Biology: Cell Nutrition, Photosynthesis, and Cellular Energy

Vocabulary flashcards covering the classes of nutrients, animal digestive processes, plant structures, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration based on Learning Competency 11.

Nutrients

Substances obtained from food or the environment that support growth, tissue repair, and normal body functions.

Carbohydrates

The main source of readily available energy; includes starches that can be broken down into simple sugars such as glucose.

Proteins

Nutrients that supply amino acids used for growth and repair of cells and tissues, and which make up many enzymes.

Fats/Lipids

Nutrients that store energy for longer periods and form important parts of cell membranes.

Vitamins

Nutrients that help regulate body processes and support normal functioning.

Minerals

Nutrients that support body structures and cellular functions, with examples including calcium and iron.

Water

A vital nutrient that acts as a medium for many chemical reactions and helps transport substances.

Glucose

A simple sugar and fuel molecule broken down during cellular respiration to transfer energy into ATP.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that cannot make their own food from simple inorganic materials and must obtain nutrients by eating plants, other animals, or both.

Ingestion

The stage of food processing that involves taking food into the body.

Digestion

The process of breaking large food molecules into smaller molecules that can be absorbed.

Absorption

The movement of digested nutrients through the wall of the digestive tract, mainly the small intestine, into the blood or other transport fluids.

Assimilation

The process of using absorbed nutrients in body cells for energy, growth, repair, and other activities.

Small intestine

A digestive organ with inner folds and tiny projections providing a large surface area, especially important for nutrient absorption.

Autotrophs

Organisms, such as plants, that can manufacture their own organic food through photosynthesis.

Roots

Plant structures that anchor the plant and absorb water and dissolved minerals from the soil.

Root hairs

Projections that increase the surface area of roots, helping water and mineral absorption.

Leaves

Plant structures that serve as the main site of photosynthesis in most plants.

Stomata

Tiny openings in leaves that allow carbon dioxide to enter and oxygen and water vapor to exit.

Xylem

Vascular tissue that transports water and dissolved minerals from the roots toward the rest of the plant.

Phloem

Vascular tissue that transports sugars and other organic substances from sources, such as leaves, to parts of the plant that need or store them.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy stored in glucose, represented by $6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$.

Chloroplasts

Structures found in plant cells where photosynthesis takes place.

Chlorophyll

The green pigment found in chloroplasts that absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.

Cellular respiration

A process performed by both plant and animal cells that transfers energy from glucose into ATP.

ATP

A form of usable energy produced during cellular respiration that powers activities such as active transport, building molecules, movement, cell division, and maintaining internal balance.