Introduction to Diversity

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on the introduction to diversity, including biological organization, cell types, and characteristics of living organisms.

Levels of biological organization

The different hierarchical structures that make up biological life, including atom, molecule, cell, organ, organism, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere.

Prokaryotic Cells

Simple, single-celled organisms that lack membrane-bound organelles and have a cell wall.

Eukaryotic Cells

Complex cells that contain membrane-bound organelles, including a nucleus, and make up multicellular organisms.

Ordered complexity

The characteristic of organisms that signifies many different components interacting according to a pattern.

Homeostasis

The ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in external conditions.

Evolutionary adaptation

Changes in organisms over generations due to mutation and natural selection.

Cellular organization

The fundamental structure of living organisms based on cells, the basic membrane-bound units of life.

Response to stimuli

The ability of an organism to react to changes in its environment.

Energy utilization

The process by which organisms take in energy and use it to perform work.

Three Domains of Life

The classification of life into three major categories: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.