Biology: The Living World Flashcards

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering the fundamental concepts of biological classification, the characteristics of living organisms, and various taxonomical aids as described in the lecture notes.

Growth

The twin characteristics of increase in mass and increase in number of individuals.

Metabolism

The sum total of all the chemical reactions occurring in the body, which is a defining feature of all living organisms without exception.

Cellular organisation

The defining feature of life forms representing the fundamental structural arrangement of the body.

Consciousness

The defining property of living organisms characterized by the ability to sense surroundings and respond to environmental stimuli.

Biodiversity

The number and types of organisms present on earth, ranging between $1.7-1.8$ million known and described species.

Nomenclature

The process of standardising the naming of living organisms such that a particular organism is known by the same name all over the world.

Identification

The process of describing an organism correctly to determine to what organism a name is attached.

ICBN

International Code for Botanical Nomenclature, which provides the principles and criteria for plant scientific names.

ICZN

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the system evolved by taxonomists for naming animals.

Binomial nomenclature

A naming system given by Carolus Linnaeus where each scientific name consists of two components: the Generic name and the specific epithet.

Taxa

The scientific term for the convenient categories used to study organisms, which can represent different levels such as 'Plants', 'Mammals', or 'Dogs'.

Taxonomy

The process of classification of all living organisms into different taxa based on their characteristics, including structure, development, and ecological information.

Systematics

The branch of study dealing with different kinds of organisms, their diversities, and the evolutionary relationships among them; derived from the Latin word 'systema'.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

The overall arrangement of taxonomic categories in a sequence of steps where each step represents a rank or taxon.

Species

The lowest taxonomic category, consisting of a group of individual organisms with fundamental similarities and distinct morphological differences.

Genus

A taxonomic category comprising a group of related species which has more characters in common compared to species of other genera.

Family

A taxonomic category containing a group of related genera characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plants.

Order

A higher taxonomic category that is an assemblage of families which exhibit a few similar characters.

Herbarium

A taxonomical aid consisting of a store house of collected plant specimens that are dried, pressed, and preserved on sheets.

Botanical Gardens

Specialised gardens having collections of living plants for reference, such as those at Kew (England) and the Indian Botanical Garden (Howrah).

Museum

An educational collection of preserved plant and animal specimens, including insects in boxes and stuffed larger animals, used for study and reference.

Zoological Parks

Commonly called Zoos, these are places where wild animals are kept in protected environments under human care to learn about their behavior and food habits.

Key

A taxonomical aid used for identification based on contrasting characters in a pair called a couplet, where each statement is known as a lead.

Flora

A record containing the actual account of habitat and distribution of plants of a given area, providing an index to the species found there.

Manuals

Taxonomical records useful in providing information for identification of names of species found in a specific area.

Monographs

Taxonomical records that contain detailed information on any one taxon.