General Biology: Chapters 1–3 Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and definitions across Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Biology: Concepts & Applications 10th Edition.

Organic

Refers to a molecule that consists primarily of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

Hydrocarbon

A molecule that consists only of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Functional Group

An atom (other than hydrogen) or small molecular group bonded to a carbon of an organic compound that imparts a specific chemical property.

Monomer

A small molecule that serves as a subunit of a larger molecule, such as a simple sugar, fatty acid, amino acid, or nucleotide.

Polymer

A large molecule that consists of multiple monomer subunits.

Metabolism

All of the enzyme-mediated chemical reactions by which cells acquire and use energy to stay alive, grow, and reproduce.

Enzyme

An organic molecule, typically a protein, that speeds up a reaction without being changed by it.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction in which an enzyme uses water to break a molecule into smaller subunits.

Condensation

A chemical reaction in which an enzyme builds a large molecule from smaller subunits, forming water in the process.

Carbohydrate

An organic compound that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a $1:2:1$ ratio.

Monosaccharide

The simplest type of carbohydrate (one sugar unit) with a backbone of five or six carbon atoms.

Disaccharide

A carbohydrate polymer consisting of two monosaccharide monomers, such as lactose or sucrose.

Polysaccharide

A carbohydrate chain consisting of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharide monomers.

Cellulose

A tough, insoluble polysaccharide composed of chains of glucose monomers stretched side by side and hydrogen-bonded, forming the main structural component of plants.

Starch

A coiled polysaccharide composed of glucose monomers that serves as the main energy reserve in plants.

Glycogen

A highly branched polysaccharide composed of glucose monomers that serves as the main energy reserve in animals.

Lipids

Fatty, oily, or waxy organic compounds.

Fatty Acid

An organic molecule consisting of a long hydrophobic hydrocarbon tail attached to a hydrophilic carboxyl group head.

Saturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid with only single bonds linking the carbons in its tail, rendering it flexible and solid at room temperature.

Unsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid with one or more double bonds linking the carbons in its tail, limiting its flexibility.

Triglyceride

A fat molecule consisting of a glycerol head attached to three fatty acid tails.

Phospholipid

A lipid containing a phosphate group in its hydrophilic head and two nonpolar hydrophobic fatty acid tails, serving as the main structural component of cell membranes.

Lipid Bilayer

A two-layer arrangement of phospholipids in cell membranes, with hydrophobic tails sandwiched between hydrophilic heads.

Wax

A firm, water-repellent mixture of lipids with long fatty acid tails bonded to alcohols or carbon rings.

Steroid

A type of lipid without fatty acid tails, characterized by a rigid backbone of $20$ carbon atoms arranged in four characteristic rings.

Amino Acid

A small organic monomer subunit of proteins containing an amine group ($-\text{NH}_2$), a carboxyl group ($-\text{COOH}$), and a variable side chain called an R group.

Peptide Bond

The covalent bond that links amino acids together in a protein chain.

Polypeptide

A long chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.

Denaturation

The unravelling of a protein's three-dimensional structure due to heat, salts, pH shifts, or detergents breaking hydrogen bonds, causing loss of biological function.

Prion

An infectious misfolded protein, such as a misfolded form of the glycoprotein $\text{PrP}^{\text{C}}$.

Nucleotide

A monomer consisting of a five-carbon sugar bonded to a nitrogen-containing base and one, two, or three phosphate groups.

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate; a nucleotide energy carrier in cells consisting of a ribose sugar, adenine base, and three phosphate groups.

Nucleic Acid

A single- or double-stranded chain of nucleotides in which the sugar of one nucleotide is bonded to the phosphate group of the next.

Hydrogenation

A manufacturing process that adds hydrogen atoms to oils to convert them into solid fats.

Trans Fats

Fats containing unsaturated fatty acid tails with hydrogen atoms around the double bonds, created artificially through partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils.

Biology

The scientific study of life, past and present.

Emergent Property

A characteristic of a system that does not appear in any of its individual component parts.

Nutrient

A substance that an organism needs for growth and survival but cannot make for itself.

Producer

An organism that makes its own food using energy and nonbiological raw materials from the environment.

Photosynthesis

The metabolic process by which producers use light energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

Consumer

An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on the tissues, wastes, or remains of other organisms.

Homeostasis

The process by which an organism keeps its internal conditions within tolerable ranges by sensing and responding to change.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid; the hereditary material passed from parents to offspring that carries instructions for development, growth, and reproduction.

Biodiversity

The scope of variation among living organisms.

Nucleus

A membrane-enclosed sac that encloses and protects a eukaryotic cell's DNA.

Prokaryote

An informal term for a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus.

Eukaryote

An organism whose cells characteristically contain a nucleus.

Bacteria

The most diverse and well-known group of single-celled prokaryotes lacking a nucleus.

Archaea

A group of single-celled prokaryotes lacking a nucleus that are evolutionarily more closely related to eukaryotes than to bacteria.

Protist

A member of a diverse group of simple eukaryotes that are not plants, animals, or fungi.

Fungus

A single-celled or multicelled eukaryotic consumer that secretes substances outside its body to break down food and absorb the released nutrients.

Plant

A multicelled, typically photosynthetic eukaryotic producer.

Animal

A multicelled eukaryotic consumer that ingests other organisms or their parts and actively moves about during part or all of its life.

Taxonomy

The science of naming and classifying species.

Genus

A rank of classification that consists of a group of species sharing a unique set of traits; the first part of a binomial scientific name.

Specific Epithet

The second part of a species' scientific name.

Trait

An observable characteristic of an organism or species.

Taxon

A group of organisms that share a unique set of traits.

Critical Thinking

The deliberate process of judging information before accepting it.

Science

The systematic study of the observable world.

Hypothesis

A testable explanation of a natural phenomenon.

Inductive Reasoning

Drawing a conclusion based on specific observations.

Prediction

A statement, based on a hypothesis, about a condition that should exist if the hypothesis is correct.

Deductive Reasoning

Using a general idea or premise to make a conclusion about a specific case.

Experiment

A test designed to support or falsify a prediction.

Variable

A characteristic or event that differs among individuals or over time.

Independent Variable

A condition or treatment controlled or changed by the experimenter.

Dependent Variable

An observed result in an experiment that is influenced by the independent variable.

Experimental Group

A group of individuals receiving a specific treatment or possessing a specific characteristic in an experiment.

Control Group

A group identical to an experimental group, except for exposure to the independent variable being tested.

Sampling Error

The difference between results obtained from a tested subset and results obtained from the entire population.

Probability

The measure of the chance that a particular outcome of an event will occur.

Statistically Significant

Describes an experimental result that is very unlikely to have occurred by chance alone.

Scientific Theory

A hypothesis that has not been disproven after many years of rigorous testing and remains consistent with all gathered evidence.

Law of Nature

A description of a natural phenomenon that always occurs under certain specific circumstances.

Proton

A positively charged subatomic particle ($\text{p}^+$) found in the atomic nucleus.

Neutron

An uncharged subatomic particle found in the atomic nucleus.

Electron

A negatively charged subatomic particle ($\text{e}^-$) that moves around the atomic nucleus.

Charge

An electrical property of matter where opposite charges attract and like charges repel.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in the atomic nucleus of a given element.

Element

A pure substance that consists only of atoms with the same atomic number.

Periodic Table

A tabular arrangement of all known chemical elements ordered by their atomic number.

Isotope

A form of an element that differs in the number of neutrons its atoms carry.

Mass Number

The total number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus of an atom.

Radioisotope

An isotope with an unstable nucleus that spontaneously breaks down.

Radioactive Decay

The process in which an unstable atomic nucleus emits energy and/or subatomic particles as it spontaneously breaks up.

Tracer

A substance with a detectable component, such as a radioisotope, used to track biological processes.

Orbital

A volume of space around an atomic nucleus where an electron is most likely to be found.

Shell Model

A visual model depicting energy levels as nested shells populated by electrons around an atom's nucleus.

Free Radical

A solitary atom with an unpaired electron, making it chemically unstable and highly reactive.

Ion

An atom or molecule with an unequal number of protons and electrons, giving it a net overall charge.

Chemical Bond

An attractive force that arises between two atoms when their electrons interact.

Compound

A molecule composed of atoms of more than one element.

Ionic Bond

A type of chemical bond in which a strong mutual attraction links ions of opposite charge.

Polarity

The separation of electrical charge into distinct positive and negative regions in a molecule.

Electronegativity

A measure of the ability of an atom to pull electrons away from other atoms.

Covalent Bond

A type of chemical bond in which two atoms share a pair of electrons.

Hydrogen Bond

An attraction between a covalently bonded hydrogen atom carrying a slight positive charge and another atom carrying a slight negative charge in a separate polar covalent bond.

Hydrophilic

Describes a substance that dissolves easily in water.

Hydrophobic

Describes a nonpolar substance that resists dissolving in water.