Chapter 1-5

Tissues are groups of cells that work together to perform a specialized function, like skin or arteries.

A cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function for life, or the smallest individual unit of an organism.

Organelles are functional components of cells. Ex chloroplast or mitochondria or nucleus.

A molecule is a chemical structure consisting of two or more atoms.

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

An approach to studying biology that aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems based on a study of the interactions among the system’s parts.

A A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with eukaryotic cells (protists, plants, fungi, and animals) are called eukaryotes.

A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with prokaryotic cells (bacteria and archaea) are called prokaryotes.

deoxyribonucleic acid is a long molecule used to transmit genetic information during cell division.

Nucleotides, A,T,C, and G

The entire process by which information in a gene directs the manufacture of a cellular product.

Transcription, Translation, and Protein folding. Using DNA information, the cell makes (transcribes) mRNA. The cell translates the mRNA to make a protein, a series of linked amino acids. The chain of amino acids folds into a specific shape of some protein.

The entire "library" of genetic instructions that an organism inherits. A typical human cell has two similar sets of chromosomes, and each set has approximately 3 billion nucleotide pairs of DNA. The researchers who study it study genomics.

The study of sets of proteins and their properties. (The entire set of proteins expressed by a given cell, tissue, or organism is called a proteome.)

The use of computers, software, and mathematical models to process and integrate biological information from large data sets.

Producers are organisms that absorb sunlight or get their nutrients from the ambient planet. Consumers are organisms that feed on other organisms or their remains.

The regulation of a process by its output or end product.

A process of biological change in which species accumulate differences from their ancestors as they adapt to different environments over time.

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Humans are in domain Eukarya.

Plantae, Fungi, Animalia, Protists

A mechanism of evolutionary adaptation that occurs because the natural environment consistently selects for the propagation of certain traits among naturally occurring variant traits in the population.

An observational item of information that isn't numerical. Blue feathers.

Numerical items of information.

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.

A hypothesis is an explanation, based on observations and assumptions, that leads to a testable prediction. Said another way, a hypothesis is an explanation on trial.

No, it can only be falsified.

An experiment is a scientific test, carried out under controlled conditions.

A type of logic in which specific results are predicted from a general premise. Ex: If the burnt-out bulb hypothesis is correct, then the lamp should work if you replace the bulb with a new one.

An experiment designed to compare an experimental group with a control group; ideally, the two groups differ only in the factor being tested.

A feature or quantity that varies in an experiment. The independent variable is the factor being manipulated by the researchers. The dependent variable is the factor being measured that is predicted to be affected by the independent variable.

The use of control groups can cancel out the effects of unwanted variables in an experiment.

An explanation that is broader in scope than a hypothesis, generates new hypotheses, and is supported by a large body of evidence.

A species that is easy to grow in the lab and lends itself particularly well to the questions being investigated.

the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the mouse Mus musculus,