Campbell Biology in Focus AP Edition Chapter 1: Introduction: Evolution and the Foundations of Biology Terms

evolution

the process of change that has transformed life from its beginning to its current form; descent w/ modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in genetic composition of a population from generation to generation

biology

the scientific study of life

biosphere

all life on Earth and places on Earth where life exists

ecosystem

all the living things in a particular area & non-living components which interact w/ those living organisms (ex. soil, light, water, etc.)

communities

the array of organisms (species) inhabiting a particular ecosystem

population

the number of individuals of a given species living in a specified area (community)

organims

individual living things

reductionism

the approach of reducing complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study

emergent properties

new properties that arise at each step upward in the hierarchy of life due to the arrangements and interactions of parts as complexity increases

systems biology

an approach to studying biology that aims to model dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system's parts

organ

a body part that carries out a specific function in the body; organs of complex plants and animals are organized into organ systems; organs consist of multiple types of tissues

organ system

a group of organs that cooperate in a larger function

tissues

a group of cells which work together to perform specialized functions

cell

life's fundamental unit of structure and function

organelles

the various functional components present in cells

molecules

a chemical structure consisting of two or more units called atoms

eukaryotic cell

a type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; organisms w/ eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes

prokaryotic cell

a type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclose organelles; organisms w/ prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes

DNA (deoxyribose nucleic acid)

a nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers w/ a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell's proteins

gene

a discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)

gene expression

the process by which information encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins, or in some cases, RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as RNAs

genome

the genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism's or virus's genes along w/ its noncoding nucleic acid sequences

genomics

the study of whole sets of genes and their interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons b/w species

proteomics

the systematic study of the full protein sets (proteomes) encoded by genomes

proteome

the entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism

bioinformatics

the use of computational tools to store, organize, and analyze the huge volume of date resulting from high-throughput methods

climate change

a directional change in temperature, precipitation, or other aspect of the global climate that lasts for three decades or more

Archaea

one of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Bacteria

Bacteria

one of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Archaea

Eukarya

the domain that includes all eukaryotic organims

natural selection

a process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits

science

an approach to understanding the natural world

inquiry

the search for information and explanation, often focusing on specific questions

data

recorded observations

inductive reasoning

a type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations; specific --> broad

hypothesis

a testable explanation for a set of observations based on the available data and guided by inductive reasoning; a hypothesis is narrower in scope than a theory

experiment

a scientific test; often carried out under controlled conditions that involve manipulating one factor in a system in order to see the effects of changing that factor

deductive reasoning

a type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise; broad --> specific; "If..then" hypothesis reasoning

controlled experiment

an experiment designed to compare an experimental group w/ a control group; ideally, the two groups differ only in the factor being tested

variable

a factor that varies during an experiement

independent variable

a factor whose value is manipulated or changed during an experiment to reveal possible effects on another factor (the dependent variable)

dependent variable

a factor whose value is measured in an experiment to see whether it is influenced by changes in another factor (the independent variable)

scientific theory

an explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence

technology

the application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research