Bio Unit 1
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- parasitism
- symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another, usually another species
- symbiosis
- permanent, close association between two or more organisms of different species
- Organism
- anything that possesses all the characteristics of life; all organisms have an orderly structure, produce offspring, grow, develop, and adjust to changes in the environment
- producer
- an organism, as a plant, that is able to produce its own food from inorganic substances.
- decomposer
- organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that break down and absorb nutrients from dead organisms
- photosynthesis
- process by which autorophs, such as algaw and plants, trap energy from the sunlight with chlorophyll and use this energy to convent carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars
- omnivore
- an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances
- scientific method
- procedures that biologists and other scientists use to gather information and answer questions; include observing and hypothesizing, experimenting, and gathering and interpreting results
- habitat
- place where an organism lives out its life
- independent variable
- in an experiment, the condition that is tested because it affects the outcome of the experiment
- Multicellular
- having more than one cell
- Reproduction
- production of offspring by an organism; a characteristic of all living things
- dependent variable
- in an experiment, the condition that results from changes in the independent variable
- Development
- all of the changes that take place during the life of an organism; a characteristic of all living things
- adaptation
- evolution of a structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to environmental factors and live to produce offspring
- ecology
- scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments
- population
- group of organisms all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time
- hypothesis
- explanation for a question or a problem that can be formally tested
- autotroph
- organisms that use energufrom the sun or energy stored in chemical compounds to manufacture their own nutients
- experiment
- procedure that tests a hypothesis by collecting information under controlled conditions
- observation
- an act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
- Growth
- increase in the amount of living material and formation of new structures in an organism; a characteristic of all living things
- biotic
- all the living organisms that inhabit an environment
- species
- groups of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring in nature
- heterotroph
- organisms that cannot make their own food and must feed on other organisms for energy and nutrients
- Unicellular
- having only one cell
- response
- an organism's reaction to a change in its internal or external environment
- stimulus
- anything in an organism's internal or external environment that causes the organism to react
- inference
- the process of deriving the strict logical consequences of assumed premises.
- ecosystem
- interactions among populations in a community; the community's physical surroundings or abiotic factors
- cellular respiration
- chemical process where mitochondria break down food molecules to produce ATP; the three stages of cellular respiration are glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain
- abiotic
- nonliving parts of an organism's environment; air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil are examples
- community
- collection of several interacting populations that inhabit a common environment
- environment
- biotic and abiotic surroundings to which an organism must constantly adjust; includes air, water, weather, temperature,
- mutualism
- a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit
- control
- in an experiment, the standard against which results are compared
- herbivore
- An animal that feeds chiefly on plants.
- niche
- role of position a species has in its environment; includes all biotic and abiotic interactions as an animal meets its needs for survival and reproduction
- carnivore
- an animal that eats flesh.
- consumer
- an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.
- Biology
- the study of life that seeks to provide an understanding of the natural world
- evolution
- gradual change in a species through adaptations over time