Biology Lecture Notes: Diversity of Life, Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Evolution, and Chemistry Foundations

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on life's diversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and foundational chemistry concepts.

Prokaryote

A cell lacking a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles; includes Bacteria and Archaea.

Eukaryote

A cell with a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles; includes plants, animals, fungi, and protists.

Nucleus

Membrane-bound organelle in eukaryotes that houses most DNA.

Nucleoid

Region in prokaryotes where DNA is located; not membrane-bound.

Membrane-bound organelle

Organelles enclosed by a cell membrane (e.g., nucleus, mitochondria).

Mitochondria

Energy-producing organelles in eukaryotes; not present in bacteria.

Ribosome

Molecular machinery that synthesizes proteins; present in all cells.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid; genetic material carrying hereditary information.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid; intermediary in gene expression; includes mRNA, tRNA, rRNA.

Central dogma

Flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein via transcription and translation.

Genetic code

Set of codon-to-amino acid mappings used during translation; nearly universal.

Transcription

Process of copying DNA into RNA.

Translation

Process of decoding RNA to synthesize proteins on ribosomes.

Protist

Mostly single-celled eukaryotes; a diverse group not fitting into plants, animals, fungi.

Archaea

Domain of prokaryotes; often extremophiles; genetically closer to Eukarya than Bacteria.

Bacteria

Domain of prokaryotes; lack a true nucleus; DNA in nucleoid.

Eukarya

Domain comprising all eukaryotes (animals, plants, fungi, protists).

Three domains

A framework dividing life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya; viruses are not included at the domain level.

LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor)

Hypothesized most recent common ancestor of all current life.

Taxonomy

Branch of biology that names and classifies species into hierarchical groups.

Domain (taxonomy)

Highest taxonomic rank; currently Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Species

Basic unit of classification; group of interbreeding individuals or a population with shared characteristics.

Genus

Group containing one or more related species.

Phylogeny

Study of evolutionary relationships; represented by a phylogenetic tree; a hypothesis, not an absolute fact.

Phylogenetic tree

Diagram showing relationships among groups; nodes = common ancestors; tips = living groups; branches = divergence.

Common ancestor

An ancestral species from which two or more groups diverged.