Biology Vocabulary
Terms
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- Ribosome
- Organelle in the cell; site of protein synthesis.
- Nutrition
- The ingestion and digestion of materials.
- Active Transport
- Movement of particles against a gradient, from low to high concentration. Always requires the expenditure of energy.
- Alleles
- Alternate forms of a gene. Ex. the pea plant has two alleles for height: tall and dwarf.
- Analogous Structures
- Structures that have the same function, such as a bat's wing and a bird's wing, but differ in underlying function. This adaptation suggests a common environment, but a separate ancestry.
- Antibodies
- Immunoglobins. Part of the third line of defense, the specific immune response. Each antibody is a Y-shaped molecule consisting of four polypeptide chains.
- ATP (adenosine triphoshpate)
- Special high-energy molecule that stores energy for immediate use within the cell.
- Autosomes
- Chromosomes other than the sex chromosomes. Humans usually have 44 in each body cell.
- Carbon Fixation
- Incorporation of carbon dioxide into a sugar. Occurs during the Calvin cycle.
- Chemiosmosis
- How ATP is produced during oxidative phosphorylation. Protons only flow through the special ATP synthetase channels and transfer energy to molecules of ATP.
- Codominance
- An inheritance pattern wher both traits show at once. Ex. type AB blood in humans (expression of both the A and B alleles)
- Cofactors
- Minerals that assist in the normal function of enzymes.
- Conjugation
- A primitive form of sexual reproduction in which genetic material is exchanged.
- Covalent Bonds
- Bonds formed between two molecules that share electrons.
- Cytokinesis
- Division of the cytoplasm. In animal cells, a cleavage furrow forms down the middle of the cell; in plant cells, a cell plate forms and divides the cell into separate halves.
- Deletion
- A mutation where a piece of a gene, or chromosome, is lost.
- Denature
- A change in the shape of a protein (such as enzymes) that stops the protein from functioning.
- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- The hereitable material that is passed from parent to offspring.
- Egestion
- Removal of metabolic, or cellular, wastes.
- Ecosystem
- Includes all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic (nonliving) factors with which they interact.
- Eukaryotes
- Cells that contain internal membranes. Opposite of prokaryotic cells.
- Fermentation
- Anaerobic phase of cellular respiration.
- Founder Effect
- A small population, which is not representative of the large population, breaks away to colonize.
- G3P (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate or PGAL)
- First sugar produced by photosynthesis.
- Genetic Drift
- Change in the gene pool due to chance. Two examples are the Bottleneck effect and the Founder effect.
- Genome
- An organism's genetic material. The human genome consists of 3 billion base pairs of DNA and about 30,000 genes.
- Glucagon
- Hormone released by the pancreas to raise blood sugar.
- Hemocoels
- Sinuses. Cavities in the bodies of insects, like grasshoppers, for exchange of nutrients and wastes.
- Hemophilia
- An inherited disease caused by the abscence of one or more proteins necessary for normal blood clotting.
- Heterotrophs
- Organisms that must take in all their nutrients.
- Homeostatis
- Internal stability.
- Hydrogen Bonding
- An intermolecular attraction between molecules that exert a strong pull on their electrons. This attraction keeps the two strands of a DNA molecule together.
- Hypertonic
- Having greater concentration of solute than another solution.
- Hypotonic
- Having less concentration of a solute than another solution.
- Incomplete Dominance
- An inheritance pattern characterized by the blending of traits. Ex. crossing black fur with white fur to get gray fur.
- Ingestion
- Intake of nutrients.
- Krebs Cycle
- Also known as the citric acid cycle; the first stage of the aerobic phase of cellular respiration. Occurs in the inner matrix of the mitochondria.
- Leukocyte
- White blood cell.
- Light-dependent reactions
- Part of photosynthesis that requires light, produces ATP, and releases oxygen.
- Limiting factors
- Factors that limit population growth. They are divided into two categories: density-dependent and density-independent.
- Lysosome
- Cell organelle that consists of digestive (hydrolitic) enzymes and is the principal site of intracellular digestion.
- Macroevolution
- Refers to speciation, the formation of an entirely new species.
- Metabolism
- The sum total of all life functions.
- Cell Respiration
- A series of oxidative reactions by which cells release energy from glucose and transfer it to molecules of ATP.
- Christae
- Convoluted inner membrane of the mitochondria.
- Enzyme
- Organic catalyst.
- Amino Acid
- Building blocks of proteins.
- Glycolysis
- The anaerobic phase of aerobic respiration. One molecule of glucose breaks apart into two molecules of pyruvate.
- Alcoholic Fermentation
- The process by which certain cells convert pyruvic acid or pyruvate from glycolysis into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide in the absence of oxygen.
- Lactic Acid Fermentation
- Occurs during strenuous exercise when the body cannot keep up with the increased demand for oxygen by skeletal muscles. Pyruvic acid converts to lactic acid, which builds up in the muscle and causes fatigue and burning.
- Antigen
- Anything that triggers an antibody response.
- Saprobes
- Organisms that obtain food from decaying organic matter.
- Solute
- Substance that is dissolved in a solvent.
- Solvent
- Substance that does the dissolving. In a solution of salt and water, the salt is the solute and the water the solvent.
- Somatic System
- Part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscles.
- Specific heat
- Amount of heat that must be absorbed in order for 1 gram of a substance to change its temperature by 1 degree Celsius.
- Stabilizing Selection
- This type of natural selection eliminates the extremes and favors more common intermediate forms.
- Restriction Enzymes
- Extracted from bacteria; they cut DNA at specific recognition sequences or sites, such as GAATTC.
- Osmosis
- Diffusion of water across a membrane.
- Microfilaments
- Made of the protein actin and help support ht shape of the cell. They enamble animal cells to form a cleavage furrow during cell division or the amoeba to move by sending out pseudopods.
- Phagocytosis
- Cellular process of engulfing food and encapsulating it in a vacuole.
- Photolysis
- The process that occurs during the light-dependent reactions in which water is ripped apart to provide electrons to replace those lost by chlorophyll a. Oxygen is released.
- Mycorrhizae
- Symbiotic structures consisting of the plant's roots intermingled with the hyphae (filaments) of a fungus, which greatly increase the quantity of nutrients that a plant can absorb.
- Cyclosis
- Movement of cytoplasm around the cell.
- Endosperm
- Food for the growing embyro in a monocot seed.The cells that make up the endosperm are triploid.
- Epididymis
- Part of the testes where sperm become motile.
- Epiglottis
- Flap of cartilage in the back of the throat that directs food to the esophagus.
- Erythrocytes
- Red blood cells.
- Parasitism
- Relationship between organisms in which one is harmed while the other benefits.
- Mutualism
- Relationship between organisms in which both benefit.
- Commensalism
- Relationship between organisms in which one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped.
- Niche
- Ecological role of an organism.
- Abiotic
- Non-living.
- Biotic
- Living.
- Hypocotyl
- Embryonic root.
- Epicotyl
- Embyronic stem.
- Phototropism
- Movement or growth of a plant towards light.
- Gravitropism
- Movement or growth of a plant in response to gravity.
- Digestion
- Enzymatic breakdown (hydrolysis) of food so it is small enough to be assimilated by the body.
- Respiration
- Metabolic processes that produce energy (ATP) for all the life processes.
- Transport
- Distribution of molecules from one part of a cell to another or from one cell to another.
- Regulation
- Ability to maintain internal stability (homeostasis).
- Synthesis
- Combining of small molecules or substances into larger, more complex ones.
- Excretion
- Removal of metabolic wastes.
- Reproduction
- Ability to generate offspring.
- Irritability
- Ability to respond to stimuli.
- Locomotion
- Moving from place to place (animal cells only)
- Polyploidy
- Having entire extra sets of chromosomes. This is a normal occurrence in plants.
- Aneuploidy
- Having any abnormal number of chromosomes.
- Recombinant DNA
- taking DNA from two sources and combining them in one cell.
- Nondisjunction
- Homologous pairs of chromosomes fail to separate during meiosis. No crossing over occurs.