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6 Topic 1
Topic 1: The Cell System
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| organism | any living thing |
| cell | the basic unit of structure and function in living things |
| unicellular | single-celled organism; one cell carries out the functions necessary to stay alive |
| multicellular | consisting of many celled organism |
| stimulus | any change or signal in the environment that can make an organism react in some way like changes in light, sound, flavors, or oders |
| response | an action or a change in behavior |
| spontaneous generation | the mistaken idea that living things arise from nonliving sources |
| homeostasis | the condition in which an organism's internal environment is kept stable in spite of changes in the external environment |
| microscope | an instrument that makes small objects look larger |
| cell theory | a widely accepted explanation of the relationship between cells and living things |
| organelle | a tiny cell structure that carries out a specific function within the cell |
| cell wall | the rigid supporting layer that surrounds the cells of plants and some other organism |
| cell membrane | a thin, flexible barrier that surrounds a cell and controls which substances pass into and out of a cell |
| cytoplasm | gel-like substance fills the region between the cell membrane and the nucleus made mostly of water and some salt where all the other organelles reside |
| nucleus | a large oval organelle that contains the cell's genetic material in the form of DNA and controls many of the cell's activities |
| mitochondria | organelles that convert energy stored in food to energy the cell can use to live and function; the "powerhouse" of the cell |
| chloroplast | |
| vacuole |