Biology I - Key Concepts and Vocabulary

Flashcards defining core vocabulary terms from introductory lecture slides, covering levels of biological organization, properties of life, taxonomy, evolution, and experimental design.

Biosphere

The global ecological system that includes the land, sea, air, and all living organisms on Earth.

Population

A group of individuals belonging to the same species living in a given area.

Community

All the interacting populations of different species occupying a given area.

Ecosystem

A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.

Cell

The most basic structural and functional unit of life.

Tissue

A group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function.

Organ

A structure composed of different types of tissues working together to perform specific tasks.

Organ System

A group of organs that work together to perform complex physiological functions.

Prokaryotic Cell

A small, simple cell lacking a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, characteristic of bacteria.

Eukaryotic Cell

A complex cell containing membrane-bound organelles and a nucleus, found in plants, animals, and fungi.

Gene

A discrete unit of DNA that serves as the basic unit of hereditary material.

Order

A property of life characterized by complex, structured organization in living things.

Regulation

The ability of an organism to maintain an internal environment consistent with life.

Evolutionary Adaptation

The acquisition of traits over time that best suit an organism to its specific environment.

Taxonomy

The branch of science created to group living organisms into categories and understand their evolutionary relationships.

Extremophiles

Organisms, such as certain Archaea bacteria, that thrive in extreme environments characterized by high temperature, high salinity, or anoxic conditions.

Domain Eukarya

The domain comprising all non-bacterial organisms, divided into the kingdoms Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

Biodiversity

The sum total of all living organisms and their genetic information on Earth.

Conservation Biology

A field of study dedicated to efforts aimed at protecting Earth's biodiversity and ecosystems.

Natural Selection

A mechanism for evolution proposed by Charles Darwin where environmental factors favor heritable traits of certain individuals, leading to differential reproductive success.

Discovery Science

A scientific approach that uses verifiable observations and measurements to describe nature.

Hypothesis-Based Science

A scientific approach that relies on proposing and testing hypotheses to explain natural phenomena based on data.

Hypothesis

A proposed, testable, and falsifiable tentative explanation or prediction for a set of observations( if…then…)

Theory

A broad explanation supported by a large and growing body of evidence, established after repeated verification by multiple researchers.

Control Group

The baseline group in an experiment that receives no treatment or is kept under standard conditions to serve as a benchmark for comparison.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the specific treatment or altered condition being tested.

Independent Variable

The single factor or condition intentionally manipulated or changed by a researcher to test its effect.

Dependent Variable

The measurable outcome or data collected in an experiment that changes in response to the independent variable.