| A | B |
|---|
| Metabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which convert energy and matter from outside sources and use that energy and matter to sustain the organism's life functions |
| Anabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which use energy and simple chemical building blocks to produce large chemicals and structures necessary for life |
| Catabolism | The sum total of all processes in an organism which break down chemicals to produce energy and simple chemical building blocks |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which green plants and some other organisms use the energy of sunlight and simple chemicals to produce their own food |
| Herbivores | Organisms that eat only plants |
| Carnivores | Organisms that eat only organisms other than plants |
| Omnivores | Organisms that eat both plants and other organisms |
| Producers | Organisms that produce their own food |
| Consumers | Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food |
| Decomposers | Organisms that break down the dead remains of other organisms |
| Autotrophs | Organisms that are able to make their own food |
| Heterotrophs | Organisms that depend on other organisms for their food |
| Receptors | Special structures that allow living organisms to sense the conditions of their internal or external environment |
| Asexual reproduction | Reproduction accomplished by a single organism |
| Sexual reproduction | Reproduction that requires two organisms |
| Inheritance | The process by which physical and biological characteristics are transmitted from the parent (or parents) to the offspring |
| Mutation | An abrupt and marked change in the DNA of an organism compared to that of its parents |
| Hypothesis | An educated guess that attempts to explain an observation or answer a question |
| Theory | A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data |
| Scientific law | A theory that has been tested by and is consistent with generations of data |
| Microorganisms | Living creatures that are too small to see with the naked eye |
| Abiogenesis | The idea that long ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through chemical reactions |
| Prokaryotic cell | A cell that has no distinct, membrane-bounded organelles |
| Eukaryotic cell | A cell with distinct, membrane-bounded organelles |
| Species | A unit of one or more populations of individuals that can reproduce under normal conditions, produce fertile offspring, and are reproductively isolated from other such units |
| Taxonomy | The science of classifying organisms |
| Binomial nomenclature | Naming an organism with its genus and species name |
