BIOL 101-02 Final Terms

Homeostasis

The ability of the body to maintain balances conditions through negative (mostly) and positive (special event) feedback control

Hydrogen Bond

A weak attraction b/t the H and O atoms in different water molecules

pH

a measure of the acidity or basicity in a solution:

__ > 7 ~ basic

__ < 7 ~ acidic

__ = 7 ~ neutral

Nutrients

Substances in foods that provide structural materials or energy

Dietary Fiber

Non-starch complex carbohydrates that people cannot digest

Essential Amino Acid

(Protein) Cannot make by ourselves; Must obtain from food

Trans Fat

Artificially produced; Straight-chain unsaturated fats in a trans form

Demographic Transition

A decrease in death rate is followed by a decrease in birth rate

Sister Chromatids

Duplicated chromosomes held together at the centromere

Seismonasty

A type of nastic movement in plants that occurs in response to mechanical stimuli such as touch, shaking, wounding, or sudden movements

Phototropism

Plants toward the light to maximize the light intercept for photosynthesis

Diaphragm

A thin dome-shaped skeletal muscle that separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities

Alveoli

Tiny air sacs at the end of bronchioles in the lungs, forming the primary site of gas exchange between inhaled air and the bloodstream

Nephron

The basic functional unit of the kidney, responsible for filtering blood and producing urine; looped tubules

Dialysis

Clinical purification of blood as a substitute; works on the principles of the diffusion of solutes across a semipermeable membrane; require 4 hrs each time, once every 3 days

Gonad

A sex gland that produces gametes (reproductive cells)

Ovulation

The release of an ovum from the ovary in the middle of the menstrual cycle; occurs 10-12 hours after the LH peak

Monocotyledon (Monocot)

Seedlings with one cotyledon (seed-leaf)

Carrying Capacity

The maximum # of individuals that can be supported in a given environment; if all plant growth fed humans and nothing else, earth’s resources can support a human population of 20 billion people

Calorie (Capital C)

1 kilocalorie = 1000 calories; used on nutritional labels → Nutritional labels and food science generally use __ to represent the energy content of food.

calorie (small c)

A unit of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius

Biodiversity

Degree of variation of life forms within a given area; affected in part by climate; at species, ecosystems, and genetic levels

Mutualism

A symbolic interaction b/t species in which both benefit

Autotrophic

Producer of organic matter from inorganic substances (minerals, gases)

(Ecological) Succession

The structure of the community evolves over time

Primary Succession

(Permanent) The colonization of habitats devoid of life

Secondary Succession

The re-establishment of a community that does not eliminate all life

Habitat

An ecological area that is inhabited by a particular species