Ch 1 Vocabulary (Invitation to Science) Flashcards
What branch of science is the study of living things?
biology
What term refers to living things?
organism
Which branch of biology is the study of animals and how they live?
zoology
Which branch of biology is the study of plants?
botany
Which branch of biology is the study of organisms that are too small to see without a microscope?
microbiology
Which branch of biology studis how living things interact with their surroundings and each other?
ecology
What branch of science studies an organism’s shape and structure?
anatomy
What branch of science studies how an organism’s structure functions?
physiology
What is the smallest unit of any living thing?
a cell
What kind of organism consists of a single cell that performs all of the organism’s functions?
a unicellular organism
What kind of organism contains many different types of cells that each serve a different purpose?
a multicellular organism
What word means the stable internal condition of an organism?
homeostasis
What is the process by which life continues through the generation of new organisms?
reproduction
What word refers to the sum of all the chemical processes of life?
metabolism
What word refers to the substances in food that provide organisms with energy?
nutrients
the process by which organisms use oxygen to convert nutrients into a chemical energy called ATP
cellular respiration
Type of symmetry in which an organism can be cut only one way to create right and left halves
bilateral symmetry
Type of symmetry in which an organism can be cut multiple ways to create mirror halves
radial symmetry
Unable to be cut into equal halves
asymmetrical
Everything surrounding an organism being studied
environment
refers to land
terrestrial
The home of an organism
habitat
Active mainly during the day
diurnal
Active mainly at night
nocturnal
inactive
dormant
living in trees
arboreal
having to do with water
aquatic
Aquatic environment that contains little to no salt
freshwater
Environments in the seas and oceans, which contain salt water
marine
The area between the highest and lowest points that the tide reaches (beaches, tide pools)
intertidal zone
Collections of salt water and sea life that could not escape when the tide went out
tide pools
hot spring in the ocean floor
hydrothermal vent
The science of classification
Taxonomy
A distinct type of organism
species
A name that uniquely identifies a species by listing its genus and species names.
scientific name
A system that scientists use to gather and pursue scientific knowledge.
scientific method
A sensible explanation to a scientific problem
hypothesis
Gathering facts about nature in an organised way
observation
data
facts
The methodical testing of a hypothesis
experimentation
A way of explaining an object or event by using a set of facts
theory
A theory that has never been proven false
law
A factor that is observed to determine the result of an experiment
a dependent variable
The factor that you change to test your hypothesis
an independent variable
A factor that is the same for all groups in an experiment
a controlled variable
The groups on which a test is performed
experimental groups
A group in an experiment that lacks the independent variable and is used as a standard for comparison
control group
The study of reasoning
logic
A conclusion based on reasoning from evidence
inference
Reasoning from evidence to a more specific conclusion. For example, we know from experience that if it is raining, the ground is wet. Therefore, if it is raining, we can conclude that the ground is wet, even if we can’t see the ground.
deductive reasoning
Reasoning from specific evidence to a more general conclusion
inductive reasoning
