worldview
the overarching narrative that a person uses to see and interpret the world
life science
the study of life
naturalism
the belief that all things were made by natural processes
Creation Mandate
God's command given to mankind in Gen. 1:28 to exercise dominion over the world by wisely using the resources God has placed here.
Ethics
the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions
Organism
Any living thing
Cell
Basic unit of life
Unicellular
Made of a single cell
Multicellular
Made up of more than one cell.
Homeostasis
process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment
prokaryotic cell
A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; found only in the domains Bacteria and Archaea.
Eukaryotic cell
A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Examples of organisms with these cells are protists, plants, fungi, and animals.
Organelle
the usually-membrane surrounded structures in a eukaryotic cell that perform special functions
cell membrane
The structure that surrounds all cells and regulates what come in and goes out
cell wall
A rigid structure that surrounds and protects some cells
capsule
a slimy layer surrounding some bacteria that protects them from harmful substances and prevents their drying out
Cytoplasm
The material inside of a cell, excluding the nucleus
Flagellum
A whip-like structure that some cells use to propel them-selves through their environment
DNA
The molecule that contains important information for making proteins and helps regulate many cellular processes.
Chromosome
A structure that contains a cell's DNA
Endoplasmic Reticulum
A network of tubes in eukaryotic cells that help produce and transport proteins and other molecules throughout the cells
Golgi apparatus
The organelle in eukaryotic cells that modifies many proteins and packages them into small, bubble-like structures called vesicles
Ribosome
a small structure that assembles proteins found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Cytoskeleton
Several types of long, thin fibers anchored to various parts of the cell that help the cell maintain and change its shape
Lysosome
A small organelle in eukaryotic cells that act as the demolition crew within a cell
Enzyme
A protein that speeds up or slows down chemical reactions
Mitochondria
The organelle in eukaryotic cells that makes more of the cell's ATP
Nucleotide
The subunit of DNA consisting of a sugar, a phosphate, and a base
gene
\n A section of a DNA molecule that codes for a unique protein
amino acids
One of about twenty molecules used to build proteins
protein synthesis
The process of building a protein by bonding amino acids together.
irreducible complexity
A feature of engineered systems in which removing one part of the system causes the whole system to cease functioning
cell cycle
The process of cellular growth and reproduction
Interphase
The portion of the cell cycle during which the cell grows and carries out its normal functions
Mitosis
The process of the cell cycle that ensures that each new daughter cell produced has the same number and kinds of genes as the original parent cell
Cytokinesis
The final stage of the cell cycle during which the parent cell pinches to give each new daughter cell some cytoplasm
asexual reproduction
Reproductions that does not involve gametes
sexual reproduction
reproduction using gametes
Meiosis
The process that reduces by half the amount of DNA present in each sperm or egg cell
Heredity
The study of how traits are passed from one generation to the next
Purebred
An organism that always produces descendants with the same trait for a specific character
Hybrid
An organism with a mix of alleles for a specific character
dominant trait
A trait of a specific character that appears in a hybrid organism
recessive trait
a trait of a specific character that is hidden by the dominant trait in a hybrid organism
simple dominance
A pattern of inheritance in which there are only two alleles and the dominant trait is always express in a hybrid organism
incomplete dominance
A pattern of inheritance in a hybrid in which traits are blended together
codominance
a pattern of inheritance in a hybrid in which both traits are present but not blended
polygenic inheritance
A pattern of inheritance that occurs when two or more genes interact to control a single character
genetic drift
A natural process in which the ratio of alleles in a population changes randomly over time
Adaptation
A inherited trait that helps an animal survive to reproduce
natural selection
The process through which organisms with certain adaptations survive to pass on their traits to a greater number of offspring than other organisms do
Evolution
the model that states that simpler organisms have slowly changed into new and more complex organisms over millions of years
Fossil
The preserved remains of plants and animals
Uniformitarianism
The concept that all of Earth's physical processes happen at the same rate in the present time as they did in the past
Theory of Natural Selection
The theory that traits that allow individuals to survive and reproduce better than other individuals without those traits will become more common in the population
Mutation
random changes in DNA
modern synthesis
The modern model of evolution that blends mutations and natural selection.
dating
The process used to estimate the age of rocks
common ancestor
A species of organisms who descendants are believed to form two distinct species
homologous structures
Features that are shared by distinct types of organisms
vestigial structures
A structure that according to evolutionary theory no longer has a function
transitional forms
a supposed organisms of the past with body parts that are intermediate between early ancestral forms and later fully developed forms; also called a missing link
genetic load
The accumulated random mutations within the DNA of a population of organisms
(biblical) kind
A distinct group of organisms that God created to reproduce
bacteria
Prokaryotic cells that live everywhere, they lack a nucleus, DNA is suspended in the cytosol. Bacteria have plasmids, ribosomes, cell membrane and walls, capsule, and some a flagella
Plasmid
a small, often circular strand of DNA that is separate from the main chromosome in some bacteria
binary fission
A form of bacterial reproduction in which the DNA is replicated and the cell membrane pinches together to form two identical bacteria
Endospore
A bacterium's DNA and ribosomes enclosed in a tough case that can survive unfavorable conditions
Conjugation
a process in which one bacterium shares a plasmid with another
Virus
nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat that uses cells to reproduceCapsid
Capsid
The protein coat that surrounds the nucleic acid of a virus
host
A living organism that a parasite obtains food from or that a virus infect in order to reproduce
Cellulose
Carbohydrate component of plant cell walls.
Cuticle
A waxy covering on the surface of stems and leaves
seed
The plant structure that contains a young plant inside a protective covering
Angiosperm
the group of plants that produces flowers and fruit
gymnosperm
the group of plants that produces cones
leaf veins
vascular bundles in leaves
palisade layer
the layer of cells in a leaf where most photosynthesis occurs
spongy layer
Moist, loosely packed layer of cells containing chloroplasts.
stoma
opening in the underside of a leaf that allows carbon dioxide and oxygen to diffuse into and out of the leaf
annual rings
Rings or layers of wood which represent one growth period of a tree. In a cross section the rings may indicate the age of the tree.
turgor pressure
The pressure that water molecules exert against the cell wall
Tropism
A growth response of a plant toward or away from a stimulus
plant hormones
a small chemical made by some plant tissues that affects how other plant structures grow
Auxin
A plant hormone that speeds up the rate of growth of plant cells
Cytokinin
plant hormone produced in growing roots and in developing fruits and seeds
abscisic acid
plant hormones that inhibits cell growth, prevents premature germination, and stimulates the closing of the stomata
Ethylene
A gaseous plant hormone that promotes fruit ripening and opposes auxins in its actions
short day plants
a plant that does not bloom until the nights are longer than the critical night length
long-day plants
a plant that does not bloom until the nights are shorter than the critical night length
day-neutral plants
a plant that blooms whenever the conditions are right regardless of the length of night
alternation of generations
the repeating cycle of gametophyte and sporophyte structures in plants
fruit
The ripened ovary and other structures of an angiosperm that enclose one or more seeds.
Stamen
The male reproductive part of a flower
carpel
The female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary.
petal
A colorful, leaflike structure of some flowers.
Sepal
a leaflike structure that encloses the bud of a flower.