Introduction to Living Things

Flashcards providing vocabulary terms and definitions based on the lecture notes 'Introduction to Living Things', covering characteristics, chemical composition, energy use, response, growth, reproduction, origins of life, and survival needs.

Cellular organization

A characteristic of all living things, referring to the basic structure of an organism being made up of cells.

Cell

The basic unit of structure and function of an organism.

Unicellular organism

An organism made up of a single cell (e.g., bacteria).

Multicellular organism

An organism made up of many cells, which often have specialized functions (e.g., humans).

Water

The most abundant chemical in cells, vital for dissolving chemicals, breaking down food, growth, and reproduction.

Carbohydrates

The main energy source for living things.

Proteins and Lipids

Building blocks of living things found in cells.

Nucleic acid

The genetic material of cells, containing instructions to carry out life functions.

Metabolism

The combination of chemical reactions by which an organism takes in and breaks down materials to carry out life processes and stay alive.

Stimulus

A change in an organism's environment that causes it to react; the 'cause'.

Response

An organism's reaction to a change in its environment; the 'effect'.

Growth

The process by which an organism becomes larger.

Development

The process by which an organism produces more complex structures or becomes more complex.

Asexual reproduction

Reproduction involving only one parent, producing offspring that are identical to the parent.

Sexual reproduction

Reproduction involving two parents combining their genetic material to produce a new organism that differs from both parents.

Spontaneous generation

The discredited idea that living things could arise from nonliving things.

Redi's Experiment

A controlled experiment designed by Francesco Redi in the 1600s to disprove spontaneous generation by showing that flies do not spontaneously arise from decaying meat.

Controlled experiment

A series of tests that are identical in every respect except for one factor, used to test a hypothesis.

Manipulated variable (Independent variable)

The single factor that is purposely changed by the experimenter in a controlled experiment.

Responding variable (Dependent variable)

The factor that changes in response to the manipulated variable in a controlled experiment.

Pasteur's Experiment

An experiment confirming that new bacteria arise only from existing bacteria, further disproving spontaneous generation using special S-neck flasks.

Autotrophs

Organisms that can make their own food.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that cannot make their own food and must obtain it from other sources.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of stable internal conditions within an organism, even when external conditions change significantly.