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BIOL 1411: CHAPTER 1
Natural History
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The characteristics of a group of organisms, such as how the organisms get their food, reproduce, behave, regulate their internal environments (their cells, tissues, and organs) and interact with other organisms.
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Data
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Quantified observations about a system under study.
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Biology
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The scientific study of living things.
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Cellular Specialization
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In multicellular organisms, the division of labor such that different cell types become responsible for different functions within the organism.
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Nucleotide
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The basic chemical unit in nucleic acids, consisting of a pentose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing base.
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Organ system
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An interrelated and integrated group of tissues and organs that work together in a physiological function.
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DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
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The fundamental hereditary material of all living organisms. In eukaryotes, stored primarily in the cell nucleus.
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Community
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Any ecologically integrated group of species of microorganisms, plants, and animals inhabiting a given area.
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Nucleic Acid
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A polymer made up of nucleotides, specialized for the storage, transmission, and expression of genetic information. DNA and RNA are examples.
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Homeostasis
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The maintenance of a steady state, such as a constant temperature, by means of physiological or behavioral feedback responses.
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Genus
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A group of related, similar species recognized by taxonomists with a distinct name used in binomial nomenclature.
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Species |
The base unit of taxonomic classification, consisting of an ancestor-descendant group of populations of evoluntionarily closely related, similar organisms.
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Deductive Logic
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Logical thought process that starts with a premise believed to be rue then predicts what facts would also have to be true to be compatible with that premise.
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Controlled experiment
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An experiment in which a sample is divided into groups whereby experimental groups are exposed to manipulations of an independent variable while one group serves as an untreated control. The data from the various groups are then compared to see if there are changes in a dependent variable as a result of the experimental manipulation.
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Hypothesis
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A tentative answer to a question, from which testable predictions can be generated.
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Photosynthesis
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Metabolic processes carried out by green plants and some microorganisms by which visible light is trapped and the energy used to synthesis compounds such as ATP and glucose.
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Inductive Logic
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Involves making observations and then formulating one or more possible scenarios--hypotheses--that might explain those observations.
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Null Hypothesis
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In statistics, the premise that any differences observed in an experiment are simply the result of random differences that arise from drawing two finite samples from the same population.
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Organ
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A body part, such as the heart, liver, brain, root, or leaf, composed of different tissues integrated to perform a distinct function.
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Genome
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The complete DNA sequence for a particular organism or individual.
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Dependent variable
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In a scientific experiment, the response that is measured and analyzed as the independent variable is manipulated.
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Cell
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The simplest structural unit of a living organism. Serve as the building blocks of tissues and organs.
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Bacteria
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Unicellular organisms lacking a nucleus, possessing distinctive ribosomes and initiator tRNA, and generally containing peptidoglycan in the call wall. Different groups are distinguished primarily on nucleotide sequence data.
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Adaptation
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(1) In evolutionary biology, a particular structure, physiological process, or behavior that makes an organism better able to survive and reproduce. Also, the evolutionary process that leads to the development or persistence of such a trait. (2) In sensory neurophysiology, a sensory cell's loss of sensitivity as a result of repeated.
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Anaerobic
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Occurring without the use of molecular oxygen.
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Prokaryotes
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Unicellular organisms that do not have nuclei or other membrane-enclosed organelles. Includes Bacteria and Archaea.
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Aerobic
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In the presence of oxygen; requiring or using oxygen.
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Tissue
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A group of similar cells organized into a functional unit; usually integrated to form part of an organ.
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Ecosystem
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The organisms of a particular habitiat, such as a pond or forest, together with the physical environment in which they live.
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Eukaryotes
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Organisms whose cells contain their genetic material inside a nucleus. Includes all life other than the viruses, archaea, and bacteria.
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Metabolism
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The sum total of the chemical reactions that occur in an organism, or some subset of that total.
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Archaeans
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Unicellular organisms lacking a nucleus and lacking peptidoglycan in the cell wall. Once grouped with the bacteria, members of this group of organisms possess distinctive membrane lipids.
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Evolution
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Any gradual change. Most often refers to the genetic and resulting phenotypic change in populations of organisms from generation to generation.
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Gene
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A unit of hereditary. Used here as the unit of function which carries the information for a polypeptide or RNA.
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Internal Environment
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In multicellular organisms, includes blood plasma and interstitial fluid, the extracellular fluids that surround the cells.
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Independent Variable
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In a scientific experiment, a critical factor that is manipulated while all other factors are held constant.
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Protein
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Long-chain polymer of amino acids with twenty different common side chains. The component amino acids are encoded in the triplets of messenger RNA. The products of genes.
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Comparative Experiment
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Experimental design in which data from various unmanipulated samples or populations are compared, but in which variables are not controlled or even necessarily identified.
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Natural Selection
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The differential contribution of offspring to the next generation by various genetic types belonging to the same population. The mechanism of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin.
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Model systems (model organisms)
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The small group of species that are the subject of extensive research. They are organisms that adapt well to laboratory situations and findings from experiments on them can apply across a broad range of species. Classical examples include white mice and the fruit fly.
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Population
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Any group of organisms coexisting at the same time and in the same place and capable of interbreeding with one another.
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