Term | Definition |
organism | a living thing that is made of one or more cells; uses energy; moves; reproduces; responds to its environment; adapts;has a life span |
cell | the smallest unit of an organism that can perform life functions |
stimulus | anything an organism RESPONDS to (such as sound; light; heat) |
response | the REACTION of an organism to a stimulus (Ex. plants moves towards light) |
adaptation | any characteristic of an organism that makes it better able to SURVIVE in its environment |
homeostasis | the REGULATION of steady, life-maintaining conditions inside an organism or cell, despite changes in the environment |
development | ALL the changes undergone by living things as they grow |
life span | the length of time an organism is expected to live |
spontaneous generation | the theory that NONLIVING things produce living things (Ex. frogs arise spontaneously from mud) |
biogenesis | the theory that LIVING things come only from other LIVING things |
scientific methods | problem-solving procedures used by scientists [state the problem; gather information; form a hypothesis; perform an experiment; analyze data; and draw conclusions |
hypothesis | a prediction that can be tested |
variable | the factor being TESTED in an experiment |
control | the STANDARD for comparison in an experiment |
theory | an EXPLANATION of things or events in nature, based on many observations (subject to change when evidence changes) |
law | a RULE that describes a PATTERN IN NATURE and how it works under certain conditions |
SI Units | International System of measurement used by scientists around the world (km; cm; mm) --> can compare results |