Metabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which convert energy and matter from outside sources and use that energy and matter to sustain the organism's life functions.
Anabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which use energy and simple chemical building blocks to produce large chemicals and structures necessary for life.
Catabolism
The sum total of all processes in an organism which breaks down chemicals to produce energy and simple chemical building blocks.
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use the energy of sunlight and simple chemicals to produce their own food.
Herbivores
Organisms that eat only plants.
Carnivores
Organisms that eat other organisms other than plants.
Omnivores
Organisms that eat both plants and other organisms.
Producers
Organisms that produce their own food.
Consumers
Organisms that eat living producers and/or living consumers for food.
Decomposers
Organisms that break down the dead remains of other organisms.
Autotrophs
Organisms that are able to make their own food.
Heterotrophs
Organisms that depend on other organisms for their food.
Receptors
Special structures that allow living organisms to sense the conditions of their internal or external environment.
Asexual Reproduction
Reproduction accomplished by a single organism.
Sexual reproduction
Reproduction that requires two organisms.
Inheritance
The process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from the parents to the offspring.
Mutation
An abrupt and marked change in DNA of an organism compared to that of its parents.
Hypothesis
An educated guess that attempts to explain an observation or answer a question.
Theory
A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data.
Scientific Law
A theory that has been tested by and is consistent with generations of data.
Microorganisms
Living creatures that are too small to see with the naked eye.
Abiogenesis
The idea that long ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through chemical reactions.
Prokaryotic cell
A cell that has no distinct membrane bounded organelles.
Eukaryotic cell
A cell with distinct, membranebounded organelle
Species
A unit of one or more populations of individuals that can reproduce under normal conditions, produce fertile offspring, and are reproductively isolated from other such units.
Taxonomy
The science of classifying organisms.
Binomial nomenclature
Naming an organism with its genus and species name.