Unit 1 Terminology

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

Reductionism

Answer 3

The approach of reducing complex systems to simpler components that are easier to study

Question 4

Systems biology

Answer 4

An approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behaviour of whole biological system based on a study of the interaction among the systems parts

Question 5

Ecosystem

Answer 5

All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the environment around them

Question 6

Biosphere

Answer 6

The entire portion of earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the plants ecosystems

Question 7

Biological community

Answer 7

All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populating of different species living close enough together for potential interaction

Question 8

Species

Answer 8

A population of organisms or group of populations that potentially interbreed producing fertile offspring

Question 9

Tissue

Answer 9

A group of cells with a common structure, function or both

Question 10

Organelles

Answer 10

A membrane-enclosed structure found within the eukaryotic cell

Question 11

Genes

Answer 11

A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA

Question 12

Enzymes

Answer 12

A macromolecule serving serving as a catalyst, a chemical agent that increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. Most enzymes are proteins.

Question 13

Gene Expression

Answer 13

The process by which information encoded in DNA dIRECTS THE SYNTHESIS OF PROTEINS, OR, IN SOME CASES, RNA’s THAT ARE NOT translated into proteins and instead function as RNA

Question 14

Genome

Answer 14

The genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organisms or viruses genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences

Question 15

Genomics

Answer 15

The study of whole sets of genes and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons between species

Question 16

Bioinformatics

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Taxonomy

Answer 17

The science of naming and classifying organisms

Question 18

Science

Answer 18

(Latin: Scientia) Knowledge of the natural world obtained by study and experimentation

Question 19

Data

Answer 19

Recorded Observations

Question 20

Hypothesis

Answer 20

A testable explanation for a set of observation based on the available data and guided by inductive reasoning

Question 21

DNA

Answer 21

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Question 22

Element

Answer 22

Any substance that cannot be broken down to any other substances by chemical reactions

Question 23

Compound

Answer 23

A substance consisting of two or more different elements combined in a fixed ration

Question 24

Atom

Answer 24

The smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element

Question 25

Isotope

Answer 25

One of the several atomic forms of an element, each wit the same number of protons of a different number of neutrons, thus differing in atomic mass

Question 26

Orbital

Answer 26

The three-dimensional space where an electron is found 90% of the time

Question 27

Covalent bond

Answer 27

A type of story chemical bond in which two atoms share one or more paris of valence electrons

Question 28

Molecule

Answer 28

Two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds

Question 29

Electronegativity

Answer 29

The attraction of a given atom for the electrons of a covalent bond

Question 30

Cohesion

Answer 30

The linking together of atoms or molecules within a single substance often due to hydrogen bonding (not to be confused with adhesion which is the linking together of atoms or molecules of different substances

Question 31

Calorie

Answer 31

The amount of heat energy to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1 C

Question 32

Specific Heat

Answer 32

The amount of heat that must be absorbed or lost for 1g of a substance to change its temperatures by 1C

Question 33

Evaporation

Answer 33

The process by which a liquid changes to a gas

Question 34

Heat of vaporization

Answer 34

the quantity of heat a liquid must absorb for 1 g of it to be converted from the liquid to the gaseous state

Question 35

Mole

Answer 35

The number of grams of a substance that equals its molecular wight in dalton and contains Avagadro’s number of molecules

Question 36

Buffer

Answer 36

A solution that contains a weak acid and its corresponding base. A buffer minimizes changes in pH when acids or bases are added to the solution

Question 37

Acid precipitation

Answer 37

Rain snow or fog that is more acidic that 5.2 pH

Question 38

Heat

Answer 38

Amount of kinetic energy from the motion of atoms in matter.

Question 39

Isomers

Answer 39

One of the several compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and therefore different properties.

Question 40

ATP

Answer 40

Adenosine Triphosphate- An adenine containing nucleotide triphosphate that release free energy when its phosphate bonds are hydrolyzed . This energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells