Quality Core Vocabulary List- Biology – Flashcards
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Active transport
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Enery-requiring process that moves material across a cell membrane against a concentration difference
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Adaptation
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Inherited characteristic that increases an organisms chance for survival
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Amino acid
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Compound with an amino group on one end and a carboxyl group on the other end
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Anaerobic
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Process that does not require oxygen
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Aerobic
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Process that requires oxygen
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Animal
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Living organism that feeds on organic matter
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Atom
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Basic unit of matter
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ATP
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Large protein that uses energy from H+ ions to bind ADP and a phosphate group together to produce ATP
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Bacterium
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A member of a large group of multicellular micro-organisms that have cell walls but lack organelles
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Binomial nomenclature
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Classification system in which each species is assigned a two-part scientific name
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Biome
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Group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities
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Biosphere
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Part of the earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere
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Biotic
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Biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem
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Abiotic
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Physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem
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Carbohydrate
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Compound made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms; major source of energy for the human body
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Carnivore
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Organism that obtains energy by eating animals
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Carrier
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A person or thing that carries, holds, or conveys something
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Catastrophism
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The theory that the Earth has been affected in the past by sudden violent events
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Cell membrane
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Thin, flexible barrier around a cell; regulates what enters and leaves the cell
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Cell wall
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Strong supporting layer around the cell membrane in plants, algae, and some bacteria
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Cellular repiration
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Process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen
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Centriole
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One of two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope
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Chloroplast
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Organelle found in cells of plants and some other that captures the energy from sunlight and converts it into chemical energy
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Codominance
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Situation in which both alleles of a gene contribute to the phenotype of the organism
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Codon
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Three nucleotide sequence on messenger RNA that codes for a single amino acid
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Community
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Assemblage of different populations that live in a defined area
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Competition
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interaction between organisms or species in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another
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Control
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Factor in an experiment that a scientist purposely keeps the same
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Courtship
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Type of behavior in which an animal send out stimuli in order to attract a member of the opposite sex
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Decomposer
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organism that breaks down and obtain energy from dead organic matter
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Dependent variable
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Factor in an experiment that a scientist wants to observe, which may change because of the manipulated variable; also known as responding variable
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Diffusion
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Process by which molecules tend to move from an area where there are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated
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Directional selection
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Form of natural selection in which the entire curve move; occurs when an individuals at one end of a distribution curve have higher fitness than individuals in the middle or at the other end of the curve
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Disruptive selection
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Form of natural selection in which a single curve splits into two; occurs when individuals at the upper and lower ends of the distribution curve have higher fitness than individuals near the middle
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DKPCOFGS
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Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
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DNA
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deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
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Dominant
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a trait that will appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it.
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Recessive
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can be carried in a person's genes without appearing in that person
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Ecosystem
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Collection of all the organisms that live in a particular place, together with their nonliving environment
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Endoplasmic reticulum
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Internal membrane system and cells and watch lipid Components of the cell membrane are assembled and some proteins are modified
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Energy pyramid
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a graphical model of energy flow in a community. The different levels represent different groups of organisms that might compose a food chain
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Enzyme
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Protein that acts like a biological catalyst
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Eukaryote
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Organism whose cells contain nuclei
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Evolution
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Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
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Facilitated diffusion
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Movement of specific molecules across a cell membrane through protein channels
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Fatty acid
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chain of carbon atoms bonded with hydrogen atoms
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Fermentation
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Process by which cells release energy in the absence of oxygen
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Flower
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Seed bearing structure of Angiosperm
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Food web
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Network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem
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Food chain
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Series of steps in the ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
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Fungi
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Kingdom composed of heterotrophs; many obtain energy and nutrients from dead organic matter
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Genetic diversity
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Sum total of all the different forms of genetic information carried by all organisms living on earth today
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Genotype
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Genetic makeup of an organism
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Golgi apparatus
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Stack of membranes in the cell that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum
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Gradualism
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The view that evolution proceeds by imperceptibly small, cumulative steps over long periods of time rather than by abrupt, major changes.
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Habitat
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The area where organism lives, including the biotic and abiotic factors that effect it
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Herbivore
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Organism that obtains energy by eating only plants
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Homeostasis
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Process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment
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Homozygous
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Term used to refer to an organism that has two identical alleles for a particular trait
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Heterozygous
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Term used to refer to an organism that has two different alleles for the same trait
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Incomplete dominance
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Situation in which one allele is not completely dominant over the other
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Ion
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Atom that has a positive or negative charge
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Law of independent
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when two or more characteristics are inherited, individual hereditary factors assort independently during gamete production, giving different traits an equal opportunity of occurring together
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Law of segregation
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during the production of gametes the two copies of each hereditary factor segregate so that offspring acquire one factor from each parent
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Light dependent reactions
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Reactions of photosynthesis that use energy from light to produce ATP and NADPH
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Light independent reactions
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chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and other compounds into glucose
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Lipid
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Macromolecule made mainly from carbon and hydrogen atoms; includes fats, oils,and waxes
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Lysosomes
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Cell organelle filled with enzymes needed to break down certain materials in the cell
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Meiosis
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Process by which the number of chromosomes Purcell is cut in half through separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell
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Microfilaments
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The thinnest filaments of the cytoskeleton, a structure found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells
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Microtubules
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a microscopic tubular structure present in numbers in the cytoplasm of cells, sometimes aggregating to form more complex structures.
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Migration
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Periodic movement in return of animals from one place to another
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Mitochondrion
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Cell organelle that converts the chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are more convenient for the cell to use
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Mitosis
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Part of eukaryotic cell division during which the cell nucleus divides
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Monosaccharide
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Single sugar molecule
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Disaccharide
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any of a class of sugars whose molecules contain two monosaccharide residues.
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Polysaccharide
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Large macromolecule formed from monosaccharides
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mRNA
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Are in a mall cool that carries copies of instructions for the assembly of amino acids into proteins from DNA to the rest of the cell
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Mutation
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Change in DNA sequence that affects genetic information
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Natural selection
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Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce the most successfully; also called survival of the fittest
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Niche
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Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions
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Nucleic acid
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Macromolecules containing hydrogen oxygen nitrogen and carbon and phosphorus
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Organic
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a molecule has a carbon backbone, with some hydrogens thrown in for good measur
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Osmosis
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Diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane
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Pedigree
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Chart that shows the relationships within a family
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pH
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Measurement system used to indicate the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution; ranges from 0 to 14
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Phenotype
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Physical characteristics of an organism
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Photosynthesis
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Process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches
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Plant
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To place (a seed or plant) in soil or other substrate in order that it may live and grow
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Polypeptide
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A polymer of amino acids joined together by peptide bonds
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Population
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Group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area
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Predation
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Interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism
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Prokaryote
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Unicellular organism lacking a nucleus
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Protein
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Macromolecule that contains carbon hydrogen oxygen nitrogen and; needed by the body for growth and repair to make up and enzymes
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Protist
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Any eukaryote that is not a plan, and animal, or fungus
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Punctuated equilibrium
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Pattern of evolution in which long sable periods are interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change
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Replication
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Copying process by which a cell duplicates its DNA
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Ribosome
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Small particle in the cell on which proteins are assembled made of RNA and protein
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Scientific method
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a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments
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Seed
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Embryo of a living plant that is encased in a protective covering and surrounded by food supply
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Sex linkage
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Team located on the X or Y chromosome
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Species
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Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring
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Stabilizing selection
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Form of natural selection by which the center of the curve remains in its current position; occurs when individuals near the center of a distribution curve have higher fitness than individuals at either end
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Succession
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a number of people or things sharing a specified characteristic and following one after the other
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Symbiosis
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Relationship in which two species live closely together
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Transcription
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Process in which the nucleotide sequence of DNA is copied into complementary sequence in RNA
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Translation
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Decoding of mRNA message into a polypeptide chain
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TRNA
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Type of RNA molecule that transfers amino acids to ribosomes during protein synthesis
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Virus
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Particle made up of a nucleic acid, protein, and in some cases lipids that can replicate only by infecting living cells
