BIOL 1001 Chapters 1-5 Study Guide Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms and concepts across Chapters 1 through 5 from the BIOL 1001 study guide.

Properties of Life

The major characteristics defining living systems, including order, reproduction, growth and development, energy processing, regulation, response to the environment, and evolutionary adaptation.

Three Domains of Life

The major broad categories of biological diversity, consisting of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Emergent Properties

New properties that arise at higher levels of biological organization due to complex interactions among component parts.

Cell

The fundamental structural and functional unit of life.

Hypothesis

A proposed, testable explanation for a set of observations.

Prediction

A logical statement describing what outcome is expected in an experiment if a hypothesis is supported.

Theory

A broad scientific explanation that is supported by a large body of evidence.

Independent Variable

The factor in a scientific study that is intentionally manipulated or changed by the experimenter.

Dependent Variable

The factor in an experiment that is measured or observed to evaluate the effect of the independent variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that serves as a standard of comparison and does not receive the experimental treatment.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the specific treatment or variable being tested.

Systems Biology

An approach to studying biology that examines dynamic interactions among biological parts to model whole biological systems.

Four Major Elements of Living Matter

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which make up most of the weight of living organisms.

Atomic Number

The total number of protons found in an atom's nucleus, which defines the chemical identity of an element.

Mass Number

The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus.

Isotopes

Variant forms of an element's atom that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond resulting from the attraction between oppositely charged ions formed when electrons are transferred.

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond formed when two atoms share one or more pairs of outer-shell electrons.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which electrons are shared equally between two atoms of similar electronegativity.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond in which unequal sharing of electrons creates a partial negative charge on one atom and a partial positive charge on another.

Hydrogen Bond

A weak bond formed when a slightly positive hydrogen atom of a polar covalent bond in one molecule is attracted to a slightly negative atom in another molecule.

Cohesion

The tendency of molecules of the same kind to stick together, as seen in water droplet formation.

Adhesion

The clinging of one substance to a different substance, such as water clinging to plant cell walls.

Surface Tension

A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid, produced by hydrogen bonding in water.

Evaporative Cooling

The process in which a surface cools during evaporation because the highest-energy water molecules depart first.

Ocean Acidification

The reduction of ocean pH caused by increased atmospheric $CO_2$, leading to reduced carbonate availability and reduced coral calcification.

Isomers

Compounds with the exact same molecular formula but different structural arrangements and physical/chemical properties.

Hydrocarbons

Organic molecules composed exclusively of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Functional Groups

Specific chemical groups attached to carbon skeletons that participate in characteristic chemical reactions.

Dehydration Reaction

A chemical reaction that builds polymers from monomers by removing a water molecule.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that breaks polymers down into monomers by adding a water molecule.

Monosaccharides

The simplest sugar monomers used as building blocks for disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Polysaccharides

Carbohydrate polymers composed of many monosaccharides linked by dehydration reactions.

Starch

A storage polysaccharide found in plants consisting of chains of glucose monomers.

Glycogen

An extensively branched glucose storage polysaccharide found in liver and muscle cells of animals.

Cellulose

A major structural polysaccharide made of glucose monomers that forms the rigid cell walls of plants.

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide found in fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons.

Triglycerides

Lipids composed of a glycerol molecule linked to three fatty acid chains.

Saturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids containing no double bonds between carbon atoms and holding the maximum number of hydrogen atoms.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids containing one or more double bonds in their carbon chains, creating kinks in their shape.

Phospholipids

Major structural lipids of cell membranes consisting of glycerol attached to two fatty acid tails and a polar phosphate head.

Hydrogenation

The chemical process of adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats to make them saturated, which can produce trans fats.

20 Amino Acids

The specific set of monomers used to construct proteins, each consisting of an amino group, carboxyl group, hydrogen, and unique R group.

Peptide Bonds

Covalent bonds formed by dehydration reactions that link adjacent amino acids together in a polypeptide.

Four Levels of Protein Structure

Primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structural levels that determine a protein's unique overall shape and biological function.

Denaturation

The unraveling of a protein's 3D structure and loss of function due to changes in pH, temperature, or salt concentration.

Nucleotides

Monomers of nucleic acids consisting of a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, a double-stranded helical nucleic acid that serves as the molecule of inheritance.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid, typically a single polynucleotide chain involved in gene expression.

Magnification

The ratio of an object's image size to its real size under microscopic observation.

Resolution

The measure of image clarity, defined as the minimum distance two points can be separated and still be distinguished as distinct.

Cell Theory

The foundational theory stating that all living organisms are made of cells and that all cells come from pre-existing cells.

Structures Shared by All Cells

Four essential cellular components found in all cells: plasma membrane, DNA, ribosomes, and cytosol.

Prokaryotic Cells

Simple single-celled organisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles.

Eukaryotic Cells

Cells containing a membrane-bound nucleus and specialized membrane-enclosed organelles creating functional compartmentalization.

Nucleolus

A dense structure inside the eukaryotic nucleus where ribosomal RNA is synthesized and ribosome subunits are assembled.

Rough ER

Endoplasmic reticulum network studded with ribosomes that modifies proteins and synthesizes membrane phospholipids.

Smooth ER

Endoplasmic reticulum network lacking ribosomes, responsible for lipid synthesis and metabolic detoxification.

Golgi Apparatus

Organelle of stacked membranous sacs that modifies, stores, and ships cellular products from the endoplasmic reticulum.

Lysosomes

Membranous sacs of digestive enzymes used by cells to break down food particles, cellular debris, and foreign material.

Mitochondria

Eukaryotic organelles that carry out cellular respiration to produce cellular energy in the form of ATP.

Chloroplasts

Photosynthetic organelles in plants and algae that absorb solar energy to synthesize organic sugars.

Microtubules

Thick cytoskeletal tubes made of tubulin proteins that shape the cell, guide vesicle transport, and form cilia/flagella.

9 + 2 Arrangement

The structural pattern of nine outer microtubule doublets surrounding two central single microtubules in eukaryotic cilia and flagella.

Tight Junctions

Intercellular connections that knit adjacent animal cells together into leak-proof barriers.

Anchoring Junctions

Intercellular connections that mechanically fasten adjacent animal cells together into resilient structural sheets.

Gap Junctions

Communicating channels between adjacent animal cells that allow water, ions, and small molecules to pass directly.

Plasmodesmata

Membrane-lined channels penetrating plant cell walls that connect adjacent plant cells, serving a function analogous to gap junctions.

Fluid Mosaic Model

Model depicting the plasma membrane as a fluid structure containing dynamic phospholipid layers with embedded protein molecules.

Selective Permeability

The property of biological membranes that regulates the passage of substances, allowing some to cross more easily than others.

Diffusion

The passive movement of particles down their concentration gradient without requiring cellular energy.

Osmosis

The passive diffusion of free water across a selectively permeable membrane.

Tonicity

The capacity of a surrounding solution to cause a cell to gain or lose water.

Hypertonic Solution

A solution with a higher concentration of nonpenetrating solutes than the cell cytoplasm, causing animal cells to lose water and shrivel.

Hypotonic Solution

A solution with a lower concentration of nonpenetrating solutes than the cell cytoplasm, causing water to enter and animal cells to swell or burst.

Isotonic Solution

A solution with an equal solute concentration compared to the cell cytoplasm, resulting in no net water movement.

Facilitated Diffusion

Passive transport of specific polar or charged molecules across a membrane down their concentration gradient using transport proteins.

Aquaporins

Specialized channel transport proteins that allow rapid diffusion of water molecules across biological membranes.

Active Transport

The movement of a substance across a cellular membrane against its concentration gradient, requiring ATP energy and transport proteins.

Exocytosis

The transport process used to export large materials out of a cell when internal vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane.

Endocytosis

The transport mechanism by which cells import large materials by forming new vesicles from the plasma membrane.

Phagocytosis

A type of endocytosis where a cell engulfs macromolecular particles or debris into a vacuole (cellular eating).

Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis

Targeted endocytosis initiated when specific extracellular ligands bind to receptor proteins on the cell surface.

First Law of Thermodynamics

Law of energy conservation stating that energy can be transferred and transformed, but cannot be created or destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Law stating that every energy conversion increases the entropy (disorder) of the universe.

Exergonic Reaction

An energy-releasing chemical reaction where reactants contain more potential energy than the resulting products.

Endergonic Reaction

An energy-requiring chemical reaction that yields products rich in potential energy.

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate, the primary chemical energy currency driving cellular work through phosphate transfer.

Activation Energy

The initial amount of energy required to break bonds in reactant molecules and start a chemical reaction.

Active Site

The specific region on an enzyme surface where a substrate molecule binds and undergoes catalytic transformation.

Competitive Inhibitor

A substance that blocks enzyme action by directly competing with the natural substrate for binding at the active site.

Noncompetitive Inhibitor

A substance that reduces enzyme activity by binding to a secondary site, changing the enzyme's active site shape.

Feedback Inhibition

A metabolic regulation mechanism where accumulation of an end product inhibits an enzyme operating early in its synthesis pathway.