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Apologia Bio Mod 1
Definitions for Apologia Biology - Module #1 (2nd Edition)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| metabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which convert energy and matter from outside sources and use that energy and matter to sustain the organism's life functions |
| anabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which use energy and simple chemical building blocks to produce large chemicals and structures necessary for life. |
| catabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which break down chemicals to produce energy and simple chemical building blocks |
| photosynthesis | The process by which green plants and some other organisms use the energy of sunlight and simple chemicals to produce their own food. |
| Herbivores | organisms that eat only plants |
| carnivores | organisms that eat only organisms other than plants |
| omnivores | organisms that eat both plants and other organisms |
| producers | organisms that produce their own food |
| consumers | organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food |
| decomposers | organisms that break down the dead remains of other organisms |
| autotrophs | organisms that are able to make their own food |
| heterotrophs | organisms that depend on other organisms for their food |
| receptors | special structures that allow living organisms to sense the conditions of their internal or external environment |
| asexual reproduction | reproduction accomplished by a single organism |
| sexual reproduction | reproduction that requires two organisms |
| inheritance | the process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from the parent (or parents) to the offspring |
| mutation | an abrupt and marked change in the DNA of an organism compared to that of its parents |
| hypothesis | an educated guess that attempts to explain an observation or answer a question |
| theory | a hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data |
| scientific law | a theory that has been tested by and is consistent with generations of data |
| microorganisms | living creatures that are too small to see with the naked eye |
| abiogenesis | the idea that long ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through chemical reactions |
| prokaryotic cell | a cell that has no distinct, membrane-bounded organelles |
| eukaryotic cell | a cell with distinct, membrane-bounded organelles |
| species | a unit of one or more populations of individuals that can reproduce under normal conditions, produce fertile offspring, and are reproductively isolated from other such units |
| taxonomy | the science of classifying organisms |
| binomial nomenclature | naming an organism with its genus and species name |