Question | Answer |
organism | a “living thing” that has all the characteristics of life |
cell | smallest living part of an organism that can live by itself |
stimulus | anything an organism responds to (bright light, hunger, danger, etc.) |
response | the reaction an organism has to stimulus (close its eyes, eat food, run away, etc.) |
adaptation | specialized changes in an organism that evolve over many generations to help the organism survive |
homeostasis | responses an organism does to keep its inside environment stable (“home stays nice”) |
development | physical changes in an organism over its life |
life span | time from birth to death for an organism |
dormant | adjective to describe an organism whose life processes have slowed almost to a stop while it waits for better living conditions |
quantitative observation | careful study and description of something using numbers and measurements |
Artemia | scientific name for small salt water crustaceans commonly called brine shrimp |
cyst | dry, dormant egg of a brine shrimp |
salinity | adjective to describe how concentrated salt is in salt water |
compound light microscope | a tool that uses two or more lenses to magnify small objects |
temporary wet mount slide | a slide made using a drop of water and a cover slip to view a specimen |
magnification | visual enlargement of an image using lenses or other technology |
field of view | how large of an area you can see across when looking at something through a microscope |
depth of field | how far into the “layers” you can see when looking at something through a microscope |
“total magnification” of a compound microscope | how much overall enlargement of the image you get when looking through the two lenses of a compound |
microscope stain | chemical added to the specimen on a microscope slide to darken the specimen and make it easier to see |
specimen | word used to name any object being studied under the microscope |
Table | a neatly organized display of numbers or words organized into columns and rows |
Diagram | a neat drawing or photo showing the parts of something with labels and/or written explanations |
Graph | a visual display of data, usually showing how one variable relates to another; for example a line graph, a scatter plot, or a bar chart |
Structure | the shape and parts of something and how they’re put together |
Function | the job something does and how it works |
Organelle | tiny structure inside a cell that carries out a specialized function (etymology: organ + elle = tiny) |
Nucleus | organelle that contains all the instructions for how to run a cell |
Cell Membrane | organelle that is the outer boundary of a cell and which only lets certain things in and out |
Cytoplasm | the liquid filling of a cell in which all of the organelles float (ety: cyto = cell, plasm = jelly) |
Mitochondrion | organelle that chemically reacts oxygen with sugars to release energy, carbon dioxide, and water |
Ribosome | organelle that makes proteins for the cell |
Golgi body | organelle that packages proteins inside membranes so they can be sent elsewhere |
Endoplasmic reticulum | organelle that is a folded membrane used to movematerials around inside the cell (ety: endo = inside, plasm = jelly, reticu = network) |
Lysosome | organelle that breaks down and gets rid of waste (ety: lyso = cleaning, some = body) |
Vacuole | organelle that stores materials inside the cell (ety: vacu = empty) |
Chloroplast | organelle in a plant that uses sunlight energy to chemically react carbon dioxide with water to produce sugars and oxygen (ety: chloro = colored + plast = body) |
Cell wall | organelle in a plant or bacterium that is outside the cell and gives rigid support and shape to the cell |
Etymology | the history of a word (language of origin and meanings of root parts of the word) |
chemistry | the study of matter and the changes that take place within matter |
particle | an organized piece of matter that is a small piece of something larger |
molecule | the smallest piece of a compound |
compound | a pure substance made from atoms of two or more types of elements chemically combined |
atom | the smallest piece of an element |
element | a pure substance made of only one type of atom |
subatomic particles | the building-blocks of atoms |
nucleus | the center of an atom, made of protons and neutrons |
proton | part of the nucleus of an atom that has a positive charge |
neutron | part of the nucleus of an atom that has a neutral charge |
electron | part of an atom “orbiting” the nucleus, it has a negative charge |
Periodic Table of Elements | organized display of chemical elements telling useful information about each element |
atomic number | the number of protons in an element (and the normal number of electrons) |
chemical symbol | the short-hand abbreviation of an element |
chemical name | the full name of an element |
atomic weight | the mass of one mole of an element, equal to the total number of protons plus neutrons in one atom |
mole | a very large number: 6.02 x 1023, which is used to count very small things such as atoms and molecules |
biological molecules | the four basic building blocks of living things: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids |
carbohydrate | biological molecule that is the main chemical used to release energy in mitochondria |
lipid | biological molecule that is used to make cell membranes and for storage of chemical energy |
protein | biological molecule that is used to build cell parts and to do jobs for the cell |
nucleic acid | biological molecule that stores the codes for how to make and run the cell |
chemical indicator | a liquid that changes color or appearance when mixed with certain substances |
chemical reaction | when atoms or molecules are combined and new substances are produced and energy is released or absorbed in the process |
chemical formula | the abbreviated way of writing the name of a substance (ex. water is H2O) to show what elements are in it and how many atoms of each |
chemical bonds | connection that holds atoms together to form molecules; the connection is made when atoms share or steal electrons |
chemical equation | the abbreviated way of writing a chemical reaction |
reactants | the substances at the start of a chemical reaction (the left side of a chemical equation) |
products | the substances at the end of a chemical reaction (the right side of a chemical equation) |
energy | the ability to do work, comes in different forms: heat, light, motion, etc. |
calorie | a measurement of energy in the form of heat given off (as when something is burned or when energy is released from food) |
metabolism | all the chemical reactions that take place in a living organism autotrophs organisms that make food for themselves (ety: auto = self, troph = feeding), also called producers |
heterotroph | organisms that must eat to get energy (ety: hetero = other, troph = feeding), also called consumers |
photosynthesis | chemical reaction that takes place in the chloroplasts of producers to produce sugars as a food source (ety: photo = light, synthesis = making food from) |
chlorophyll | the pigment in plants that gives them their green color and which is used in photosynthesis |
respiration | chemical reaction that takes place in the mitochondria of both consumers and producers which releases the energy trapped in sugars (ety: “breathing” of cells as they take in oxygen) |
-> | the “yields” sign in a chemical equation...points to what new substances will be made in the reaction |
Δ | the “delta” sign in a chemical equation…means “change in” whatever is being talked about |
cell cycle | all the stages a cell goes through including phases of growth, preparation for division, and division |
interphase | part of a cell’s life cycle when it is living, growing, and getting ready to divide |
mitosis | process of cell division that starts with one cell which divides once to make two identical daughter cells; a type of asexual reproduction |
chromosome | what DNA is called during mitosis…DNA is wound up and easily visible |
daughter cells | name for cells at the end of cell division |
asexual reproduction | process of creating offspring or daughter cells using DNA from only one parent, and the resulting offspring or daughter cells are identical to the parent |
offspring | science term for children (relative to their parents) |
fission | type of asexual reproduction where an organism divides into two equal parts (the way bacteria reproduce) |
budding | type of asexual reproduction where a new organism grows from the body of the parent organism (hydra is an example) |
regeneration | type of asexual reproduction where a whole new organism grows from a piece of another organism (planarian worm is an example) |
diploid | adjective to describe a cell that has a set of matching chromosomes from each parent (46 chromosomes in a human, 23 from mom and 23 from dad) |
sexual reproduction | process of creating offspring by combining the DNA in gametes from two parents, and the resulting offspring are different than either parent |
gamete | general name for a sex cell |
sperm | name for a male sex cell |
egg | name for a female sex cell |
haploid | adjective to describe a cell that has half the normal number of chromosomes (one copy of each chromosome – usually a gamete) |
fertilization | process of sperm and egg joining |
zygote | the name for a fertilized egg before it starts doing mitosis |
meiosis | process of cell division that starts with one cell and divides twice to make four gametes, each with shuffled DNA |
crossing over | the “shuffling” of DNA that happens during meiosis |
sex chromosomes | the 23rd chromosome pair that makes the difference between males and females, XX for females, XY for males |
DNA | molecule in the nucleus of a cell that contains instructions for how to make proteins (and how to run the cell) (DNA is the abbreviation for Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) |
double helix | a twisted spiral staircase…the shape of DNA |
nitrogen bases (nucleotides) | molecules that make up the “steps” in the DNA “ladder;” there are four: adenine paired with thymine, and cytosine paired with guanine |
triplet | a group of three nitrogen bases that are the code for a specific amino acid |
gene | a sequence of triplets which all together are the code for one protein |
mutation | a permanent change in a gene that causes a protein to be made incorrectly |
genome | all the DNA in the nucleus of an organism’s cell(s) genetics the study of how traits are inherited |
heredity | passing of traits from parents to offspring |
trait | a characteristic that is caused by genes |
allele | different versions of a gene that cause the variations of a trait |
dominant | the form of a gene that covers up (dominates) the weaker form of the gene |
recessive | the form of a gene that gets covered up if the dominant form of the gene is present |
Punnett Square | a tool to predict possible offspring’s genes based on parents’ genes (invented by Reginald Punnett 50 years after Mendel’s studies) |
homozygous | when both alleles in a pair are the same (both dominant or both recessive) |
heterozygous | when the two alleles in a pair are different (one is dominant and one is recessive) |
genotype | a pair of capital and/or lower case letters to represent an organism’s genetic makeup |
phenotype | the physical trait that shows up because of an organism’s genotype |
probability | a measurement of the chance (likelihood) of an event happening |
independent | when the chance of one event happening does not affect the chance of another event happening |
species | a group of organisms that can successfully reproduce with each other |
evolution | the slow inherited change of a species over many many generations |
natural selection | Darwin’s explanation of how evolution happens based on four ideas: overproduction, variation, adaptation, and spread of successful variations |
variation | differences in inherited an inherited trait among members of a species |
adaptation | a variation that helps an organism to survive better than an organism without the variation |
gradualism | explanation of how fast evolution happens and how new species evolve; gradualism says new species evolve slowly by gradual change |
punctuated equilibrium | explanation of how fast evolution happens and how new species evolve; punctuated equilibrium says new species evolve “quickly” due to small genetic mutations and/or rapid environmental change, then stay the same for long periods of time |
classify | to put things into groups based on similarities |
taxonomy | the science of classifying and naming organisms |
binomial nomenclature | the “two-name naming-system” used in science to descriptively name organisms using Latin and Greek, invented by Linnaeus |
dichotomous key | “two choice” method of finding the name of an organism, comes in two forms: list and branching tree |
common name | the name people call an organism on an every-day basis…the name varies based on where you live |
scientific name | the name used by scientists to refer to an organism using binomial nomenclature |
field guide | a book with descriptions, pictures/diagrams, and dichotomous keys used to identify organisms |
phylogeny | the evolutionary history of an organism |
locomotion | moving from place to place |
cilia | hair-like structures that wave in the water (a type of protist locomotion) |
flagellum | whip-like tail that waves in the water (a type of protist locomotion) |
pseudopod | “false foot,” a blob-like extension of the cell membrane and cytoplasm of a cell (a type of protist locomotion) |
producer | organism in an ecosystem who makes its own food |
consumer | organism in an ecosystem who has to eat other organisms |
decomposer | a type of consumer in an ecosystem that gets its food by eating dead or decaying materials |
scientific method | organized process of asking questions and solving problems |
experiment | a test to answer a scientific question in a measurable way; usually an experiment tries to figure out a cause and- effect relationship |
lab report | a written record of how an experiment was done |
hypothesis | a prediction (based on background knowledge) to answer the question in an experiment |
manipulated variable | part of an experiment you change on purpose (in a measurable way) also called the “independent” variable |
responding variable | part of an experiment that changes because of the manipulated variable…also called the “dependent” |
variable | |
controlled | |
variables | |
parts of an experiment that are kept the same | |
control group the set-up(s) in an experiment that are kept constant (no | |
manipulated variable) | |
experimental | |
group | |
the set-up(s) in an experiment that are changed | |
(manipulated variable only) | |
procedure numbered instructions that tell exactly what was done in | |
an experiment (may include diagrams) | |
data / results measurable data or descriptive observations collected in | |
an experiment | |
analysis written summary of the data/results from an experiment | |
conclusion answer to the question in a lab, it tells whether or not the | |
hypothesis was correct | |
yeast unicellular member of kingdom fungi that consumes | |
carbohydrates and gives off CO2 during a type of | |
respiration called fermentation | |