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Biology M1
Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| metabolism | the 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 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 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 plant |
| 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 |
| autotroph | 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 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 |
| abiogenisis | 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 |
| taxonomy | the science of classifying organisms |
| binomial nomenclature | naming an organism with its genus and species name |
| Kingdom Monera | contains all organisms tat are composed of either one prokaryotic cell or a simple association of prokaryotic cells |
| Kingdom Protista | contains organisms that are composed of only one eukaryotic cell or a simple association of eukaryotic cells |
| Kingdom Fungi | consists mostly of decomposers that have eukaryotic cells; they are mostly multicellular |
| Kingdom Plantae | mostly composed of autotrophs, multicelled organisms with eukaryotic cells |
| Kingdom Animalia | contains multicellular organisms with eukaryotic cells; heterotrophs |