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Ap Biology Terms
All Terms from Campbell Reece 6th Edition Text Book
181
Biology
11th Grade
05/01/2012

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Term
5' cap
Definition
The 5' end of a pre-mRNA molecule modified by the addition of a cap of guanine nucleotide.
Term
A band
Definition
The broad region that corresponds to the lenfth of the thick filaments.
Term
A site
Definition
One of three binding sites for tRNA during translation, it holds the tRNA carrying the next amino acid to be added to the polypeptide chain; A stands for aminoacyl-tRNA site
Term
Abdominal cavity
Definition
The body cavity in mammals that primarily houses parts of the digestive, extretory, and reproductive systes. It is separated from the more cranial thoracic cavity by the diaphragm.
Term
Abiotic components
Definition
Nonliving chemical and physical factors in the environment.
Term
ABO blood groups
Definition
Genetically determined classes of human blood that are based on the presence or absense of carbohydrates A and B on the surface of red blood cells. The ABO blood group phenotypes, also called blood types are A, B, AB, and O.
Term
Abscisic acid (ABA)
Definition
A plant hormone that generally acts to inhibit plant growth, promote dormancy, and help the plant tolerate stressful conditions.
Term
Absorption
Definition
The uptake of small nutrient molecules by an organism's own body; the third main stage of food processing, following digestion.
Term
Absorption spectrum
Definition
The range of a pigment's ability to absorb various wave lengths of light.
Term
Abyssal zone
Definition
The very deep benthic communities near the bottom of the ocean. This region is characterized by continous cold, extremely high water pressure, low nutrients, and near ot total absense of light.
Term
Acanthodians
Definition
A group of ancient jawed fishes from the Devonian period.
Term
Acclimatization
Definition
Physiological adjustment to a change in an environmental factor.
Term
Accommodation
Definition
The automatic adjustment of an eye to focus on near objects.
Term
Acetyl CoA (acetyl coenzyme A)
Definition
The entry compound for the Krebs cycle in cellular respiration; formed from a fragment of pyruvate attached to a coenzyme.
Term
Acetylcholine
Definition
One of the most common neurotransmitters; functions by binding to receptors and altering the permeability of the post-synaptic membrane to specific ions, either depolarizing or hyperpolarizing the membrane.
Term
Acid
Definition
A substance that increases the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution.
Term
Acid chyme
Definition
A mixture of recently swallowed food and gastric juice.
Term
Acid percipitation
Definition
Rain, snow, or god that is more acidic than pH 5.6.
Term
Acoelomate
Definition
A solid-bodied animal lacking a cavity between the gut and outer body wall.
Term
Acrosomal reation
Definition
The discharge of a sperm's acrosome when the sperm approaches an egg.
Term
Acrosome
Definition
An organelle at the tip of a sperm cell that helps the sperm penetrate the egg.
Term
Actin
Definition
A globular protein that links into chains, two of which twist helically about each other, forming microfilaments in muscle and other contractile elements in cells.
Term
Actinistia
Definition
The class of lobefinned fishes.
Term
Actinopterygii
Definition
The class of ray-finned fishes.
Term
Action potential
Definition
A rapid change in the membrane potential of an exciteable cell, caused by stimulus-triggered, selective opening and closing of voltage-sensitive gates in sodium and potassium ion channels.
Term
Action spectrum
Definition
A profile of the relative performance of different wavelengths of light.
Term
Activation energy
Definition
The amount of energy that reactanats must absorb before a chemical reaction will start.
Term
Activator
Definition
A transcription factor that binds to an enhancer and stimulates transcription of a gene.
Term
Active immunity
Definition
Immunity conferred by recovering from an infectious disease.
Term
Active site
Definition
The specific portion of an enzyme that attaches to the substrate by means of weak chemical bonds.
Term
Active transport
Definition
The movement of a substance across a biological membrane against its concentration or electrochemical gradient with the help of energy input and specific transport proteins.
Term
Adaptive peak
Definition
An equillibrium state in a population when the gene pull has allele frequencies that maximize the average fitness of a population's members.
Term
Adaptive radiation
Definition
The emergence of numerous species from a common ancestor introduced into an environment, presenting a diversity of new opportunites and problems,
Term
Adenohypophosis
Definition
Also called the anterior pituitary, it consists of endocrine cells that synthesize and secrete several hormones directly into the blood.
Term
Adenylyl cyclase
Definition
An enzyme that converts ATP to to cyclic AMP in response to a chemical signal.
Term
Adhesion
Definition
The attraction between different kinds of molecules.
Term
Adrenal gland
Definition
AN endocrine gland located adjacent to the kidney in mammals; composed of two glandular portions; an outer cortex, which responds to endocrine signals in reacting to stress and effecting salt and water balance, and a central medulla, which responds to nervous inputs resulting from stress.
Term
Adrenal medulla
Definition
The central portion of an adrenal gland, controlled by nerve signals, that secretes the fight-or-flight hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine.
Term
Adrenocorticotropic hormone
Definition
A peptide hormone released from the anterior pituitary, it stimulates the production and secretion of steriod hormone by the adrenal cortex.
Term
Adventitious
Definition
Roots extending from stems and leaves above ground.
Term
Aerobic
Definition
Containing oxygen; referring to an organism, environment, or cellular process that requires oxygen.
Term
Afferent arteriole
Definition
The blood vessel supplying a nephron.
Term
Afrotheria
Definition
A branch of mammals that includes sloths, anteaters, and armadillos.
Term
Age structure
Definition
The relative number of individuals of each age in a population.
Term
Agglutination
Definition
An anti-body mediated immune repsonse in which bacteria or viruses are clumped together, effectively neutralized, and opsonized.
Term
Aggregate fruit
Definition
A fruit such as a blackberry that develops from a single flower that has several carpels.
Term
Agnathan
Definition
A member of a jawless class of vertebrates represented today by the lampreys and hagfishes.
Term
Agonistic behavior
Definition
A type of behavior involving a contest of some kind that determines which competitor gains access to some resource, such as food or mates.
Term
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)
Definition
The name of the late stages of HIV infection; defined by a specific reduction of T cells and the appearance of characteristic secondary infections.
Term
Alcohol fermentation
Definition
The conversion of pyruvate to to carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol.
Term
Alcohols
Definition
Organic compounds containing hydroxyl groups.
Term
Aldehyde
Definition
An organic molecule with a carbonyl group located at the end of the carbon skeleton.
Term
Aldosterone
Definition
An adrenal hormone that acts on the distal tubules of the kidney to stimulate the reabsorption of sodium (Na+) and the passive flow of water from the filtrate.
Term
Alga
Definition
A photosynthetic, plantlike protist.
Term
Alimentary canal
Definition
A digestive tract consisting of a tube running between a mouth and an anus.
Term
Allantois
Definition
One of four extra-embryonic membranes; serves as a repository for the embryo's nitrogenous waste.
Term
Alleles
Definition
Alternate versions of a gene.
Term
Allometric growth
Definition
The variation in the relative rates of growth of growth of various parts of the body, which helps shape the organism.
Term
Allopatric speciation
Definition
A mode of speciation induced when the ancestral population becomes segregated by a geographic barrier.
Term
Allopolyploid
Definition
A common type of polyploid species resulting from two different species interbreeding and combining their chromosomes.
Term
All-or-none event
Definition
An action that occurs either completely or not at all, such as the generation of an action potential by a neuron.
Term
Allosteric site
Definition
A specific receptor site on some part of an enzyme molecule remote from the active site.
Term
Alpha (a) helix
Definition
A spiral shaped constituting one of form og the secondary structure of proteins, aristing from a specific hydrogen-bonding structure.
Term
Alternation of generations
Definition
A life cycle in which there is both a multicellular diploid form, the sporophyte, and a multicellular haploid form, the gametophyte; characteristic of plants.
Term
Alternative RNA splicing
Definition
A type of regulation at the RNA-processing level in which different mRNA molecules are produced from the same primary transcript depending on which RNA segments are treated as exons and which as introns.
Term
Altruism
Definition
Behavior that reduces an individual's fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual.
Term
Altruistic behavior
Definition
The aiding of another individual at one's own risk or expense.
Term
Alveolata
Definition
A protistan clade that includes dinoflagellates, apicomplexans, and the ciliates. Alveolates have small membrane-bounded cavities called alveoli under their cell surfaces. The function of alveoli is unknown.
Term
Alveolus
Definition
(1) One of the deadened, multilobed air sacs that constitute the gas exchange surface of the lungs. (2) One of the milk secreting sacs of epithelial tissue in the mammary glands.
Term
Amacrine cell
Definition
Neurons of the retina that help intergrate information before it is sent to the brain.
Term
Amine
Definition
An organic compound with one or more amino groups.
Term
Amino acid
Definition
An organic molecule possessing both carboxyl and amino groups. Amino acids serve as monomers of proteins.
Term
Amino group
Definition
A functional group that consists of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms; can act as a base in solution, accepting a hydrogen ion and acquiring a charge of +1.
Term
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
Definition
An enzyme that joins each amino acid to the correct tRNA.
Term
Aminopeptidase
Definition
An enzyme found within the small intestine that splits off one amino acid at a time, beginning at the opposite end of the polypeptide containing a free carboxyl group.
Term
Ammonia
Definition
A small and very toxic nitrogenous waste produced by metabolism.
Term
Ammonites
Definition
Shelled cephalod animals that were the dominant invertebrate predators for milliond of years ending with the mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Term
Amniocentesis
Definition
A technique for determining genetic abnormalities in a fetus by the presence of certain chemicals or defective fetal cells in the amniotic fluid, obtained by aspiration from a needle inserted into the uterus.
Term
Amnion
Definition
The innermost of four extraembryonic membranes; encloses fluid-filled sac in which the embryo is suspended.
Term
Amniote
Definition
A vertebrate possessing an amnion surrounding the embryo; reptiles, birds, and mammals are amniotes.
Term
Amniotic egg
Definition
A shelled, water-retaining egg that enables reptiles, birds, and egg-laying mammals to complete their life cycles on dry land.
Term
Amoeba
Definition
A type of protist characterized by great flexibility and the presence of pseudopodia.
Term
Amoebocyte
Definition
An amoebalike cell that moves by pseudopodia, found in most animals; depending on the species, may digest and distribute food, disposes of wastes, form skeletal fibers, fight infections, and change into other cell types.
Term
Amphibia
Definition
The vertebrate class of amphibians, represented by frogs, salamanders, and caecilians.
Term
Amphipathic molecule
Definition
A molecule that has both a hydrophilic region and a hydrophobic region.
Term
Amplification
Definition
The strengthening of stimulus energy that is otherwise too weak to be carried into the nervous system.
Term
Anabolic pathway
Definition
A metabolic pathway that synthesizes a complex molecule from simpler compounds.
Term
Anaerobic
Definition
Lacking oxygen; referring to an organism, environment, or cellular process that lacks oxygen and may be poisoned by it.
Term
Anaerobic respiration
Definition
The use of inorganic molecules other than oxygen to accept electrons at the "down-hill" end of electron transport chains.
Term
Anagenesis
Definition
A pattern of evolutionary change involving the transformation of an entire population, sometimes to a state different enough from the ancestral population to justify renaming it as a separate species; also called phyletic evolution.
Term
Analogy
Definition
The similarity of structure between two species that are not closely related; attributeable to convergent evolution.
Term
Anaphase
Definition
The fourth subphase of mitosis, in which the chromatids of each chromosome have separated and the faughter chromosomes are moving to the poles of the cell.
Term
Anaphylactic shock
Definition
An acute, life threatening, allergic response.
Term
Anapsids
Definition
One of three groups of amniotes based on key differences between their skulls.
Term
Anatomically modern humans
Definition
Fully modern humans.
Term
Anatomy
Definition
The study of the structure of an organism.
Term
Anchorage dependence
Definition
The requirement that to divide, a cell must be attached to the substratum.
Term
Androgens
Definition
The principal male steriod hormones, such as testosterone, which stimulate the development and maintenance of the male reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
Term
Aneupolidy
Definition
A chromosomal aberration in which certain chromosomes are present in extra copies or are deficient in number.
Term
Angiosperm
Definition
A flowering plant, which forms seeds inside a protective chamber called an ovary.
Term
Anhydrobiosis
Definition
The ability to survive in a dormant state when an organism's habitat dries up. Also called cryptobiosis.
Term
Animal pole
Definition
The portion of the egg where the least yolk is concentrated. Opposite of vegetal pole.
Term
Anion
Definition
A negatively charged ion.
Term
Annual
Definition
A plant that completes its entire life cycle in a single year or growing season.
Term
Antennae
Definition
Sensory appendages found in uniramians.
Term
Anterior
Definition
Referring to the head end of a bilaterally symmetrical animal.
Term
Anterior pituitary
Definition
Also called the adenohypophysis, it consists of endocrine cells that synthesize and secrete several hormones directly into the blood.
Term
Anther
Definition
The terminal pollen sac of a stamen, inside which pollen grains with male gametes form in the flower of an angiosperm.
Term
Antheridium
Definition
In plants, the male gametangium, a moist chamber in which gametes develop.
Term
Anthocerophyta
Definition
The phylum of hornworts, small herbaccous (nonwoody) plants.
Term
Anthophyta
Definition
The phylum containing all angiosperms.
Term
Anthropoid
Definition
A member of a primate group made up of the apes (gibbon, orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo), monkeys, and humans.
Term
Antibiotic
Definition
A chemical that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth.
Term
Antibody
Definition
An antigen-binding immunoglobulin, produced by B cells, that functions as the effector in an immune response.
Term
Anticodon
Definition
A specialized base triplet at one end of a tRNA molecule that recognizes a particular complementary codon on an mRNA molecule.
Term
Antidiuretic hormone
Definition
A hormone that is part of an elaborate feedback scheme that helps regulate the osmolarity of the blood.
Term
Antigen
Definition
A foreign macromolecule that does not belong to the host organism and that elicits an immune response.
Term
Antigen presentation
Definition
The process by which an MHC-molecule cradles a fragment of an intracellular protein antigen in its hammocklike groove, carries it to the cell surface, and "presents" the protein to an antigen receptor on a nearby T cell.
Term
Antigen receptor
Definition
Transmembrane version of antibody molecules that B cells and T cells use to recognize specific antigens. Also called membrane anitbodies.
Term
Antigen-presenting cell (APCs)
Definition
Cells that ingest bacteria and viruses and then destroy them. Class II MHC molcules in these cells collect peptide remnants of this degradation and present them to helper T cells.
Term
Aura
Definition
The order of frogs and toads that includes tailles tetrapod amphibians.
Term
Anurans
Definition
The group of frogs and toads.
Term
Aphotic zone
Definition
The part of the ocean beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
Term
Apical dominance
Definition
Concentration of growth at the top of a plant shoot, where a terminal bud partially inhibits axillary bud growth.
Term
Apical ectodermal ridge
Definition
A limb-bud organizing region consisting of a thickened area of ectoderm at the tip of a limb bud.
Term
Apical meristem
Definition
Embryonic plant tissue in the tips of roots and in the buds of shoots that supploes cells for the plant to grow in length.
Term
Apicomplexan
Definition
One of a group of parasitic protozoans, some of which cause human disease.
Term
Apoda
Definition
The order of caelicians that includes legless amphibians.
Term
Apodans
Definition
The group of caelicians.
Term
Apomixis
Definition
The asexual production of seeds.
Term
Apomorphic character
Definition
A derived phenotypic character, or homology, that evolved after a branch diverged from a phylogenetic tree.
Term
Apoplast
Definition
In plants, the nonliving continuum formed by the extracellular pathway provided by the continuous matrix of cell walls.
Term
Apoptosis
Definition
Programmed cell death brought about by signals that trigger the activation of a cascade of "suicide" proteins in the cells destined to die.
Term
Aposematic coloration
Definition
The bright coloration of animals with effective physical or chemical defenses that acts as a warning to predators.
Term
Appendix
Definition
A small, fingerlike externsion of the vertebrate cecum, contains a mass of white blood cells that contribute to immunity.
Term
Aquaporin
Definition
A transport protein in the plasma membrane of a plant or animal cell that specifically facilitates the diffusion of water across the mebrane. (osmosis)
Term
Aqueous humor
Definition
Plasma like liquid in the space between the lens and the cornea in the vertebrate eye; helps mantain the shape of the eye, supplies nutrients and oxygen to its tissues, and desposes of its wastes.
Term
Aqueous solution
Definition
A solution in which water is the solvent.
Term
Arachiva
Definition
The animal class that includes scorpions, spiders, tics, and mites.
Term
Archaea
Definition
One of two prokaryotic domains, the other being the bacteria.
Term
Archaezoa
Definition
Primitive eukaryotic group that includes diplomonads, such as giardia; some systematists assigned kingdom status to archezoans.
Term
Archegonium
Definition
In plants, the female gametangium, a moist chamber in which gametes develop.
Term
Archenteron
Definition
The endoderm-linked cavitiy, formed during the gastrulation proces, that develops into the digestive tract of an animal.
Term
Archosaurs
Definition
The reptilian group that includes crocodiles, alligators, dinosaurs, and birds.
Term
Arteriole
Definition
A vessel that conveys blood between an artey an a capillary bed.
Term
Arteriosclerosis
Definition
A cardiovascular disease caused by the formation of hard plaque within the arteries.
Term
Artery
Definition
A vessel that carries blood away from the heart to organs throughout the body.
Term
Arthropod
Definition
Segmented coelomates with exoskeletons and jointed appendages.
Term
Anthropoda
Definition
The most diverse phylum in animal kingdom, arachnids (eg, spiders, tics, scorpions, and mites), crustacians (eg. crayfish, lobster, crabs, barnicles), millipedes, centipedes, and insects. Anthropods are characterized by a chitinous exoskeleton, molting, jointed apendages, and a body formed of distinct groups of segments.
Term
Artificial selection
Definition
The selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals to encourage the occurance of desireable traits.
Term
Ascocarps
Definition
Macroscopic fruiting bodies of sac fungi.
Term
Ascus
Definition
A sac-like spore capsule located at the tip of the ascocarp in dikaryotic hyphae; defining feature of the ascomycota division of fungi.
Term
Asexual reproduction
Definition
The type of reproduction involving only one parent and produces genetically identitical offspring, by budding or by the divison of a single cell, or the entire organism into two or more parts.
Term
Aspartate
Definition
An amino acid that functions as a CNS neurotransmitter.
Term
Assortive mating
Definition
A type of non-random mating in which mating partners resemble eachother in certain phenotypic characters.
Term
Associative learning
Definition
The acquired ability to associate one stimulus with another; also called classical conditioning.
Term
Astrocytes
Definition
Glial cells that provide structural and metabolic support for neurons.
Term
Asymmetrical carbon
Definition
A carbon atom covalently bonded to four different atoms of a group of atoms.
Term
Asymmetric cell division
Definition
Cell division in which one daughter cell recieves more cytoplasm than the other during mitosis.
Term
Atherosclerosis
Definition
A cardiovascular disease which growths called plaques develop on the inner walls of the arteries, narrowing their inner diameters.
Term
Atom
Definition
The smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element.
Term
Atomic nucleus
Definition
An atom's central core, containing protons and neutrons.
Term
Atomic number
Definition
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, unqiue for each element and designated by a subscript to the left of the elemental symbol.
Term
Atomic weight
Definition
The total atomic mass, which is the mass in grams of one mole of the atom.
Term
ATP (ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE)
Definition
An adenine/containing nucleocide triphosphate that release free energy when it's phosphate bonds are hydrolized. The energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells.
Term
ATP synthase
Definition
A cluster of several membrane proteins found in the mitochondrial crista (and bacterial plasma membrane) the function in chemiosmosis with adjacent electron transport chains, using the energy of a hydrogen ion concentration gradient to make ATP. ATP synthesis provides a port through which hydrogen ions diffuse into the matrix of a mitochodrion.
Term
Atrial natriuretic factor
Definition
A peptide hormone that opposes the renin/angiotensinaldosterone system.
Term
Atrioventicular node
Definition
A region of specialized muscle tissue between the right atrium and the right ventricle. It generates electrical impulses that primarily causes the ventricles to contract.
Term
Atrioventricular valve
Definition
A valve in the heart between each atrium and ventricle that prevent s blackflow of blood when the ventricles contract.
Term
Atrium
Definition
A chamber that recieves blood returning to the vertebrate heart.
Term
Autogenesis model
Definition
According to this model, eukaryotic cells evolved by the specialization of internal membrane orginally derived from prokaryotic plasma membranes.
Term
Autoimmune disease
Definition
An immunological disorder in which the immune system turns against itself.
Term
Autonomic nervous system
Definition
A subdivision of the motor nervous system of vertebrates that regulates the internal environment; consist of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.
Term
Autopolyploid
Definition
A type of polyploid species resulting from one species doublding its chromosome number to become tetraploid, which may self fertilize or mate with other tetraploids.
Term
Autosome
Definition
A chromsome that is not directly involved in determining sex, as opposed to a sex chromosome.
Term
Autotroph
Definition
An organism that obtains organic food molecules without eating other organisms or substances derived from other organisms. Autrotrophs use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of innorganic substances to make organic molecules from innorganic ones.
Term
Auxins
Definition
A class of plant hormones, including indoleacetic acid, having a variety of effects, such as phototropic response through the stimulation of cell elongation, stimulation of secondary growth, and the development of leaf traces and fruit.
Term
Auxotroph
Definition
A nutritional mutant that is unable to synthesize and cannot grow on media lacking certain essential molecules normally synthesized by a wild/type strains of the same species.
Term
Aves
Definition
The vertebrate class of birds, characterized by feathers and other flight adaptations.
Term
Axillary bud
Definition
A structure that has the potential to form a vegetative branch. The bud appears in the angel formed between a leaf and a stem.
Term
Axon
Definition
A typically long extension, or process, from a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body toward target cells.
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