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Science Vocab
Exam in two weeks! STUDY!
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Dependent Variable | Responding Variable |
Independent Variable | Variable that is manipulated during the experiment |
Biology | The study of life |
Science | Process of testing and discovering/explaining various things in the natural world |
Homeostasis | Maintaining Stabililty |
Metabolism | All the chemical reactions taking place in an organism |
Hypothesis | Educated Prediction or possible answer to an observation/problem that can be tested. Can be changed repeatedly if necessary |
Scientific Theory | Well substantiated explaination of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through repeated tests that support the same that support the same conclusion. Can be changed |
Scientific Law | Several related hypothesis that have been confirmed through testing |
Ion | Atom with a charge; Has lost or gained one or more electrons |
Hydrogen Bond | A weak bond between two molecules that contain hydrogen; between two water molecules |
Cohesion | Two molecules of the same type are attracted to one another |
Adhesion | Two molecules of different types are attracted to one another |
Polar | Molecule that is charged on one end. Ex. Water |
Organic | Contains the element Carbon |
Polymer | Large molecule made up of repeating units |
Monomer | Small sub units that band together to make up a polymer |
Hydrolysis | "Hydro" = water "lysis; The splitting of water A chemical reaction that involves the splitting of a water molecule |
Dehydration synthesis | Chemical reaction that occurs where a molecule of H2O is created |
Biomolecule | A molecule that is produced by living things |
Carbohydrate | Biomolecule made of C,H,O ( sugars, starches, glycogen) used for energy storage & cell to cell recognition |
Saccharide | Word that means sugar |
Lipid | Biomolecule; aka fat: made of glycerol + 3 fatty acids, used for energy storage. Can also be oils and cholesterols |
Protein | Composed of amino acids; contains nitrogen; make up an organism |
Nucleic Acids | DNA & RNA used for storage of genetic information that is the blueprint for building proteins |
Enzyme | Proteins that speed up chemical reactions ( can either break things down, or put things together, usually ends in - ase) |
Activation Energy | The amount of energy required to start a chemical reaction |
Catalyst | Substance that speed up a chemical reaction Ex. Enzyme & lighter fluid |
Prokoryotic | Cell with no nucleus, Ex: Bacteria |
Eukaryotic | Cells that do have a nucleus Ex- everything other than bacteria |
Nucleus | Contains DNA for the cell, makes RNA |
Mitochondria | Power house of the cell; Makes energy |
Ribosome | Site for protein synthesis |
Synthesis | To make or put together |
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) | highway system of the cell. Transports proteins and other things in the cell. Can have ribosomes (rough ER) or no ribosomes (smooth ER) |
Golgi body(apparatus) | packages things for the cell |
Vacuole | storage unit for the cell. In plants, it will hold LOTS of water |
Cell membrane | gatekeeper, monitors what goes in and what goes out of the cell |
Cell wall | found in plants and bacteria, provides structure for the cell |
Chloroplast | contains the green pigment chlorophyll, site for photosynthesis |
Nucleolus | found in nucleus, produces ribosomes |
Microtubules | help with cell movement |
Lysosome | gets rid of unwanted waste, recycles |
Centrioles | helps with cell reproduction |
Diffusion | the movement of substances from a high to low concentration; does NOT require energy |
Osmosis | the diffusion of water |
Hyper | prefix that means “more” |
Hypo | prefix that means “less” |
Iso | prefix that means “equal” |
Selective permeability | only certain things can go in and out of cell through the cell membrane |
Cyto | Prefix that means “cell” |
Endo | Prefix that means “into” |
Exo | Prefix that means “out of” or “exit” |
Photosynthesis | process that uses light to make sugars |
Autotroph | auto = self; troph = feeder |
Heterotroph | must consume food that is then converted to energy (ATP) |
Cellular respiration | process that uses food (glucose) to make ATP |
ATP | Adenosine Triphosphate : Cellular energy |
Chlorophyll | green pigment found in chloroplasts. Site for photosynthesis |
Thylakoid | disk shaped structure inside the chloroplast; where chlorophyll resides |
Glycolysis | “glyco”=sugar; “lysis”=to split: the splitting of sugar |
Somatic cell | body cell |
Gamete | sex cell |
Chromosome | coiled DNA, visible under a microscope |
homologous chromosomes | pair of chromosomes that contain the same genetic information. One came from mother, the other from father. |
Centromere | - center of the chromosome |
Chromatid | ½ of the X forming the chromosome |
Mutation | change in the DNA sequence or chromosome structure |
Cancer | uncontrolled cell growth |
Diploid | cell with 2 sets of chromosomes; one set from each parent (ex: somatic cells) |
Haploid | cell with 1 set of DNA (ex: gametes) |
DNA | DeoxyriboNucleic Acid: polymer; genetic blueprint that is the genetic code to produce proteins. |
Double helix | words that mean “twisted staircase”; shape of DNA |
Nucleotide | Sugar, Phosphate & Nitrogen base; DNA’s monomer |
Nitrogen(ous) base | adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine in DNA (Uracil replaces thymine in RNA) |
Purine | type of nitrogen base; examples: adenine and guanine |
Pyrimidine | type of nitrogen base; examples: thymine and cytosine |
Replication | making an EXACT copy (replica) |
Helicase | enzyme, breaks down hydrogen bonds that hold nitrogen bases together (unzips DNA) |
DNA polymerase | enzyme that proofreads DNA, corrects mistakes |
Deoxyribose | sugar that is part of DNA backbone |
Gene | segment of DNA that codes for a protein |
Repressor | prevents a gene from being expressed, blocks movement of RNA polymerase |
Intron | non- coding portions of DNA |
Exon | coding portions of DNA, codes for proteins |
Point mutation | one nucleotide changes/switched |
Frameshift mutation | inserting or deleting a nucleotide, causing nucleotides to shift, changes nearly every amino acid code in the protein from that point |
Genetics | the study of heredity |
Gregor Mendel | monk who is known as the father of genetics |
Monohybrid Cross | genetic cross involving one trait |
Phenotype | physical characteristic |
Homozygous | genotype with two alike (same) alleles |
Heterozygous | genotype with two different alleles |
Genotype | the alleles of an individual |
Allele | way to represent a gene, can be in two forms (dominant or recessive) |
Dominant | expressed form of a trait, represented by a capital letter |
Recessive | “hidden” form of a trait, takes 2 recessive alleles. Represented by a lower case letter. |
Radiometric dating | estimation of the age of an object by measuring its radiation content |
Endosymbiosis | certain organelles (mitochondria & chloroplasts) originated as free-living bacteria that were taken inside another cell |
Population | all individuals of a species living in a specific place |
Natural selection | - individuals who are the most “fit” will survive and pass on their traits over those “unfit” individuals |
Adaptation | - phenotype that provides some type of survival advantage |
Genetic drift | is the change in the frequency of a gene (allelle) in a population due to randomness. |
Migration | The transfer of alleles of genes from one population to another |
Gradualism | gradual change over time |
Punctuated equilibrium | model of evolution that states there are periods of rapid change followed by periods of little or no change |
Speciation | formation of a new species |
Vestigial structure | structure with no function (ex. – human appendix) |
Homologous structure | same structure/different function…shows common ancestry(ex. Human arm & whale flipper) |
Analogous structure | different structure/same function(ex. the wing of a bat & butterfly) Shows convergent evolution. |
Convergent evolution | the process of a characteristic or adaptation that evolved in two or more separate organisms independently of each other. (Ex: the wing of a bird and a butterfly.) |