Life Sciences Unit 1 - Taxonomy

Biosphere

The global sum of all ecosystems.

Biome

A large geographical biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions.

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Community

A group of different species that live together in one area.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area.

Organism

An individual living entity that can react to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and maintain homeostasis.

Bacteria

Prokaryotic microorganisms that are unicellular and lack a nucleus.

Species

A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Genus

A taxonomic category ranking above species and below family.

Family

A taxonomic rank in the biological classification that groups together related genera.

Order

A taxonomic rank used in the biological classification that groups together related families.

Class

A taxonomic rank that groups together related orders.

Phylum

A taxonomic rank that groups together related classes.

Kingdom

A taxonomic rank that groups together related phyla.

Homologous traits

Traits that stem from a common ancestor.

Speciation

The evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species.

Cladogram

A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among various biological species based on similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.

Dichotomous key

A tool that allows the identification of organisms based on a series of choices that lead the user to the correct name of a given item.

Eukaryotic cells

Cells that make up organisms have nuclei.

Antibiotics

Medications that are effective against bacteria.

Modern cell theory

All living things are made of cells.

Prokaryote

A type of cell that does not have a nucleus.

Eukaryotes

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus.

Protists

Eukaryotes that can move and may be autotrophic or heterotrophic.

Fungi

Eukaryotic organisms that are only heterotrophs and can be multicellular or unicellular.

Dichotomous Key

A tool used to identify organisms by answering a series of questions.

Differences between Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells

Eukaryotic cells are more complex and larger.

Prokaryotic cells

Do not have a nucleus and lack membrane-bound organelles.

Photosynthesis in protists

Protists in aquatic environments act as important producers for oxygen.

Problematic protists

Can cause diseases in humans, such as malaria in mosquitoes.

Archaea

Prokaryotic microorganisms, unicellular organisms that live in extreme environments, they are not bacteria, can be both heterotrophs and autotrophs.

Differences between Archaea and bacteria

Archaea have a unique membrane structure and do not have peptidoglycan.

Germ layers

Three layers: Ectoderm, Mesoderm, and Endoderm.

Porifera

sponges; aquatic; adults are sessile; porous body; oxygen and food passes through.

Nematoda

nematodes.

Arthropoda

huge environmental impact; aquatic and terrestrial environments; bilateral symmetry; cephalization; true coelom; protostomes; two gut openings (anus and mouth).

Radial symmetry

divide like a pie.

Bilateral symmetry

left and right side are very similar.

Cephalization

nervous system tissue is concentrated in the head.

Triploblastic Animals

have a coelom; body cavity derived from the mesoderm filled with fluid and acts as designated space for organs. They also have three germ layers that eventually develop into different structures of the animal.

Phylum Cnidaria

Jellyfish; aquatic (salt or fresh water); one gut opening (mouth and anus); intercellular digestion.

Echinodermata

aquatic (salt water); larvae are bilateral; most adults are radial; first embryonic opening (blastopore) is the mouth; second opening is the anus.

Platyhelminthes

flat worms; aquatic (fresh and salt); one gut opening; bilateral symmetry; have cephalization; no coelom.

Annelida

worms; aquatic and terrestrial; segmented, external rings; bilateral symmetry; cephalization; true coelom.

Chordata

notocord animals; aquatic, terrestrial, fly; bilateral symmetry; cephalization; true coelom; deuterostomes.

Autotrophs

make their own food; make organic substances such as glucose from inorganic substances (carbon dioxide); source of energy is light. (Photosynthesis)

Heterotrophs

consume organic matter; includes animals, some protists, fungi, some bacteria, some archaea.

Photosynthesis

process used by autotrophs to produce energy.

Homologous

stem from a common ancestor.

Phylogenetic Tree

A tree structure to demonstrate evolutionary relations between all living species.

Binomial Nomenclature

A system for giving each organism a two-word scientific name that consists of the genus name followed by the species name

Multicellular organisms

made of many cells (can see with the human eye)

Binomial nomenclature

two terms used to name a species (genus and species).

Domain

highest, most inclusive level of taxonomy ranking.

Morphological Structures

study of the form, structure, external appearance of an organism.

What are the three domains?

1. Bacteria

2. Archaea

3. Eukarya

What are the four kingdoms?

1. Protista

2. Fungi

3. Plantae

4. Animalia

Unicellular organisms

Organisms consisting of a single cell, microscopic in size

Glutenburg Bible

oldest book in the world.

Who was Adam?

The first taxonomist (kind of). "God created, Linnaeus ordered" - Carl Linnaeus

What are the differences between Archaea and Bacteria?

1. membrane structure is different

2. archaea membranes contain ether linkage, not ester linkage.

3. archaea have a lipid monolayer (one), instead of a bilayer (two)

4. Archaea have a unique cell wall, they don't have peptidoglycan.

5. Archaea have genetic material arranged in a circle

Protostomes

The mouth is the first embryonic opening, second opening is the anus.

Deuterostomes

First embryonic opening is the anus, the second is the mouth.

Divergent

Organisms that are both autotrophs and heterotrophs.