BIOL 1001 Final Exam Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering population evolution, animal tissues, plant structures, biosphere biomes, and review concepts for the BIOL 1001 Final Exam.

Galápagos Islands

The location where most of Darwin's observations about changes in species over time and in different environments took place.

Tortoises and iguanas

The specific organisms examined by Darwin on the Galápagos Islands that were important in his development of the theory of natural selection.

Descent with Modification

The concept that an ancestral species could diversify into many descendant species by the accumulation of adaptations to various environments.

Natural selection

The scientific mechanism proposed by Darwin that explains evolutionary change.

Population

The level of biological organization at which evolution occurs over generations, rather than within an individual.

Fossils

The imprints or remains of organisms that lived in the past, documenting differences between past and present organisms.

Sedimentary

The specific type of rocks in which fossils are typically found.

Cloven-hoofed mammals

The group of animals that whales are closely related to and evolved from, based on molecular evidence.

Homologous structures

Structures inherited from a common ancestor, such as the bones in human arms, whale flippers, and bat wings.

Vestigial structure

An anatomical feature, such as the human tailbone, that is a remnant of an evolutionary past despite the disappearance of the primary structure (the tail).

Collagen fibers

The type of fibers that account for the strength of various connective tissues.

Cardiac muscle

A type of muscle tissue that is striated, contains cells with one nucleus each, and is not under voluntary control.

Epithelial tissue

The type of tissue that lines body cavities and covers body surfaces.

Nervous tissue

The tissue responsible for receiving, interpreting, and producing a response to stimuli.

Connective tissue

A broad category of tissue that includes specific types such as blood and adipose tissue.

Nervous system

The organ system that coordinates body activities by sending chemical and electrical impulses to detect stimuli and integrate information.

Endocrine system

The organ system that secretes hormones into the blood to coordinate body activities.

Keratin

A protein found in hair, fingernails, and toenails.

Blood

A specific type of connective tissue characterized by having a fluid matrix.

Axillary bud

A plant structure whose fate is to produce a branch or a flower.

Xylem

Plant tissue composed of hollow nonliving tracheids and vessel elements that transport water; it constitutes the majority of wood.

Phloem

Plant tissue composed of sieve-tube cells and companion cells that transports sugars and organic molecules; it constitutes the bark.

Ground tissue

The tissue that fills the interior of a plant and makes up the majority of the plant's interior.

Epidermal tissue

The tissue that forms the outer protective covering of a plant.

Monocot

A type of plant characterized by one cotyledon in the seed, parallel leaf veins, and scattered vascular bundles in the stem.

Stomata

Leaf openings through which carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) enters and water vapor and oxygen gas ($O_2$) exit.

Lateral meristem

The tissue that provides secondary growth and increases the diameter of the root and stem.

Seed

The structure that a mature plant ovule eventually becomes.

Fruit

The structure that a mature plant ovary eventually becomes.

Photic zone

The zone of the ocean where light penetration is sufficient for photosynthesis to occur.

Benthic

The term used to describe the floor or bottom environment of oceans and lakes.

Tundra

A treeless biome characterized by little rainfall and permafrost, located in the far north.

Chaparral

The name for shrubland biomes specifically found in California, United States.

Isotopes

Atoms of an element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and different atomic weights.

Isomers

Molecules that have the same molecular formula but different structures.

Smooth ER

The organelle responsible for synthesizing lipids, fats, and cholesterol.

DNA polymerase

The enzyme that reads the DNA strand and adds complementary nucleotides to make a new DNA strand.

Control group

The group in an experiment that receives all the same treatments as the experimental group except for the one variable being tested.

Lactose

A disaccharide composed of the monomers $glucose$ and $galactose$.

Sucrose

A disaccharide composed of the monomers $glucose$ and $fructose$.

$$N_2$$

A molecule characterized by a triple bond between its two nitrogen atoms.

Anticodon

The part of the tRNA molecule that binds to a specific codon on the mRNA molecule.