| Question | Answer |
| biology | the scientific study of life |
| cell | the basic unit of structure and function in all living things |
| unicellular organism | an organism made up of a single cell; some examples include paramecia and bacteria |
| multicellular organism | an organism composed of more than one cell; these organisms usually have organized tissues, organs, and organ systems |
| emergent properties | functions or traits that appear as biological complexity increases |
| biosphere | the regions of the Earth's crust, waters, and atmosphere inhabited by living things |
| ecosystem | a biological community together with the associated abiotic environment |
| community | interacting populations in a particular area |
| population | organisms of the same species in a particular area |
| organism | an individual living thing (ex. horse) |
| organ system | a system composed of several organs working together; found in complex organisms (ex. nervous system) |
| organ | a group of tissues functioning together for a specific task (ex. brain) |
| tissue | a group of cells with a common structure and function (ex. nervous tissue) |
| molecule | union of two or more atoms |
| atom | smallest unit of an element; composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons |
| energy | the capacity to do work |
| metabolism | all chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state and organization of a cell or organism |
| photosynthesis | a process that uses energy from sunlight to reduce carbon dioxide to carbohydrate, transforming solar energy into chemical energy |
| homeostasis | maintenance of normal internal conditions (balance) in a cell or organism by means of self-regulating mechanisms |
| reproduction | the process in which organisms produce other organisms like themselves |
| gene | the molecular unit of heredity; a region of DNA that encodes a functional RNA or protein product |
| adaptation | a modification that makes an organism better able to function in a particular environment |
| evolution | the process in which populations of organisms change over the course of many generations to become more suited to their environments |
| taxonomy | the discipline of identifying and grouping organisms according to certain rules; related to evolutionary relationships between life forms |
| systematics | the study of the evolutionary relationships between organisms |
| domain Bacteria | a domain whose organisms are prokaryotic but differ from archaea because they have their own genetic, biochemical, and physiological characteristics |
| domain Archaea | a domain that contains prokaryotic cells that often live in extreme habitats and have unique genetic, biochemical, and physiological characteristics that separate them from bacteria |
| domain Eukarya | a domain consisting of organisms with eukaryotic cells; includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals |
| prokaryotic cell | a cell that lacks a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles; the cell type within the domains Bacteria and Archaea |
| eukaryotic cell | a type of cell that has a membrane-bound nucleus and membranous organelles; found in the domain Eukarya |
| protists | the group of eukaryotic organisms that are not a plant, fungus, or animal. They are generally a microscopic complex single cell, and they evolved before other eukaryotes |
| plant | a multicellular photosynthetic organism |
| fungus | eukaryotic saprotrophic decomposer; the body is made up of filaments called hyphae that form a mass called a mycelium |
| animal | a multicellular; heterotrophic eukaryote that undergoes development to achieve its final form; characterized by the presence of muscular and nervous tissue |
| binomial nomenclature | a system biologists use to assign each living thing a two-part scientific name; the first word signifies the genus and the second signifies the species |
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