?
FC- series of step in a ecosystem where organisms transfer energy by eating or being eaten(energy-90% is lost as heat, 10% is transferred)
FW- all food chains in an ecosystem(producers are always on the first level)
What are the two ways water enters the atmosphere in a water cycle?
Evaporation and transpiration
What is a observation?
Things that can be observed using the five senses
What is the order of the levels of organization?
Species, population, community, biome, and biosphere
What is the goal of science?
To investigate the natural world, understand the natural world, and to explanations to make useful predictions
