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Ch 1 Life
Introduction to Living Things
Term | Definition |
---|---|
organism | a living thing |
cell | the basic unit of structure and function in living things |
unicellular | made of a single cell |
multicellular | consisting of many cells |
metabolism | the combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials |
stimulus | any change or signal in the environment that can make an organism react in some way |
response | an action or change in behavior t hat occurs as a result of a stimulus |
development | the process of change that occurs during an organism's life to produce a more complex organism |
sexual reproduction | a reproductive process that involves 2 parents that combine their genetic material to produce a new organism that differs from both parents |
asexual reproduction | a reproductive process that involves only one parent and produces offspring that are genetically identical to the parent |
spontaneous generation | the mistaken idea that living things arise from nonliving sources |
controlled experiment | an experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time |
autotroph | an organism that is able to capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food |
heterotroph | an organism that cannot make its own food and gets food by consuming other living things |
homeostasis | the condition in which an organism's internal environment is kept stable in spite of changes in the external environment |