Honors Biology Spring 2026 Final Exam Practice Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts from the Honors Biology Spring 2026 Final Exam Study Guide, including human anatomy, ecology, evolution, genetics, and cell biology fundamentals.

Umbilical Cord

Transports waste and nutrients between the placenta and the fetus.

Pinnae

Ears that funnel sound into the ear.

External Nares

Nose holes that allow for breathing and respiration.

Mammary Papillae/Teats

Nipples on the tummy that allow for breastfeeding.

Urogenital opening

In males, a hole under the umbilical cord that allows for the penis and urine to leave the body.

Scrotum

Male structure that keeps testicles cool for sperm production.

Genital Papillum

Female structure that funnels urine away from the pig’s body.

Digestive System

Breaks food into nutrients for growth, energy, and repair, and handles the removal of waste.

Mechanical Digestion

Breaks down food physically, such as through chewing.

Chemical Digestion

Breaks food pieces down chemically for absorption.

Circulatory System

Spreads oxygen, nutrients, and waste throughout the body.

Respiratory System

Supplies $O_2$ and removes $CO_2$.

Urinary System

Responsible for waste removal, fluid balance, and PH regulation.

Skeletal System

Provides structure, protects vital organs, enables movement, stores minerals, and makes blood cells.

Endocrine System

Releases hormones that regulate metabolism, growth, reproduction, sleep, and mood.

Integumentary System

Protects the body from physical, chemical, and biological threats; helps regulate temperature and enables sensory perception.

Abiotic Factors

Non-living factors in an environment, such as the sun, rocks, and oxygen.

Biotic Factors

Living factors in an environment, such as plants, animals, and bacteria.

Autotroph (Producer)

An organism that produces its own food.

Heterotroph

An organism that must consume other organisms in order to obtain energy.

Fossil Record

A record of the history of life on Earth used as scientific evidence for evolution.

Homologous structures

Features that are similar in structure but appear in different organisms and have different functions.

Analogous structures

Structures that perform a similar function but are not similar in origin.

Vestigial structures

Remnants of organs or structures that had a function in an early ancestor.

Fitness

The ability to survive and reproduce.

Speciation

The evolutionary process by which new, distinct species arise from a single ancestral species.

Genetic Drift

A random change in allele frequency in a population.

Artificial Selection

Process by which humans intentionally choose organisms with desirable traits to breed.

Convergent Evolution

Species become more similar over time.

Divergent Evolution

Species become more different over time.

Coevolution

When two species evolve together for each other.

Monosomy

A genetic disorder where an individual is missing one chromosome, such as Monosomy X (Turner syndrome).

Trisomy

A genetic disorder where an individual has one extra chromosome, such as Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome).

Incomplete Dominance

Neither allele is dominant over the other, so they both mix (e.g., Red + White = Purple flower).

Codominance

Condition where both alleles are dominant so both traits are shown (e.g., spotted chickens).

Independent Variable

The variable being changed in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable being measured in an experiment.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of stable internal conditions in spite of changes in the external environment.

Positive Loop

A feedback loop where the body responds to a change by amplifying it, pushing the process further, such as in childbirth.

Negative Loop

A feedback loop where the body responds to a change by reversing it to maintain balance.

Condensation reaction

Chemical reaction in which small units are linked to make larger molecules.

Hydrolysis reaction

Chemical reaction in which large polymers are broken down into smaller units.

Carbohydrate

Molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 1:2:1 ratio (e.g., $C_6H_{12}O_6$) used mainly for energy.

Lipid

Hydrophobic molecules such as fats, oils, and waxes used for long-term energy storage and cell membranes.

Protein

Large biological molecules made of amino acids that build and repair tissues and act as enzymes.

Nucleic Acid

Large molecules like DNA and RNA that store and transmit genetic information.

Prokaryote

An organism without a nucleus.

Eukaryote

An organism with a nucleus.

Cell Membrane

A selectively permeable structure made of phospholipids with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails.

Central Dogma

The process describing the flow of genetic information: DNA to RNA to Protein.

DNA Replication Enzymes

Enzymes responsible for copying DNA, including Helicase, DNA Polymerase, Ligase, and Primase.