Bio Unit 2: Chemistry of Life

i hate this class

biotic

living; being or relating to living organisms

abiotic

physical / nonliving; not associated or derived from living organisms

DNA

genetic material that organisms inherit from their parents

organization

internal systems in an organism that keep order and make up its whole

growth

having different developmental stages

stimulus response

an organism’s reaction to an external/environmental signal (light, temperature, smell)

reproduce

pass on an organism’s genetic information to its offspring

energy

organisms need to consume things to survive

adapt

change/act accordingly in response to one’s surroundings

cells

basic unit of all forms of life

homeostasis

relatively constant internal physical and chemical conditions that organisms maintain

virus

particle that can replicate only by infecting living cells (made of protein, nucleic acids, and sometimes lipids)

atom

the basic unit of matter

element

pure substance that consists entirely of one type of atom

molecule

smallest unit of most compounds that displays all the properties of that compound

compound

substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in definite proportions

proton

positively charged particle; located in the nucleus

electron

negatively charged particle; located in the space surrounding the nucleus

neutron

particle with no charge; located in the nucleus

subscript

tells you the number of atoms in the preceding element

coefficient

the whole number in front of the compound that tells you how many of the compound there are

chemical formula

an expression that shows the elements in a chemical compound or molecule

monomer

small chemical unit that makes up a polymer

polymer

molecule composed of many monomers; makes up macromolecules

carbohydrate

compound made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms; types of nutrients that are the major source of energy to the body

lipid

macromolecule made mostly from carbon and hydrogen atoms; includes fats, oils, and waxes

nucleotide

subunit of which nucleic acids are composed; made up of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base

nucleic acid

macromolecule containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorous

protein

macromolecule that contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; needed by the body for growth and repair

amino acid

compound with an amino group on one end and a carboxyl group on the other end

reactant

elements or compounds that enter into a chemical reaction

product

elements of compounds produced by chemical reactions

activation energy

energy input that is needed for a reaction to begin

catalyst

substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction

enzyme

protein catalyst that speeds up the rate of specific biological reactions

substrate

reactant of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction

active site

the cavity on an enzyme where the substrate enters in