Context and comparison
are the two fundamental ideas used in anthropology.
Cultural anthropology
studies the practices, beliefs, economics, politics, and gender roles of living people.
Biological anthropology
uses a wide range of data about living and past organisms to study human evolution.
Paleoanthropology
uses the fossil record to examine the anatomy and behavior of our relatives in the past.
Forensic anthropology
applies methods of skeletal analysis to study humans in a legal context.
Interpretation
is the stage of the scientific method at which the hypothesis evaluated.
Hypothesis
is a testable explanation of observations
Scientific Theory
is an explanation that has already been repeatedly tested.
Biocultural Approach
is an approach that recognizes that human biology and culture are closely intertwined and need to be examined and understood simultaneously.
Prokaryote
cells lack a nucleus, and are often one-celled organisms
Eukaryote
cells contain a nucleus, and are multicelled organisms
Mitochondria
produce energy for the cell and have their own DNA (not nucleus, cytoplasm, or cell membrane).
Homologous pairs
have similar size, centromere position, and type of genetic information.
Thymine
is the DNA base that successfully pairs with adenine (not guanine, adenine, or cytosine).
Uracil
is the RNA base that successfully pairs with adenine (not thymine, adenine, or cytosine).
Alleles
are variations of genes.
Somatic cells
are where mitosis occurs.
Gamete-forming cells
are where meiosis occurs.
mRNA
is the genetic information that moves from nucleus to cytoplasm during protein synthesis (not mDNA, tRNA, or tDNA).
tRNA
transports amino acids during protein synthesis (not mDNA, mRNA, or tDNA).
Genotype
is defined as the alleles (genetic material) carried by an individual.
Phenotype
is the physical expression of the alleles carried by an individual.
A pea plant heterozygous for tallness is tall because
the dominant allele masks the effect of the recessive allele.
Mendelian traits
are determined by alleles at one genetic locus, whereas polygenic traits are determined by alleles at more than one genetic locus.
Skin color
is a polygenic trait in humans (not hitchhiker's thumb, earlobe attachment, or freckles).