GBHS 101 - Biology for Health Sciences 1: Chapter 1 Introduction to Biology

Vocabulary flashcards for Chapter 1 (Introduction to Biology) and course background from GBHS 101.

Adoobiigok

The Michi Saagiig language name meaning 'Place of the Alders,' referring to the region along the Humber River Watershed where Humber College is situated.

Biology

The study of living things.

Order

A property of life wherein organisms are organized from smaller structures into larger structures, following the hierarchy: Atoms > Molecules > Organelles > Cells > Tissues > Organs > Systems.

Response to Stimuli

reacting to changes in the environment such as sunflower turning toward light or human pupils change sizes

Reproduction

A property of life where single-celled organisms create clones and multicellular organisms produce offspring using specialized reproductive cells containing genetic information and passed on to the offspring

Adaptation

A property of life describing how organisms become 'fit' to their specific environment, such as heat-resistant Archaea living in hot springs.

Growth and Development

information inside cells (genes) act as instructions and detremines growth and length.

living things grow similar characteristics to its parents

Regulation

Internal processes to keep the organism functional.

eg transparent of nutrients

Homeostasis

The process by which living organisms maintain internal stability and ideal conditions (such as pH and temperature) within a narrow range despite external changes.

Energy Processing

living things need source of energy to run metabolic activities—such as chemical energy from food or solar energy from light—to carry out metabolic activities.

Negative Feedback Loop

a processes in which a system responds to the change by reversing or reducing the magnitude of that change.

Positive Feedback Loop

A processes in which a system respond to the change by amplifying\increasing the magnitude of change

Levels of Organization

The structural ordering of biological matter: Subatomic particles -> Atom -> Molecule -> Macromolecule -> Organelle -> Cell -> Tissue -> Organ -> Organ system -> Organism.

Evolution

The process of gradual change over long periods of time through which new species arise from pre-existing species.

Hierarchical Taxonomy System

An 8-level system used to group and classify organisms according to shared characteristics: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.

Science

Knowledge about the natural world that focuses on material phenomena involving matter and energy.

Hypothesis

A suggested explanation for an event that is must testable and must falsifiable, which can be disproven or eliminated but can never be conclusively proven.

For your exam, remember: A hypothesis can be supported or disproven, but it cannot be completely proven.

Scientific Method

the scientific method is a careful way of asking questions, testing ideas, studying evidence, and reaching conclusions.

Independent Variable

The variable that is intentionally manipulated or changed by the researcher in an experiment to observe its effects (cause or input).

Dependent Variable

the result or effect that you measure after changing the independent variable.

Correlation

A relationship between two variables where they tend to change together, without one causes the change of the other

Causation

A direct relationship in which a change in one variable explicitly causes a change in another variable; it inherently implies correlation.

Peer Assisted Study Session (P.A.S.S.)

Weekly optional study sessions facilitated by a student leader to guide group discussions, review practice problems, and clarify course topics.