Unit 1: Life, Cells, and Microscopy Flashcards
atom
The fundamental building block of all matter, living or not.
biosphere
The sum of all ecosystems: every region of Earth where organisms live, extending across the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
cell
The smallest unit of life. This is where the magic happens!
community
All populations of all species and their interactions within a habitat.
ecosystem
A community interacting with its physical, abiotic environment through the transfer of energy and materials.
emergent property
A characteristic of a system that does not appear in any of the system’s component parts. (e.g. “roundness”)
molecule
An association of two or more atoms, joined in a chemical bond.
organ
A group of tissues that work together to perform a collective task.
organ system
A group of organs that work together to perform a collective task.
organism
Individual that consists of one or more cells.
population
Group of interbreeding individuals of the same species that live in a given area.
tissue
In multicelled organisms, specialized cells organized in a pattern that allows them to perform a collective function.
When do the unique properties of life emerge?
They emerge as certain kinds of molecules become organized into cells.
When do emergent properties occur?
They occur at each successive level of life’s organization.
What do the higher levels of life’s organization include?
They include multicelled organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere.
What are the “molecules of life”?
Lipids, proteins, DNA, RNA, and complex carbohydrates.
How do cells survive and replicate themselves?
They do this by using energy, raw materials, and information in their DNA.
consumer
Organisms that get energy and nutrients by feeding on tissues, wastes, or remains of other organisms.
development
Moving from a single cell to a multicelled adult (if applicable)
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid
energy
The capacity to do work.
growth
An increase in the number, size and volume of cells.
homeostasis
The set of processes by which an organism keeps its internal conditions within tolerable ranges.
inheritance
Transmission of DNA to offspring.
nutrient
A substance that an organism needs for growth and survival, but which it cannot make for itself.
photosynthesis
The process by which producers use light energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
producer
And organism that makes its own food using energy and simple raw materials from the environment.
reproduction
The processes by which individuals produce offspring.
What do living things have in common? (unity)
They require energy and nutrients, they sense and respond to change, they consist of one or more cells, and they use DNA.
archaeon (archaea)
A single-celled prokaryote that is more closely related to eukaryotes than to bacteria.
bacterium (bacteria)
A member of the most well-known and diverse single-celled prokaryotes (lacking a nucleus).
biodiversity
The scope of variation among living organisms.
eukaryote
An organism who cells characteristically have a nucleus.
fungus
A single- or multicelled eukaryotic consumer that digests material outside its body, then absorbs released nutrients.