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Glossary Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
0
Q

Acid

A

A compound that dissociates in water to produce hydrogen ions; usually tastes sour; pH less than 7

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1
Q

Abiogenesis

A

Belief that living things may develop from lifeless matter

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2
Q

Acid rain

A

Rain with an excessively acidic composition that has a harmful effect on fish and other animal and plant life

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3
Q

Alloy

A

Homogeneous mixture composed of two or more metals (e.g., bronze, steel, brass)

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4
Q

Amoeba

A

A type of protozoan that has no permanent shape

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5
Q

Amorphous

A

Without definite shape

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6
Q

Anemia

A

Condition in which the blood has insufficient red blood cells

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7
Q

Anode

A

Positive electrode of an electrolytic cell; negative terminal of a battery; negative plate of a vacuum tube; site where oxidation occurs

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8
Q

Antibiotic

A

Substance made by a micro-organism that kill bacteria

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9
Q

Antibody

A

A protein, usually in the blood of an organism, that serves to counteract the effects of disease-producing bacteria or viruses

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10
Q

Antidote

A

A substance used to counteract the effects of poison

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11
Q

Antiseptic

A

A substance that prevents the growth or activity of bacteria

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12
Q

Antitoxin

A

Substance in the body that neutralizes toxins

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13
Q

Appendix

A

Wormlike, narrow part of the alimentary canal, in the lower right-hand part of the human abdomen

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14
Q

Armature

A

A piece of metal or a coil of wire that moves back and forth, or rotates, in a magnetic field

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15
Q

Artery

A

A muscular vessel carrying oxygenated blood away from the heart to the periphery of the body

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16
Q

Arthropods

A

The phylum consisting of animals with nonliving external skeletons and jointed appendages; insects, spiders, crustaceans

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17
Q

Ascorbic acid

A

Vitamin C; found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, and green vegetables

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18
Q

Aseptic

A

Free of live bacteria

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19
Q

Asexual reproduction

A

Producing offspring without union of individuals or germ cells

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20
Q

Assimilation

A

Process by which digested food is utilized by the body to build up or repair cells

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21
Q

Asteroid

A

One of a group of ‘minor planets’ between Mars and Jupiter, of which 1,500 are known

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22
Q

Atmosphere

A

The whole mass of gases surrounding a planet

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23
Q

Atom

A

Smallest unit of an element, consisting of a nucleus surrounded by electrons

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24
Q

Atomic fission

A

The breaking down of an atomic nucleus, into two or more parts, with a great release of energy

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25
Q

Atomic fusion

A

The joining of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei, such as deuterium (heavy hydrogen) and tritium (another isotype of hydrogen) to make helium, resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy

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26
Q

Auricle

A

An upper chamber of the heart that receives blood from the veins–also called the atrium

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27
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

Part of the human nervous system that regulates the involuntary activities of the body

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28
Q

Autotroph

A

Organism (e.g., a green plant) that nourishes itself by making organic materials out of inorganic

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29
Q

Auxin

A

A plant hormone

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30
Q

Bacillus

A

A rod-shaped bacterium

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31
Q

Bacteria

A

The smallest one-celled organisms, having neither nucleus nor other organelles

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32
Q

Balance in nature

A

The interdependence of all plants and animals with their environment

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33
Q

Barometer

A

An instrument that measures air pressure

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34
Q

Basal metabolism

A

The rate at which the body’s activities are carried on when the body is at rest

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35
Q

Base

A

Chemical compound that produces a salt when it reacts with an acid; an alkali; pH more than 7

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36
Q

Bedrock

A

The solid surface of the Earth’s crust, often overlaid by soil or sediments

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37
Q

Benign tumor

A

A growth that, although abnormal, does not spread and does no particular harm unless it presses a vital organ

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38
Q

Bile

A

A fluid that is secreted by the liver and passes into the small intestine, where it aids in the digestion of fats

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39
Q

Binomial nomenclature

A

Double name used to identify a living organism by genus and species

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40
Q

Biome

A

A community of plants and animals

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41
Q

Biopsy

A

The removal of a small part of living tissue for microscopic examination

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42
Q

Brain

A

Main center of the human nervous system, consisting of cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla

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43
Q

Bronchial tube

A

One of the two branches of the windpipe

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44
Q

Calorie

A

A unit of measure of heat or other forms of energy (not metric)

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45
Q

Cancer

A

An abnormal growth that, if not detected early and removed or destroyed, will usually, in time, spread widely throughout the body and ultimately cause death

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46
Q

Capacitor

A

Decide that stores electric charge

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47
Q

Capillary

A

A thin-walled tube; one of the tiny blood vessels in the network connecting the arteries and the veins

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48
Q

Carbohydrate

A

A compound consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (e.g., starch, sugar)

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49
Q

Carbon dioxide

A

Colorless, odorless gas present in the air in small amounts; breathed out from the lungs

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50
Q

Carbon monoxide

A

Poisonous gas that prevents oxygen from entering the red blood cells; produced when gasoline is not completely burned

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51
Q

Carcinoma

A

Cancerous growth

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52
Q

Carnivore

A

A flesh-eating mammal with long eyeteeth and sharp claws (e.g., cat, lion, dog)

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53
Q

Cartilage

A

An elastic, yet hard, tissue composing most of the skeleton of the very young of all vertebrates and the breastbone of adults

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54
Q

Catalyst

A

A substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction without any change in itself

55
Q

Cathode

A

Negative electrode of an electrolytic cell; positive terminal of a battery; site where reduction occurs

56
Q

Cell

A

Basic unit of plant and animal life, consisting of a small mass of protoplasm, including a nucleus, surrounded by a semipermeable membrane

57
Q

Cell membrane

A

The thin outer layer of lipid and protein acting as a cell boundary

58
Q

Cellulose

A

A complex carbohydrate found in the wall of plant cells

59
Q

Cell wall

A

The nonliving, rigid wall surrounding the cells of plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria

60
Q

Celsius

A

Temperature scale on which 0 degree is the freezing point of water and 100 degrees is the boiling point; this term has replaced “centigrade”

61
Q

Chemotherapy

A

Treatment of illness by the use of chemicals (drugs)

62
Q

Chitin

A

Material forming the skeleton of anthropods

63
Q

Chlorophyll

A

A green pigment that enables plants to make glucose by the process of photosynthesis

64
Q

Chloroplast

A

A small green body that contains chlorophyll

65
Q

Cholesterol

A

Fatty substance found in animal fats

66
Q

Chromosome

A

One of several small, more or less rod-shaped bodies in the nucleus of a cell; contains the hereditary factors (genes)

67
Q

Clay

A

Finely ground quartz, feldspar, and mica resulting from the erosion of rocks

68
Q

Climate

A

A composite of weather conditions over a long period of time

69
Q

Comet

A

Heavenly body having a head and tail and traveling in a long, oval orbit around the Sun

70
Q

Compound

A

Substance composed of two or more chemically united elements

71
Q

Condensation

A

Process by which a liquid or solid is formed from a vapor or gas

72
Q

Conductor

A

A material (e.g., copper wire) that carries a flow of electrons (electricity)

73
Q

Conglomerate

A

Sedimentary rock made up of a mixture of rounded fragments cemented together by natural substances such as clay

74
Q

Conservation

A

Wise and careful use of natural resources

75
Q

Constellation

A

Any of the groups of stars and the area of the sky in the group’s vicinity to which a definite name has been given (e.g., Ursa Major, the Great Bear)

76
Q

Cornea

A

Transparent tissue in front of the iris and the pupil of the eye

77
Q

Coronary

A

Pertaining to the heart vessels of the heart muscle

78
Q

Corpuscle

A

Red or white cell in the blood

79
Q

Corrosion

A

The weakening of a metal by chemical action, such as oxidation

80
Q

Cyclone

A

Storm or system of winds blowing counterclockwise about a nearly circular region of low air pressure in the Northern Hemisphere and extending over an area covering thousands of square miles

81
Q

Cyclotron

A

Instrument used to study the properties of atoms by increasing the speed of atomic particles

82
Q

Cytoplasm

A

That part of the cell that lies outside the nucleus; carries on all life activities except reproduction

83
Q

Decibel

A

Unit for measuring the relative loudness of a sound

84
Q

Deciduous

A

Vegetation that regularly loses its leaves with the change in seasons

85
Q

Dehydration

A

Loss of water

86
Q

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

A

Nucleic acid that controls the metabolism of the cell and stores the hereditary information of the cell

87
Q

Desalination

A

Removal of salt from a solution, as in the purification of sea water

88
Q

Diabetes

A

A disease in which the body cannot utilize sugar of lack of insulin or an inability to properly use insulin

89
Q

Diaphragm

A

A sheet of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen and by its movement helps in breathing; also, the vibrating disk of metal in a telephone

90
Q

Diffusion

A

Movement from high to low concentration

91
Q

Digestion

A

A process of chemical change that prepares food for absorption by breaking down complex molecules into simpler ones

92
Q

Disinfectant

A

A chemical that kills microbes

93
Q

Distillation

A

The process of heating a substance until it turns into a gas and then condensing this gas by cooling, usually to separate substances from a mixture; distillation is a physical change

94
Q

Ebb tide

A

Outgoing tide

95
Q

Echo

A

A reflected sound wave

96
Q

Eclipse

A

Cutting off of light from one celestial body by another

97
Q

Ecology

A

Study of the relationships of living things with each other and with their environment

98
Q

Electric current

A

Flow of electric charge (e.g., electrons in a wire, ions in a solution)

99
Q

Electrolysis

A

Chemical breakdown of a compound due to the passage of an electric current through it

100
Q

Element

A

A chemical substance made up of one kind of atom; cannot be decomposed by ordinary means (e.g., hydrogen, sodium)

101
Q

Embryo

A

Organism in an early stage of development

102
Q

Emulsifier

A

A substance (e.g., soap) that can break large fat droplets into many smaller droplets suspended in water

103
Q

Enzyme

A

Protein that speeds up the reaction of chemicals without change in itself

104
Q

Erosion

A

Wearing away of the Earth’s surface by water, ice, and winds

105
Q

Esophagus

A

(Gullet) tube that connects the mouth with the stomach

106
Q

Estrogen

A

Female hormone secreted by the ovaries

107
Q

Evaporation

A

Escape of molecules from the surface of liquids

108
Q

Evolution

A

The process by which living things change into other kinds over time

109
Q

Excretion

A

Elimination of the wastes of metabolism

110
Q

Fallout

A

Radioactive particles that fall to Earth as the result of a nuclear explosion

111
Q

Farsightedness

A

Defect of the eye in which sharper images of objects at a distance are formed than of things nearby

112
Q

Fatty acid

A

Organic substance whose molecule is a long hydrocarbon chain with a carboxyl group at the end; component of molecules of fats and oils

113
Q

Fauna

A

Animal life typical of a particular region

114
Q

Fermentation

A

Chemical change brought about by enzymes produced by microbes; in the making of beer or wine, yeasts ferment sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide

115
Q

Fertilization

A

Process that occurs in sexual reproduction when the gametes, a sperm and an egg, unite

116
Q

Filament

A

Fine wire inside an electric light bulb that gives off light and heat when electricity is passed through it

117
Q

Fission

A

Splitting of the nucleus of an atom with the release of tremendous amounts of energy

118
Q

Fjord

A

A narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs and steep slopes

119
Q

Fog

A

A cloud of condensed water vapor formed on or near the ground

120
Q

Food chain

A

Pathway of energy through an ecosystem from producers to consumers

121
Q

Food web

A

Complex feeding relationships within a biological community

122
Q

Fossil

A

Remains of impression, in rock or amber, of a plant or animal that lived long ago

123
Q

Fossil fuel

A

Remains of organisms that lived hundred of millions of years ago; used to release energy on burning (e.g., coal, oil, natural gas)

124
Q

Fraternal twin

A

One of the two individuals that result from the fertilization of two ova simultaneously by two different sperm

125
Q

Fungus

A

Kingdom of plantlike organisms that lack chlorophyll and therefore cannot make their own food

126
Q

Fusion

A

Atomic reaction in which the nuclei of atoms combine and energy is released

127
Q

Galaxy

A

A large group of billions of stars

128
Q

Gallbladder

A

Sac attached to the liver that stores bile

129
Q

Gamete

A

One of the two cells that unite in sexual reproduction (e.g., egg or sperm)

130
Q

Gas

A

Phase of matter in which the substance spreads out to fill all the space in its container

131
Q

Gasohol

A

A motor fuel that consists of nine parts gasoline and one part ethanol

132
Q

Gastric juice

A

Acid digestive fluid produced b the glands in the walls of the stomach

133
Q

Gene

A

A part of a DNA molecule that controls the manufacture of a specific protein. Since it is copied and passed on in every cell division, it forms the unit of heredity

134
Q

Geothermal energy

A

Heat produced in the Earth’s interior

Science (High School) (1 decks)

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