Unit 0, Chapter 1

Question 1

biology

Answer 1

the scientific study of life

Question 2

emergent properties

Answer 2

new properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases

Question 3

systems biology

Answer 3

an approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts

Question 4

eukaryotic cell

Answer 4

a type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes

Question 5

prokaryotic cell

Answer 5

a type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. organisms with prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes

Question 6

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 6

a nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins

Question 7

gene

Answer 7

a discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)

Question 8

gene expression

Answer 8

the process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead functions as RNAs

Question 9

genome

Answer 9

the genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences

Question 10

genomics

Answer 10

the systematic study of whole sets of genes (or other DNA) and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species

Question 11

proteomics

Answer 11

the systematic study of sets of proteins and their properties, including their abundance, chemical modifications, and interactions

Question 12

proteome

Answer 12

the entire set of proteins expressed by a given tissue, cell, or organism

Question 13

bioinformatics

Answer 13

the use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets

Question 14

producers

Answer 14

an organism that produces organic compounds from CO2 by harnessing light energy (in photosynthesis) or by oxidizing inorganic chemicals (in chemosynthetic reactions carried out by some prokaryotes)

Question 15

consumer

Answer 15

an organism that feeds on producers, other consumers, or nonliving organic material

Question 16

feedback regulation

Answer 16

the regulation of a process by its output or end product

Question 17

climate change

Answer 17

a directional change in temperature, precipitation, or other aspect of the global climate that lasts for three decades or more

Question 18

evolution

Answer 18

descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation

Question 19

Bacteria

Answer 19

one of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Archaea

Question 20

Archaea

Answer 20

one of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Bacteria

Question 21

Eukarya

Answer 21

the domain that includes all eukaryotic organisms

Question 22

natural selection

Answer 22

a process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits

Question 23

science

Answer 23

an approach to understanding the natural world

Question 24

inquiry

Answer 24

the search for information and explanation, often focusing on specific questions

Question 25

data

Answer 25

recorded observations

Question 26

inductive reasoning

Answer 26

a type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations

Question 27

hypothesis

Answer 27

a testable explanation for a set of observations based on the available data and guided by inductive reasoning. a hypothesis is narrower in scope than a theory

Question 28

experiment

Answer 28

a scientific test often carried out under controlled conditions that involve manipulating one factor in a system in order to see the effects of changing that factor

Question 29

deductive reasoning

Answer 29

a type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise

Question 30

controlled experiment

Answer 30

an experiment designed to compare an experimental group with a control group; ideally, the two groups differ only in the factor being tested

Question 31

variable

Answer 31

a factor that varies in an experiment

Question 32

independent variable

Answer 32

a factor whose value is manipulated or changed during an experiment to reveal possible effects on another factor (the dependent variable)

Question 33

dependent variable

Answer 33

a factor whose value is measured during an experiment or other test to see whether it is influenced by changes in another factor (the independent variable)

Question 34

theory

Answer 34

an explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses, and is supposed by a large body of evidence

Question 35

model organism

Answer 35

a particular species chosen for research into broad biological principles because it is representative of a larger group and usually easy to grow in a lab

Question 36

technology

Answer 36

the application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research