Chapter 1- The study of life Flashcards
Anabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which use energy and simple chemical building blocks to produce large chemicals and structures necessary for life.
Metabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which convert energy and matter from outside sources and use that energy and matter to sustain the organisms life functions.
Catabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which breakdown chemicals to produce energy and simple chemical building blocks.
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use the energy of sunlight and simple chemicals to produce their own food.
Herbivores
Organisms that only eat plants
Carnivores
Organisms that eat only organisms other than plants.
Omnivores
Organisms that eat both plants and other organisms.
Producers
Organisms that produce their own food
Consumers
Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food
Decomposers
Organisms that break down the dead remains of other organisms
Autotrophs
Organisms that are able to make their own food
Heterotrophs
Organisms that depend on other organisms for their food
Receptors
Special structures that allow living organisms to sense the conditions of their internal or external environment
Asexual reproduction
Reproduction accomplished by a single organism
Sexual reproduction
Reproduction that requires two organisms
Inheritance
The process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from the parent (or parents) to the offspring
Mutation
An abrupt and marked change in the DNA of an organism compared to that of its parents
Hypothesis
An educated guess that attempts to explain an observation or answer a question
Theory
A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data
Scientific law
A theory that has been tested by and is consistent with generations of data
Microorganisms
Living creatures that are too small to see with the naked eye
Abiogenesis
The idea that long-ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through chemical reactions
Prokaryotic cell
A cell that has no distinct, membrane-bounded organelles
Eukaryotic cell
A cell with distinct, membrane-bounded organelles
Species
A unit of one or more populations of individuals that can reproduce under normal conditions, produce fertile offspring, and are reproductively isolated from other such units
Taxonomy
The science of classifying organisms
Binomial nomenclature
Naming an organism with its genus and species name
