Biosphere Oral Topics

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and definitions from the lecture notes on Biosphere oral topics.

Metabolism

The process by which living organisms take in substances and energy from their environment, which they incorporate and transform, using them to maintain life functions and expelling waste products.

Uniqueness

A relative separation of living systems, involving constant exchange of materials and energy with their environment, characterizing them as open material systems.

Homeostasis

The regulated constancy of the internal environment in living organisms, achieved through unified functioning and regulation.

Regulation

The ability of living organisms to adapt their functioning flexibly to changing external and internal conditions, based on irritability.

Irritability

The process by which living organisms perceive various stimuli from their environment and respond by changing their functioning.

Movement

The ability of organisms to move.

Reproduction

The process by which organisms produce offspring.

Growth

The increase in size and mass of organisms.

Heredity

The coded transmission of information and variability that can be inherited, passing parental traits to offspring.

Inherited Variability

The changes in inherited traits from generation to generation, allowing offspring to have traits differing from their parents, contributing to the diversity of life.

Mortality

Indicates that only viable organisms can die.

Evolution

The gradual and continuous development of life, driven by continuous changes in the inherited characteristics of species from generation to generation.

Organic Compounds

Compounds primarily containing carbon and hydrogen, forming the backbone of organic molecules with chains of carbon atoms.

Chemical Energy

The amount of energy required to break chemical bonds or the energy released when they form; the most significant form of energy in living organisms.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

An energy-storing and transporting compound found in all living organisms, providing energy for energy-demanding processes and regenerating through energy-producing processes.

Intermediate Metabolism

The totality of the transformative processes between intake and release during metabolism, allowing living organisms to maintain their uniqueness, relative constancy, and orderliness in a changing environment.

Biosphere

The collection of all the different environments on Earth and all the organisms living in those environments.