Biology: The Science of Life Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental characteristics of living systems, biological processes, and the historical experiments regarding the origin of life.

Biology

Derived from the Greek words "bios" (life) and "logos" (study of), it is the study of life that deals with structures, functions of living things, and their relationship with their environment.

Cellular Respiration

A process by which energy is released by the breakdown of food substances.

Energy

The ability of organisms to do work that allows them to move; produced when complex organic matter (biomolecules) are broken down into simple substances.

Metabolism

The sum of all chemical processes and energy changes happening inside the body of an organism.

Nutrition

The process by which organisms acquire food in order to survive, grow, and reproduce.

Excretion

The process of removing waste products such as $CO_2$, $H_2O$, mineral salts, and nitrogenous waste products from the body.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of the body’s internal environment, such as heart rate, body temperature, and fluid environment of the cells.

Hormones

Regulatory chemicals in the organismal level that control the functions of activities, growth, and development.

Locomotion (Motility)

The movement of an organism from one place to another; microorganisms may use cilia, flagella, or pseudopods for this purpose.

Sensitivity (Irritability)

The ability of an organism to respond appropriately to a stimulus.

Tropism

The reaction or response of an organism to stimuli such as light, sound, temperature, or pressure.

Evolution

The changes in the characteristics of a group of organisms (species) over time.

Camouflage

An evolutionary adaptation where animals change color or body structure to blend with their environment to escape predators.

Development

The defined stages in the life cycle of a living thing from fertilization to death.

Intussusception

A process where living things exhibit growth from within the cells.

Growth

An increase in size and volume by converting food to become a part of body cells.

Accretion

Growth by external addition of substances, which occurs in nonliving things.

Reproduction

A process by which genetic information is passed on from one generation to another as organisms produce offspring.

DNA

The physical carrier of transferred genetic information through sexual reproduction.

Sexual Reproduction

The union of sex cells from two parents to produce a unique individual of their kind.

Asexual Reproduction

A type of reproduction that occurs when an organism makes copies of itself.

Abiogenesis (Spontaneous Generation)

The idea, proposed by Aristotle, that life originates from nonliving matter.

Biogenesis

The belief that life originates from preexisting life.

Francesco Redi

An Italian physician who in 1668 challenged spontaneous generation by showing that maggots arose from decaying meat only when flies could reach it.

John Needham

An English priest who in 1748 challenged Redi's experiment and concluded that microorganisms in broth were caused by spontaneous generation.

Lazzaro Spallanzani

An Italian scientist who in 1767 challenged Needham's results by using sealed flasks to show that boiling effectively prevents the growth of microorganisms if air is excluded.

Louis Pasteur

A scientist who in 1861 used an experiment with special flasks to finally convince the scientific community that spontaneous generation does not occur and supported biogenesis.

Creationism

The belief that life forms and the universe were created through a supernatural power rather than naturalistic means.

Miller-Urey experiment

An experiment suggesting that lightning may have triggered the creation of the key building blocks of life from inanimate matter.

Panspermia

The proposal that a meteor or cosmic dust may have carried significant amounts of organic molecules to Earth, starting evolution.