Biology Chapter 1 Flash Cards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the characteristics of life, biological classification, and the scientific method as presented in the lecture.

Metabolism

The sum of all chemical reactions that occur in a cell.

Anabolic reactions

Chemical reactions that build molecules.

Catabolic reactions

Chemical reactions that break down molecules.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that consume other organisms for food.

Autotrophs

Organisms that capture solar energy to produce food.

Photosynthesis

A metabolic process that converts solar energy into the chemical energy of carbohydrates.

Cellular respiration

A metabolic process that consumes oxygen and food to transfer the energy from food into ATP.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of internal conditions within certain boundaries.

Genes

Units of genetic information composed of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

Adaptation

Any modification that makes an organism better able to function, survive, and reproduce in a particular environment.

Evolution

The change in a population over time to become more suited to the environment.

Natural Selection

An evolutionary mechanism proposed by Charles Darwin where individuals with favorable traits produce a greater number of offspring.

Mutations

Changes that fuel natural selection by introducing variety into a population.

Taxonomy

The discipline of biology that identifies, names, and classifies organisms according to certain rules.

Systematics

The study of evolutionary relationships between organisms.

Classification Categories

The hierarchy of classification from least inclusive to most inclusive: species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, supergroup, and domain.

Domain Archaea

Contains unicellular prokaryotes that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and live in extreme environments.

Domain Bacteria

Contains unicellular prokaryotes in various shapes that live in almost all environments, including soil and the human large intestine.

Domain Eukarya

Contains unicellular and multicellular organisms called eukaryotes which contain a membrane-bound nucleus.

Kingdom Fungi

A kingdom containing molds, mushrooms, yeasts, and ringworms, mostly consisting of multicellular filaments that absorb food.

Kingdom Animalia

A kingdom containing multicellular organisms with specialized tissues such as sponges, worms, insects, and mammals that ingest food.

Binomial Nomenclature

A universal two-part naming system where the first word is the Genus (capitalized) and the second is the species designation (lowercase); both are italicized.

Scientific Method

A process involving observation, hypothesis, predictions and experiments, data collection, and results/conclusions.

Hypothesis

A tentative, testable explanation for what was observed, developed through inductive reasoning.

Inductive reasoning

Using creative thinking to combine isolated facts into a cohesive whole.

Deductive reasoning

The use of general, established truths to form a specific idea or prediction.

Experimental (independent) Variable

The specific factor being tested in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The variable being measured in an experiment.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that goes through all aspects of the procedure but is NOT exposed to the experimental variable.

Standard error

A statistical measure indicating how far off the average of the data is.

Probability Value (P)

A statistical value where less than $5\%$ ($p < 0.05$) is considered acceptable; the lower the value, the greater the confidence that results are not due to chance.

Scientific theory

Concepts that join together two or more well-supported and related hypotheses, supported by a broad range of observations.

Scientific Principle/Law

Widely accepted sets of theories with no serious challenges to validity, often expressed mathematically.

Biodiversity

The total number and relative abundance of species, the variability of their genes, and the different ecosystems.

Extinction

The death of the last member of a species or larger classification category.