Biology
the study of living things
Species
A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
Reproduction
the production of offspring
environment
the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
Adaptation
A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce
Cell
smallest unit of life, basic unit of life
Homeostasis
process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment
Metabolism
the combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials
universal genetic code
DNA and RNA
Characteristics of life
organization, metabolism, responsiveness, growth, development, reproduction
carbon cycle
The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again
nitrogen cycle
The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere
water cycle
The continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back
abiotic factors
Nonliving components of environment.
biotic factors
All the living organisms that inhabit an environment
food chains
link trophic levels from producers to top carnivores
Trophic Levels of a Food chain
producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer
Food webs are models that show
networks of feeding relationships
all graphs are
models
Ecology is the study of
interactions between organisms and their environments
Levels of organization
cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere
Organism
A living thing
population
A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
Community
All the different populations that live together in an area
ecoystem
all the living and nonliving things that interact in an environment
Biome
A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms
Biosphere
part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere
producer
An organism that makes its own food
consumer
An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
predator
An animal that hunts other animals for food
prey
An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms
scavenger
A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms
Detritivore
organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
Autotroph
An organism that makes its own food
Heterotroph
An organism that cannot make its own food.
Symbiosis
A close relationship between two species that benefits at least one of the species.
Mutualism
A relationship between two species in which both species benefit
Parasitism
A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed
Commensalism
A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected
ecological pyramid
diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
habitat
the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.
Niche
An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Theory
A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data
Conclusion
A summary based on evidence or facts
Quantative data
numerical data
qualitative data
descriptive data
discrete
unconnected; separate; distinct
continuous data
Data that can take any value
Steps of the Scientific Method
observation, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion
Controls
experimental conditions that remain constant
Constants
Conditions that stay the same in the experiment
dependent variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
independant variable
the thing that will be changed in each experiment
Atom
Basic unit of matter
Element
A pure substance made of only one kind of atom
chemistry bonds
a force of attraction between atoms or ions. formed when atoms share valence electrons.
polar molecule
A molecule that has electrically charged areas.
organic compounds
carbon-based molecules
Compound
A substance made up of atoms of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds
Macromolecules
A very large organic molecule composed of many smaller molecules
Monomers
small unit that can join together with other small units to form polymers
Polymers
large compound formed from combinations of many monomers
Carbohydrates
Broken down to glucose to provide energy. sugars. contain C, H, O
Lipids
Contain C, and H, in larger proportion to O. Used to store energy. Fats, Oils, and Waxes. One glycerol molecule and 3 fatty acids.
Proteins
Chains of amino acids. Contain C, H, O, and N. Large complex polymers. Essential to chemical reactions in cells.
nucleic acids
complex macromolecules containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus.
DNA
A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.
RNA
single-stranded nucleic acid that contains the sugar ribose
hydrolosis reaction
Water is added to molecule to separate polymers (many pieces) into monomers (one piece)
unique characteristics of water
Boiling Point and Freezing Point. Surface Tension, Heat of Vaporization, and Vapor Pressure. Adhesion and Cohesion.
Monosaccharides
Single sugar molecules
Disaccharides are
double sugars
Polysaccharides
Carbohydrates that are made up of more than two monosaccharides
A controlled experiment is one that
tests experimental and control groups in parallel
operationally defined
a precise description of how the variables in a study will be manipulated or measured
Electrons carry a _____ charge.
negative
Protons carry a ____ charge
positive
monomers of carbohydrates
monosaccharides (simple sugars)
monomers of nucleic acids
nucleotides, DNA, RNA
monomers of proteins
amino acids
monomers of lipids
glycerol and fatty acids
Why do water and oil not mix?
water is polar and oil is non polar
10 percent rule
ten percent of energy in transferred to the next tropic level for consummation
Herbivore
A consumer that eats only plants.
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals
Carnivore
A consumer that eats only animals.
The amounts of water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen on Earth fluctuate and change. T or F
False
Plants can use atmospheric nitrogen
T or F
F
niche
An organism's particular role in an ecosystem, or how it makes its living.
carrying capacity
Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support
density dependent factors
limiting factor that depends on population size
density independent factors
limiting factor that affects all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size
population density
Number of individuals per unit area