Chapter 1: A View of Life - Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental themes in biology, biological hierarchy, energy transfer, classification, and scientific methodology based on lecture notes.

Biology

The scientific study of life.

Cell Theory

The fundamental biological principle stating that cells are the basic units of life, all living organisms consist of one or more cells, nothing smaller than a cell is alive, and cells originate solely from the division of pre-existing cells.

Metabolism

The process through which all living organisms assimilate energy and utilize it to grow or construct their bodies.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a relatively stable internal physiological environment within an organism.

Biological Species Concept

A species concept defining a species as a population of organisms that can interbreed.

Population

A group of individuals belonging to the same species that are reproductively isolated.

Community

All the populations of different species that interact within a specified area.

Ecosystem

A biological community along with the physical environment with which it interacts.

Biomes

A collection of ecosystems existing within a particular climate region.

Theory of Natural Selection

The evolutionary mechanism where heritable variations providing a survival or reproductive advantage increase in frequency over generations, causing populations to diverge over time.

Energy

In physics, the capacity or ability to perform work.

Trophic Energy Transfer

The transfer of stored chemical energy between consumption levels in an ecosystem, in which approximately $10\%$ of energy from one trophic level is passed to the next.

Biomagnification

The progressive concentration of persistent, fat-soluble toxins in tissue at higher trophic levels in a food web (also known as bioamplification or bioaccumulation).

Carolus Linnaeus

An 18th-century scientist (1707-1778) known as the Father of Taxonomy who devised binomial nomenclature and a hierarchical biological classification system.

Binomial Nomenclature

A two-word scientific naming system in which an organism is identified by its capitalized genus followed by its lowercase specific epithet.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

The eight-level system used to classify living organisms: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.

Prokaryotes

Single-celled organisms lacking a membrane-bound nucleus, linear DNA, internal membrane systems, cytoskeleton, and organelle compartmentalization.

Eukaryotes

Organisms whose cells contain linear DNA within a double-membrane nuclear envelope, complex internal membranes, membrane-bound organelles, and a cytoskeleton.

Domain Archaea

A domain of prokaryotic organisms lacking peptidoglycan cell walls, containing branched isoprene membrane lipids, possessing genes with introns, and often inhabiting extreme environments.

Domain Bacteria

A domain of single-celled prokaryotes featuring peptidoglycan in their cell walls, unbranched membrane lipids, no genetic introns, and a single type of RNA polymerase.

Kingdom Fungi

A kingdom within Domain Eukarya comprising non-photosynthetic, heterotrophic multicellular or unicellular eukaryotes with cell walls composed of chitin.

Scientific Method

A systematic four-step process for investigating natural phenomena comprising Observation, Hypothesis, Controlled Experimentation, and Conclusion.

Hypothesis

A proposed, testable, and falsifiable statement or explanation formulated to address an observation or question.

Experimental Control

A baseline group or setup in an experiment used to verify that observed experimental outcomes are solely attributable to the single tested variable.

Scientific Theory

A comprehensive, cohesive, and extensively tested explanation supported by repeated experimental evidence across scientific disciplines.