Glossary
A
- acid
- - a chemical compound with a sour taste that can corrode metal
- adapt
- - to alter a behavior or characteristic in response to an environmental change
- antibiotic
- - drugs designed to destroy bacteria by breaking down their cell walls
- autotroph
- - an organism that makes its own food
B
- bacteria
- - tiny, one-celled organisms found throughout the earth and inside other organisms
- biologist
- - scientist who studies living things
C
- cells
- - the very small units that make up all living things, specialized to do different jobs
- characteristics
- - traits that describe a living thing
- classify
- - to place in groups according to similarities
D
- decompose
- - to break down dead plants or animals
- descending
- - categories going down in order, from broad to narrow
- digestive system
- - the organs that process food in the body: esophagus, stomach, intestines
- diversity
- - variety, many different kinds
- DNA
- - deoxyribonucleic acid: a molecule within each cell that contains instructions for cell growth and development
- domain
- - the most inclusive level of biological organization; currently there are three
E
- ecosystem
- - living and nonliving things interacting in an environmental community
- estimate
- - to make a close guess, based on facts
- eukaryotes
- - organisms whose cells have a nucleus and organelles
G
- genetics
- - the science of studying how traits are passed along and how DNA is organized
H
- heterotroph
- - an organism that must find and ingest food
I
- inclusive
- - invertebrate
K
- kingdom
- - the second level of biological organization; currently there are six
M
- magnifying
- - making a tiny thing look larger
- microbes
- - organisms too small to see with the naked eye
- microbiology
- - the study of living things too small to see
- microorganisms
- - organisms too small to see with the naked eye
- microscope
- - an instrument that allows people to see things too small to be seen with the naked eye
- molecules
- - a group of atoms bonded together, the smallest unit of a chemical compound
- multicellular
- - composed of many cells
N
- nucleus
- - an organelle within a cell that tells it what to do and contains genetic information
O
- offspring
- - children of the parent organism
- organelle
- - small component within a cell, contained by a membrane, that performs a specific function
- organism
- - a living thing made of cells
P
- photosynthesis
- - the process by which a plant uses energy from the sun, water, and carbon dioxide to make food for its own growth
- prokaryotes
- - organisms whose cells do not have a nucleus
R
- recycle
- - to reuse or remake for new use
- reproduce
- - to create young, to make more organisms of a certain species
- respond
- - action taken when a stimulus is perceived
S
- sewage
- - garbage or waste matter carried off in sewers or drains
- species
- - the most specific category in classifying living things; organisms create young that are members of the same species
- stimuli
- - things that provoke action
T
- taxonomy
- - the science of classification in biology
U
- unicellular
- - composed of only one cell
V
- vertebrate
- - animal with a backbone and usually an internal skeleton
- volcanic vents
- - openings in the ocean where volcanic gases from deep in the earth heat up the sea water
