Unit 1: Chapters 1-2 Biological and Chemical Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards created from lecture notes covering key biological themes, scientific inquiry, and fundamental chemical context from Chapters 1 and 2.

Biology

The scientific study of life.

Emergent Properties

New properties that result from the arrangements and interactions of parts within a system.

Cell

The smallest unit of organization that can perform all activities required for life.

Eukaryotic Cell

A type of cell with membrane-enclosed organelles, the largest of which is usually the nucleus.

Prokaryotic Cell

A simpler and usually smaller cell that does not contain a nucleus or other membrane-enclosed organelles.

Genes

The units of inheritance.

Gene Expression

The process of converting information from a gene to a cellular product, such as a protein.

Consumers

Organisms that feed on other organisms or their remains.

Negative Feedback

The most common form of regulation in living organisms, in which the response reduces the initial stimulus.

Positive Feedback

A form of regulation in which an end product speeds up its own production.

Taxonomy

The branch of biology that names and classifies species into a hierarchical order.

Protists

The most numerous and diverse eukaryotes, which are mostly single-celled organisms.

Data

Recorded observations on which scientific inquiry is based.

Qualitative Data

Recorded observations that may be in the form of descriptions.

Quantitative Data

Recorded observations that are generally recorded as numerical measurements and organized into tables and graphs.

Inductive Reasoning

A logical process of drawing conclusions where repeating specific observations leads to important generalizations.

Hypothesis

An explanation, based on observations and assumptions, that leads to a testable prediction.

Experiment

A scientific test carried out under controlled conditions.

Deductive Reasoning

A type of logic that uses general premises to make specific predictions.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or changed by researchers.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is measured and affected in response to the independent variable.

Theory

An explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, general enough to generate new hypotheses, and supported by a large body of evidence.

Matter

Anything that takes up space and has mass.

Element

A substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions.

Compound

A substance consisting of two or more elements in a fixed ratio.

Trace Elements

Elements required by an organism but only in minute quantities.

Atom

The smallest unit of matter that still retains the properties of an element.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in the nucleus of an element's atom.

Mass Number

The sum of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Atomic Mass

The total mass of an atom, which can be approximated by its mass number.

Isotopes

Two atoms of an element that differ in the number of neutrons.

Radioactive Isotopes

Isotopes that decay spontaneously, giving off particles and energy.

Valence Electrons

Electrons located in the outermost shell, or valence shell, of an atom.

Covalent Bond

The sharing of a pair of valence electrons by two atoms.

Molecule

Two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which the atoms share the electrons equally.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which one atom is more electronegative, causing the atoms to share electrons unequally.

Ion

A charged atom or molecule.

Cation

A positively charged ion.

Anion

A negatively charged ion.

Ionic Bond

An attraction between an anion and a cation.

Hydrogen Bond

A bond formed when a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to one electronegative atom is also attracted to another electronegative atom.

Van der Waals Interactions

Attractions between molecules that are close together as a result of transient, unevenly distributed electron charges.

Reactants

The starting molecules of a chemical reaction.

Products

The final molecules of a chemical reaction.