| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Phagocytosis | Literally "cell-eating." A process of bringing relatively large materials into a cell by means of wrapping extensions of the plasma membrane (pseudopodia) around the materials and fusing the extensions together. |
| Receptor-mediated Endocytosis | A form of endocytosis that is dependent on receptors, whose role is to bind to specific molecules and then hold onto them. |
| Pinocytosis | Literally "cell drinking." A form of endocytosis that brings into the cell as small volume of extracellular fluid and the materials suspended in it. |
| Osmosis | The net movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of a higher concentration to lower. |
| First Law of Thermodynamics | States that energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. |
| Second Law of Thermodynamics | States that energy trasnfer always results in a greater amount of disoder in the universe. |
| Endergonic | Reactions in which the products contain more energy than the reactants. |
| Exergonic | Reactions in which the products contain less energy than the reactants. |
| Coupled Reaction | A chemical reaction in which an exergonic reaction powers an endergonic reaction. |
| Substrate | Substance that is being worked on by an enzyme. |
| Active Site | The portion of an enzyme that binds with and transforms a substrate |
| Coenzymes | Molecules other than amino acids that facilitate the work of enzymes by binding with them. Vitamins are an example of these. |
| Metabolic Pathway | A set of enzymatically controlled steps that result in the completion of a product or process in an organism. |
| Hypertonic Solution | A fluid that has a higher concentration of solutes than another causing water to flow out of a cell |
| Hypotonic Solution | Water flows into cell; ideal environment for plant cells. |
| Isotonic Solution | Two solutions that have equal concentations of solutes. |
| Allosteric Regulation | The regulation of an enzyme's activity by means of a molecule binding to a site on the enzyme other than its active site. |
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