Unit 2: Cell Processes Academic Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering cellular transport mechanisms, cell division stages, cellular respiration, and nucleic acids.

Active Transport

The movement of substances across a cell membrane that requires the use of energy.

Anaerobic respiration

Type of cellular respiration that occurs without oxygen; releases less energy but more quickly.

Anaphase

Third stage of cell division in which the chromosomes move away from one another to opposite poles of the spindle

Aerobic respiration

Type of cellular respiration that occurs with oxygen; releases more energy but more slowly

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a molecule that is the source of energy for use and storage at the cellular level

Cell cycle

A series of events that takes place in a cell as it grows and divides

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells break down glucose and other organic molecules to release energy.

Cytokinesis

The cytoplasmic division of a cell at the end of mitosis or meiosis, bringing about the separation into two daughter cells.

Diffusion

The process by which molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.

DNA

Molecule present in all living things; contains the genetic information that determines the traits that an organism inherits and needs to live

Endocytosis

The process by which cells engulf external substances by forming a vesicle around them.

Exocytosis

The process by which cells release substances from inside the cell to the outside.

Facilitated Diffusion

The movement of specific molecules across a cell membrane with the help of transport proteins.

Fermentation

Anaerobic process in which energy can be released from glucose even if oxygen is not available; usually in unicellular organisms and muscle cells of animals

Glucose

A sugar molecule produced during photosynthesis

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a constant internal state in a changing environment

Hypertonic Solution

Solution that has a higher concentration of solutes outside the cell than inside the cell. When a cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, water will move out of the cell by osmosis to the area of higher solute concentration, causing the cell to shrink.

Hypotonic Solution

Solution in which the concentration of solutes is lower outside the cell than inside the cell. This causes water to move into the cell by osmosis, potentially causing the cell to swell and burst.

Interphase

Stage of cell cycle in which the cell grows and the nuclear DNA is duplicated.

Isotonic Solution

A solution that has the same concentration of solutes as another solution across a semipermeable membrane. When two solutions are isotonic, there is no net movement of water across the membrane, meaning the solutions are in equilibrium.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes in a parent cell by half, producing four daughter cells called gametes

Metaphase

Second stage of cell division during which the nucleus dissolves and the cell's chromosomes condense and move together, aligning in the middle of the cell

Mitosis

The process of cell division that results in the formation of two identical daughter cells.

Osmosis

The movement of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of lower solute concentration to an area of higher solute concentration.

Passive Transport

The movement of substances across a cell membrane without the use of energy.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy into chemical energy.

Prophase

First stage of cell division during which a cell's DNA (chromatin) condenses into visible chromosomes, spindle fibers begin to form, and the nuclear envelope dissolves.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid; A molecule made up of nucleotides; a copy of DNA. Acts as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins outside of the nucleus

Semipermeable cell membrane

Organelle that controls the movement of substances in and out of a cell by allowing certain substances to pass through it, but not others

Telophase

Fourth stage of cell division during which the chromosomes move to opposite ends of the cell and two nuclei are formed

Tonicity

the ability of a solution to make a cell gain or lose water through osmosis