Second Qtr Science Vocab 09-10

36. cell wall	46. structure	56. ovary	66. abiotic / biotic
37. aquatic	47. xylem	57. stigma	67. consumer
38. bacteria /Monera	48. root hairs	58. stamen	68. producer
39. kingdom	49. chlorophyll	59. anther	69. decomposer
40. adaptation	50. monocot / dicot	60. pollen	70. food web
41. seed coat	51. phloem	61. fertilization	71. carbohydrate
42. cotyledon	52. guard cells	62. population	72. calorie
43. germinate	53. transpiration	63. ecosystem	73. trophic level
44. embryo	54. mass	64. community	74. autotroph / heterotroph
45. function	55. pistil	65. individual	75. herbivore, carnivore, omnivore

hypothesis: an educated guess or prediction about the outcome of a scientific experiment; what you think will happen when you do your experiment

evidence: information that supports a hypothesis, or indicates that something is true

dormant - a state of rest for an organism during which most of the characteristics of life are not apparent, but the organism is still alive

living: having and showing all eight characteristics of an organism (responds, reproduces, needs food for energy, made of cells, eliminates waste, grows, needs water, exchanges gasses)

dead: state of an organism that was once alive, but no longer shows the characteristics of life

inverted - turned upside down; the image of an object on the stage of a microscope is inverted as compared to the orientation of the object on the stage

stage- the flat platform of a microscope on which the slides and specimens are placed for viewing

objective lens - the interchangeable lenses just above the stage on a microscope (4X, 10X, 40X)

focal plane - the thin layer of focus, a certain distance below the objective lens, where an object is clearly visible when looking through a microscope

diaphragm - a circular disc with round holes under the stage of a microscope that allows different amounts of light to pass up through the specimen on the stage

field of view - what you see when you look through the eyepiece of a microscope; (the white circle of light)

power - the magnification of one lens on a microscope; for example: the eyepiece is usually 10 power, written 10X

total magnification - the amount of magnification of a microscope found by multiplying the power of the objective lens times the power of the eyepiece lens, e.g., 10X times 40X = 400X total magnification

organic - refers to anything that is alive, or was alive or came from a living thing

cell - the smallest unit of an organism that has all the characteristics of a living thing, but is not independent and therefore is not an organism

cytoplasm- the clear fluid that is present in all cells, and supports the organelles

chloroplast - small, round, green part of a plant cell, which contains the chemical chlorophyll and performs photosynthesis

amoeba - a blob-like protist that moves and catches food using its pseudopods

paramecium - a microscopic organism that is cigar-shaped and moves by using cilia

micron - a unit of measurement: one thousandth of a millimeter. (A paramecium is about 300 microns long; smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.)

protist - a small, usually single-celled, organism that may be plant-like, animal-like or fungus-like

organelle - part of a cell that does a particular job; e.g., the nucleus controls the actions of the cell, ribosomes build proteins, mitochondria release energy from food.

cilia - hair-like structures on protists like paramecia, which are used for locomotion and food gathering.

flagellum - a whip-like structure on some protists that the protist uses for locomotion (to move)

pseudopod - a false foot; the extension of the body of an amoeba into which its cytoplasm flows to move and to surround food

prokaryotes are any organism made of a cell that does not contain a nucleus (only bacteria (monerans) are prokaryotic)

eukaryotes are organisms made of cells that do contain nuclei (fungi, protists, plants and animals are eukaryotes).

28. control - part of an experiment that remains the same; showing the reaction or non-reaction of the materials without the variable

32. ribosome - an organelle that assembles amino acids from raw materials according to directions from the nucleus

32. seed - part of a plant containing the embryo of a new plant surrounded by starchy food

34. embryo - the early form of a multicellular organism; a "baby" plant inside a seed, for example

35. cotyledon - the part of a seed containing starchy food for the new plant (for the embryo)

function - what a structure does, or what purpose is served by a part of an organism

monocot/dicot - seeds (or plants) which have one cotyledon (monocots), or two cotyledons (dicots)

shoot - the first growth of the stem and leaf from a seed (appears after the root)

species - the smallest taxonomic group; a group of organisms that can only reproduce sexually within that group

root - usually underground part of a plant which absorbs water, holds the plant in place, and sometimes stores food

tissue - lots of the same kind of cells, working together to perform a specific job; tissues together form organs.

classification - placing organisms into groups according to their similar characteristics

kingdom - the largest division of all living things; the five kingdoms are: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia

organelle - organized parts of a cell, each of which has a specific job to perform for the life of the cell, like capturing energy, releasing energy, controlling the cell, etc.

scientific name - two word Latin name for a species that includes the genus and species names: humans are Homo sapiens

species - the smallest group in the taxonomic system of classification of organisms

taxonomy - the science of classification; grouping living things by similar characteristics

plant - the kingdom of usually green, multicellular organisms that make their own food through photosynthesis

fungi - kingdom of organisms which includes mushrooms, molds, and yeast which break down food before absorbing it

mitochondrion - an organelle that "burns" sugar in a cell to release energy for life processes

ribosome - an organelle that assembles amino acids from raw materials according to directions from the nucleus

cell membrane - the "skin" of a cell that holds in the cytoplasm and organelles

cell wall - in plants, bacteria and fungi, a second layer surrounding the cell membrane

seed - part of a plant containing the embryo of a new plant surrounded by starchy food

embryo - the early form of a multicellular organism; a "baby" plant, for example

cotyledon - the part of a seed containing starchy food for the new plant (the embryo)

monocot/dicot - seeds (or plants) which have one cotyledon (monocots), or two cotyledons (dicots)

xylem - tiny tubes in the stem of a plant that carry water from the roots to the rest of the plant

shoot - the first growth of the stem and leaf from a seed (appears after the root)

tap root - a thick central root of some plants (different from fibrous roots)

stomate - an opening in the surface of a leaf through which gasses and evaporated water pass

transpiration: process in which water vapor escapes from a plant through the stomates of the plant's leaves

42. phloem: tiny tubes in a plant that carry food from the leaves to the other parts of the plant

43. adaptation: a structure or behavior of an organism that is beneficial to its survival and is passed to the next generation: examples - camouflage coloration; webbed feet for swimming; a larger brain; beak shape in birds

seed coat - the water resistant outer layer of a seed that protects the embryo and cotyledons inside

44. leaf - usually green part of a plant in which most photosynthesis takes place, producing food for the whole plant

root hairs - extensions of root cells that increase the surface area of roots to enable increased water absorption

45. root - usually underground part of a plant which appears first when a seed germinates; roots absorb water, hold the plant in place, and sometimes store food

46.guard cells - curved cells which surround the openings in leaves, (forming stomates), guard cells control the movement of water through a plant

47. photosynthesis - the process in leaves, which turns water and carbon dioxide into food (sugar) for a plant.

48. chlorophyll - a green pigment in leaves, that is necessary for photosynthesis

49. mass - the amount of matter in an object, measured in grams or kilograms

52. ovary - the rounded base of the pistil inside of which are found the ovules which will become seeds when fertilized

pollen - small particles containing DNA, produced on the anther of a flower, which fertilize the ovules ("eggs") of another flower to form seeds

58. pollen tube - a hollow tube which grows from pollen grain stuck on the stigma, down through the style to the ovary, allowing the sperm (male DNA) to travel to the eggs in the ovary of a flower

61. fertilization - the joining of egg and sperm in sexual reproduction to form the first cell of a new organism

consumer - any organism that is not able to make its own food and must consume food from another source

producer - an organism that converts light energy into chemical energy (food). Plants are producers, as are green algae and blue-green bacteria

decomposer - organisms that obtain food by breaking down dead material into chemicals that can be recycled through the ecosystem

food web - a diagram showing the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem; arrows show the flow of energy in the food web

energy - the ability to do work; comes in many forms - chemical energy, heat energy, electrical energy, etc.

carbon dioxide - a gas which makes up less than 4% of our atmosphere, but is necessary for photosynthesis; chemical symbol: CO2

autotroph/ heterotroph - an autotroph is an organism which makes its own food (like a plant); a heterotroph is an organism that must eat other organisms for its energy needs

trophic level: the position of an organism in an ecosystem related to its feeding habits; e.g.: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.

carbohydrate - a sugar or starch; the source of energy in many foods; chemical formula contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen

. calorie - the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one milliliter of water one degree Celsius

herbivore, carnivore, omnivore - consumers in a food web: herbivores eat producers (plants). carnivores eat meat (other consumers), omnivores (like bears and humans) eat both plants and animals

reproductive potential - the number of offspring that an individual might possibly give birth to

limiting factor - any influence which reduces the reproductive capacity of a population

carrying capacity- the ability of an ecosystem to sustain (keep alive) a certain number of individuals

"10% rule" - on average, only 10% of energy and matter consumed by an organism at a lower trophic level is passed on to the next higher consumer level because most energy is used by any given organism to perform life processes.

detritivore - an organism like a worm or beetle that eats dead material (detritus) but doesn't break the material down into its simplest form (and is therefore not referred to as a decomposer in our book)