Exam 1 Flashcards
Anthropology
The science of human kind; study of human culture and biological variation both past and present
Variation
Change or difference
Holistic
Characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole
Materialism / Essentialism
Things exist, no rankings / A perfect version of things exist
Cultural Anthropology
Original form of anthropology; focuses on culture (shared beliefs that generate behavior)
Archaeology
Reconstruction of past human behavior from material remains; includes both pre-historic and historical anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology
Study of the relation between culture and language
Biological Anthropology
Covers biological evolutionary changes in modern and pre-modern hominids; a bio cultural approach centered on the interaction between biology and culture
Paleoanthropology
Subfield of biological anthropology; study of hominids and evolution
Primatology
Subfield of biological anthropology; nonhuman primates (monkeys + apes)
Osteology
Subfield of biological anthropology; skeletal morphology, variation
Odontology
Subfield of biological anthropology; dental variation
Bioarchaeology
Subfield of biological anthropology; ancient health, variation
Forensic Anthropology
Subfield of biological anthropology; use of anthropology in legal matters
Epistemology
The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of knowledge and what constitutes a true belief
Science
The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment
Data
Factual observations used to support or refute a statement
Hypothesis
Provisional statement about a cause and effect relationship
Test
A logical attempt to invalidate a hypothetical statement using data
Theory
Any hypothesis that had been tested and has not been refuted
Paradigm
A view in a large subject; shifts
Species
A group of living organisms containing similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
Catastrophism
Cuvier theory that species would die out in catastrophes and go extinct, resulting in new species being formed
Uniformitarianism
Lyell’s theory that changes in the earths crust during geological history having resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes; the earth is millions of years old
Carrying Capacity
The number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environment degradation
Acquired characteristics
Lamark’s theory of animals being changed by ‘vital forces’; modification in an organ or tissue during the lifetime of an organism due to use, disuse, or environmental effects, and not inherited
Natural Selection
The favoring of traits that result in differential fertility; Requires variation, means of trait inheritance, and differential fertility
Differential fertility
Variation in fertility of different groups or classes in the population
Mutation
Spontaneous change in the structure of a gene resulting in a variant form
Gene drift
Change in the frequency of an existing gene variant in a population due to random sampling of organisms
Gene flow
The transfer of genetic variation from one population to another; if the rate of gene flow is high enough then two populations are considered to have equal genetic diversity and therefore be a single population
Fitness
The genetic contribution of an individual to the next generations gene pool
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid; the code of someone’s human body. A molecule composed of 2 5-carbon sugars, 2 phosphates, and 2 bases.
Adenine
One of the four constituent bases of nucleus acid; paired with thymine in double stranded DNA
Guanine
One of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids; paired with cytosine in DNA
Cytosine
One of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids; paired with guanine in DNA.
Thymine
One of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids; paired with adenine in DNA.
Uracil
Compound found in living tissues, a constituent base of RNA; replaced by thymine in DNA.
Heredity
Genetic inheritance; the rules of the human body
Prokaryotic
A unicellular organism that lacks a membrane bound nucleus, mitochondria, or any other membrane bound organelle
Eukaryotic
An organism whose cells contain a nucleus surrounded by a membrane and whose DNA is bound together by proteins into chromosomes. They’re organized and work well with other cells; humans are just eukaryotic colonies.
Organelle
Any of a number of organized or specialized structures within a living cell. (In a eukaryotic cell: 1. nucleus 2. mitochondria 3. ribosomes)
Nucleus
A dense organelle present in most eukaryotic cells, typically and single round structure bounded by a double membrane, containing genetic material.
Mitochondria
An organelle found in large numbers in most cells, in which the biochemical processes of respiration and energy production occur. The powerhouse of the cell; they release ATP which we run on. Mitochondrial DNA is different than your cellular DNA.
Ribosome
A minute particular consisting of RNA and associated proteins, found in large numbers in the cytoplasm of living cells. They manufacture protein and synthesize polypeptides.
Pleiotropy
The production by a single gene of two or more apparently unrelated effects. Genes work in nested physiological pathways, so they never never have just a single effect.
Hardy-Weinberg
A basic principle in genetics: 1. there is a simple relationship between the frequencies of alleles in the gene pool and the frequencies of genotypes in the population; 2. this relationship will be perpetuated indefinitely in future generations. This only describes a population that’s stable and unchanging.
Genotypic frequency
The number of individuals in a population with a given genotype divided by the total number of individuals in the population; proportion of members of a group with a specific genotype.
mRNA
Messenger RNA. It’s function is to copy sections of DNA inside the nucleus and then carry it to the ribosome to transcribe and translate into protein production.
tRNA
Transfer RNA. Delivers amino acids according to the sequence specified by the DNA
Amino Acid
Three base pairs form a codon, which specifies an an amino acid. 64 possibilities but only 20 distinct amino acids found in nature. They can be redundant and formed the same by different codons.
Codon
A sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.
Stop Codon
A nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA that signals a termination of translation into proteins. Stops the production of protein.
Protein
A molecule composed of polymers of amino acids joined together by peptide bonds. Produced in the ribosomes of your cells.
Gene
A sequence of DNA that specifies the order of amino acids in a protein.
Gamete
A mature haploid male or female germ cell that is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote.
Allele
One of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome.
