Botany Chapters 1,2,3 Test Review

Biomass

refers to all of the organisms in a given area

Green Organisms

organisms that can perform photosynthesis, the process of using carbon dioxide as a fuel source, while generating oxygen as a byproduct

Primary Consumers

anything that eats a photosynthetic organism (ex: cows)

Secondary Consumers

organisms that prey upon primary consumers

Who were the first people to use plants as medicines?

the Neanderthals

How much of all western medications come from plants?

40%

How many of the most common prescription drugs in the U.S. are made from plants?

20, the others come from fungi/bacteria/animals

How much of the globe do rainforests cover?

only about 6%

these rainforests are the top producers of oxygen, along with coral reefs and marine organisms

Why are forests cut down?

the resources of wood, agriculture farming land, wood, cattle grazing area, and mining

Coal formed in the Earth’s crust from:

plants, about 300-400 million years ago

“clean burning coal” does not exist

Hypothesis

a suggested statement of explanation to a given event

What must a hypothesis be?

must be testable and falsifiable/supportable

What are hypotheses based on?

the initial question/observation

Experiments

need to be designed, then a prediction is made, which is based on the hypothesis

Do experiments always have to be repeated?

yes, even if the hypothesis is supported, the experiment is always repeated multiple times

Scientific Law

a statement, often in math form that describes an aspect of the universe

What is the difference between laws and theories in science?

unlike theories, laws do not explain how or why the thing occurred

Examples of Scientific laws

the force of gravity on different objects → the velocity of an object moving from one place to another

laws of thermodynamics

How to tell if a hypothesis is not valid?

if there is no observation or experiment that could tell us if the hypothesis may be supported/not supported

Characteristics of Life

order/organization (smaller units build larger units)

growth or development

reproduction (heritable information)

response to stimuli

metabolism

adaptation to the environment

made of cells

Biological Organization/Order

atom, molecule, macromolecule

atoms

the smallest unit of matter and can bond together to form molecules

contain protons, neutrons, and electrons

Molecules (Ex: O₂ or N₂)

can come together to form compounds (ex: CO₂, H₂O)

Macromolecule

just really big, made of lots of molecules like proteins

Chemistry

the study of matter

Matter

anything that has mass and takes up space, all of it is made up of elements

Essential Elements

natural elements that a particular organism needs to survive

Six most common elements of life

Carbon (C), Oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N), Hydrogen (H), Phosphorous (P), and Calcium (Ca)

atomic nucleus

the protons/neutrons are at the core of the atom

Electrons

particles that dictate how reactive/stable an element is, and orbit around the atomic nucleus

have a negative charge and negligible weight

match the number of protons in any atom’s natural state

have more energy when they’re farther from the nucleus

What defines an element’s identity?

the number of protons

Valence shell

outermost orbital, it can hold up to 8 electrons for most atoms (valence electrons)

What is a stable element?

elements with full valence shells

What is an unstable element?

elements with opening in the valence shell

Isotopes

have the same number of protons, but the number of neutrons is different, the opposite of elements

naturally occurring, and are not unusual

Radioactive Isotopes

unstable isotopes that will predictably decay over time, releasing energy and even protons

if the number of protons change, then the element itself if transforming into another element