Biology and Space Science Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of practice flashcards covering Biological Diversity, Genetics, Ecology, and Astronomy concepts from lecture notes.

Biological Diversity

Refers to all the different types of organisms on Earth.

Ecosystem

A shared environment having biotic and abiotic components living together.

Population

A group of the same species living in a specific area.

Community

A number of populations living in a specific area.

Species

A group of organisms that have the same structures and can reproduce with one another to create viable offspring.

Generalist species

Organisms that are adaptable to many different environments; for example, humans.

Specialist species

Organisms that have highly specialized niches and can become overspecialized, which may lead to extinction if the environment changes; for example, pandas.

Niche

An organism's role or place in the environment, including where it lives, what it eats, what eats it, its range, and its mating habits.

Linnaean Classification

A hierarchy for classifying organisms, ordered as: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Archaea

A domain of unicellular organisms with no nuclei that usually live in extreme niches, such as halophiles (salt), methanogens (methane), and acidophiles (acid).

Bacteria

Microscopic, unicellular prokaryotes with no membrane-bound nucleus or organelles.

Eukarya

Organisms with membrane-bound nuclei and organelles.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit ($+/+$); examples include the tarantula and frog, or the ox and bird.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected ($+/0$); examples include whales and barnacles.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed ($+/-$); an example is a tapeworm and a human.

Asexual reproduction

Reproduction involving one parent that produces offspring identical to itself; it saves energy and produces lots of offspring quickly but offers no variation.

Binary fission

A form of asexual reproduction where a cell splits in two.

Budding

A form of asexual reproduction where a unicellular parent produces offspring as a protrusion of itself.

Spores

Microscopic reproductive cells that can survive harsh conditions and develop into new organisms that are copies of the parent.

Vegetative Reproduction

Reproduction of a seed plant that does not involve seeds, such as runners, suckers, tubers, or rhizomes.

Sexual reproduction

Reproduction involving the union of sex cells (gametes) that results in unique offspring with characteristics from both parents.

Mitosis

Process for regular growth and cell renewal resulting in two identical daughter cells with $46$ chromosomes.

Meiosis

Process that produces four unique daughter cells (gametes) with half the DNA ($23$ chromosomes each).

Zygote

The cell formed by the fertilization of an ovum by a sperm cell.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid, a double-helix molecule founded by Oswald Avery with a backbone made of sugar and phosphate molecules.

Nucleotides

The building blocks of DNA consisting of bases: Guanine ($G$), Cytosine ($C$), Adenine ($A$), and Thiamine ($T$).

Allele

A possible form of a gene.

Purebred

An organism where both parents have the same alleles for a trait.

Hybrid

An organism with two different alleles for a trait.

Genotype

The two-allele code inherited from the parents.

Phenotype

The outward physical appearance of an organism.

Dominant trait

A trait that wins out and shows in the phenotype.

Recessive trait

A trait that does not show in the phenotype unless two copies are present, but remains in the genotype.

Artificial Selection

The process where humans specifically pick and breed plants or animals with desirable traits to produce offspring with those traits.

In-situ conservation

The maintenance of populations of wild organisms within their natural ecosystem.

Ex-situ conservation

The conservation of components of biodiversity outside of their natural habitat, such as in a zoo.

Genetic Engineering

Any technology that directly changes DNA to control the characteristics of an organism by inserting genes from one species into another.

Summer Solstice

The longest day of the year occurring around June $20$ when the sun reaches its highest point.

Winter Solstice

The shortest day of the year occurring around December $21$ when the sun reaches its lowest point.

Equinox

Occurs in Spring (March $20$) and Fall (September $20$) when day and night hours are equal.

Geocentric Model

Aristotle's Earth-centered model of the universe where stars were attached to the outermost sphere.

Heliocentric Model

Copernicus's sun-centered model of the universe that was able to explain planetary motion.

Ellipses

The actual shape of planetary orbits as discovered by Johannes Kepler.

Nebula

A region of space where stars are born from huge accumulations of gas ($75\%$ $H$, $23\%$ $He$) and dust.

Protostar

The early stage of a star where mass is collected and it begins to glow as temperature increases.

Supernova

A massive explosion that marks the death of a massive star.

Galaxy

A grouping of millions or billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity; types include spiral, elliptical, and irregular.

Astronomical Unit (AU)

A unit used to measure local space distances, representing the average distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Sun ($149,599\,km$).

Light Year

The distance light travels in a year ($9.5\text{ trillion }km$), used to measure distances beyond our solar system.

Refracting Telescope

A type of optical telescope that uses two convex lenses to magnify light.

Reflecting Telescope

A type of optical telescope that uses a concave mirror and a convex lens to focus light.

Interferometry

The technique of using multiple telescopes in conjunction to achieve greater, more detailed images of space.

Doppler Effect

The change in frequency of light waves: stars moving toward Earth are blue-shifted (short wavelength/high frequency), while stars moving away are red-shifted (long wavelength/low frequency).

Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS)

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, including Radio, Microwave, Thermal (Infrared), Visible Light (ROYGBIV), UV, X-ray, and Gamma rays.

Azimuth

The compass direction (cardinal directions) used for tracking celestial objects in the sky.