Chapter 1 Flashcards
what is biology
the scientific study of life
what are some properties of life
order, evolutionary adaptation, regulation, energy processing, growth and development, response to the environment, and reproduction
what are the levels of biological organization (biggest to smallest)
biosphere>ecosystems>communities>populations>organisms>organs>tissues>cells>organelles>molecules
what is the biosphere
consists of all life on earth and all the places where life exists; most regions of land, most bodies of water, the atmosphere to an altitude of several kilometers, and even sediments far below the ocean floor
what is an ecosystem
consists of all the living things in a particular area, along with all the nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts
what is a community
the array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem
what is a population
a population consists of all the individuals of a species living within the bounds of a specific area that interbreed with one another
what is an organism
individual living things
what are organs
a body part made up of multiple tissues and has specific functions in the body
what are tissues
tissues are groups of cells that work together performing a specialized function
what are cells
the cell is life’s fundamental unit of structure and function
what are organelles
the various functional components present in cells
what are molecules
a molecule is a chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms
what are emergent properties
novel properties that emerge at each level
what is systems biology
the exploration of a biological system by analyzing the interactions among its parts
what is a eukaryotic cell
cell that contains membrane enclosed organelles; DNA containing nucleus
what is a prokaryotic cell
a prokaryotic cell is a cell that doesn’t have membrane enclosed organelles, and lacks a nucleus; smaller than eukaryotic cells
Full name of DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid
what are genes
basic units of heredity; encode the information necessary to build all of the molecules synthesized within a cell, which in turn establish that cell’s identity and function
what is gene expression
entire by process by which the information in a gene directs the manufacture of a cellular product
what is a genome
the entire “library” of genetic instructions that an organism inherits
what is genomics
when researchers study whole sets of genes in one or more species
what is proteomics
the study of sets of proteins and their properties
what is a proteome
entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism
what are bioinformatics
the use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of data that results from high throughput methods
what are producers
photosynthetic organisms that produce food from the sun
what are consumers
consumers are organisms that feed on other organisms or their remains
what is feedback regulation
feedback regulation is the output or product of a process that regulates that very process
what is climate change
a directional change to the global climate that lasts for three decades or more
what is evolution
a process of biological change in which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time
what are the three domains?
domain bacteria, domain archaea and domain eukarya
what organisms fall under bacteria and archaea
single celled organisms
what organisms are in eukarya
all the eukaryotes, four subgroups: kingdom plantae, kingdom fungi, kingdom animalia, and the protists
what is kingdom plantae
kingdom plantae consists of multicellular eukaryotes that carry out photosynthesis, the conversion of light energy to the chemical energy in food. most plant species live on land,
what is kingdom fungi
kingdom fungi is characterized in part by the nutritional mode of its members (such as this mushroom) which absorb nutrients from outside their bodies
what is kingdom animalia
kingdom animalia consists of multicellular eukaryotes that ingest other organisms
what is natural selection
natural selection is the mechanism of evolutionary adaptation as the natural environment consistently selects for the propagation of certain traits among naturally occurring variant traits in the population
what is inquiry
inquiry is the search for information and the explanations of natural phenomena
what is data?
recorded observations
what is inductive reasoning
collecting and analyzing observations can lead to important conclusions
what is a hypothesis
an explanation based on observations and assumptions that leads to a testable prediction
what is an experiement
a scientific test, carried out under controlled conditions
what is deductive reasoning?
deductive reasoning involves logic that flows in the opposite direction: from general to specific
what is an independent variable
the variable being manipulated by researchers
what is a dependent variable
the factor being measured that is predicted to be affected by the independent variable
what is a theory
more broad than hypothesis, more general, and more supported by a much greater body of evidence
what is a model organism
a species that is easy to grow in the lab and lends itself particularly well to questions being investigated
