Transcript Life Vocabulary

Adaptation
A characteristic of an
organism that helps it
survive.

Amphibian

An animal that has a
backbone and lives in water
when it is young and on
land when it is an adult.
Animal

An organism that is made
of many cells, breathes
oxygen, eats other
organisms, and can move
on its own.
Artery

A blood vessel that carries
blood away from the heart.
Arthropod

An animal that has a hard
outer skeleton and legs with
joints.
Asexual Reproduction

Reproduction by simple
cell division.
Auditory Nerve

The nerve that carries
messages about sound from
the ear to the brain.
Bacteria

Organisms that are made of
one cell with no nucleus.
Basic Needs
The things that all living things
must have in order to live.
 Food
 Water
 Air exchange
 Waste disposal
 Ability to reproduce

Behavior
Something an organism
does.
 The way an animal reacts
to change.

Biodiversity

A variety of different
species in an area
Biomass

Fuel that comes from plants
and animals.
Biome

A very large area of land
with a certain kind of
climate and certain kinds of
organisms living there.
Bird
An animal that has a backbone,
feathers, wings and lightweight
bones, breathes air, and lays
eggs with a hard shell.
 Bones are sometimes hollow.

Blood

A tissue made of blood
cells floating in a liquid;
carries materials throughout
an animal’s body
Brain

The organ in the nervous
system that is the control
center of the body.
Camouflage

The shape, color, or pattern
of an animal that helps it
blend in with its
surroundings.
Capillary

A narrow blood vessel that
connects an artery to a vein.
Captive Breeding

A way of helping
endangered animals by
keeping them in a zoo,
animal park or wildlife
center, breeding them and
raising their young.
Carbon Dioxide
A gas made of carbon and
oxygen atoms that plants
need for photosynthesis.
 CO2

CarbonDioxide/Oxygen Cycle

The process by which carbondioxide and oxygen cycle
among plants, animals and the
environment.
Cardiac

Having to do with the heart
Carnivore

An animal that eats other
animals.
Cartilage
Tissue in the skeletal
system that is strong but
more flexible than bone.
 Found at the end of the
bones, protects the bones

Cell

The basic unit of structure
of all living things.
Cell Membrane
The thin covering that
encloses a cell and holds
the parts together.
 (skin)

Cell wall
The rigid outer covering of
a plant cell.
 Not found in animal cells.

Cerebellum

The part of the brain that
coordinates the movement
of muscles and helps you
keep your balance
Cerebrum

The part of the brain that
controls conscious body
movements, learning, thinking,
memory, and imagination and
receives information from
sense organs.
Chlorophyll
A colored matter that helps
plants use light energy to
produce sugar.
 What causes the green
color in leaves.

Chloroplast
A tiny green structure that
contains chlorophyll
 Found in leaf cells
 Only in plants, not in
animal cells

Chromosomes
A threadlike strand inside
the nucleus that is made up
of DNA.
 Humans have 46
chromosomes.
 23 from each parent.

Circulatory
System
The group of organs that
work together to move
blood through the body
 Heart and blood vessels

Climate Zone

A region through out which
yearly patterns of
temperature, rainfall and
amount of sunlight are
similar.
Commensalism

A relationship between two
different kinds of
organisms in which one
organism is helped and the
other is not harmed
Community

All the populations of an
organism living together in
an environment.
Competition
The contest among organisms
for limited resources.
 The struggle of organisms
against each other to get the
same resources such as air,
water, space and food

Complete
Metamorphosis

Life cycle of a butterfly.
Egg
 Larva
 Pupa
 Adult

Conifer

A plant that produces seeds
in cones
Consumer

Living things that eat other
living things for food and
energy.
Cytoplasm

A jellylike substance
containing many chemicals
that keep a cell functioning.
Decomposer
An organism that gets
energy by feeding on dead
materials and wastes
 Worms

Diaphragm

A sheet of muscle below
the lungs that helps them
expand and contract
Diffusion

The process in which many
things move in and out of
cells.
Digestive System
The group of organs that work
together to break food down
into nutrients the body can use
 Mouth, esophagus, stomach,
intestines (small and large)

Direct Development
Life cycle of a human.
 A kind of growth where
organisms keep the same body
features as they grow larger.
 Mammals
 Dogs, cats, horses

Dominant Trait

A stronger trait
Ecology

The study of how living
and nonliving things
interact
Ecosystem
A community and its physical
environment together. (Living
and non living)
 Pond
 Desert
 Prairie

Endangered
species

A species that could
become extinct.
Endoskeleton

An internal skeleton made
of bones and cartilage
Energy Pyramid

Shows the amount of
energy available to pass
from one level of the food
chain to the next.
Extinct

No longer exists.
Food Chain
A chain of living things in
which each link in the chain
feeds on a link below it and is
fed on by the link above it.
 Arrow points the direction the
energy moves.

Food Web

Two or more food chains
that connect with a member
of one food chain and
becomes the total
combination of all the
individual chains.
Fossil

Any remains or trace of an
organism that was once
alive. (plants & animals)
Gene

Structures on a
chromosome that contain
the DNA code for a trait an
organism inherits.
Gravitropism
A plant’s response to
gravity.
 Roots always grow down.

Habitat
A place where something
lives.
 Home

Herbivore

An animal that eats plants.
Hibernation

A time of low activity
(almost sleeping) that some
animals experience during
cold weather (winter).
Incomplete
Metamorphosis
Egg
 Nymph (no
wings)
 Adult
 Examples:
grasshoppers

Adult
(wings)
egg
Nymph
(no wings)
Individual

A single organism in an
environment.
Inherited Trait

A characteristic that is
passed from parent to
offspring.
Instinct
A behavior that animals are
born knowing.
 Inherited trait
 Innate behavior

Invertebrate
An animal that does not
have a backbone
 Sponges, worms, snails,
jellyfish, clams, starfish,
crabs, insects, spiders

Learned Behavior
A behavior an animal learns.
 A dog learns tricks
 Seals learn tricks (and Shamu)
 Raccoons learn to find food at
campgrounds in trash cans and
ice chests

Life Cycle

The series of distinct stages
that most organism grow
and mature through.
Meiosis

The process that reduces
the number of
chromosomes in
reproductive cells.
Metamorphosis

A change in the shape or
characteristics of an
organism’s body as it
grows.
Migration

A journey between places
that some animals make
yearly because of changes
in climate.
Mitosis

The process of cell
division.
Nervous System
The group of organs that
control all body activities
 Brain, spinal cord, nerves

Niche
The role each population
has in its habitat.
 Job

Nucleus
The organelle that controls
all of a cell’s activities.
 Brain

Offspring
The product of
reproduction.
 Children

Omnivore

An animal that eats both
plants and animals.
Organ

Tissues that work together
to perform a specific
function.
Osmosis

The diffusion of water and
dissolved materials through
cell membranes.
Parts of a Plant
Roots – absorb water and minerals,
hold plant in place
 Stem – transport water and minerals,
hold plant upright
 Leaves – make food, photosynthesis
takes place here. Water is released
 Flower – reproduction
 Fruit - seeds

Phloem
The tubes that transport
food in the vascular plants.
 Become tree rings.

Photosynthesis

The process by which
plants make food, using
sunlight, water and carbon
dioxide.
Phototropism
A plant’s response to light.
 Plants will grow toward the
light.

Plant Cell

Has two things that animal
cells do not:
Cell wall for support
Chloroplast to help with
photosynthesis
Population

All the individuals of the
same kind living in the
same place at the same
time.
Predator

An animal that hunts,
catches and eats another
animal.
Prey

An animal that is hunted
and killed for food.
Primary Consumer

A consumer on the first
level of the food chain.
Producer
Green plants.
 The first food makers in a
food chain.
 Use the sun for energy.

Quaternary
Consumer

A consumer on the fourth
level of the food chain.
Recessive Trait
A weak trait.
 Not seen in characteristics.
 Can remain hidden for
generations.
 Both parents must pass to
offspring for trait to be seen.

Reproduce

To create offspring
Respiratory System
The group of organs that
work together to take in
oxygen and release carbon
dioxide
 Nose, mouth, trachea, lungs

Scavengers
An animal that eats the
bodies of dead animals.
 Buzzards, Vultures

Secondary
Consumer

A consumer on the second
level of the food chain.
Shelter
Protection against harmful
things in the environment.
 Home

Threatened

A species that could
become endangered if its
numbers keep decreasing.
Tropism
A plant’s response to
stimulus
 Phototropism – plants grow
toward light
 Gravitropism – roots grow
down, stems grow up

Vertebrate

An animal with a
backbone.