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Biology 1.1-1.3
| 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. |
| science | science the knowledge obtained by observing natural events and conditions in order to discover facts and formulate laws or principles that can be verified or tested. |
| organism | any individual living thing |
| cell | basic unit of life |
| metabolism | all chemical processes that synthesize or break down materials within an organism. |
| DNA | a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information. |
| 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. |
| homeostasis | regulation and maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism. |
| evolution | change in a species over time; process of biological change by which descendents come to differ from their ancestors. |
| adaptation | inherited trait that is selected for over time because it allows organism to better survive in their environment. |
| observation | using the senses to study the world; using tools to collect measurements; examining previous research results |
| data | observations and measurements recorded during an experiment. |
| hypothesis | proposed explanation or answer to a scientific question. |
| experiment | 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. |