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HMChapter1
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Biosphere | All organisms and the part of Earth where they exist |
Biodiversity | Variety of life within an area |
Species | Group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
Biology | Scientific study of all forms of life |
Organism | Any individual living thing |
Cell | Basic unit of life |
Metabolism | All chemical processes that synthesize or break down materials within an organism |
DNA | Deoxyribonucleic Acid; molecule that stores genetic information in all organisms |
System | Changing, organized group of related parts that interact to form a whole |
Ecosystem | Collection of organisms and nonliving things, such as climate, soil, water, and rocks, in an area |
Science | Knowledge obtained by observing natural events and conditions in order to discover facts and formulate laws or principles that can be verified or tested |
Homeostasis | Maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism |
Evolution | change in living things over time |
Adaptation | Inherited trait that gives an advantage to individual organisms and is passed on to future generations |
Observation | Using out senses to study world, using tools to collect measurements: examining pervious research results |
Data | Observations and measurements recorded during an experiment |
Hypothesis | Proposed explanation or answer to a scientific question |
Experiments | Process that tests a hypothesis by collecting information under controlled conditions |
Independent variable | Condition or factor that is manipulated by a scientist during an experiment |
Dependent variable | Experimental data collected through observation and measurement |
Constant | Condition that is controlled so that it does not change during an experiment |
Theory | Proposed explanation for a wide variety of observations and experimental results |
Measurements | A determination of the dimensions of something using a standard unit |
Accuracy | A description of how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity measured |
Precision | The exactness of a measurement |
Microscope | Tool that provides an enlarged image on an object |
Gene | Region of DNA that codes for a particular protein |
Molecular genetics | Study of DNA structure and function on the molecular level |
Genomics | Study and comparison of genomes within a single or among different species |
Biotechnology | Use an application of living things and biological processes |
Transgenic | Organisms whose genome has been altered to contain one or more genes from another organism or species |