Term | Definition |
biosphere | all organisms and 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 | 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 | molecule that stores genetic information in all organisms |
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, rocks in an area |
homeostasis | regulation and maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism |
evolution | change in species over time, process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors |
adaptation | inherited trait that is selected for over time because it allows organisms 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 |
measurement | a determination of the dimensions of something using a standard unit |
accuracy | a description of how close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity measure |
precision | the exactness of a measurement |
microscope | tool that provides an enlarged image of an object |
gene | specific region of DNA that codes for a particular protein |
molecular genetics | study of DNA structure and function on the molecular level |
genomics | study and comparison of genomes within a single species or among different species |
biotechnology | use and application of living things and biological process |
transgenic | organism whose genome has been altered to contain one or more genes from another organism or species |