Biology: The Scientific Study of Life - Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on Chapter 1 of Biology: The Scientific Study of Life.

Ailurus fulgens

The scientific name for red pandas, which are well adapted for life in the mountainous forests of Asia.

Biology

The scientific study of life.

Cell

The structural and functional unit of life.

Taxonomists

Scientists who name species and classify them into broader groups.

Domain Bacteria

One of three higher levels of life organization containing organisms with simple cells.

Domain Archaea

One of three higher levels of life organization containing organisms with simple cells.

Domain Eukarya

A domain of life that includes various protists and the kingdoms Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

Emergent properties

New properties that result from the specific arrangement and interactions among component parts in life's hierarchy of organization.

Science

A way of knowing—an approach to understanding the natural world that uses an evidence-based process of inquiry.

Scientific theory

An explanation that is broad in scope and supported by a large body of evidence.

Independent variable

The factor that is manipulated by researchers in an experimental test of a hypothesis.

Dependent variable

The measure used to judge the outcome of an experiment, which depends on the manipulated variable.

Controlled experiment

An experiment that compares an experimental group with a control group.

Technology

The application of scientific knowledge for some specific purpose.

Evolution

The core theme of biology; the process of change that has transformed life on Earth from its earliest forms to the vast array of organisms living today.

Artificial selection

The selective breeding of plants and animals through which humans act as agents of evolution.

DNA

The molecule responsible for heredity and for programming the activities of a cell by providing the blueprint for proteins.

Systems biology

An approach in which scientists attempt to model the behavior of biological systems by analyzing the interactions among their parts.