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Biology Definitions > Genetic Information, Variation and Relationships between Organisms > Flashcards

Genetic Information, Variation and Relationships between Organisms Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is adaptation?

A

A feature of an organism that increases its chance of survival in its environment. An adaptation may be anatomical, physiological or behavioural

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2
Q

What is an allele?

A

A version of a gene

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3
Q

What is an anticodon?

A

A sequence of three nucleotide bases at one end of a tRNA molecule that is
specific to an mRNA codon

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4
Q

What is the arithmetic mean?

A

The average of a set of numbers calculated by dividing the sum of the values by the number of values

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5
Q

What is artificial classification?

A

A type of classification that divides organisms into groups based on analogous characteristics such as leaf shape, number of legs and type of wing

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6
Q

What is a binomial system?

A

A universal system of naming organisms that consists of two parts: the generic name and the specific name

e.g. ​Homo sapiens​

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7
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

The variety of genes, species and habitats within a particular area

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8
Q

What is cellular proteome?

A

The proteins expressed in a given type of cell

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9
Q

What is a chromatid?

A

One strand of a replicated chromosome

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10
Q

What is a chromosome?

A

A structure consisting of a long, coiled molecule of DNA and its associated proteins, by which genetic information is passed from generation to generation

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11
Q

What is chromosome mutation?

A

A change to the number or structure of chromosomes that can occur spontaneously

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12
Q

What is classification?

A

The organisation of organisms into groups. There are two types of classification: artificial and phylogenetic

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13
Q

What is codon?

A

A sequence of three bases on mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid

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14
Q

What is conservation?

A

The​ ​maintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity by humans in order to
preserve the Earth’s resources

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15
Q

What is courtship?

A

The behaviour by which members of a species select reproductive partners. It enables organisms to recognise their own species, identify a mate with a capacity to breed, form a pair bond, synchronise mating and become able to breed themselves

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16
Q

What is crossing over?

A

The process in meiosis 1 in which homologous chromosomes pair up, their chromatids wrap around one another and their alleles are exchanged at equivalent portions of chromatids. This creates genetic variation

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17
Q

What does degenerate mean?

A

A feature of the genetic code; more than one triplet can code for a particular amino acid

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18
Q

What is deletion?

A

A form of gene mutation in which one or more nucleotide bases are removed from a DNA sequence. This may change all amino acids in a sequence, rendering the protein non-functional

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19
Q

What is directional selection?

A

A type of selection that favours individuals that differ in one direction (fall to the left or the right) from the population mean. This changes the traits of the population

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20
Q

What is ecosystem diversity?

A

A measure of the range of different habitats in a particular area

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21
Q

What is Eukaryotic DNA?

A

Linear molecules of DNA which, together with histones, form chromosomes. DNA in the mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells is circular and does not have associated proteins

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22
Q

What is exon?

A

A sequence of DNA that codes for an amino acid sequence

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23
Q

What is fertilisation?

A

The random fusion of haploid gametes during fertilisation to produce a diploid
zygote. Genetic information is mixed, creating genetic variation

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24
Q

What is a gene?

A

A length of DNA on a chromosome that codes for the production of one or more polypeptide chains and functional RNA

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25
Q

What is gene mutation?

A

A change to at least one nucleotide base in DNA or the arrangement of bases. Gene mutations can occur spontaneously during DNA replication

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26
Q

What is a generic name?

A

Denotes the organism’s genus. The first letter is written in upper case

e.g. Homo​

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27
Q

What is a genetic code?

A

The rules by which triplets in a DNA base sequence code for the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The genetic code is degenerate, universal and non-overlapping

28
Q

What is genetic diversity?

A

The number of different alleles in a population. Genetic diversity between organisms can be investigated by comparing observable characteristics, DNA and mRNA base sequences and amino acid sequences

29
Q

What is a genome?

A

The entire set of genes in a cell

30
Q

What are histones?

A

Proteins that, together with DNA, form chromosomes in the nuclei of eukaryotic
cells

31
Q

What are homologous chromosomes?

A

A chromosome pair, one paternal and one maternal, with the same gene loci

32
Q

What is independent segregation?

A

The random separation of homologous chromosomes in meiosis 1 that produces genetic variation

33
Q

What is index of diversity (​d​)?

A

Describes the relationship between the number of different species and the abundance of individuals in each of these species within a community

34
Q

What is an intron?

A

A non-coding sequence of DNA

35
Q

What is the locus?

A

The position of a gene on a chromosome

36
Q

What is the mean (normal distribution curve)?

A

A measure of the maximum height of a normal distribution curve

37
Q

What is meiosis?

A

A type of cell division that produces four genetically different daughter cells (gametes) with a haploid number of chromosomes. It involves two divisions

38
Q

What is a messenger RNA (mRNA)?

A

A type of RNA that carries genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes for protein synthesis. It is a single helix consisting of thousands of mononucleotides

39
Q

What is mitosis?

A

A form of cell division that produces two genetically identical diploid daughter cells

40
Q

What is a mutagenic agent?

A

An agent that increases the rate of gene mutations above normal level

41
Q

What is natural selection?

A

The process by which the frequency of ‘advantageous’ alleles gradually increases in a population’s gene pool over time

42
Q

What is a non-coding sequence?

A

A sequence of DNA that does not code for an amino acid sequence e.g. repeating base sequences and introns. Non-coding sequences make up significant portions of eukaryotic nuclear DNA

43
Q

What does non-disjunction mean?

A

A change in the number of chromosomes due to the failure of homologous chromosomes to separate during meiosis. This may result in a gamete with one more or one less chromosome

44
Q

What is non-overlapping?

A

A feature of the genetic code; each base in a sequence is read once and is only part of one triplet

45
Q

What is phylogenetic classification?

A

A type of classification that divides organisms into groups based on evolutionary relationships and homologous characteristics. It uses a hierarchy in which smaller groups are contained within larger groups, with no group overlap

46
Q

What is phylogeny?

A

The evolutionary relationships between individuals or groups of organisms

47
Q

What is prokaryotic DNA?

A

Circular pieces of DNA that do not have associated proteins

48
Q

What is random sampling?

A

A sampling technique used to avoid bias

e.g. creating a square grid and generating random coordinates

49
Q

What is recombination?

A

When broken-off pieces of chromatid combine with another chromatid on a different chromosome during crossing over

50
Q

What are ribosomes?

A

Sub-cellular structures where protein synthesis takes place.
Ribosomes consist of a small subunit and a large subunit

51
Q

What is RNA polymerase?

A

An enzyme that moves along the DNA template strand and joins adjacent nucleotides to form pre-mRNA

52
Q

What is a species?

A

A group of similar organisms that are able to breed with one another to produce living, fertile offspring

53
Q

What is species diversity?

A

A measure of the number of different species and the abundance of individuals in each of these species within a community

54
Q

What is species richness?

A

A measure of the number of different species in a community at a given time.
It is a measure of species diversity

55
Q

What is a specific name?

A

Denotes the organism’s species. It is written in lower case letters

e.g. sapiens​

56
Q

What is splicing?

A

The process following transcription in eukaryotic cells in which introns are removed from pre-mRNA and exons are joined together to form mRNA

57
Q

What is stabilising selection?

A

A type of selection that favours individuals close to the mean, maintaining the traits of the population

58
Q

What is standard deviation (normal distribution curve)?

A

A measure of the width of a normal distribution curve and an indication of the range of values

59
Q

What is substitution?

A

A form of gene mutation in which one nucleotide base is exchanged for another. This may change an amino acid or produce the same amino acid (due to the degeneracy of the genetic code)

60
Q

What is taxon?

A

ach group within a phylogenetic classification system

61
Q

What is transcription?

A

The formation of pre-mRNA in eukaryotes and mRNA in prokaryotes from a
section of the template strand of DNA. It is the first stage of protein synthesis

62
Q

What is transfer RNA (tRNA)?

A

A form of RNA that carries specific amino acids to the ribosomes. It is single-stranded and takes a clover-leaf shape. One side is longer than the other enabling the attachment of an amino acid. At the opposite end is an anticodon specific to the amino acid

63
Q

What is translation?

A

The second phase of protein synthesis that takes place in the ribosomes. mRNA is used as a template for the attachment of tRNA molecules with complementary anticodons. The amino acids carried on adjacent tRNA molecules are joined to form a polypeptide chain

64
Q

What is a triplet?

A

A sequence of three bases that codes for an amino acid

65
Q

What is universal?

A

​A feature of the genetic code; the code is the same in almost all organisms. This
is evidence for evolution

66
Q

What is variation?

A

The differences between individuals due to genes, the environment or a combination of both

Biology Definitions (7 decks)

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