IGCSE Biology Definitions Flashcards

An action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place.

The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism.

The ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external environment and to make appropriate responses.

<p>A permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number or cell size or both.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Removal from organisms of the waste products of metabolism, toxic materials, and substances in excess of requirements.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The taking in of materials for energy, growth and development.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The processes that make more of the same kind of organism.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing the genus and species.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A group of cells with similar structures, working together to perform a shared function.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A structure made up of a group of tissues, working together to perform specific functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A group of organs with related functions, working together to perform body functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration down a concentration gradient, as a result of their random movement.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential, through a partially permeable membrane.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration using energy from respiration.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction and is not changed by the reaction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Proteins that function as biological catalysts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process by which plants manufacture carbohydrates from raw materials using energy from light.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Something present in the environment in such short supply that it restricts life processes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The taking of substances, e.g., food and drink, into the body through the mouth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical change to the food molecules.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble molecules.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The movement of small food molecules and ions through the wall of the intestine into the blood.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where they are used, becoming part of the cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed, as faeces, through the anus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Loss of water vapour from plant leaves by evaporation of water at the surfaces of the mesophyll cells followed by diffusion of water vapour through the stomata.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The movement of sucrose and amino acids in phloem from regions of production to regions of storage or where they are used.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A disease-causing organism.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A disease in which the pathogen can be passed from one host to another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Defence against a pathogen by antibody production in the body.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Short-term defence against a pathogen by antibodies acquired from another individual.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break down nutrient molecules to release energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules to release energy without using oxygen.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The removal of the nitrogen-containing part of amino acids to form urea.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A junction between two neurones.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Groups of receptor cells responding to specific stimuli: light, sound, touch, temperature, and chemicals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A chemical substance, produced by a gland and carried by the blood, which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The maintenance of a constant internal environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A response in which parts of a plant grow towards or away from gravity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A response in which parts of a plant grow towards or away from the direction from which light is coming.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Any substance taken into the body that modifies or affects chemical reactions in the body.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A process resulting in the production of genetically identical offspring from one parent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A process involving the fusion of the nuclei of two gametes to form a zygote and the production of offspring that are genetically different from each other.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The fusion of gamete nuclei.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or a different flower on the same plant.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of a flower on a different plant of the same species.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An infection that is transmitted via body fluids through sexual contact.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The transmission of genetic information from generation to generation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A thread-like structure of DNA, carrying genetic information in the form of genes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A length of DNA that codes for a protein.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A version of a gene.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A nucleus containing a single set of unpaired chromosomes, e.g., in gametes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A nucleus containing two sets of chromosomes, e.g., in body cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Nuclear division giving rise to genetically identical cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Reduction division in which the chromosome number is halved from diploid to haploid resulting in genetically different cells.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The genetic make-up of an organism in terms of the alleles present.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The observable features of an organism.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Having two identical alleles of a particular gene.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Having two different alleles of a particular gene.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An allele that is expressed if it is present.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An allele that is only expressed when there is no dominant allele of the gene present.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A characteristic in which the gene responsible is located on a sex chromosome.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Differences between individuals of the same species.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A change in the base sequence of DNA.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Genetic change.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An inherited feature that helps an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The probability of an organism surviving and reproducing in the environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The process, resulting from natural selection, by which populations become more suited to their environment over many generations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The change in adaptive features of a population over time as the result of natural selection.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Diagram showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with a producer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A network of interconnected food chains.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually using energy from sunlight through photosynthesis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An animal that gets its energy by eating plants.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An animal that gets its energy by eating other animals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The position of an organism in a food chain, food web, pyramid of numbers, or pyramid of biomass.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A group of organisms of one species, living in the same area, at the same time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>All of the populations of different species in an ecosystem.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A unit containing the community of organisms and their environment, interacting together.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Changing the genetic material of an organism by removing, changing or inserting individual genes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One which is produced as rapidly as it is removed from the environment so that it does not run out.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Development providing for the needs of an increasing human population without harming the environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>One which contains the right amount of each nutrient to meet the needs of the individual without causing malnutrition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The loss of watery faeces.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure one-way flow of blood.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Disease caused by the blockage of coronary arteries.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A system of lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes involved in the circulation of body fluids and protection from infection.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin to form a mesh preventing blood loss and preventing the entry of pathogens.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An electrical signal that passes along nerve cells called neurones.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A means of automatically and rapidly integrating and coordinating a given stimuli with specific responses of particular effectors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The hormone secreted in 'fight or flight' situations which causes an increase in breathing and pulse rate.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Drugs used for the treatment of bacterial infection.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Unspecialised cells that divide by mitosis to produce daughter cells that can become specialised for specific functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers