Science 10 Term 2 Reviewer: Carrying Capacity and Biotechnology

Vocabulary flashcards covering ecosystem carrying capacity, population dynamics, traditional biotechnology, and modern biotechnology from the Science 10 Term 2 reviewer.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living and reproducing in the same area at the same time.

Population Density

Refers to the number of individuals living in a specific area, calculated using the formula: $\text{Population Density} = \frac{\text{Number of Individuals}}{\text{Area}}$.

Carrying Capacity (K)

The maximum number of organisms that an environment can sustainably support based on available resources and environmental conditions.

Limiting Factor

Anything that restricts the growth or size of a population.

Density-Dependent Factors

Factors that become stronger as population density increases, such as competition, disease, predation, and parasitism.

Density-Independent Factors

Factors that affect populations regardless of population density, such as drought, flood, typhoon, earthquake, wildfire, and extreme temperature.

Exponential Growth

Population growth that increases rapidly when resources are abundant, represented by a J-shaped curve.

Logistic Growth

Population growth that slows as it approaches the carrying capacity, represented by an S-shaped curve through lag, exponential, and deceleration stages.

Overshoot

Occurs when a population becomes larger than the environment's carrying capacity, which may lead to resource depletion, starvation, disease, and population decline.

Environmental Resistance

Factors that prevent unlimited population growth, such as limited food, lack of water, competition, disease, predation, and limited space.

Biotechnology

The use of living organisms, cells, or biological processes to produce useful products and technologies.

Traditional Biotechnology

Biotechnology that mainly uses natural biological processes and breeding techniques.

Fermentation

A metabolic process in which microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria convert carbohydrates into useful products.

Nata de Coco

A chewy, translucent, jelly-like food product made through the bacterial fermentation of coconut water.

Komagataeibacter xylinus

The important microorganism used in making nata de coco that produces bacterial cellulose to give it its characteristic texture.

Selective Breeding

The process of choosing organisms with desirable characteristics and breeding them to produce offspring with those characteristics.

Pure Breeding

Involves mating organisms from the same breed or variety that consistently possess desired characteristics in order to maintain specific traits.

Hybridization

Crossing different varieties, breeds, or species to combine desirable characteristics.

Mutation Breeding

Uses physical or chemical mutagens, such as radiation or certain chemicals, to create genetic variation.

Modern Biotechnology

Uses advanced techniques involving DNA, genes, cells, and molecular processes to directly manipulate genetic material.

Genetic Engineering

Involves directly modifying an organism's genetic material to produce a desired characteristic.

Recombinant DNA Technology

Technology that combines genetic material from different sources, commonly applied in inserting the human insulin gene into a microorganism to produce insulin.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

An organism whose genetic material has been deliberately changed using biotechnology.

Bt Crops

Crops containing a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that allows the plant to produce a protein that kills certain insect pests.

Gene Editing

A technique that allows scientists to make targeted changes to DNA, such as CRISPR.

Bioremediation

The use of living organisms, especially microorganisms, to remove or break down pollutants such as petroleum from oil spills.

Embryonic Stem Cells

Stem cells that have broad differentiation potential and can develop into many types of cells, raising ethical concerns involving the moral status of embryos.

Adult Stem Cells

Stem cells found in developed tissues that generally have more limited differentiation potential.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

Mature adult cells that have been reprogrammed into a pluripotent state for use in disease modeling, drug testing, and regenerative medicine.

Gene Flow

The potential movement of genes from genetically modified organisms into related populations, which may create unintended ecological effects.