CH 1 Evolution, Themes of Bio, and Scientific Inquiry Flashcards
biology
the scientific study of life
biosphere
the entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet’s ecosystem
ecosystem
all organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them
cell
life’s fundamental unit of structure and function; the smallest unit of organization that can perform all activities required for life
population
group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and inter-breed, producing fertile offspring
organism
an individual living thing, consisting of one or more cells
organ
a specialized center of body function composed of several different types of tissues
tissue
integrated group of cells with a common structure, function, or both
Bacteria
One of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Archaea.
organelle
any of several membrane-enclosed structure with specialized functions, suspended in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells
molecule
two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds
emergent properties
new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts are complexity increases
systems biology
approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts
eukaryotic cell
type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals).
prokaryotic cell
cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus or organelles
genes
unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)
experiment
scientific test, often carried out under controlled conditions that involve manipulating one factor in a system in order to see the effects of changing that factor
gene expression
the process by which information encoded DNA direct the synthesis of proteins, or in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs
genome
genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences
genomics
systematic study of whole sets of genes (or other DNA) and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species
proteomics
systematic study of sets of proteins and their properties, including their abundance, chemical modifications, and interactions
proteome
entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism
producers
organism that produces organic compounds from CO2 by harnessing light energy (in photosynthesis) or by oxidizing inorganic chemicals (in chemosynthetic reactions carried out by some prokaryotes)
natural selection
process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits
science
approach to understanding the natural world
inquiry
search for information and explanation, often focusing on specific questions
inductive reasoning
type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific obervations
hypothesis
testable explanation for a set of observations based on the available data and guided by inductive reasoning; narrower in scope than a theory
model organism
particular species
theory
an explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence
model organism
particular species chosen for research into broad biological principles because it is representative of a larger group and usually easy to grow in a lab
technology
application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research
