Biology Midterm Vocabulary
Biology Vocabulary Midterm Review
Terms
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- Biosphere
- The outer portion of Earth-air, water, and soil- where life is found
- Cell/Plasma Membrane
- Double semipermeable
- Nucleotide
- A subunit of DNA or RNA composed of a 5-carbon sugar, a nitrogen-containing base, and a phosphate group
- Golgi Apparatus
- Flat sacs that package and secrete molecules for export
- Enzymes
- A protein or part-protein molecule made by an organism and used as a catalyst in a specific biochemical reaction
- Vacuoles
- Vesicles for storage of salts, enzymes, food, pigments, H2O; Larger in plants
- Chromosome Segregation
- Separation of the sister chromatids during mitosis in which each new nucleus receives one copy of each chromosome
- Cyclins
- A group of proteins whose function is to regulate the progression of a cell through the cell cycle and whose concentrations rise and fall throughout the cell cycle
- Plastid
- Synthesize ATP from light in photosynthesis
- Big Bang
- When all of our universe's condensed matter exploded, sending it into space where gravity pulled it into planets
- Methanogens
- Archaebacteria that live in anaerobic environments and produce methane as a by-product of their metabolic process
- Cell Cycle
- An ordered sequence of events in the life of a dividing eukaryotic cell, composed of mitosis and interphase growth and DNA synthesis phases
- Abiotic Factors
- Referring to a physical or nonliving component of an ecosystem
- Extensions of Cytoskeleton
- Flagella (Whiplike) and Cilia (Short Hairs)
- Cell Wall
- Nonliving, Rigid (Gives Support for Plants Only)
- Cytoskeleton
- Protein network for shape; Movement is made of microtubules
- Mitochondria
- The organelles in eukaryotic cells that carry on cell respiration
- Virus
- A nonliving, infectious particle of nucleic acid, protein, and sometimes, lipid membrane that can replicate only inside a living cell
- Cytokinesis
- The division of the cytoplasm of a cell after nucleus division
- Species
- All individuals and populations of a particular type of organism that can interbreed with one another
- Cell-Cycle Arrest
- An abrupt halt in the cell cycle when proteins detect mistakes or damage in DNA that needs to be repaired
- Eukaryote
- An organism whose cells have a membrane-enclosed nucleus and organelles
- Catabolic
- A process in which large molecules are broken down into smaller ones
- Food Webs
- The overlapping food chains of an ecosystem
- Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Network system of tubes connecting organelles; Smooth (No Ribosomes) + Rough (Has Ribosomes)
- Free Energy
- Energy that is available to do work
- Diffusion
- The movement of a substance down its concentration gradient from a more concentrated area to a less concentrated area.
- Lysosome
- A cell vesicle that contains digestive enzymes (Animals Only)
- Autotroph
- An organism that forms its own food molecules (carbon compounds) from abiotic materials
- Mitochondria
- Powerhouse for energy
- Centromere
- The specialized region of a chromosome that holds two replicated chromosomal strands together and that attached to the spindle in mitosis.
- Synthesis
- The process of building chemical compounds from smaller components by means of chemical reactions
- Purines
- Have a double ring. Ex: Adenine and Guanine
- Taxonomy
- The theories and techniques of describing, grouping, and naming living things
- Chromosomes
- Contain DNA for heredity
- Pyrimidines
- Have a single ring. Ex: Thymine, Cytosine, and Uracil
- Anaerobic
- Occurring or living in conditions without free or dissolved oxygen
- Chemoautotrophs
- An organism that derives energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide
- Nucleus
- Control center for all activity
- Cancer
- A group of disease that involves abnormal, uncontrolled growth and division of cells
- Nucleoli
- Synthesis of RNA
- Spontaneous Generation
- The belief that a cell can be made from nonliving matter
- Cytosol
- Semifluid material
- Heat Energy
- An unusable form of energy for organisms
- Bioenergetics
- Energy flow and change
- Chemical Energy
- Energy stored in the structure of molecules
- Entropy
- A measure of the degree of disorganization of a system (How much energy in a system has become so dispersed that it is no longer available to do work
- Contractile Vacuoles
- Pumps water in protists
- Nuclear Envelope
- Double Membrane; Semipermeable
- Ionic Bond
- A chemical bond formed by the attraction between oppositely charged ions
- Heterotroph
- An organism that obtains carbon compounds from other organisms
- Chromatin
- In eukaryotes, the chromosomal material (DNA and associated proteins) as it ordinarily appears in a cell's nucleus with individual chromosomes indistinct
- Centrioles
- Tubelike; For cell reproduction in mitosis (Animals Only)
- Prokaryote
- An organism whose cells do not have membrane-enclosed nuclei or organelles
- Metabolism
- The sum of all the chemical changes taking place in an organism
- Chemical reactions
- The process of building chemical bonds that produces one or more new substances
- Decomposers
- An organism that lives on decaying organic material from which it obtains energy and nutrients
- Photoautotrophs
- An organism that derives energy from light and forms its own organic compounds (food) from abiotic carbon sources
- Cytoplasm
- Cytosol + all organelles
- Phagocyte
- Specialized cell that ingests and destroys foreign particles or microorganisms
- Absorption
- When the large intestine reabsorbs water
- ATP
- (Adenosine Triphosphate) A compound that has three phosphate groups and is used by cells to store energy and to fuel many metabolic processes
- Lichens
- Fungi and algae that live together in close association
- Producers
- An autotroph; Any organism that produces its own food
- Chloroplasts
- Green plastids for photosynthesis (Plants Only)
- Ribosomes
- Small bodies in which proteins are made
- Cell
- The basic living unit
- Ecosystem
- A biological community and its abiotic environment
- ADP
- (Adenosine Diphosphate) The compound that remains when a phosphate group is removed from ATP, releasing energy
- Anabolic
- A process in which large molecules are built from small molecules