AP Biology Chapter 1 Vocab

Adaptive radiation

Period of evolutionary change in which groups of organisms form many new species whose adaptations allow them to fill different ecological roles in their communities.

Archaea

One of two prokaryotic domains, the other being Bacteria.

ATP

An adenine-containing nucleoside triphosphate that releases free energy when its phosphate bonds are hydrolyzed. This energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells.

Archaean

The second of four geologic eons of Earth's history.

Bioinformatics

The use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets.

Controlled expirement

An experiment designed to compare an experimental group with a control group; ideally, the two groups differ only in the factor being tested.

Data

Recorded observations.

Deductive Reasoning

A type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise.

Deoxyribosenucleic acid (DNA)

A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins.

Discovery Science

A scientific methodology which aims to find new patterns, correlations, and form hypotheses through the analysis of large-scale experimental data.

Emergent properties

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

Eukarya

The domain that includes all eukaryotic organisms.

Eukaryotic cell

A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles.

Evolution

Descent with modification; the process by which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time; also defined as a change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation.

Genome

The genetic material of an organism or virus; the complete complement of an organism’s or virus’s genes along with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences.

Hypothesis

A testable explanation for a set of observations based on the available data and guided by inductive reasoning. A ____________ is narrower in scope than a theory.

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Inductive reasoning

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.

Inquiry

An approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material world, and that leads to asking questions, making discoveries, and testing those discoveries in the search for new understanding.

Model

A physical or conceptual representation of a natural phenomenon.

Negative feedback

A form of regulation in which accumulation of an end product of a process slows the process; in physiology, a primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a variable triggers a response that counteracts the initial change.

Order

In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic category above the level of family.

Positive feedback

A form of regulation in which an end product of a process speeds up that process; in physiology, a control mechanism in which a change in a variable triggers a response that reinforces or amplifies the change.

Prokaryotic cell

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles.

Systems biology

An approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts.

Technology

The application of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose, often involving industry or commerce but also including uses in basic research.