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Chapter One
1.1 & 1.2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biosphere | All organisms and the part of Earth where they exist. |
| Biodiversity | The variety of organisms in a given area, the genetic variation within a population, the variety of species in a community, or the variety of communities in an ecosystem. |
| Species | A group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring; also the level of classification below genus and above subspecies. |
| Biology | The scientific study of living organisms and their interactions with the environment. |
| Science | The knowledge obtained by observing natural events and conditions in order to discover facts and formulate laws or principles that can be verified of tested. |
| Organism | A living thing; anything that can carry out life processes independently. |
| Cell | In biology, the smallest unit that can perform all life processes; cells are covered by a membrane and contain DNA and cytoplasm |
| Metabolism | The sum of all chemical processes that occur in an organism. |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid, the material that contains the information that determines inherited characteristics. |
| System | Changing, organized group of related parts that interact to form a whole. |
| Ecosystem | A community of organisms and their abiotic environment. |
| Homeostasis | The maintenance of a constant internal state in a changing environment; a constant internal state that is maintained in a changing environment by continually making adjustments to the internal and external environment. |
| Evolution | The process of change by which new species develop from preexisting species over time; at the genetic level, the process in which inherited characteristics within populations change over time; the process defined by Darwin as "descent with modification." |
| Adaptation | The process of becoming adapted to an environment; an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral change that improves a population's ability to survive. |