Life
An emergent property of a chemical system that uses information to acquire energy and other resources from its environment to grow, reproduce, maintain homeostasis, and evolve.
Homeostasis
The ability to maintain a stable internal environment while adjusting to external conditions
Metabolism
The sum of all chemical reactions in an organism.
BMR
Basal metabolic rate, the energy needed to maintain basic functions of your body, including maintaining homeostasis, repair, breathing, and circulation.
Catabolic reactions
Chemical reactions that break larger molecules into smaller ones, usually releasing energy in the process.
Anabolic reactions
Chemical reactions that build larger molecules from smaller molecules; they
usually require an input of energy
Evolution
The change over time of the inherited characteristics in a population.
Natural Selection
The differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a population where the fittest individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Cell
A membrane-bound system that is the basic unit of life, using information to direct its activities of acquiring resources from the environment to carry out the process of life.
Cell Theory
Cells are the basic unit of life; modern cells come from pre-existing cells.
System
A group of interacting parts working together within a defined space.
Emergent Property
New properties that arise from more complex systems; they are not predictable from the individual parts, but come about by interactions within a system. (You are greater than the sum of our parts)
Complex System
A system with many components interacting together, often leading to emergent properties (example: cells, a human brain, an organism, a biological community)
Population
The number of individuals of the same species living in a defined area at the same
time.
Biological community
All the species interacting with each other in the same area.
Ecosystem
All the species of a community living in the same area interacting with the nonliving part of the environment
Ecology
The study of relationships between living organisms and their environment.
Biosphere
The part of the Earth where all life is found.
Autotroph
Organisms that make their own food using light, water, and carbon dioxide.
Heterotroph
Organisms that cannot make their own food; they must obtain their nutrition and
energy from other sources, including organisms like plants and animals.
Food web
The feeding interactions among species within an ecosystem.
Paradigm
A set of concepts, including theories, laws, and methods that define a discipline.
Evolution
The change in heritable features of a population over time.
Uniformitarianism
The laws of nature work the same everywhere in the universe, and they are the
same in the past and future
