Grade 10 Biology - Units 1-4 Comprehensive Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering basic thermodynamics, ecology, evolutionary biology, cellular processes (photosynthesis/respiration), and human anatomy (digestion, respiration, circulation, immunity, and excretion).

First Law of Thermodynamics

The principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The principle stating that no process is $100\%$ efficient, and as energy flows, it is lost while matter cycles.

Albedo

The amount of energy reflected by clouds, water, and land.

Autotroph

An organism that uses the sun’s energy to create its own food, often represented by the equation $6 CO_2 + 6 H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6 O_2$.

Chemosynthesis

The process used by organisms near deep-sea vents to produce food using hydrogen sulfide, represented by $CO_2 + 4H_2S + O_2 \rightarrow CH_2O + 3H_2O + 4S$.

Heterotroph

A consumer that obtains energy by eating other producers or consumers through cellular respiration.

Fermentation

A process occurring in anaerobic (no oxygen) environments where heterotrophs produce pyruvate instead of ATP.

Trophic Levels

Feeding levels in an ecosystem where level 1 consists of producers and higher levels consist of consumers.

Rule of 10

The principle stating that only $10\%$ of energy is passed up to each successive trophic level.

Pyramid of Biomass

An ecological pyramid measuring the dry mass of living organisms per unit area, typically expressed in $g/m^2$, which is inverted in aquatic ecosystems.

Bioaccumulation

The gradual buildup of substances, often poisonous or pollutants, as they move up the food chain.

Biogeochemical Cycling

The process of transporting dissolved materials through the hydrological cycle using the polar properties of water.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process where bacteria in soil or legume roots convert atmospheric nitrogen ($N_2$) into a form usable by plants.

Denitrification

The process in waterlogged soil where bacteria convert nitrates ($NO_3^-$) back into nitrogen gas ($N_2$).

Productivity

The rate of generation of biomass, primarily influenced by sunlight, nutrients, water, and temperature.

Paleoclimatology

The study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire Earth’s history.

Ecology

The study of ecosystems, communities, populations, and the biotic and abiotic factors that influence them.

Binomial Nomenclature

The scientific system of naming organisms using a combination of their genus and species, such as Homo sapiens.

Cladistics

A form of analysis that looks at newer features of organisms considered 'innovations' to determine evolutionary relationships.

Homologous Structures

Anatomically similar structures that serve different purposes, indicating evolutionary relationships.

Analogous Structures

Structures that serve a similar purpose but evolved from different ancestors and do not indicate evolutionary relationships.

Vestigial Structures

Structures with no apparent current function that likely served a purpose for past ancestors, such as the human appendix.

Hox Genes

Genes that act as architects, giving instructions to cells on how to organize themselves into body parts during embryonic stages.

Anabolic Pathway

A chemical pathway that creates large molecules from small ones and requires energy, such as photosynthesis.

Catabolic Pathway

A chemical pathway that breaks down large molecules into smaller ones and releases energy, such as cellular respiration.

Photolysis

A light-dependent reaction where energy is used to split a molecule of water ($H_2O$) into oxygen and hydrogen to replace lost electrons in PSII.

Calvin Cycle

The light-independent reaction in photosynthesis that uses $CO_2$, ATP, and NADPH to produce G3P for glucose production.

Glycolysis

An anaerobic process in the cytoplasm that splits glucose into two pyruvate molecules, yielding a net gain of $2$ ATP and $4$ NADH.

Dehydration Synthesis

A chemical reaction that links molecules, such as monosaccharides, involving the loss of a hydroxide ($OH^-$) ion and the release of water.

Saturated Fats

Fats where the carbon chain has only single bonds, making them solid at room temperature and harder to break down.

Amphipathic

A molecule having both hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-fearing) ends, such as phospholipids.

Peristalsis

The wave-like muscle contractions that move a bolus of food through the esophagus and digestive tract.

Bile Salts

Substances created by the liver and stored in the gallbladder that perform emulsification to help lipase digest lipids.

Alveoli

Clusters of air sacs at the ends of bronchioles where gas exchange occurs.

Tidal Volume

The volume of air inhaled and exhaled when breathing normally at rest.

Septum

A wall of tissue in the heart that prevents oxygenated and deoxygenated blood from mixing.

Sinoatrial (SA) Node

The part of the heart that generates electrical impulses to trigger the contraction of the atria.

Systolic Pressure

The maximum pressure exerted against the heart walls during ventricular contraction.

Vasodilation

The process of blood vessels expanding and moving closer to the skin surface to release heat.

Memory B-cells

Lymphocytes that remain in the bloodstream to identify pathogens by displaying antibodies that match specific antigens.

Nephron

Slender tubules in the kidney cortex and medulla that remove waste from the blood and maintain homeostasis.

Bowman’s Capsule

A funnel-like structure in the nephron that acts as a strainer to drain molecules out of the glomerulus.

Aldosterone

A hormone that makes the distal tubules of the nephron more permeable to $NaCl$.