Secondary Biology Vocabulary Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental concepts of Secondary Biology, including terminology from genetics, cytology, physiology, and ecology based on the classroom transcript.

Biology

A science derived from two Greek words— 'bios' meaning life and 'logos' meaning knowledge—which includes the observation, examination, and discussion of living beings.

Father of Biology

Aristotle is regarded as the father of this science.

Morphology

The branch of biology that deals with both the external and internal structures of an organism.

Anatomy

The subject concerning the internal structures of an organism.

Cytology

The branch of biology in which the structures and functions of cells are treated.

Histology

The branch of biology focused on the structure, location, and function of different tissues.

Physiology

The study of all biological activities of living things, such as growth, respiration, excretion, and photosynthesis.

Taxonomy

The branch of biology concerned with the identification, nomenclature, and classification of plants and animals.

Genetics

The study and research of how different characters are inherited from parents to offspring and how these processes can be controlled.

Ecology

The branch of biology considering the effects of environment on living organisms or communities and the interaction between them.

Evolution

The branch of biology dealing with the origin and successive transformations of living organisms.

Father of Botany

Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle who divided the plant community into four groups: trees, shrubs, undershrubs, and herbs.

Al Nafis

An Arabian scientist who correctly described the system of blood circulation in the human body 300 years before William Harvey.

Anthony Von Leeuwenhoek

A Dutch scientist credited with first building the microscope and writing descriptions of bacteria, nerve cells, Hydra, and Volvox.

Father of Modern Taxonomy

Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish scientist who introduced the system of Binomial Nomenclature for plants and animals.

Father of Genetics

Gregor Johann Mendel, an Austrian priest who established the laws of heredity through research with pea plants.

Thomas Henly Huxley

A British Zoologist who described protoplasm as the physical basis of life.

Alexander Fleming

A Microbiologist famous for discovering the drug penicillin from Penicillium in 1918.

James Watson and Francis Crick

Scientists famous for discovering the molecular structure of DNA as a double helix and spiral in 1953.

Cell

The structural and functional unit of a living body where all reactions and anti-reactions are centered.

Prokaryotic cell

A cell where the nucleus is not well organized, lacking a nuclear membrane and nucleolus, and cell division occurs via amitosis.

Eukaryotic cell

A cell with a well-organized nucleus containing a membrane and nucleolus, where cell division happens through mitosis.

Protoplasm

A jelly-like, translucent, viscous, colorless semi-solid living substance divided into the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus.

Plasma membrane

A soft living bi-layered membrane surrounding the protoplasm that regulates the transportation and absorption of nutrients.

Microvilli

Finger-like outgrowths in the cell membrane of some epithelial cells that increase the absorption surface.

Plastid

The largest organelles in the cytoplasm, classified into leucoplasts (colorless) and chromoplasts (colored).

Chloroplast

A green chromatoplast containing chlorophyll used to prepare carbohydrate food through photosynthesis.

Stroma

The hygroscopic matrix inside a chloroplast surrounded by a membrane.

Mitochondria

The powerhouse of the cell where the Krebs cycle, fatty acid cycle, and electron transport system take place to produce energy.

Ribosome

Small granular organelles where various amino acids are combined to synthesize protein.

Lysosome

Organelles bounded by a bi-layered membrane that perform phagocytosis to protect walls by eating invading enemies.

Centrosome

A spherical body in animal cells containing two cylindrical centrioles that help direct the poles of the spindle apparatus during division.

Tonoplast

The thin membrane that covers the vacuole in a cell.

Nucleus

The denser and clearer organ found in the protoplasm that controls the total activity of the cell.

Amitosis

A type of cell division in unicellular prokaryotic organisms like bacteria where nuclear materials split directly.

Mitosis

Also termed equational division, a process by which a eukaryotic somatic cell divides into two identical daughter cells.

Meiosis

Also termed reduction division, where a cell divides into four daughter cells with half the number of mother chromosomes.

Meristematic tissue

Plant tissue composed of cells that divide repeatedly, allowing the plant to increase in size rapidly.

Parenchyma

Simple plant tissue with living cells that manufacture food, store reserve food, and help in transportation.

Xylem tissue

Complex plant tissue consisting of tracheids, vessels (trachaea), xylem fibre, and xylem parenchyma used for water conduction.

Phloem tissue

Complex plant tissue consisting of sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem fibres, and phloem parenchyma used for food conduction.

Epithelial tissue

Animal tissue that forms the external and internal covering of organs and takes part in protection, secretion, and absorption.

Binomial Nomenclature

The process of scientific naming of organisms with two words, using the genus name first and the species name thereafter.

Imbibition

The process of absorption of water by dry or semi-dry colloidal substances like plant cell walls and protoplasm.

Diffusion

The movement of molecules of a substance from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration at constant temperature and pressure.

Osmosis

A process by which solvent (water) diffuses from an area of high concentration through a semi-permeable membrane to an area of low concentration.

Turgor Pressure

The pressure exerted by the protoplasm on the cell wall when a cell becomes turgid due to endosmosis.

Transpiration

The physiological process where plants lose water in the form of vapor through aerial parts, primarily the leaves.

Photosynthesis

A biochemical process where green plant parts manufacture carbohydrate food using $CO_2$ and water with light energy.

Respiration

The biochemical process by which energy and $CO_2$ are produced by the oxidation of food materials combining with $O_2$.

Food Chain

The cyclic transfer of food and energy from producers through various levels of consumers and decomposers.

Eco-system

The relation and interactions between living and non-living objects in a particular geographical region.