Chapter 1 Vocab

Question 1

Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.

Answer 1

evolution

Question 2

The scientific study of life

Answer 2

biology

Question 3

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases

Answer 3

emergent properties

Question 4

An 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

Answer 4

systems biology

Question 5

A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes.

Answer 5

eukaryotic cell

Question 6

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archea) are called prokaryotes.

Answer 6

prokaryotic cell

Question 7

A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists if nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the notrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine(c), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being regulated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins.

Answer 7

DNA De oxy ribo nu cleic acid

Question 8

A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA in some viruses)

Answer 8

genes

Question 9

The process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins, or in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs

Answer 9

gene expression

Question 10

The 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

Answer 10

genome

Question 11

The study of whole sets of genes and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species

Answer 11

genomics

Question 12

The use of computers, software and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets

Answer 12

bioinformatics

Question 13

On of tow prokaryotic domains, the other being Archea

Answer 13

bacteria

Question 14

One of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Bacteria

Answer 14

Archea

Question 15

The domain that includes all eukaryotic organisms

Answer 15

Eukarya

Question 16

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rate than other individuals BECAUSE OF those traits

Answer 16

natural selection

Question 17

an approach to understanding the natural world

Answer 17

Science

Question 18

The search for information and explantation, often focusing on specific questions

Answer 18

inquiry

Question 19

recorded observations

Answer 19

data

Question 20

a type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations

Answer 20

inductive reasoning

Question 21

a testable explanation for a set of observations based on t he available data and guided by inductive reasoning. A hypothesis is narrower in scope than a theory.

Answer 21

hypothesis

Question 22

a type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise

Answer 22

deductive reasoning

Question 23

an experiment in which an experimental group is compared with a control group that varies only in the factor being tested

Answer 23

controlled experiment

Question 24

an explanation that is broader in scope that a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses and is supported by a large body of evidence

Answer 24

theory

Question 25

the application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research

Answer 25

technology