EXAM Q’S AND A’S
Biosphere - answer- The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the
planet's ecosystems.
Biome - answer- Any of the world's major ecosystem types, often classified
according to the predominant vegetation for terrestrial biomes and the physical
environment for aquatic biomes and characterized by adaptations of organisms to
that particular environment.
Ecosystem - answer- All the organisms in a given area as and the abiotic factors with
which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around
them.
Abiotic - answer- Nonliving; referring to the physical and chemical properties of an
environment.
Biotic - answer- Pertaining to the living factors- the organisms- in an environment.
Community - answer- All the organisms that inhabit a particular areal an assemblage
of populations of different species living close enough together for potential
interaction.
Population - answer- A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same
area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring.
Species - answer- A population or group of populations whose members have the
potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable, fertile offspring, but do not
produce viable, fertile offspring with members of other such groups.
Organism - answer- A living thing
Organ - answer- In Linnaean classification, the taxonomic category above the level
of family.
Tissue - answer- An integrated group of cells with a common structure, function, or
both.
Cell - answer- The basic unit of structure and function in living things
Organelle - answer- Any of 7 membrane-enclosed structures with specialized
functions, suspended in cytosol of eukaryotic cells.
Molecule - answer- A group of atoms bonded together
Atom - answer- Smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element.
, Cell theory - answer- idea that all living things are composed of cells, cells are the
basic units of structure and function in living things, and new cells are produced from
existing cells
Prokaryotic cell - answer- A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and
membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with this cell = Bacteria and archaea.
Eukaryotic cell - answer- A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and
membrane-enclosed organelles. Organisms with this cell = protists, plants, fungi, and
animals.
Multicellular - answer- Consisting of many cells
Unicellular - answer- Made of a single cell
Colonial - answer- A cluster of identical cells (clones) on the surface of (or within) a
solid medium, usually derived from a single parent cell, as in bacterial colony.
Cell (plasma) membrane - answer- phospholipid bilayer that protects and encloses
the cell; controls transport; maintains homeostasis
Cytoplasm - answer- The contents of the cell bounded by the plasma membrane; in
eukaryotes, the portion exclusive of the nucleus.
DNA - answer- A double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule, consisting of
nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine
(A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and
determining the inherited structure of a cell's proteins.
Ribosome - answer- A complex of rRNA and protein molecules that functions as a
site of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm; consists of a large and a small subunit. In
eukaryotic cells, each subunit is assembled in the nucleolus.
Cell wall - answer- A protective layer external to the plasma membrane in the cells of
plants, prokaryotes, fungi, and some protists. Polysaccharides such as cellulose (in
plants and some protists), chitin (in fungi), and peptidoglycan (in bacteria) are
important structural components of cell walls.
Nucleus - answer- 1) an atom's central core, containing protons and neutrons. 2)the
organelle of a eukaryotic cell that contains the genetic material in the form of
chromosomes, made up of chromatin. 3) a cluster of neurons.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) - answer- An extensive membranous network in
eukaryotic cells, continuous with the outer nuclear membrane and composed of
ribosome-studded (rough) and ribosome free (smooth) regions.
Golgi apparatus - answer- An organelle in eukaryotic cells consisting of stacks of flat
membranous sacs that modify, store, and route products of the endoplasmic
reticulum and synthesize some products, notably noncellulose carbohydrates.