Bio Final Vocab
bio vocab words for final
Terms
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- biome
- group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities
- chloroplast
- organelle found in cells of plants and some other organisms that captures the energy from sunlight and converts it into chemical energy
- element
- substance consisting entirely of one type of atom
- compound
- substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in definite proportions
- citric acid cycle
- the Krebs cycle
- equilibrium
- when the concentration of a solute is the same throughout a solution
- hypothesis
- possible explanation for a set of observations or possible answer to scientific question
- genetic diversity
- sum total of all the different forms of genetic information carried by all organisms living on Earth today
- DNA
- deoxyribonucleic acid; nucleic acid that contains the sugar deoxyribose
- isotonic solution
- when the concentration of two solutions is the same
- lactic acid fermentation
- generates NAD+ so that glycolysis can continue
- molecules
- the smallest units of most compounds
- competitive exclusion principle
- ecological rule that states that no two species can occupy the same exact niche in the same habitat at the same time
- invasive species
- plants and animals that have migrated to places where they are not native
- ecosystem
- collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving environment
- chemical reaction
- process that changes one set of chemicals into another set of chemicals
- nuclear envelope
- layer of two membranes that surround the nucleus of a cell
- ATP
- large protein that uses energy from H+
- stroma
- region outside the thylakoid membranes in chloroplast
- enzyme
- protein that acts as a biological catalyst
- diffusion
- process by which molecules tend to move from an area where they are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated
- chromosomes
- threadlike structure within the nucleus containing the genetic information that is passed from one generation of cells to the next
- consumers
- organisms that rely on other organisms for its energy and food supply
- molecule
- smallest unit of most compounds
- omnivore
- organism that obtains energy by eating both plants and animals
- glucose
- a sugar molecule
- amino acid
- compound with an amino group (-NH₂) on one end and a carboxyl group (-COOH) on the other end
- evaporation
- process by which water changes from a liquid into an atmospheric gas
- reactant
- element of compound that enters into a chemical reaction
- autotroph
- organism that can capture energy from the sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called a producer
- prokaryote
- unicellular organism lacking a nucleus
- acid rain
- rain containing nitric and sulfuric acids
- centromers
- area where the chromatids of a chromosome are attached
- Kreb's cycle
- pyruvic acid is broken down into carbon dioxide in a series of energy-extractin reactions
- ecosystem diversity
- variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the living world
- abiotic factors
- physical or nonliving factor that shapes an ecosystem
- parasitism
- symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and consequently harms it
- reproduction
- the process by which living things reproduce
- biosphere
- part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere
- osmosis
- diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane
- cytoplasm
- material inside the cell membrane - not including the nucleus
- observation
- use of one or more of the senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, and sometimes taste - to gather information
- pyruvic acid
- accumulates as a result of glycolysis can be converted to lactic acid
- niche
- full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
- stimulus
- a signal to which an organism responds
- catalyst
- substance that speeds up the rate of chemical reaction
- yeast
- unicellular fungi
- population
- group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
- humus
- material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter
- symbiosis
- relationship in which two species live closely together
- FAD
- part of the Krebs cycle
- hypotonic solution
- when comparing two solutions, the solution with the lesser concentration of solutes
- coniferous
- term used to refer to trees that produce seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles
- mixture
- material compound of two or more elements or compounds that are physically mixed together but not chemically combined
- van der Waals forces
- a slight attraction that develops between the oppositely charged regions of nearby molecules
- ion
- atom that has a positive or negative charge
- modeling
- helps gain insight into complex phenomenas such as the effects of global warming
- cellular respiration
- process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen
- nucleolus
- small dense region within most nuclei in which the assembly of proteins begins
- biological magnification
- increasing concentration of a harmful substance in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain or food web
- aphids
- bugs that feed on plant buds and leaves
- mitochondrial matrix
- inside of the inner membrane
- product
- element or compound produced by a chemical reaction
- pollutant
- harmful material that can enter the biosphere through land, air and water
- carbohydrates
- compound made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms; major source of energy for the human body
- base
- a compound that produces hydroxide ion (OH-) in solution
- ecological succession
- gradual change in living communities that follows a disturbance
- fermentation
- process by which cells release energy in the absence of oxygen
- acetyl-CoA
- the other two-carbon atoms from pyruvic acid that are joined to a compound called coenzyme A to form acetyl-CoA
- metabolism
- set of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials as it carries out its life processes
- concentration
- wise management of natural resources, including the preservation of habitats and wildlife
- species
- group of similar organisms that can be bread and produce fertile offspring
- electron
- negatively charged particle; located outside the atomic nucleus
- species diversity
- number of different species in the biospherre
- primary succession
- succession that occurs on surfaces where no soil exists
- organelle
- specialized structure that performs important cellular functions within a eukaryotic cell
- electron transport chain
- a series of proteins in which the high energy electrons from the Krebs Cycle are used to convet ADP into ATP
- demographic transition
- change in propulation from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates
- mitosis
- part of eukaryotic cell division during which the cell nucleus divides
- nucleic acid
- macromolecule containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and phophorus
- data
- evidence; information gathered from observations
- autographs
- organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food from inorganic compounds; also called a producer
- ecology
- scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
- neutron
- particle that carries no charge inside the nucleus
- solution
- mixture of two or more substances in which the molecules of the substances are evenly distributed
- anaerobic
- process that does not require oxygen
- agriculture
- the practice of farming
- biome
- group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities
- manipulated variable
- factor in a experiment that a scientist purposely changes; also known as independent variable
- pigment
- light-absorbing molecule
- cell plate
- the precursor of a new plant cell wall that forms during cell division and divides a cell into two
- chlorophyll A
- one of two types of chlorophyll
- components of cells
- DNA, cytoplasm, and a membrane
- ecological pyramid
- diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter within each trophic level in a food chain or food web
- theory
- well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
- alkaline solution
- contain lower concentrations of H+ ions than pure water and have pH values above 7
- adenosine triphosphate
- ATP; one of the principal chemical compounds that living things use to store and release energy
- chromatid
- one of two identical "sister" parts of a duplicate chromosome
- emigration
- movement of individuals out of an area
- resource
- any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food or space
- suspension
- mixture of water and nondissolved materials
- adhesion
- attraction between molecules of different substances; in plants, attraction between unlike molecules
- population growth
- occurs when the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate
- channel protein
- channel that proteins travel through
- chromatin
- granular material visible within the nucleus; consists of DNA tightly coiled around proteins
- homeostasis
- process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal enviroment
- glycogen
- supplies energy for the muscle contractions
- habitat
- the area where an organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that effect it
- marker protein
- marks protein
- population density
- number of individuals per unit of area
- demography
- scientific study of human population
- conservation
- wise management of natural resources, including the preservation of habitats and wildlife
- biodiversity
- biological diversity; the sum total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere
- unsaturated lipids
- if there is at least on carbon=carbon (C=C) double bond in a fatty acid
- pioneer species
- first species to populate an area during primary succession
- carrying capacity
- largest number of individuals of a population that a given environment can support
- inference
- logical interpretation based on prior knowledge or experience
- green revolution
- the development of highly productive crop strains and the use of modern agriculture techniques to increase yields of food crops
- mitochondrion
- cell organelle that converts the chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are more convenient for the cell to use
- isotope
- atom of an elements that has a number of neutrons different from that of other atoms of the same element
- desertification
- in areas with dry climates, a process caused by a combination of poor farming practices, over grazing, and drought that turns productive land into desert
- biogeochemical pathway
- process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another
- compound microscope
- microscope that allows light to pass through a specimen and uses two lenses to form an image
- alcohol fermentation
- produces carbon dioxide as well as alcohol, causes bread dough to rise
- NADPH
- energy carriers
- solvent
- substance in which a solute is dissolved to form a solution
- Virchow
- proposes that all cells come from existing cells, completing the cell theory
- substrate
- reactant of an enzym-catalyzed reaction
- trophic level
- step in a food chain or web
- vacuole
- cell organelle that stores materials such as water, salts, proteins, and carbohydrates
- centrioles
- one of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope
- acid
- a compound that forms hydrogen ions (H+) in solution
- age-structure diagram
- graph of the numbers of males and females within differenct age groups of a population
- controlled experiment
- a test of the effect of a single variable by changing it while keeping all other variables the same
- decomposer
- organisms that break down and obtain energy from dead organic matter
- NAD+
- electron carrier involved in glycolysis
- atom
- basic unit of matter
- ethyl alcohol
- the product of alcohol fermentation
- NADPH
- plants use the energy from it to build high energy compound that can be stored for a long time
- biology
- science that seeks to understand the living world; the study of living things
- G1 phase
- a period of activity in which most cells do most of their growing
- community
- assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area
- monomer
- small unit that can join together with other small units to form polymers
- NADP+
- one of the carrier molecules that transfers high-energy electrons from chlorophyll to other molecules
- cell
- collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier that separates the cell from its surroundings; basic unit of all forms of life
- photosynthesis
- process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
- deciduous
- term used to refer to a tree that shed its leaves during a particular season each year
- eukaryote
- organism whose cells contain a nucleus
- science
- organized way of using evidence to learn aobut the natural world; also, the body of knowledge that scientists have built up after years of using this process
- evolution
- change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
- glycolysis
- first step in releasing the energy of glucose, in which a molecule of glucose is broken into two molecules of pyruvic acid
- spindle
- fanlike microtube structure that helps seperate the chromosomes during mitosis
- suspensions
- mixture of water and nondissolved materials
- ATP synthase
- large protein that uses energy from H+ ions to bind ADP and a phosphate group together to produce ATP
- habitat fragmentation
- splitting of ecosystems into small fragments
- Hooke
- looked at a piece of cork through a microscope and found they were made of many chambers
- monosaccharide
- single sugar molecule
- denitrification
- conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas
- monoculture
- farming strategy in which large fields are planted with a single crop, year after year
- thylakoid
- saclike photosynthetic membrane found in chloroplast
- activation energy
- energy needed to get a reaction started
- acidic solution
- contain higher concentrations of H+ ions than pure water and have pH values below 7
- nitrogen fixation
- process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia
- centriole
- one of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope
- chemosynthesis
- process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, use chemical energy to produce carbohudrates
- visible spectrum
- energy from the sun in the form of light; "white light"
- cytokinesis
- the second stage, division of the cytoplasm
- C6H12O6
- 6 compound sugars
- proton
- psitively charge particles inside the nucleus
- food chain
- series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eatenq
- spontaneous generation
- hypothesis (disproven) stating that life could arise from nonliving matter
- photosystem II
- light is used to break up water molecules into energized electrons, hydrogen ions (H+) and oxygen
- nucleus (atomic)
- the center of the atom which contains the protons and neutrons; in cells, structure that contains the cell's genetic material (DNA) and controls the cell's activities
- chlorophyll
- principal pigment of plants and other photosynthetic organisms capture
- polysaccharide
- large macromolecule formed from monosaccharides
- producers
- organisms that capture enerty from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce food from inorganic compounds
- polymer
- large compound formed from combinations of many monomers
- matter
- is anything that takes up space
- lipid bilayer
- double-layered sheet that forms the core of nearly all cell membranes
- aquaculture
- the raising of aquatic organisms for human consumption
- disease
- any change, other than an injury, that disrupts the normal functions of the body
- transportation
- loss of water from a plant through its leaves
- carbohydrate
- a compound made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms; major source of energy for the human body
- immigration
- movement of individuals into an area occupied by an existing population
- heterotroph
- organism that obtains energy from the foods it consumes; also called a consumer
- cohesion
- attraction between molecules of the same substance
- prokaryote
- unicellular organism lacking a nucleus
- adenosine diphosphate
- ADP; looks like ATP, has two phosphate groups
- catalyst
- substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction
- pH scale
- measurement system used to indicate the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in solution; ranges from 0 to 14
- food web
- network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
- hypertonic solution
- when comparing tow solutions, the solution with the greater concentration fo solutes
- solute
- substance that is dissolved in a solvent to make a solution
- ATP synthase
- large protein that use energy from H+ ions to bind ADP and a phosphate group together to produce ATP
- buffers
- weak acid or base that can react with strong acids or bases to help prevent sharp, sudden changes in pH
- microclimate
- climate within a small area that differs significantly from the climate of the surrounding area
- lipid
- macromolecule made mainly from carbon and hydrogen atoms, includes fats, oils, and waxes