Biology Vocabulary Quarter 2

Biology Vocabulary, Week 10 Diffusion: the movement of molecules from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration Osmosis: the movement of water across a membrane from higher to lower concentration Active Transport: the use of energy by a cell to move substances across the membrane Protein Synthesis: the process of building proteins at the ribosome; also called translation Plasma (cell) membrane: phospholipid bilayer that regulates what enters and leaves a cell

Biology Vocabulary, Week 11 Nucleus- membrane-bound organelle in eukaryotic cells that stores DNA Reproduction- the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced Gamete- sex cell (sperm or egg) with ½ the chromosome number Zygote- the cell that results when a sperm fertilizes an egg Embryo- early stage in multicellular organism’s development after the zygote begins to divide

Biology Vocabulary, Week 12 Asexual reproduction- an organism creates a genetically identical copy of itself without contribution of genes from another individual Sexual reproduction- organisms create descendents that have a combination of genetic material from two separate individuals Ribosome- organelle that is the site of protein synthesis Heredity- the transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring Mitosis- process by which a cell copies its genetic material and then splits into two

Biology Vocabulary, Week 13 Chromosome- a condensed piece of DNA surrounded by histone proteins; forms prior to mitosis Dominant- allele that is always expressed in the phenotype Recessive- allele that is masked by a dominant allele and that is only expressed when two copies are present Heterozygous- having two different alleles for a trait Homozygous- having two of the same alleles for a trait

Biology Vocabulary, Week 14 Gene- piece of DNA or RNA that directs the physical development and behavior of an organism Codominant-when neither allele is dominant, and both are expressed in a phenotype Genotype- genetic makeup of an organism Phenotype- physical appearance of an organism due to its genes DNA fingerprint- pattern of dark bands on an agarose gel that is unique to every individual; used to distinguish among different DNA samples

Biology Vocabulary, Week 15 Punnett square- tool used to show the possible outcomes of a genetic cross Monohybrid cross- a genetic cross between two individuals tracking the inheritance of a single trait in the offspring Polygenic trait- trait controlled by multiple genes in combination (skin color, eye color) Pedigree- chart that tracks a particular trait through several generations of a family Genetic engineering- the process of manipulating genes so that a different protein is made

Biology Vocabulary, Week 16 Meiosis: a process of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes by 1/2 DNA replication: the copying of DNA before cell division DNA sequence: the order of bases in a linear chain of DNA Recombinant DNA: an artificial DNA sequence created by combining two different pieces of DNA Sex-linked traits: traits that are the result of genes located on the X chromosome

Biology Vocabulary, Week 17 Mendel’s Law of Segregation: principle that states that during gamete formation, each new gamete gets one copy of each chromosome Mendel’s Law of Independent Assortment: principle that states that one gene’s inheritance is not affected by another Species: a reproductively isolated population that shares a common gene pool Transcription: the process of transferring the information of DNA to messenger RNA Trait: genetically inherited feature of an organism

Biology Vocabulary, Week 18 Deletion mutation- a mutation that results from the loss of a base or bases of DNA Insertion mutation- a mutation that results from the addition of a base or bases of DNA Substitution mutation- a mutation that results from changing a base or bases to another Transfer RNA- genetic material that brings amino acids to the ribosome during protein synthesis Messenger RNA- genetic material that brings the instructions of DNA to the ribosome during protein synthesis