Living Environment - Unit 1 vocab

Growth

the process by which living organisms increase in size

Homeostasis

the condition of a stable internal environment

Metabolism

All of the chemical reactions that occur within an organism

Nutrition

the process by which organisms takes in and uses food

Organism

A living thing

Reproduction

process by which organisms produce new organisms of their own kind

Respiration

the process of releasing energy from food molecules by a complex series of reactions

Transport

The process by which substances move into or out of cells or are distributed within cells

Control

the set up in an experiment in which no factor was changed (the reference)

Hypothesis

a possible explanation for an observed set of facts

Magnification

the ratio of the image size to the object size (how big)

Resolution

the ability of a microscope to show 2 points that are close together as separate images (how clear)

Scientific Method

a universal approach to scientific problems

Theory

explanations based on facts that apply to a broad range of phenomena

Variable

a single factor that is changed in a controlled experiment

Heterotroph

organisms that cannot synthesize their own food and must get it ready-made (consumers)

Autotroph

plants and other organisms that make their own food from inorganic substances

Aerobic

with oxygen

Anaerobic

without oxygen