Biology Study Guide

Comprehensive biology vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture handwritten study guide notes covering experimental design, chemistry, bonding, macromolecules, organelles, and membrane transport.

Independent Variable

The factor that is manipulated in an experiment (cause).

Dependent Variable

The outcome or result that is measured in an experiment (effect).

Controlled Experiment

An experiment that compares the experimental group with the control group.

Control Group

A non-changing group used as a comparison against other groups.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that is being tested.

Seven Properties of Life

Order (organized system and molecular complexity), reproduction (asexual or sexual), growth and development, response to environment, energy processing, regulation, and evolutionary adaptation.

Taxonomy Clusters Mnemonic

Did King Philip Come Over For Good Sex (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum/Phyla, Class, Order, Family, Genus/Genera, Species).

Element

Molecules with unique properties that contain electrons, protons, and neutrons.

Atoms

The smallest unit of matter that an element can be.

Compound

A chemical substance made of 2 or more different elements that are chemically bonded together.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom.(usually top left or top)

Mass Number

The sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.(usually top right or bottom)

Atomic Mass

A value equal to an atom's mass number.

Isotopes

Atoms of an element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Valence Shell

The outermost $e^-$ shell, calculated as $2n^2$ where $n$ is the shell number.

Molecules

A group of 2 or more atoms that are chemically bonded together.

Neutrons Calculation

Calculated as $\text{Mass Number} - \text{Atomic Number}$.

Three Domains of Life

Prokaryotes (Domain Bacteria and Domain Archaea) and Eukaryotes (Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, and Protist).

Four Main Elements of Living Organisms

Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond resulting from the transfer of $e^-$ between atoms.( has a positive and negative)

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond where atoms share $e^-$ rather than transferring them.(they share them so not necessarily positive and negative atoms)

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which $e^-$ are shared equally.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which $e^-$ are shared unequally and pulled closer to the more electronegative atom.

Ion

An atom or molecule with an electrical charge resulting from the gain or loss of $e^-$.

Ionic Bonding

The attraction between two ions with opposite charges (cation and anion) that holds them together.

Cation

A positively charged ion that has more protons than $e^-$.

Anion

A negatively charged ion that has more $e^-$ than protons.

Hydrogen Bonding

A weak but important bond occurring between a hydrogen atom in a covalent bond with a highly electronegative atom (like N, O, or F) and another electronegative atom in a nearby molecule.

Peptide Bond

A bond that connects amino acids together to make proteins.

Relative Bond Strengths

Ordered from strongest to weakest: 1. Covalent Bonds (polar or nonpolar), 2. Ionic Bonds, 3. Hydrogen Bonds.

Monosaccharides

The simplest carbohydrates and sugar monomers, ranging from small sugar molecules to large polysaccharides.

Polysaccharides

A long chain of sugar units.

Starch and Glycogen

Storage polysaccharides.

Cellulose

A structural polysaccharide found in plants.

Disaccharide

A molecule formed when two monosaccharides bond in a dehydration reaction.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids containing 1 or more double bonds that are liquid at room temperature.

Saturated Fatty Acids

Fats with the maximum number of hydrogens that are solid at room temperature.

Lipids

hydrophobic , made up of fatty acid monomers

Phospholipids

Important components of cell membranes containing hydrophobic tail regions and hydrophilic head regions.

Steroids

Important lipids that include cholesterol and some hormones.

Cholesterol

A common component in animal cell membranes that serves as a precursor starting material for making steroids.

Primary Structure

The sequence of amino acids in a protein.

Secondary Structure

How amino acids react to each other in a protein, maintained by hydrogen bonds.

Tertiary Structure

The 3D shape formed when an entire single polypeptide folds.

Quaternary Structure

Protein structure formed when more than 1 peptide forms a complex with multiple chains.

Nucleic Acids

Molecules (DNA and RNA) made up of nucleotide monomers.

Nucleotide

The monomer that makes up nucleic acids, composed of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base.

DNA

A double helix nucleic acid containing deoxyribose sugar that stores genetic info/instructions.

RNA

A single polynucleotide chain containing ribose sugar that helps use genetic instructions to make proteins.

Nucleus

A membrane-bound organelle containing cell DNA that controls gene expression and provides DNA instructions used to make mRNA for protein synthesis.

Nucleolus

A structure inside the nucleus that makes ribosomes.

Ribosomes

Structures made of RNA and proteins that act as protein factories by making proteins.

Rough ER

Endoplasmic reticulum with ribosomes attached that produces, makes, and processes membrane and secretory proteins.

Smooth ER

Endoplasmic reticulum with no ribosomes that synthesizes lipids and processes toxins.

Golgi

Organelle made of stacks of flattened membrane sacs that modifies, sorts, packages, and ships proteins/molecules.

Lysosomes

Digestive compartments with powerful enzymes that break down waste, damaged organelles, and large molecules, recycling materials for the cell.

Peroxisomes

Metabolic compartments not in the endomembrane system that break down fatty acids, detoxify harmful substances, and break down or react with reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Mitochondria

Energy-converting organelles containing mitochondrial DNA, ribosomes, and enzymes that carry out cellular respiration to convert energy from food into ATP.

Vesicles

Small membrane sacs inside cells that transport and store materials around the cell, especially between the ER and Golgi.

Cytoskeleton

A network of protein fibers giving the cell shape, support, movement, transport, structure, and organization.(in eukaryotic cells)

Microfilaments

Cytoskeletal fibers made of actin that function in cell movement, muscle contraction, and maintaining cell shape.

Intermediate Filaments

Cytoskeletal fibers made of fibrous proteins that provide structure support and help maintain cell shape.

Microtubules

Cytoskeletal fibers made of tubulins involved in cell organization/movement, serving as tracks for moving vesicles, and playing an important role during cell division.

Centrosome

The microtubule organizer important during cell division.

Plasma Membrane

The cell's outer boundary made mainly of a phospholipid bilayer (hydrophilic heads face water, hydrophobic tails avoid water) that controls what enters/leaves, protects/supports the cell, aids communication, and maintains internal environment.

Prokaryotes

Organisms (Bacteria and Archaea) that have no nucleus and no membrane-bound organelles.

Eukaryotes

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles separated into functional compartments.

Cytosol

The clear, aqueous jelly-like fluid in cells containing ions, proteins, and water; site of many metabolic reactions including glycolysis.

Cytoplasm

The cellular content consisting of cytosol plus organelles.

Hypertonic

A state in which a cell loses water and shrinks.

Hypotonic

A state in which a cell gains water and swells.

Isotonic

A state in which water moves into and out of a cell at the same rate.

Cilia and Flagella

Locomotor appendages made of microtubules; flagella are longer than cilia and propel the cell.

Tight Junctions

Cell junctions that bind cells together to form leak-proof sheets.

Anchoring Junctions

Cell junctions (including desmosomes) that link cells into strong tissues.

Gap Junctions

Cell junctions that allow ions and small molecules to flow from cell to cell.

Passive Transport

Membrane transport requiring no energy, where particles move from high to low concentration.

Diffusion

The movement of particles from high to low concentration.

Osmosis

The diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane.

Active Transport

Membrane transport requiring ATP/energy that moves a solute against its concentration gradient. moving paricles from an area of low concentration to high

Endocytosis

Transport process that takes large material INTO the cell.

Exocytosis

Transport process that moves materials OUT of the cell, exporting proteins or sugars.

Phagocytosis

A form of endocytosis where cells take in very large particles by surrounding them with membrane.( cell eating)

Plant Cell Wall

Rigid cell walls primarily made of cellulose that provide protection, skeletal support, and help keep the plant upright.

phagocytosis

cell eating. engulfs large particles such as bacteria