fall midterm Flashcards
(139 cards)
what are the 7 characteristics we use to define life?
order, process energy & metabolize, growth & development, reproduction, respond to environment, homeostasis/ regulation, and adaptation/ acclimation
how do we maintain order?
everything that is alive is organized on the cellular principal that is organisms are composed of one or more cells
what is the FIRST law of thermodynamics?
law of energy conservation states energy cannot be created or destroyed
what is the SECOND law of thermodynamics?
the entropy law states all things tend towards maximum entropy or randomness/disorganization
growth & development
growth increases mass, cell size or how many cells there are.
development involves differentiation
reproduction
living things must reproduce to sustain spices. reproduction can include repro of new cells or of a new life
responsiveness
the ability to respond is fundimental to homeostasis. this can be an active response or passive response
what is homeostasis/ regulation
homeostasis is the ability for the body to maintain stability while going through changing conditions
what is adaptations and acclimation?
adaptations, long term change in genes to maintain survival
acclimations, short term responses to the environment like humans wearing coats in the winter to stay warm
what are ectotherms?
rely on the temperature of their surroundings for body heat
what is the biological organization?
atoms -> molecules -> organelles -> cell -> tissue -> organ -> organ sys -> organism -> population (group of species)-> community ( all species in the place) -> ecosystem (living & non) -> biosphere(earth)
what is the chemical level of organization?
atom -> molecule -> macromolecule
what is the first level of organization that life emerges?
cells
what is the flow of energy? what is this cycle called?
nature does not waste energy, so it uses the cycle of matter. inflow of light energy comes from the sun -> used producers (plants) -> to make chemical energy in food -> eaten by consumers (animals) -> creates outflow of heat
each step uses heat and energy, the energy goes into less useful forms each time it transitions
what evidence shows that all life is unified?
the universal usage of DNA to store genetic info. all life is made up of cells that contain this DNA and provides the cell with instructions on how to make proteins we need to survive and reproduce.
what creates diversity?
diversity of life arises from the differences in DNA sequences allowing us to all have different genes
what are the 3 domains of life?
-bacteria, diverse and wide spread
-archaea, similar to bacteria, found in hot and high pressure places
-eukarya, includes us and plants, has smaller kingdoms like protists (unicellular like algae and ameoba), plantae (producers), fungi (decomposers), and animalia ( consumers)
How does the theory of evolution describe both the unity and diversity of life? what are the two observations from Darwin?
-heritable variations, variety of traits you inherit from parents
-overproduction of offspring, populations produce more offspring than the environment can support, because of this the offspring that are able to adapt the most are going to survive
because of these observations we can see that throughout evolution all species change to be able to survive
what is natural selection?
natural selection is how life changes over time. species adapt to their environments to maintain life and overtime the offspring who cannot adapt will disappear and leave only the strongest to reproduce
what is a hypothesis?
a hypothesis is a testable explanation for observations based on data, ex: if flashlight batteries are dead then changing the batteries will make it work
what is a controlled experiment?
a controlled experiment is testing one variable at a time. this means changing only one factor to see the effects while others are kept constant.
what is the order of the scientific method?
-observation
-question
-hypothesis
-prediction
-test
how was mimicry helpful to non-poisonous King snakes in an environment where there were population overlaps with
coral snakes?
by mimicking the look of the poisonous snakes it allowed the non poisonous snakes to survive. Predators who live in areas with coral snakes have “learned” to avoid them and
so will also avoid a similarly coloured snake
what is the control group? what is the test group?
-the control group in the experiment that does not receive treatment
-the test group in the experiment receives the treatment