Terminology: Chapter 10

Terminology: Chapter 10

Homeostasis – Any self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival.

Heterotrophic organisms – An organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients.

Autotrophic – An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances using light or chemical energy.

Potential energy – Stored energy which can be used to do work.

Kinetic energy – Energy of movement

Radiation spectrum – The spectrum of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

Electromagnetic spectrum – The entire range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation

Gamma rays – Is a penetrating electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves and so imparts the highest photon energy.

Radio waves – A type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light.

Chloroplasts – Is a cell organelle that produces energy through photosynthesis.

Carotenoids – Carotenoids are a type of accessory pigment

Granum – Light dependent phase of photosynthesis

Stroma – Light independent phase of photosynthesis

Radiant energy – Energy that travels by waves or particles, particularly electromagnetic radiation such as heat or x-rays

Metabolic process – The sum of the chemical reactions that take place within each cell of a living organism

Catalyzed – The process by which a substance speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed or altered in the process.

Enzymes – Biological molecules that significantly speed up the rate of virtually all of the chemical reactions that take place within cells.

Fossil Fuels – Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals.