| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Ionic Bond | A chemical bond formed by the attraction between oppositely charged ions |
| Nucleotide | A subunit of DNA or RNA composed of a 5-carbon sugar, a nitrogen-containing base, and a phosphate group |
| Purines | Have a double ring. Ex: Adenine and Guanine |
| Pyrimidines | Have a single ring. Ex: Thymine, Cytosine, and Uracil |
| Bioenergetics | Energy flow and change |
| Heterotroph | An organism that obtains carbon compounds from other organisms |
| Autotroph | An organism that forms its own food molecules (carbon compounds) from abiotic materials |
| Biosphere | The outer portion of Earth-air, water, and soil- where life is found |
| Entropy | A measure of the degree of disorganization of a system (How much energy in a system has become so dispersed that it is no longer available to do work |
| Catabolic | A process in which large molecules are broken down into smaller ones |
| Anabolic | A process in which large molecules are built from small molecules |
| ADP | (Adenosine Diphosphate) The compound that remains when a phosphate group is removed from ATP, releasing energy |
| ATP | (Adenosine Triphosphate) A compound that has three phosphate groups and is used by cells to store energy and to fuel many metabolic processes |
| Prokaryote | An organism whose cells do not have membrane-enclosed nuclei or organelles |
| Big Bang | When all of our universe’s condensed matter exploded, sending it into space where gravity pulled it into planets |
| Eukaryote | An organism whose cells have a membrane-enclosed nucleus and organelles |
| Plastid | Synthesize ATP from light in photosynthesis |
| Chemoautotrophs | An organism that derives energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide |
| Photoautotrophs | An organism that derives energy from light and forms its own organic compounds (food) from abiotic carbon sources |
| Mitochondria | The organelles in eukaryotic cells that carry on cell respiration |
| Methanogens | Archaebacteria that live in anaerobic environments and produce methane as a by-product of their metabolic process |
| Virus | A nonliving, infectious particle of nucleic acid, protein, and sometimes, lipid membrane that can replicate only inside a living cell |
| Anaerobic | Occurring or living in conditions without free or dissolved oxygen |
| Species | All individuals and populations of a particular type of organism that can interbreed with one another |
| Lichens | Fungi and algae that live together in close association |
| Taxonomy | The theories and techniques of describing, grouping, and naming living things |
| Spontaneous Generation | The belief that a cell can be made from nonliving matter |
| Cell | The basic living unit |
| Lysosome | A cell vesicle that contains digestive enzymes (Animals Only) |
| Endoplasmic Reticulum | Network system of tubes connecting organelles; Smooth (No Ribosomes) + Rough (Has Ribosomes) |
| Chromosomes | Contain DNA for heredity |
| Cell Wall | Nonliving, Rigid (Gives Support for Plants Only) |
| Ribosomes | Small bodies in which proteins are made |
| Diffusion | The movement of a substance down its concentration gradient from a more concentrated area to a less concentrated area. |
| Phagocyte | Specialized cell that ingests and destroys foreign particles or microorganisms |
| Nucleus | Control center for all activity |
| Nucleoli | Synthesis of RNA |
| Nuclear Envelope | Double Membrane; Semipermeable |
| Cytosol | Semifluid material |
| Cytoplasm | Cytosol + all organelles |
| Mitochondria | Powerhouse for energy |
| Cell/Plasma Membrane | Double semipermeable |
| Golgi Apparatus | Flat sacs that package and secrete molecules for export |
| Vacuoles | Vesicles for storage of salts, enzymes, food, pigments, H2O; Larger in plants |
| Contractile Vacuoles | Pumps water in protists |
| Cytoskeleton | Protein network for shape; Movement is made of microtubules |
| Extensions of Cytoskeleton | Flagella (Whiplike) and Cilia (Short Hairs) |
| Chloroplasts | Green plastids for photosynthesis (Plants Only) |
| Centrioles | Tubelike; For cell reproduction in mitosis (Animals Only) |
| Abiotic Factors | Referring to a physical or nonliving component of an ecosystem |
| Producers | An autotroph; Any organism that produces its own food |
| Food Webs | The overlapping food chains of an ecosystem |
| Decomposers | An organism that lives on decaying organic material from which it obtains energy and nutrients |
| Heat Energy | An unusable form of energy for organisms |
| Enzymes | A protein or part-protein molecule made by an organism and used as a catalyst in a specific biochemical reaction |
| Free Energy | Energy that is available to do work |
| Chemical Energy | Energy stored in the structure of molecules |
| Chemical reactions | The process of building chemical bonds that produces one or more new substances |
| Synthesis | The process of building chemical compounds from smaller components by means of chemical reactions |
| Metabolism | The sum of all the chemical changes taking place in an organism |
| Absorption | When the large intestine reabsorbs water |
| Ecosystem | A biological community and its abiotic environment |
| Cancer | A group of disease that involves abnormal, uncontrolled growth and division of cells |
| Cell Cycle | An ordered sequence of events in the life of a dividing eukaryotic cell, composed of mitosis and interphase growth and DNA synthesis phases |
| Cell-Cycle Arrest | An abrupt halt in the cell cycle when proteins detect mistakes or damage in DNA that needs to be repaired |
| Centromere | The specialized region of a chromosome that holds two replicated chromosomal strands together and that attached to the spindle in mitosis. |
| Chromosome Segregation | Separation of the sister chromatids during mitosis in which each new nucleus receives one copy of each chromosome |
| Cyclins | A group of proteins whose function is to regulate the progression of a cell through the cell cycle and whose concentrations rise and fall throughout the cell cycle |
| Cytokinesis | The division of the cytoplasm of a cell after nucleus division |
| Chromatin | In eukaryotes, the chromosomal material (DNA and associated proteins) as it ordinarily appears in a cell’s nucleus with individual chromosomes indistinct |
Combine with other sets
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