Organic Substance & Energy Producer – Biology
This biology chapter covers organic substance and energy producer.
Stomatic
any body cell expect for sex cells
Biodiversity
Results in stability in an ecosystem. Biodiversity is a measure of the
number and types of organisms that live in an ecosystem
Succession
(ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought
about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable
climax is established
Photosynthesis
How most food and oxygen on earth are produced; the energy comes from the sun
Homologous structures
Are structures that derive from the same body part but may have different
forms, i.e. bird wing, bat wing, human arm
Homeostasis
the ability of a living thing to keep conditions inside its body constant
Polymer
large molecule formed when many smaller molecules bond together
Nutrient Cycle
The movement of materials (nutrients) in a local ecosystem
Organism
a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function
independently
Polar
having a pair of equal and opposite charges
Non-polar
not ionic
Charged
term referring to matter having an excess of electrons (a negative charge)
or a deficiency of electrons (a positive charge)
Hydrophobic
Water Fearing
Hydrophillic
Water Loving
Solute
the dissolved substance in a solution
Solvent
a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances
Covalent Bond
a chemical bond that involves sharing a pair of electrons between atoms in a
molecule
Food web
(ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food
chains
Trophic levels
The hierarchical levels of the food chain through which energy flows from
primary producers to primary consumers, secondary consumers and so on.
Autotroph
organism capable of synthesizing its own food from simple organic substances
Food chain
a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being
eaten
Heterotroph
an organism that depends on complex organic substances for nutrition
Producer
an organism that makes its own food
Consumer
an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
Herbivore
any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants
Carnivore
any animal that feeds on flesh
Omnivore
an animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances
Decomposer
organism that breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter
10% rule
only 10% of the total energy produced at each trophic level is available to
the next level. The amount of energy passed up to the levels of the food
pyramid reduces as you go up.
Greenhouse effect
warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere
Greenhouse Gas
a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared
radiation
Global Climate Change
a change in the world’s climate
Photosynthesis
process by which plants use the sun’s energy to convert water and carbon
dioxide into sugars
Cellular respiration
the metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic
moelcules
1st law of Thermodynamics
the law that states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed
2nd law of Thermodynamics
whenever energy is converted from one form to another form some energy is
lost as heat
Evaporation
the process of becoming a vapor
Transpiration
the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants
Condensation
the process of changing from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state
Precipitation
the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or
mist)
Runoff
water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the groundv
Seepage
water that leaks out and slowly moves deeper underground
Root uptake
plant roots absorb the water
Nitrogen Fixation
the assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen by soil bacteria and its release for
plant use on the death of the bacteria
Anaerobic
without oxygen
Aerobic
process that requires oxygen
Law of Conservation of Matter
a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created
or destroyed in an isolated system
Ecological Footprint
A way of measuring how much of an impact a person or community has on the
earth. Someone who uses more natural resources will have a bigger footprint
than someone who uses less.
Water
H2o
Chemical Digestion
chemicals produced by the body break foods into their smaller chemical
building blocks
Mechanical Digestion
Part of digestion that uses movement and muscles to break down food
Peristalsis
the process of wave-like muscle contractions of the alimentary tract that
moves food along
Chyme
a semiliquid mass of partially digested food that passes from the stomach
through the pyloric sphincter into the duodenum
Enzymes
protein substances that speed up chemical reactions.
Catalyst
(chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction
without itself being affected
Active site
the part of an enzyme or antibody where the chemical reaction occurs
Substrate
the substance acted upon by an enzyme or ferment
Products
the elements or compounds produced by a chemical reaction
calorie
unit of heat defined as the quantity of heat required to raise the
temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree centigrade at atmospheric pressure
Calorie
a unit of the energy supplied by food
Mouth
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
Saliva
a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous
glands of the mouth
Amylase
any of a group of proteins found in saliva and pancreatic juice and parts of
plants
Stomach
an enlarged and muscular sack like organ of the alimentary canal
Esophagus
the passage between the pharynx and the stomach
Small Intestine
digestive organ in which most chemical digestion takes place
Large organ just above the stomach that produces bile
Bile
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder
Gall Bladder
stores bile until needed for digestion
Pancreas
gland that secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum, where it mixes with
bile to digest food
Villi
Small fingerlike projections on the walls of the small intestines that
increase surface area
Large Intestine
the last section of the digestive system, where water is absorbed from food
and the remaining material is eliminated from the body
Cecum
the cavity in which the large intestine begins and into which the ileum
opens
Colon
the part of the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum
Rectum
A short tube at the end of the large intestine where waste material is
compressed into a solid form before being eliminated
Anus
opening of the rectum to the outside of the body
Appendix
a vestigial process that extends from the lower end of the cecum and that
resembles a small pouch
Lock and Key
Model of enzyme activity that explains how a particular enzyme will only fit
with one particular type of substrate.
Activation Energy
the energy that an atomic system must acquire before a process (such as an
emission or reaction) can occur
Surface Area
the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary
Lipase
an enzyme secreted in the digestive tract that catalyzes the breakdown of
fats into individual fatty acids that can be absorbed into the bloodstream
Trypsin
an enzyme from the pancreas that digests proteins in the small intestine
Pepsin
Enzyme that breaks down proteins in the stomach
Protease
Enzyme that digests protein
HcL
hydrochloric acid
matter
anything takes up space and has mass
compound
substance consisting of two or more elements in a fixed ratio
element
any substance that cannot be broken down to any other substance
trace elements
an element indispensable for life but required in extremely minimum amounts
atom
smallest unit of matter that retains property of an element
neutron
an electrically neutral particle found in the nucleus of an atom
proton
a subatomic particle with single positive charge found in nucleus of an atom
electron
a subatomic particle with a single negative charge; one or more electrons
move around the nucleus
isotopes
one of several atomic forms of an element each containing different number
of neutrons and different in atomic mass
valence electrons
the electrons in the outermost electron shell
chemical bonds
an attraction between two atoms resulting from a sharing of outer shell
electrons or the presence of opposite charges on the atom; the bonded atoms
gain compounds outer electron shells
covalent bonds
a type of strong chemical bond in which two atoms share one pair of valence
electrons