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Principles of Biology I (BSCI 150) > Week 1 (Ch 1-2) > Flashcards

Week 1 (Ch 1-2) Flashcards

Chapters 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2

1
Q

Organism

A

An individual living entity that grows and reproduces as an independent unit.

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2
Q

Nucleic Acids

A

A polymer made up of nucleotides specialized for the storage, transmission, and expression of genetic information.

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3
Q

Cell

A

The simplest structural unit of a living organism. In multicellular organisms, many individual cells serve as the building blocks of tissues and organs.

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4
Q

Prokaryotes

A

Unicellular organisms without a nucleus, including bacteria and prokaryotic archeans.

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5
Q

Tissues

A

A group of similar cells organized into a functional unit. Usually integrated with other tissues to form part of an organ.

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6
Q

Organs

A

A body part that is composed of two or more tissues integrated to perform a distinct function.

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7
Q

Organ Systems

A

An interrelated and integrated group of tissues and organs that work together in a physiological function.

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8
Q

Ecological Systems
(Ecosystems)

A

One or more organisms and the abiotic and biotic environment with which they interact.

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9
Q

Populations

A

A group of individuals of the same species that live, interact, and reproduce together in a particular geographic area.

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10
Q

Communities

A

The assemblage of interacting individuals of different species within a particular geographic area.

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11
Q

Landscapes

A

An ecological system consisting of multiple ecological communities within a geographic are larger than the area occupied by a single community.

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12
Q

Biosphere

A

The region that supports living organisms on Earth, extending about 23 kilometers from the depths of the ocean to the stratosphere.

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13
Q

System

A

A set of interacting parts in which neither the parts nor the whole can be understood without taking into account the interactions among the parts.

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14
Q

Components

A

The interacting parts of a biological system.

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15
Q

Processes

A

The ways in which components in a biological system interact.

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16
Q

Dynamic

A

Characterized by activity or change.

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17
Q

Feedback

A

Information about the relationship between the set point of the system and its current state.

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18
Q

Positive Feedback

A

A type of control that acts to increase differences that arise between the level of a controlled variable and its set-point level.

The period of amplifying deviation is followed by a period in which stabilization is restored in most biological systems.

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19
Q

Negative Feedback

A

A type of control that acts to reduce differences that arise between the level of a controllable variable and its set-point level.

It tends to stabilize the controlled variable at a level close to the set-point level.

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20
Q

Regulatory Systems

A

A system that uses feedback information to maintain a physiological function or parameter at an optimal level.

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21
Q

Systems Analysis

A

A process in which the parts or components of a biological system are identified and the processes by which the components interact are specified.

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22
Q

Equilibrium

A

The state of a system in which there is no net change through time.

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23
Q

Computational Model

A

A description of a system in which the interactions among components are expressed as mathematical functions that can be used to predict and understand the observable characteristics of the system.

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24
Q

Nucleotides

A

A nucleoside containing 1-3 phosphate groups. The building blocks of nucleic acids and important co-enzymes (especially ATP).

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25
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
The fundamental hereditary material of all living organisms. In eukaryotes, it is stored primarily in the cell nucleus.
26
Proteins
A compound consisting of one or more polypeptides. Occurs within its polypeptide chains extended in fibrous proteins, or coiled into a compact macromolecule in enzymes and other globular proteins.
27
Gene
A unit of heredity. A unit of genetic function which carries the information for a polypeptide or RNA.
28
Evolution
Any gradual change. Most often refers to organic or Darwinian evolution which is the genetic and resulting phenotypic change in populations of organisms from generation to generation.
29
Natural Selection
The differential contribution of offspring to the next generation by various genetic types belonging to the same population, proposed by Darwin.
30
Adaptation
A particular structure, physiological process, or behavior that makes an organism better able to survive and reproduce. Also, the evolutionary process that leads to the development or persistence of such a trait.
31
Proximate Explanations
The immediate genetic, physiological, neurological, and developmental explanations for the advantages of an adaptation.
32
Ultimate Explanation
The historical explanations of the processes that led to the evolution of an adaptation.
33
Theory
A far-reaching explanation of observed facts that is supported by such a wide body of evidence, with no significant contradictory evidence, that is scientifically accepted as a factual framework.
34
Natural History
The study of nature outside of a formal hypothesis-testing investigation. The body of knowledge so obtained.
35
Quantify
To turn an observation into explicit counts or measures that can be used and verified by others.
36
Hypothesis
A tentative answer to a question from which testable predictions can be generated.
37
Data
Quantified observations about a system under study.
38
Controlled Experiment
An experiment in which a sample is divided into groups whereby experimental groups are exposed to manipulations of an independent variable while one group serves as an untreated control. The data from the various groups are compared to see if there are changes in a dependent variable as a result of the experimental manipulation.
39
Comparative Experiment
Experimental design in which data from various unmanipulated samples or populations are compared, but in which variables are not controlled or even necessarily identified.
40
Variable
A factor or variable that is compared to a constant
41
Null Hypothesis
The premise that any differences observed in an experiment are simply the result of random differences that arise from obtaining two finite samples from the same population.
42
Atoms
The smallest unit of a chemical element. Consists of a nucleus containing protons and (except for hydrogen) neutrons, and one or more electrons in orbitals.
43
Element
A substance consisting of only one kind of atom that cannot be converted to another substance by ordinary chemical means.
44
Proton
One of the three fundamental subatomic particles of matter, part of the atomic nucleus with a single positive charge.
45
Electron
One of the three fundamental subatomic particles of matter, outside the atomic nucleus carrying a negative charge and very little mass.
46
Nucleus
The central region composed of one or more protons and (except for hydrogen) one or more neutrons.
47
Electron Shells
The region surrounding the atomic nucleus at a fixed energy level in which electrons orbit.
48
Atomic Mass
Equal to the mass of protons and the mass of neutrons (electrons have so little mass they are usually ignored.)
49
Dalton (Da)
A measure of mass for atoms and atomic particles equal to the atomic mass unit.
50
Atomic Number
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom; also equals the number of electrons around the neutral atom. Determines the chemical properties of the atom.
51
Periodic Table
The arrangement of elements in order of increasing atomic number, with vertical groupings of similar valence electrons.
52
Valence Shell
The outermost energy shell of an atom, containing the valence electrons involved in chemical reactivity.
53
Isotopes
Isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons in their nucleus (and thus, are in the same position on the periodic table) but differ in the number of protons
54
Atomic Orbital (Orbital or Electron Orbital)
The defined area of space within which the electrons in each electron shell move
55
Octet Rule
The description of the processes that atoms undergo whereby they obtain, give up, or share electrons such that the *p-* and *s-* orbitals in their outer (valence) shell contains 8 electrons.
56
Noble Gases
Elements in the last column of the periodic table that don't react with other elements (because their *p-* and *s-* orbitals are full)
57
Electronegativity
The tendency of an atom to attract electrons when it occurs as part of a compound
58
Radioactive Decay
Spontaneous disintegration of a substance with the emission of ionizing radiation
59
Chemical Bond
An attractive force stably linking 2 atoms
60
Covalent Bonds
A chemical bond based on the sharing of electrons between 2 atoms
61
Ionic Bonds
An electrostatic attraction between positively and negatively charged ions
62
Molecule
A chemical substance made up of 2 or more atoms joined by covalent bonds or ionic bonds
63
Compound
A molecule formed by at least 2 different elements
64
Nonpolar
Having electric charges that are evenly balanced from one end to another
65
Polar
Having separate and opposite electric charges at 2 ends (or poles)
66
Ion
An atom that loses or gains one or more electrons
67
Cation
An ion with one or more positive charges
68
Anion
A negatively charged ion
69
Dipole
A separation of opposite electric charges, as in a polar bond
70
Dipole-Dipole Interactions
An attraction or repulsion of similar or opposite electric charges respectively between 2 dipoles.
71
Hydrogen Bond
A weak electrostatic bond that arises from the attraction between the slight positive charge on a hydrogen atom and a slight negative charge on a nearby oxygen or nitrogen atom
72
van der Waals Interaction
Weak electrostatic attractions between atoms resulting from temporary dipoles that spontaneously occur or are induced in the atoms

Principles of Biology I (BSCI 150) (1 decks)

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