Chapter 1 - Vocabulary Flashcards
Autotroph
an organism that uses sources of energy to produce nutrients from water, gases, and/or minerals
Binomial Nomenclature
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.
Biodiversity
the number and variety of species and ecosystems on Earth.
Biological Classification
the systematic grouping of organisms into biological categories based on physical and evolutionary relationships.
Botanist
a scientist specializing in the study of plants; also called a plant biologist.
Clade
a taxonomic group that includes a single common ancestor and all its descendants.
Dichotomous Key
a series of branching, two-part statements used to identify organisms (or objects).
Domain
the highest taxonomic level; there are three domains of life.
Eukaryote
any organism whose cells contain organelles; some eukaryotic organisms are single-celled, while others are multicellular.
Evolution
the scientific theory that describes changes in species over time and their shared ancestry.
Evolutionary Change
a change that occurs in an entire population; usually occurs over a long period of time.
Genetic Diversity
the genetic variability among organisms; usually referring to individuals of the same species.
Genus
a taxonomic level consisting of a group of similar species.
Heterotroph
an organism that obtains energy-rich nutrients by consuming living or dead organisms.
Hybridization
the cross-breeding of two different species.
Kingdom
the highest taxonomic level of the traditional Linnaean system of classification.
Morphology
the physical appearance and characteristics of an organism; also the science of the study of these physical characteristics.
Phylogeny
the study of the evolutionary relatedness between, and among, species.
Phylogenetic Tree
a diagram depicting the evolutionary relationships between different species or groups.
Prokaryote
a single-celled organism that does not contain membrane-bound organelles.
Species
all organisms capable of breeding freely with each other under natural conditions.
Species Diversity
a measure of diversity that takes into account the quantity of each species present, as well as the variety of different species present.
Structural Diversity
the range of physical shapes and sizes within a habitat or ecosystem.
Taxon
a category used to classify organisms
Taxonomy
the science of classifying all organisms; taxonomists classify both living and fossil species.
