Biology Lecture Notes Review

Flashcards covering essential biological concepts including enzymes, macromolecules, cell biology, ecological succession, population dynamics, energy and matter pathways, and biomimicry.

Virus

A biological entity that must use a host cell to reproduce and challenges the claim that all reproducing entities are alive because it does not possess all 8 characteristics of life.

Proteins

Biological macromolecules composed of amino acids whose specific overall shape allows them to function, such as matching with specific substrate molecules.

Substrate

The specific substance upon which an enzyme acts during a chemical reaction.

Carrying Capacity

The largest sustainable population size that an environment can support over time.

Energy Flow

The movement of energy through a food chain where energy generally decreases as it moves up trophic levels and is lost as heat, meaning it cannot be recycled.

Primary Succession

Ecological succession that begins in a newly exposed area without established soil, starting on bare rock with pioneer organisms like moss and lichen.

Secondary Succession

Ecological succession that occurs in an area with intact soil, such as a burned forest, following a disturbance.

Biomimicry

The practice of using nature as inspiration for human engineering and design, such as studying termite mounds to design building ventilation systems.

Denaturation

The altered structure and subsequent loss of function of a protein or enzyme caused by extreme environmental conditions, such as a pH of $1$ or temperatures sharply exceeding $40^\text{C}$.

Algae Bloom

A rapid increase in algae population triggered by excessive fertilizer, which subsequently depletes oxygen levels in water and causes fish to die.

Optimum Temperature

The specific temperature at which an enzyme functions at its maximum activity rate, represented by a peak on an enzyme activity graph.

Nucleic Acids

Macromolecules composed of nucleotides that function to store hereditary and genetic information.

Density-Dependent Limiting Factor

An environmental factor, such as disease, whose impact increases and spreads faster as a population becomes more crowded.

Matter Cycling

The continuous ecological process where matter is recycled through ecosystems, contrasting with energy which is lost as heat.

Phospholipid

A cell membrane molecule whose hydrophobic nature allows it to act as a functional boundary for the cell.

Abiotic Factor

A non-living environmental component, such as a drought, whose variation can alter food production and affect multiple populations across an entire ecosystem.

Decomposers

Organisms that perform an essential ecological role by recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.