BIOL 101

Biology

The study of living things and organisms.

Anatomy

How organisms are constructed.

Physiology

How organisms function.

Cells

The basic unit of life; all living things are made up of cells that are independently alive and function with incredible complexity.

Reproduction

The mechanism by which parents produce offspring.

Fertilization

The process in which sperm fertilizes an egg.

DNA

The molecule that carries genetic instructions and information.

Nucleus

The structure that houses the DNA information.

Metabolism

The combined capacity to obtain energy from a source and use that energy to perform life processes.

Stimulus

A change in an organism's environment that is detected by one of the senses.

Virus structure

Made up of a protein sheath or coat and a DNA or RNA strand

atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism.

Levels of organization

Atoms

The smallest unit of matter.

Molecule

A group of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.

Organelles

Tiny, specialized structures inside a cell that perform specific jobs to keep the cell alive.

Tissue

A group of similar cells that perform a particular function.

Organs

Collections of different types of tissues that together perform a function.

Organ system

Collections of organs that perform a particular function.

Population

All members of a species located in a close enough area to interbreed.

Community

All the populations living in a given area and their interactions.

Ecosystems

All populations and their interactions with the non-biological environment.

Biosphere

All the ecosystems on and within the planet Earth.