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Biology Units 3 & 4 > Unit 4 AOS 2 Key Terms > Flashcards

Unit 4 AOS 2 Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Define amino acid sequence

A

The primary structure of a protein; comprises the order the order of the 20 possible amino acids in the polypeptide, sometimes referred to as ‘polypeptide sequence’

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2
Q

Define antibiotic resistance

A

The capacity for a microbe to withstand the lethal effects of an antibiotic to which it was once suspectible

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3
Q

Define antibiotic resistance gene

A

A gene that codes for an antibiotic resistant genotype

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4
Q

Define antigenic drift

A

A change in the antigen of a virus that would otherwise be recognisable by the adaptive immune system, resulting from the gradual accumulation of mutation in the virus

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5
Q

Define antigenic shift

A

A sudden change in the antigen of a virus resulting from the rearrangement of genetic material from two or more strains or subtypes of the virus

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6
Q

Define artificial selection

A

Breeding of plants and animals over successive generations to produce traits that are desirable to humans; also known as ‘selective breeding’

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7
Q

Define beneficial mutation

A

A mutation that increases the organism’s chance of survival and reproduction

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8
Q

Define block mutation

A

A mutation involving rearrangements of chromosomal segments

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9
Q

Define bottleneck effect

A

When a catastrophic event or a period of adverse conditions drastically reduces the size of a population and its genetic diversity

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10
Q

Define broad spectrum

A

Describes and antibiotic (or insecticide) that is effective against a variety of organisms

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11
Q

Define conversed

A

Amino acids of polypeptide sequences or nucleotides of DNA sequences that remain consistent across species

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12
Q

Define deleterious mutation

A

A mutation that decreases the organism’s chances of survival and reproduction

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13
Q

Define deletion mutation

A

A mutation in which nucleotide pairs have been lost from a segment of DNA

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14
Q

Define double-strand break

A

A mutation involving breaks in the sugar-phosphate backbones at the nucleotide pair, resulting in the complete breakage of a chromosome

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15
Q

Define duplication

A

A mutation that occurs when one or more extra copies are made of a section of chromosome

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16
Q

Define extinct

A

When all the members of a population or species have died out

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17
Q

Define fitness

A

The capacity of an individual to survive and produce viable offspring

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18
Q

Define fixed

A

Describes an allele when it is the only variant available for a particular gene in the gene pool of a population

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19
Q

Define founder effect

A

The type of gene flow that occurs when a few individuals that have become isolated from a larger population do not carry all the alleles that were present in the original population

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20
Q

Define gene duplication

A

Generating an extra copy of a gene within a genome as a result of duplication of a chromosomal segment

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21
Q

Define gene flow

A

The tranfer of alleles that results from emigration and immigration of individuals between populations

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22
Q

Define gene pool

A

The range of genes and all their alleles present in a population

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23
Q

Define gene sequence

A

The sequence of nucleotides in a gene

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24
Q

Define genetic drift

A

The change in the gene pool of a population as a result of chance; usually occurs in small populations

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25
Q

Define genotype

A

A specific combination of alleles for a particular gene locus belonging to an individual

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26
Q

Define germline

A

A cell line in eukaryotic organisms from which the gametes are derived

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27
Q

Define heritable

A

Capable of being passed on to the next generation

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28
Q

Define horizontal gene transfer

A

The process by which genetic material from one organism becomes incorporated into the genome of another organism

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29
Q

Define insertion mutation

A

A mutation in which nucleotide pairs have been added to a segment of DNA

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30
Q

Define inversion mutation

A

A mutation resulting in the normal sequence of genes being reversed in a chromosome

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31
Q

Define missense mutation

A

A mutation that results in one amino acid being replaced by another amino acid in the encoded protein

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32
Q

Define monoculture

A

The practice of cultivating a single genetically uniform breed of plant or livestock

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33
Q

Define multidrug resistance

A

When a bacterium becomes resistant to two or more antibiotics

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34
Q

Define mutagen

A

An agent capable of inducing mutations

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35
Q

Define mutation

A

When a gene or chromosome has undergone a change relative to the original gene or chromosome; it may also refer to the process of generating such changes

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36
Q

Define natural selection

A

The process whereby individuals with certain heritable traits survive and reproduce more successfully than other individuals

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37
Q

Define neutral mutation

A

A mutation that has no effect on the organism’s chances of survival and reproduction

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38
Q

Define nonsense mutation

A

A mutation in which a codon for an amino acid is changed to one that codes for a stop codon, terminating translation

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39
Q

Define phenotype

A

The actual form taken by a specific feature in a particular individual based on their genotype; can be used in reference to particular traits or characteristics or to the overall form of an individual

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40
Q

Define point mutation

A

A mutation that affects a single base-pair position within a gene

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41
Q

Define population

A

A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring

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42
Q

Define population genetics

A

The study of allele frequencies in populations and how they change over time

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43
Q

Define selection pressure

A

A factor that favours the survival of some individuals over others within a population

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44
Q

Define selective breeding

A

Breeding of plants and animals over successive generations to produce traits that are desirable to humans; also known as ‘selective breeding’

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45
Q

Define silent mutation

A

A mutation in which the DNA codon for one amino acid becomes another DNA codon for the same amino acid; also referred to as a synonymous mutation

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46
Q

Define somatic

A

Describes a body cell that will not pass its genes on to the next generation

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47
Q

Define species

A

A group of similar organisms capable of breeding and exchanging genes with one another and whose offspring are capable of doing the same; also describes the lowest formal taxonomic rank and forms the second part of an organism’s scientific name

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48
Q

Define subspecies

A

The level of classification below species, referring to races of a species that are geographically isolated from each other

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49
Q

Define substitution mutation

A

A mutation in which a single nucleotide is swappd for another in the original gene sequence

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50
Q

Define synonymous mutation

A

A mutation in which the DNA codon for one amino acid becomes another DNA codon for the same amino acid; referred to as a silent mutation

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51
Q

Define translocation

A

A mutation occuring when a section of one chromosome breaks off and reattaches to another chromosome

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52
Q

Define absolute dating

A

The process of determining the age in years of rocks and the fossils they contain on the basis of the physical or chemical properties of materials in the rock

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53
Q

Define adaption

A

An anatomical, behavioural and physiological characteristic that allows an organism to exploit a specific ecological role

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54
Q

Define adaptive radiation

A

When a single species diversifies relatively rapidly into many new species because of the availability of many different ecological niches

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55
Q

Define allopatric speciation

A

Speciation that occurs when members of an ancestral population become geographically separated and each isolated population evolves into a new species

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56
Q

Define bioimformatics

A

The application of computer science to the digital storage, retrieval and analysis of large volumes of biological data

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57
Q

Define biological species concept

A

The concept that species are groups of natural populations that could potentially interbreed but are reproductively isolated from other populations

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58
Q

Define clade

A

A branch of a cladogram that represents a common ancestor and all of its descendants

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59
Q

Define cladogram

A

A phylogenic tree that depicts a hypothesis about the evolution of a group of organisms from a common ancestor

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60
Q

Define comparative dating

A

The process of determining the age of rocks and the fossils they contain relative to each other, allowing an estimation of ‘oldest to youngest’ without assigning an actual age in years

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61
Q

Define convergent evolution

A

When organisms that are not closely related independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar emvironments or ecological niches

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62
Q

Define correlation

A

The inference that rock layers located in distant sites must be of same age if they have identical mineral and fossil composition

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63
Q

Define divergent evolution

A

When members of a population develop adaptations to different selection pressures over many successive generations and eventually become new species

64
Q

Define electron spin resonance

A

A method for determining the age of a rock or fossil based on the properties of electrons trapped inside the crystals of minerals

65
Q

Define evolutionary distance

A

The number of substitutions that have occured in the amino acid sequences of homologous peptides or nucleotide sequences of homologous genes since two organisms diverged from a common ancestor

66
Q

Define fossil

A

The preserved remains or traces of an organism

67
Q

Define fossil record

A

The worldwide collection of fossils as they occur in the surface layers of Earth

68
Q

Define fossil succession

A

When fossils appear in a consistent order in the fossil record from older rock layers to younger overlying rock layers; the same order is found worldwide

69
Q

Define homologous

A

Refers to genes or polypeptides that have similar sequences and indicate a shared evolutionary ancestry

70
Q

Define homologous structure

A

An anatomical feature in different organisms that has the same basic underlying structure but different functions

71
Q

Define index fossil

A

A fossil that is representative of a specific geological time

72
Q

Define isotope

A

One of two or more atoms of the same element witht he same atomic number and number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons and therefore different relative atomic masses

73
Q

Define lineage

A

In evolution, a population that represents a separate line of descent from a common ancestor to modern species

74
Q

Define luminescence

A

In absolute dating, a method for determining the age of a mineral crystal based on measuring the emission of light by elections as they are stimulated to ecape from the crystal

75
Q

Definemass extinction

A

The extinction of many species over a relatively short (geological) period

76
Q

Define maternally inherited

A

Describes a genotype that is transmitted entirely from the female parent to the offspring

77
Q

Define mineralisation

A

The process by which minerals from sediments have replaced the biological matter in a deceased organism, making it prone to become a fossil

78
Q

Define molecular clock

A

The number of substitutions that have accumulated in the amino acid sequence of a gene in a given lineage; the rate of the molecular clock is used to estimate the time since two species diverged

79
Q

Define molecular homology

A

The similarity of patterns in the nulceotide sequences of DNA or amino acid sequences of polypeptides as evidence for a common evolutionary origin

80
Q

Define monophyletic

A

Describes a taxonomic group of species that have all descended from the same common ancestor

81
Q

Define morphological species concept

A

Usually applied to fossils, defines a species by measurable anatomical criteria and characteristics

82
Q

Define mya

A

Millions of years ago

83
Q

Define niche

A

An organism’s anatomcial role; the way the organism lives and functions in its environment

84
Q

Define node

A

A junction point in a phylogenetic tree that represents thhe common ancestor of the lineages that diverges from it

85
Q

Define optically stimulated luminescence

A

A luminescence techniuque that stimulates electrons to escape a mineral crystal when the crystall is exposed to coloured light

86
Q

Define pairwise comparision

A

In evolutionary studies, a comparision between two polypeptide sequences, two DNA sequences or two genomes to determine how similar they are

87
Q

Define phylogenetic tree

A

A branching diagram showing the evolutionary relationships between species; groups joined together in a tree are believed to have descended from a common ancestor

88
Q

Define phylogeny

A

The evolutionary relationships that exist between species, often expressed as a tree-like diagram or represented by taxonomic classification

89
Q

Define phylogram

A

A type of phylogenetic tree with branch lengths scaled to the number of nucleotide or amino acid changes that have occured during the evolution of each lineage

90
Q

Define radioactive decay

A

A process by which the nucleus of an unstable isotope splits and emits energy in the form of radioactivity

91
Q

Define radiometric dating

A

A method for determining the age of a rock or fossil based in the predictable rates of decay of naturally occuring radioactive isotopes present

92
Q

oDefine relative dating

A

The process of determining the age of rocks and the fossils they contain relative to each other, allowing an estimation of ‘oldest to youngest’ without assigning an actual age in years

93
Q

Define reproductively isolated

A

When sexual reproduction can no longerccur freely among any adult members of the population

94
Q

Define sequence alignment

A

A display in which homologous polypeptide or DNA sequences are positioned against each other to identify patterns of conserved sequence

95
Q

Define speciation

A

The evolution of one or more new species from an ancestral species

96
Q

Define strata (singular: stratum)

A

Successive layers of sedimentary rocks; each layer represents a unique age range and contains a unique collection of fossils

97
Q

Define structual morphology

A

The study of the physical structure and form of organisms

98
Q

Define superposition

A

The principle that strata are deposited in a time sequnece, with the odest at the bottom and the youngest at the top

99
Q

Define sympatric speciation

A

When two species evolve from an ancestral population while still inhabiting the same geographical area

99
Q

Define taxonomy

A

A system of specific conventions for naming and classifying organisms

100
Q

Define tetrapod

A

A ‘four-footed’ vertabre animal; includes amphibians, reptiels and mammals

101
Q

Define thermoluminescence

A

A luminescence technique that stimulates electrons to escape a mineral crystal when the crystal is heated

102
Q

Define trace fossil

A

A fossil produced by an organism’s activites, such as fossil footprints or burrows

103
Q

Define transitional fossil

A

A fossil that bears features of both an older ancestral life form and a younger descendant

104
Q

Define vestigal structure

A

A structure found in organisms that has lost most, if not all, of its original function in the course of evolution; in ancestral organisms, the structures served a purpose, but in hteir descendants, the structures become atrophied or rudimentary

105
Q

Define aboreal

A

Related to, or living in, trees

106
Q

Define australopithecine

A

A term for bipedal apes of the fossil genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus that inhabited eastern and sourthern Africa between 1.4 and at least 4.2 mya

107
Q

Define bipedalism

A

A type of locomotion in which an organism walks on two hind limbs

108
Q

Define braciation

A

A type of locomotion in which an organism swings between the limbs of trees

109
Q

Define brain case

A

The part of the cranium that encloses the brain

110
Q

Define brow ridge

A

A bony ridge above the eye sockets

111
Q

Define carrying angle

A

The angle at which the femur is tilted in towards the knee

112
Q

Define cerebal cortex

A

The outer most layer of the brain

113
Q

Define cognitive capacity

A

An orgainism’s innate intelligence, ability to learn, play, evaluate, make decisions and apply new knowledge and skills

114
Q

Define cranial capacity

A

The volume of the brain case

115
Q

Define cranium

A

The skull, excluding the mandible

116
Q

Define cultural evolution

A

The way beliefs, social practices, skills and technology change over time

117
Q

Define Denisovan

A

A distinct, but undescribed, ancient hominin known primarily from bone fragments found in Denisova Cave in Siberia

118
Q

Define dentition

A

Arrangement of teeth

119
Q

Define exocrine gland

A

A gland that secretes a substance through a duct to the outer surface of the body

120
Q

Define foramen magnum

A

The hole in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes

121
Q

Define gracile

A

Of slender build

122
Q

Define hallux

A

The big toe, or innermost toe of the foot

123
Q

Define haplogroup

A

A group of organisms that have the same genetic mutations in a single chromosome and are descendants of a common ancestor through either maternal (mtDNA) or the paternal (Y chromosome) line of inheritance

124
Q

Define haplotype

A

The unique combination of gentic mutations in the DNA sequences of a single chromosome (eg. mtDNA or Y chromosome) that are shared by different organisms and indicate common ancestry

125
Q

Define hominin

A

A member of tribe Hominini; modern humans and their extinct bipedal ancestors

126
Q

Define hominoid

A

A member of the superfamily Hominoidea; an ape, or tail-less primate

127
Q

Define kya

A

Thousands of years ago

128
Q

Define language

A

The system of spoken or written communication comprising distinctive words and the rules by which the words are organised and expressed

129
Q

Define mammal

A

A warm-blooded vertabrae animal that has hair or fur, and the females secrete milk to nourish their offspring

130
Q

Define mammary gland

A

A gland in female mammals that produces milk

131
Q

Define mandible

A

The lower jawbone of the skull

132
Q

Define midden

A

A pile of discarded waste left by humans in the past

133
Q

Define Out of Africa hypothesis

A

A hypothesis that modern humans evolved in Africa and subsequently migrated out and colonised the other continents; also known as recent single origin

134
Q

Define oviparous

A

An animal that lays eggs that are expelled from the body and from which juveniles hatch

135
Q

Define paleoanthropology

A

The field of study concerned with fossil hominins

136
Q

Define placental

A

Describes an animal in which the foetus develops inside the mother whie attached to an organ that provides nutrients and oxygen and removes waste

137
Q

Define postcranial

A

All of the skeleton, except the skull

138
Q

Define precision grip

A

A grip defined by the tips of the thumb and fingers pressing together to finely manipulate an object

139
Q

Define prefrontal cortex

A

The portion of cerebral cortex that covers the front part of the brain

140
Q

Define prehensile

A

Capable of curling and grasping

141
Q

Define primate

A

A member of the order Primata; includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes and modern humans

142
Q

Define prognathism

A

A condition in which the jaws protrude from the plane of the face

143
Q

Define quadrupedalism

A

A type of locomotion in which an organism walks on four limbs

144
Q

Define recent single origin

A

A hypothesis that modern humans evolved in Africa and subsequently migrated out and colonised the other continents; also known as Out of Africa hypothesis

145
Q

Define robust

A

Of sturdy build

146
Q

Define sagittal crest

A

A prominent raised bony ridge along the midline of the skull

147
Q

Define sagittal keel

A

A thickening of bone along the midline of the skull

148
Q

Define sebaceous gland

A

A gland in the skin that secretes oils that lubricate and protect patches of skin and hair

149
Q

Define sexual dimorphism

A

Where males and females of a species have different morphologies, often in shape and size

150
Q

Define stereoscopic

A

Describes vision that has a sense of depth

151
Q

Define superfamily

A

A taxonomic rank immediately superior to the traditional rank of family; a superfamily may contain multiple taxonomic families

152
Q

Define suspensory locomotion

A

A type of locomotion in which an organism hangs or moves beneath the limbs of trees

153
Q

Define sweat gland

A

A gland in the skin that secretes sweat

154
Q

Define tribe

A

A taxonomic rank inserted between family and genus

155
Q

Define viviparous

A

An animal that gives birth to live young

Biology Units 3 & 4 (53 decks)

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