Biology Playlist Recap Flashcards

Flashcards based on the Biology Playlist Recap video, covering key vocabulary and concepts.

Classification

The process of organizing living organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences. Scientific names are more reliable than common names.

Biological Levels of Organization

The hierarchical organization of living systems, starting from cells and progressing to tissues, organs, organ systems, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere.

Cell Theory

The cell is the smallest living unit in all organisms, all living organisms are made up of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.

Biomolecules

The four major macromolecules essential for life: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Building Blocks: monosaccharides, fatty acid and glycerol, amino acids, and nucleotides.

Enzyme

A biological catalyst, usually a protein, that speeds up chemical reactions by lowering activation energy. Enzymes have an active site where a substrate binds and typically have a specific temperature and pH range that they need to be in to work correctly or can denature.

Prokaryotic Cells

Cells that do not have a nucleus or other membrane-bound organelles. Examples: bacteria and archaea.

Eukaryotic Cells

Cells that have a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. Examples: plants, animals, protists, and fungi.

Cell Membrane (Plasma Membrane)

A selectively permeable barrier that controls what goes in and out of the cell, maintaining homeostasis. It is made up of phospholipids.

Passive Transport

The movement of molecules across the cell membrane without the need for energy (ATP). Examples: simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion.

Active Transport

The movement of molecules across the cell membrane against the concentration gradient, requiring energy (ATP).

Osmosis

The movement of water molecules across a semipermeable membrane from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration, or from a hypotonic area to a hypertonic area.

Mitochondria

Organelles responsible for cellular respiration, the process of breaking down glucose to produce ATP in eukaryotic cells.

Chloroplast

Organelles in plant cells responsible for photosynthesis, the process of converting light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

DNA

A nucleic acid that contains genetic information, found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. Its monomer is a nucleotide. Adenine and thymine pair together; cytosine and guanine pair together.

DNA Replication

The process of making copies of DNA, essential for cell division. Key player enzymes: helicase, primase, and DNA polymerase.

Cell Cycle

The series of events that take place in a cell leading to its division and duplication, including G1, S, G2, and M phases. Cell Cycle Checkpoints include CDK, cyclin, and p53.

Mitosis

A type of cell division that results in two identical daughter cells, used for growth and repair. PMAT mnemonic can help recall the stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that results in four genetically different haploid gametes (sperm and egg cells), critical for sexual reproduction. PMAT happens twice in meiosis. Crossing over happens during prophase I.

Allele

A variant form of a gene. Alleles are either dominant or recessive. For example, when treating the trait of tasting the chemical PTC as a single-gene trait, the alleles could be tasting (T) or not tasting (t).

Mendelian Inheritance

Basic patterns of inheritance involving dominant and recessive alleles. Can be investigated by using a Punnett square.

Non-Mendelian Inheritance

Inheritance patterns that do not follow Mendel's laws, including sex-linked traits, multiple alleles, incomplete dominance, and codominance.

Incomplete Dominance

A form of inheritance where the heterozygote phenotype is a blend of the two homozygous phenotypes. There is not complete dominance when both alleles are present.

Codominance

A form of inheritance where both alleles are equally expressed in the heterozygote phenotype, showing both traits distinctly.

Pedigree

A diagram that tracks a trait of interest in a family, used to determine if a trait is sex-linked or autosomal.

Protein Synthesis

The process of making proteins from DNA, involving two major steps: transcription (mRNA synthesis) and translation (polypeptide synthesis).

Codon

A sequence of three bases on mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid.

Mutation

A change in the DNA sequence that can be neutral, harmful, or beneficial. Gene mutations include substitution, deletion, or insertion. Chromosomal mutations include duplication, deletion, inversion, and translocation.

Natural Selection

A mechanism of evolution where organisms with traits that result in high reproductive fitness tend to be more frequent in a population over time; acts on populations.

Genetic Drift

A mechanism of evolution where the organisms that survive and have offspring were randomly selected; includes the bottleneck effect and founder effect.

Bacteria

Unicellular prokaryotes that can be autotrophs or heterotrophs. Some act as pathogens, although not all bacteria are harmful. Bacteria can be circular, spiral, or rod-shaped.

Virus

A non-cellular entity with genetic material (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat (capsid). It requires a host to reproduce and reproduces using the lytic or lysogenic cycle.

Archaea

Unicellular prokaryotes that can live in extreme environments and can be either autotrophs or heterotrophs.

Protists

Mostly unicellular eukaryotes that can be autotrophs or heterotrophs.

Fungi

Typically multicellular eukaryotes that are heterotrophs and act as decomposers.

Three Domains of Life

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Taxonomy Levels

Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. Scientific names are more reliable than common names.

Vascular Plants

Plants that have two major types of vessels: the xylem which carries water and the pholem, which can carry photosynthesis products such as sugar throughout the plant.

Stomata

Pores in plants that have a major role in gas exchange. Gases like carbon dioxide can flow in through these openings.

Angiosperms

Flowering plants that reproduce sexually. Angiosperms typically have petals to attract pollinators, and sepals which protect the developing flower bud. Male parts of the flower include the anther and filament; female parts include the stigma, style, and ovary.

Double Fertilization

Fertilization in angiosperms where one sperm cell fertilizes an egg, giving rise to a zygote, and another sperm cell fertilizes two polar nuclei, giving rise to the endosperm.

Food Chain

A sequence of organisms through which energy flows, starting with producers (autotrophs) and moving to consumers (heterotrophs).

Energy Pyramid

A graphical representation of the energy flow in a food chain, with producers at the bottom and decreasing energy levels at higher trophic levels. Each trophic level only receives approximately 10% of the energy from the level below.

Food Web

A complex network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.

Ecological Succession

The process, over time, of organisms in an ecological community. Primary succession involved succession starting with brand new, soil-less land, whereas secondary ecological succession involves succession starting with previously inhabited land that had its ecological community disturbed.

Carbon Cycle

The biogeochemical cycle of carbon, involving processes like photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and combustion.

Nitrogen Cycle

The biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen, involving processes like nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.

Predation

An ecological relationship where one organism (the predator) hunts and consumes another organism (the prey).

Competition

An ecological relationship where different organisms compete for the same limited resources.

Symbiotic Relationships

Specific types of relationships where different species live together: commensalism (one benefits, the other is neutral), parasitism (one benefits, the other is harmed), and mutualism (both benefit).

Human Body Systems

A group of organs that work together to perform a specific function in the human body. Examples include the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, excretory, immune/lymphatic, integumentary, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, and skeletal systems.