Ch. 1 Flashcards

(29 cards)

1
Q

biosphere

A

the entire portion of Earth inhabited by life

the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems

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2
Q

ecosystem

A

all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact

a biological community & its physical environment

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3
Q

community

A

an assemblage of all the organisms living together and potentially interacting in a particular area

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4
Q

population

A

a group of individuals belonging to one species & living in the same geographic area

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5
Q

organism

A

an individual living thing, such as a bacterium, fungus, protist, plant, or animal

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6
Q

organ system

A

a group of organs that work together in performing vital body functions

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7
Q

organ

A

a structure consisting of several tissues adapted as a group to perform specific functions

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8
Q

tissue

A

an integrated group of cells with a common function, structure, or both

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9
Q

cell

A

a basic unit of living matter separated from its environment by a plasma membrane

the fundamental structural unit of life

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10
Q

organelle

A

a membrane-enclosed structure with a specialized function within a cell

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11
Q

molecule

A

a group of 2 or more atoms held together by covalent bonds

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12
Q

emergent properties

A

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

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13
Q

producer

A

an organism that makes organic food molecules from CO2, H2O, and other inorganic raw materials

a plant, alga, or autotrophic bacterium

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14
Q

consumer

A

an organism that obtains its food by eating plants or by eating animals that have eaten plants

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15
Q

systems biology

A

an approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems

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16
Q

prokaryotic cell

A

a type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus & other membrane-enclosed organelles

found only in the domains Bacteria & Archaea

17
Q

eukaryotic cell

A

a type of cell that has a membrane-enclosed nucleus & other membrane-enclosed organelles

all organisms except bacteria & archaea are composed of eukaryotic cells

18
Q

gene

A

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

most of the genes of a eukaryote r located in its chromosomal DNA; a few are carried by the DNA of mitochondria & chloroplasts

19
Q

species

A

a group whose members possess similar anatomical characteristics & have the ability to interbreed & produce viable, fertile offspring

20
Q

domain

A

a taxonomic category above the kingdom level

the 3 domains of life: Archaea, Bacteria, & Eukarya

21
Q

Bacteria

A

one of 2 prokaryotic domains of life, the other being Archaea

22
Q

Archaea

A

1 of 2 prokaryotic domains of life, the other being Bacteria

23
Q

Eukarya

A

the domain that includes all eukaryotic organisms

24
Q

evolution

A

descent w/ modification

the idea that living species r descendants of ancestral species that were different from present-day ones

also the genetic changes in a population over generations

25
natural selection
a process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce that r organisms w/ other characteristics
26
hypothesis | (hypotheses)
a tentative explanation a scientists propses for a specific phenomenon that has been observed
27
theory
a widely accepted explanatory idea that is broad in scope & supported by a large body of evidence
28
controlled experiment
a component of the process of science whereby a scientist carries out 2 parallel tests, an experimental test & a control test the experimental test differs from the control by one factor, the variable
29
technology
the practical application of scientific knowledge