DIVE Biology Quarterly Exam 1

acid

A substance with a pH less than 7, that donates a hydrogen ion when dissolved in water.

base

A substance with a pH of 8 or greater, that accepts protons.

buffer

A solution that maintains its pH properties when a strong acid or strange base is added.

pH

It is the measure of acidity or basicity of a solutions.

energy

The ability or capacity to do work.

entropy

The measure of disorder that is present in a system.

diffusion

When particles spread out to evenly fill a space.

First Law of Thermodynamics

States that energy can be converted from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed.

osmosis

Diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane, from an area of low solute concentration, to an area of higher solute concentration.

solution

A homogeneous mixture that is made up of a solute dissolved in a solvent.

semipermeable membrane

A membrane that allows certain particles to pass through, but not others.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

While the amount of energy in closed system remains constant, the entropy increases as some energy is converted into an unusable form.

solute

A substance that is dissolved into a solvent to form a solute.

solvent

A solid, liquid, or gas that can dissolve particles to form a solution.

exothermic

A reaction that releases energy, in the form of heat.

endothermic

1)Known as "warm blooded", animals that generate heat internally, and maintain a constant body temperature. 2) A reaction that absorbs energy, in the form of heat.

catalyst

It helps a reaction to proceed, but the catalyst itself is not changed.

colloid

A mixture in which one substance made up of very small particles in the dispersed phase is evenly dispersed throughout the continuous phase.

activation energy

The minimum amount of energy that is required to start a chemical reaction.

Heredity

The transmission of traits and characteristics from parents to their offspring.

allele

Multiple forms of the same gene, that occupy the same locus, but have unique characteristics.

epiallele

Any of two or more genetically identical alleles that are epigenetically distinct due to DNA methylation.

locus

Identifies a specific location of a gene, or allele, on a chromosome.

first filial generation

Known as the F1 generation, it is the first generation of offspring from a specific cross of parents.

second filial generation

Offspring created by crossing two members of the F1 generation.

genotype

The genetic composition of alleles concerned with a specific trait.

phenotype

A physical trait or characteristic that is determined by the genotype.

dominant trait

Requires the presence of only one gene, inherited from one parent, to manifest itself.

recessive trait

Will only manifest itself if the same gene is inherited from both parents.

homozygous

When both alleles are identical.

heterozygous

When each allele is different, meaning it carries the dominant and recessive trait.

monohybrid cross

A cross where only one trait is being tracked.

dihybrid cross

A cross where two hybrid characteristics are being considered.

pedigree

The phenotypes of a given organism and its ancestors, that can be used to track various traits.

codominance

When neither allele completely masks the other, and both contribute to the phenotype.

multiple gene interaction

When two or more different genes each have an impact on a given trait.

pleiotropy

When one gene has influence in multiple phenotypes.

sex-linked traits

A trait from an allele that is only carried by one gender.

sex chromosomes

Chromosomes which determine the sex of an organism.

principle of segregation

Each gamete receives only one allele, so that each offspring receives one allele from each parent.

principle of independent assortment

Alleles of different genes, on different chromosomes, behave independently in the production of gametes.

sperm

Male reproductive cells, or gametes.

ovum

A female reproductive cell, or gamete.

gametes

In organisms that reproduce sexually, it is a cell that fuses with another during fertilization.

isogametes

Reproductive cells that are of similar size and shape from both sexes.

heterogametes

Male and female reproductive cells, the smaller sperm fertilizes the larger egg.

fertilization

The union of a sperm and an egg, that produces a zygote.

spermatogenesis

The development and continuous production of sperm cells.

oogenesis

Similar to meiosis, but the sizes of the cells are different, the end result being 3 polar bodies and one ovum.

crossing over

An exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes.

sexual reproduction

A union of haploid gametes.

clone

An exact genetic copy of an organism or cell.

zygote

The initial cell that is produced by the fusion of two gametes in sexual reproduction.

Prophase

During this phase, sister chromatids begin to coil up.

metaphase

Sister chromatids line up along the equatorial plane.

anaphase

Daughter chromosomes migrate to opposite ends of the cell, pulled by kinetochore fibers.

telophase

Chromosomes begin to uncoil, and the nuclear membrane starts to re-form around the daughter chromosomes.

cytokinesis

final phase of cell division when cytoplasm divides, and two daughter cells are formed.

interphase

Consists of the three stages, G1-growth, S-replication, and G2 - mitosis preparation.

mitosis

The process by which a cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus into two identical sets in two nuclei.

centromere

The middle of a cell, where the sister chromatids line up to attach to each other.

sister chromatids

Pairs of attached chromosomes that are lined up at the centromere and are ready to split.

daughter chromosomes

Sister chromatids that have split.

daughter cells

The result of cell division, and each daughter cell is capable of dividing again.

homologous

Similar, they share the same characteristics in the same order.

haploid

A cell that contains a single set of unpaired chromosomes.

diploid

Cells that contain two sets of chromosomes.

genetics

The study of heredity.

gene

Genes are made up of DNA.

chromosome

Located inside the nucleus of a cell, it consists of a long, thin section made up of thousands of genes.

epigenetics

The study of chemical factors involved in gene expression, that produce both differences in cell types within an organism (somatic epigenetics), as well as heritable changes not caused by DNA mutations (germline epigenetics).

anabolism

Energy is used to create products.

catabolism

Products are broken down, and energy is released.

metabolism

It is the difference between rates of anabolism and catabolism.

transcription

The process by which messenger RNA (mRNA) is formed from DNA.

translation

The mRNA carries the code from the DNA inside the nucleus to the ribosome in the cytoplasm.

DNA replication

The process by which all living organisms copy their DNA.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid; involved in the synthesis of protein, this single stranded molecule is transcribed from a strand of DNA.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid; it contains the genetic blueprints for all living organisms.

messenger RNA

RNA that is transcribed from a DNA template, and carries coding information to the ribosomes.

transfer RNA

An RNA molecule that binds to specific amino acids and delivers them to the appropriate codon in the mRNA.

ribosomal RNA

It coordinates the process in which the tRNA delivers the amino acids to the appropriate mRNA codon.

codon

Made up of 3 bases on a mRNA molecule, it is the code for a specific amino acid.

anticodon

Contained on tRNA, they are a compliment to the codon.

homeostasis

When the rate of anabolism equals that of catabolism, and amount of energy being stored is the same amount that is being released.

exon

Sections of the DNA base that contain the coding information for amino acid sequences, they are separated by introns.

intron

A non-coding sequence of DNA that divides exons.

spliceosome

A molecular machine responsible for splicing together exons by removing the non-coding introns.

polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

A method of producing thousands of copies of DNA segment using the enzyme DNA polymerase.

autotroph

Organisms that make their own food; self-feeding.

heterotroph

Organisms that depend on other organisms for food.

ADP

Produced when ATP loses one of its phosphate groups, it is a lower energy form of ATP.

ATP

Adenosine Triphosphate. Energy released from digested food molecules is converted to ATP, which can be used in smaller increments.

photosynthesis

The conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the form of glucose.

respiration

Creating useable cellular energy by converting glucose to ATP.

chlorophyll

The green pigment in plants that absorbs solar energy.

chemosynthesis

Similar to photosynthesis, it is the process of a plant converting other chemicals to glucose.

photolysis

In photosynthesis, the process by which water is split into hydrogen, oxygen, and electrons.

C3 pathway

Also known as the Calvin cycle, it is the light independent step of photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is used to produce sugars.

C4 pathway

A pathway of photosynthesis that can take place in lower concentrations of carbon dioxide.