Chapter 1 - Vocabulary

Question 1

Autotroph

Answer 1

an organism that uses sources of energy to produce nutrients from water, gases, and/or minerals

Question 2

Binomial Nomenclature

Answer 2

the formal system of naming species whereby each species is assigned a genus game followed by a specific name; the two words taken together form the species name.

Question 3

Biodiversity

Answer 3

the number and variety of species and ecosystems on Earth.

Question 4

Biological Classification

Answer 4

the systematic grouping of organisms into biological categories based on physical and evolutionary relationships.

Question 5

Botanist

Answer 5

a scientist specializing in the study of plants; also called a plant biologist.

Question 6

Clade

Answer 6

a taxonomic group that includes a single common ancestor and all its descendants.

Question 7

Dichotomous Key

Answer 7

a series of branching, two-part statements used to identify organisms (or objects).

Question 8

Domain

Answer 8

the highest taxonomic level; there are three domains of life.

Question 9

Eukaryote

Answer 9

any organism whose cells contain organelles; some eukaryotic organisms are single-celled, while others are multicellular.

Question 10

Evolution

Answer 10

the scientific theory that describes changes in species over time and their shared ancestry.

Question 11

Evolutionary Change

Answer 11

a change that occurs in an entire population; usually occurs over a long period of time.

Question 12

Genetic Diversity

Answer 12

the genetic variability among organisms; usually referring to individuals of the same species.

Question 13

Genus

Answer 13

a taxonomic level consisting of a group of similar species.

Question 14

Heterotroph

Answer 14

an organism that obtains energy-rich nutrients by consuming living or dead organisms.

Question 15

Hybridization

Answer 15

the cross-breeding of two different species.

Question 16

Kingdom

Answer 16

the highest taxonomic level of the traditional Linnaean system of classification.

Question 17

Morphology

Answer 17

the physical appearance and characteristics of an organism; also the science of the study of these physical characteristics.

Question 18

Phylogeny

Answer 18

the study of the evolutionary relatedness between, and among, species.

Question 19

Phylogenetic Tree

Answer 19

a diagram depicting the evolutionary relationships between different species or groups.

Question 20

Prokaryote

Answer 20

a single-celled organism that does not contain membrane-bound organelles.

Question 21

Species

Answer 21

all organisms capable of breeding freely with each other under natural conditions.

Question 22

Species Diversity

Answer 22

a measure of diversity that takes into account the quantity of each species present, as well as the variety of different species present.

Question 23

Structural Diversity

Answer 23

the range of physical shapes and sizes within a habitat or ecosystem.

Question 24

Taxon

Answer 24

a category used to classify organisms

Question 25

Taxonomy

Answer 25

the science of classifying all organisms; taxonomists classify both living and fossil species.