Key Definitions - The nature and variety of living organisms Flashcards
define cell.
the basic building block of all living organisms that are made up of organelles
define eukaryotic cell.
a type of cell found in animal, plant, fungi and protoctist cells that contain a nucleus
define animals.
a kingdom where all organisms are multicellular, do not photosynthesize, no cell walls and store their carbohydrates as glycogen
define plants.
Multicellular, cells do contain chloroplasts, so photosynthesize, do contain cell walls and store carbohydrates as starch
define fungi.
no photosynthesis, feed via saprotrophic nutrition, composed of mycelium which consists of many hyphae, can be both multi and unicellular (yeast), contain cell walls and store carbohydrates as glycogen
define protoctists.
microscopic, single celled organisms
define prokaryotic cell.
a cell found in the bacteria kingdom that does not contain a nucleus
define bacteria.
single celled, prokaryotic (no nucleus) organisms, contain a cell wall and plasmids
define virus.
a non-living organism that can only reproduce inside host cells (parasitic). They have no cells and contain a protein coat and nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
define unicellular.
an organism made up of a single cell (bacteria and protoctista)
define amoeba.
Protoctists that live in pond water and resemble animal cells with chloroplasts
define chlorella.
a protoctist that has features similar to plant cells, e.g. chloroplasts
define chloroplast.
an organelle that is the site of photosynthesis
define DNA.
a double stranded molecule made of nucleotides, wound in a double helix shape, carrying the genetic code
define human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
a virus that weakens the immune system and can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)