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Vascular Plants

Plants that have a vascular system, including xylem and phloem for transporting water and nutrients.

Bryophytes

Nonvascular plants, such as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, that typically reproduce via spores.

Cambrian Explosion

A relatively short evolutionary event during which most major animal phyla appeared, around 540 million years ago.

Protists

Eukaryotic organisms that are not classified as animals, plants, or fungi and can be unicellular or multicellular.

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that produce organic molecules through photosynthesis.

Xylem

Vascular tissue in plants that transports water and minerals from the roots to the leaves.

Phloem

Vascular tissue in plants that transports sugars from leaves to other parts of the plant.

Gymnosperms

Seed-producing plants that have seeds which are not enclosed in an ovary; examples include conifers.

Angiosperms

Flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within an ovary (fruit).

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.

Aerobic Respiration

The process of producing cellular energy with oxygen; it involves the breakdown of glucose to produce ATP.

Complete Digestive System

A digestive system that has two openings (mouth and anus), allowing for a continuous flow of food.

Enzymes

Biological molecules that act as catalysts to speed up biochemical reactions by lowering activation energy.

Absorption

The process by which nutrients are taken up from the digestive tract into the bloodstream.

Homeostasis

The body's ability to maintain stable internal conditions despite changes in the external environment.

Cardiovascular System

The system comprised of the heart and blood vessels which transports blood throughout the body.

Blood Pressure

The pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels.

Fungi

Eukaryotic organisms that absorb nutrients from external sources, consisting of a network of filaments called hyphae.

Metamorphosis

Developmental process in which animals undergo significant changes in body structure as they mature.

Symbiosis

An ecological relationship between organisms of different species that live together in close proximity.

Carnivores

Organisms that primarily consume meat as their main dietary source.

Heterotrophic Organisms

Organisms that cannot produce their own food and must obtain it by consuming other organisms.

Sporophyte

The diploid generation in the plant life cycle that produces spores.

Gametophyte

The haploid generation in the plant life cycle that produces gametes.