Mod 1: Ch 1-Invitation to Biology Flashcards
Animals
A multicelled eukaryotic consumer that is made up of unwalled cells and develops through a series of stages. Most ingest food, reproduce sexually, and can move from place to place.
Archaea
Singular, archaeon. Group of prokary-otes that are more closely related to eukaryotes than to bacteria.
Atom
Smallest unit of matter. Consists of varying numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Bacteria
Singular, bacterium. The largest, most diverse and well-known group of prokaryotes (organisms that lack a nucleus); branched off from the lineage leading to archaea and eukaryotes early in the history of life.
Biology
The scientific study of life.
Biosphere
All regions of Earth where organisms live.
Cell
Smallest unit of life. All start out life with a plasma membrane, cytosol, and DNA.
Community
All populations of all species in some area.
Consumer
Organism that obtains energy and nutrients from organisms or their remains.
Control Group
In an experiment, a group of individuals identical to an experiment group except for the variable under investigation.
Critical Thinking
The act of evaluation information before accepting it.
Data
Factual information collected from experiments or observations of the natural world.
Development
In multicelled species, the process by which the first cell of a new individual gives rise to an adult.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid. Double-stranded nucleic acid that consists of deoxyribose-containing nucleotides. Carries hereditary information.
Ecosystem
Eukaryotes
A community and its environment.
Experiment
Procedure designed to evaluate a prediction; typically yields data.
Experimental Group
In an experiment, a group of individuals who have a certain characteristic or receive a certain treatment. Tested side by side with a control group.
Fungi
Plural, fungi. Single-celled or multicelled eukaryotic consumer that breaks down material outside itself, then absorbs nutrients released from the breakdown.
Genus
Plural, genera. A group of species that share a unique set of traits. First part of a species name.
Growth
Increases in the number, size, and volume of cells.
Homeostasis
Process in which cells and multicelled organisms keeps their internal conditions within tolerable rangers by sensing and responding appropriately to change.
Hypothesis
Testable explanation for a natural phenomenon.
Inheritance
Transmission of DNA to offspring.
Law of Nature
Generalization describing a consistent natural phenomenon that has an incomplete scientific explanation.
Model
Analogous system in an experiment; tested in place of another subject.
Molecule
Two or more atoms joined by chemical bonds.
Nutrient
A substance that an organism must acquire from the environment to support growth and survival.
Organ
Structural unit that is composed of two or more tissues arranged in a specific way and capable of carrying out a specific task or tasks.
Organism
Individual that consists of one or more cells.
Organ System
In multicelled organisms, a set of interacting organs and tissues that carry out one or more body functions.
Photosynthesis
Metabolic pathway by which most autotrophs use light energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
Plants
A multicelled eukaryotic producer; most are photosynthetic and live on land. Develops from an embryo that forms on the parent and is nourished by it.
Population
A group of organisms of the same species who live in a specific location and breed with one another more often than they breed with members of other populations.
Prediction
Statement, based on a hypothesis, about a condition that should reasonably occur if the hypothesis is correct.
Probability
Out of all possible outcomes of an event, the chance that a particular outcome will occur.
Producer
Organisms that captures light or chemical energy and makes its food from inorganic materials.
Prokaryotes
Informal name for single-celled organisms with no nucleus (bacteria and archaea).
Protist
General term for eukaryote that is not a fungus, plant, or animal.
Pseudoscience
Claims, arguments, or methods that are presented as science, but do not follow scientific principles.
Reproduction
Process by which organisms produce offspring
Sampling Error
Difference between results obtained from a subset, and results obtained from the whole.
Science
Systematic study of the observable world.
Scientific Method
Making hypotheses, evaluating predictions that flow from them, and forming conclusions based on the resulting data.
Scientific Theory
A hypothesis that stands after many years of systematic testing, is consistent with existing evidence, and is useful for making predictions about a wide range of phenomena.
Species
Unique type of organism. Of sexual reproducers, often defined as one or more groups of individuals that can potentially interbreed, produce fertile offspring, and do not interbreed with other groups. Designated by genus name and specific epithet.
Statistically Significant
Refers to a result that is statistically very unlikely to have occurred by chance alone.
Taxa
Singular, taxon. A rank in the classification of life; consists of a group of organisms that share a unique set of traits (e.g. domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
Taxonomy
Practice of naming, describing, and classifying species.
Tissue
In multicelled organisms, collection of specialized cells organized in a way that allows them to perform a collective function.
Traits
An inherited characteristic of an organism or species.
Variables
In an experiment, a characteristic or event that differs among individuals or over time.
