ch 1 - characteristics & classification of living things Flashcards
keywords (46 cards)
organism
a living thing
movement
an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
respiration
the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism
metabolism
the chemical reactions that take place in living organisms
sensitivity
the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
growth
a permanent increase in size and dry mass
dry mass
the mass of an organism after it has been killed and all water removed from it
reproduction
the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
excretion
the removal of the waste products of metabolism and substances in excess requirements
nutrition
taking in materials for energy, growth, and development
common ancestor
a species that lived in the past, and is thought to have given rise to several different species alive today; for example, all mammals share a common ancestors
species
group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
fertile
able to reproduce
infertile
not able to reproduce
binomial naming system
a system of naming species that is internationally agreed, in which the scientific name is made up of two parts the Genus and species
genus
a group of species that share similar features and a common ancestor
dichotomous key
a way of identifying am organism, by working through pairs of statements that lead you to its name
kingdom
one of the major groups into which all organisms are classified
organic substances
substances whose molecules contain carbon; in biology we normally consider organic compounds to be ones that are made by living things
chlorophyll
a green pigment that absorbs energy from light; the energy is used to combine carbon dioxide with water to make glucose
cellulose
a carbohydrate that forms long fibers, and makes up the cell walls of plants
fungus
multicellular (yeast unicellular)
cells have nuclei and cells walls
no chlorophyll
feed by digesting waste organic material and absorbing it into cells
(eg. mushrooms)
protoctist
multicellular/ unicellular
cells have nucleus, may have cell walls, chloroplasts
some feed by photosynthesis/ organic substances made by other organisms
(eg, seaweed)
prokaryote
unicellular
no nucleus
cell walls, not made of cellulose
circular loop of DNA, which is free in the cytoplasm
have plasmids
(eg. bacteria)