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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.

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