| A | B |
|---|
| heterotroph | must feed on other organisms to gain energy for life processes |
| invertebrate | no backbone |
| vertebrate | backbone is present |
| exoskeleton | hard, external support structure |
| endoskeleton | internal skeleton of bone and/or cartilage |
| cephalization | concentration of nerve tissue/sensory organs at the anterior of the organism |
| coelom | body cavity for internal organs |
| notochord | flexible supporting rod in the dorsal side of a chordate embryo |
| amniotic egg | egg produced by reptiles, birds, and some mammals that contains a large amount of yolk; surrounding by hard or leathery shell; embryo develops inside without the need for an outside aquatic environment |
| therapsid | extinct order of mammal-like reptiles that gave rise to mammals |
| choanocyte | flagellate cell lining the cavity of a sponge |
| amoebocyte | amobea-like cell that moves through the tissues and body fluids of sponges removing wastes |
| spicule | needle of silica or calcium carbonate in the skeleton of some sponges |
| spongin | fibrous protein containing sulfur/composes fibers of the skeletons of some sponges |
| medusa | free swimming jellyfish-like and umbrella shaped stage of sexual reproduction of a cnidarian; also a jellyfish or hydra |
| polyp | form of cnidarian with a cylindrical/hollow body and is attached to another object |
| cnidocyte | stinging cell of a cnidarian |
| nematocyst | stinging component of the cnidocyte that is used to capture prey or inject toxins |
| planula | free-swimming ciliated larva of a cnidarian |
| proglottid | a body section of a tapeworm; contains reproductive organs |
| pseudocoelem | a "false body cavity" in rotifers and roundworms |
| mantle | layer of tissue that covers the body of many invertebrates |
| foot | appendage some invertebrates use to move; lower end of a vertebrate's leg |
| radula | rasping, tongue-like organ covered with chitinous teeth used for feeding by many mollusks |
| siphon | hollow tube of bivalves used for sucking in and expelling sea water |
| septum | diving wall or partition (example: wall between right and left chambers of the heart) |
| cerebral ganglion | pair of nerve cell clusters serving as the primitive brain at the anterior end of some invertebrates, like annelids |
| thorax | in higher vertebrates, the part of the body between the neck and abdomen; in others it is the body region behind the head; in arthropods it is the mid-body region |
| spiracle | external opening in arthropods and insects; used in respiration |
| molting | shedding of the exoskeleton, skin, hair, or feathers in order to be replaced by new parts |
| spinneret | organ that spiders certain insect larvae use to produce silky threads to make webs and cocoons |
| mandible | type of mouth-part found in some arthropods and used to pierce and suck food; lower part of the jaw |
| chrysalis | hard-shelled pupa of certain insects, like butterflies |
| pupa | immobile, non-feeding stage of between the larva and the adult of insects that undergoes metamorphosis |
| caste | group of insects in a colony with a specific function |
| ossicles | small calcium carbonate plates making up the endoskeleton of an echinoderm |
| tube foot | small, flexible, fluid filled tubes that project from the body of an echinoderm and that are used in locomotion |
| skin gill | transparent structure that projects from the surface of a sea star and enables respiration |
| swim bladder | in bony fishes, a gas filled sac used to control buoyancy |
| lateral line | faint visible line on both sides of a fish's body that runs the length of the body; detects vibrations in the water |
| gill | in aquatic animals, a respiratory structure that consists of many blood vessels and surrounded by a membrane which allows for gas exchange |
| operculum | in fish, hard plate that is attached to each side of the head, covers gills, open at the rear |
| teleost | group of ray-finned fishes that have a caudal fin, scales, and swim-bladder; largest group of bony fishes |
| tympanic membrane | the eardrum |
| pulmonary vein | carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart |
| tadpole | aquatic, fish-like larva of a frog or toad |
| Jacobson's organ | olfactory sac that opens into the mouth and is highly developed in reptiles |
| ectothermic | ability of an organism to maintain body temperature by gaining heat from the environment |
| oviparous | organisms that produce eggs which hatch outside of the mother |
| ovoviviparous | organism that produces eggs that hatch inside the mother |
| carapace | in some crustaceans, a shield-like plate that covers the body; in turtles and tortoises, the upper shell |
| plastron | bottom portion of a turtle's head |
| constrictor | snake that kills prey by crushing/suffocating it |
| endothermic | ability of an organism to maintain constant body temperature by using heat produced by metabolism |
| contour feather | one of the most external feathers of a bird, determines shape |
| down feather | soft feather that covers body of young birds and insulates adult birds |
| mammary gland | a gland that is located in the chest of a female mammal; secretes milk |
| placenta | structure that attaches a developing fetus to the uterus and that enables the exchange of nutrients, wastes, and gases between mother and fetus |
| gestation period | in mammals, the process of carrying young from fertilization to birth |
| echolocation | process of using reflected sound waves to find objects; used by dolphins and bats |
| monotreme | mammal that lays eggs |
| primate | group of mammals including humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians; highly developed brain, forward-direct eyes with binocular vision, opposable thumbs, varied locomotion |
| hominid | member of the Family Hominidae; characterized by bipedalism, long lower limbs, lack of a tail; example: Humans and ancestors |
| community | a group of various species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other |
| ecosystem | a community of organisms and their abiotic environment |
| habitat | the place where an organism usually lives |
| biodiversity | the variety of organisms in a given area |
| succession | the replacement of one type of community by another at a single location over a period of time |
| climate | average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
| biome | a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities |
| producer | an organism that can make organic molecules from inorganic molecules; a photosynthetic or chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic food source in an ecosystem |
| consumer | an organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources |
| decomposer | an organism that feeds by breaking down organic matter from dead organisms; examples include bacteria and fungi |
| energy pyramid | a triangular diagram that shows an ecosystem's loss of energy |
| carbon cycle | the movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back |
| respiration | in biology |
| nitrogen cycle | the cycling of nitrogen between organisms |
| Phosphorus cycle | the cyclic movement of phosphorus in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment |
| population | a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area |
| carrying capacity | the largest population that an environment can support at any given time |
| predation | an interaction between two organisms in which one organism |
| coevolution | the evolution of two or more species that is due to mutual influence |
| parasitism | a relationship between two species in which one species |
| symbiosis | a relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other |
| mutualism | a relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
| commensalism | a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
| niche | the unique position occupied by a species |
| fundamental niche | the largest ecological niche where an organism or species can live without competition |
| realized niche | the range of resources that a species uses |
| competitive exclusion | the exclusion of one species by another due to competition |
| keystone species | a species that is critical to the functioning of the ecosystem in which it lives because it affects the survival and abundance of many other species in its community |
| fossil fuel | a nonrenewable energy resource formed from the remains of organisms that lived long ago; examples include oil |
| acid rain | precipitation that has a pH below normal and has an unusually high concentration of sulfuric or nitric acids |
| global warming | a gradual increase in average global temperature |
| greenhouse effect | the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide |
| erosion | a process in which the materials of Earth's surface are loosened |
| deforestation | the process of clearing forests |
| biodiversity | the variety of organisms in a given area |
| extinction | the death of every member of a species |
| recycling | the process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap; the process of reusing some items |
| ecotourism | a form of tourism that supports the conservation and sustainable development of ecologically unique areas |
| cuticle | waxy or fatty and watertight layer on the external wall of epidermal cells |
| spore | reproductive cell or multi-cellular structure that is resistant to environmental conditions and that can develop into an adult without fusion with another cell |
| sporophyte | in plants and algae that have alternation of generations, the diploid individual or generation that produces haploid spores |
| gametophyte | in alternation of generations, the phase in which gametes are formed; haploid individual that produces gametes |
| archegonium | female reproductive structure of small, non-vascular plants that produces a single egg and in which fertilization and development take place |
| antheridium | reproductive structure that produces male sex cells in flowerless and seedless plants |
| sporangium | specialized sac, case, capsule, or other structure that produces spores |
| rhizome | horizontal, underground stem that provides a mechanism for asexual reproduction |
| frond | leaf of a fern or palm |
| sorus | cluster of spores or sporangia |
| gymnosperm | woody, vascular seed plant whose seeds are not encased by an ovary or fruit |
| angiosperm | flowering plant that produces seeds within a fruit |
| ovule | structure in the ovary of a seed plant that contains an embryo sac and that develops into a seed after fertilization |
| seed | plant embryo enclosed in a protective coat |
| pollen grain | structure that contains the male gametophyte of seed plants |
| pollination | transfer of pollen from the male reproductive structure (anther) to the female reproductive structure (pistil) of a flower in angiosperms or to the ovule of gymnosperms |
| monocot | plant that produces seeds that have only one cotyledon |
| cotyledon | embryonic leaf of a seed |
| dicot | angiosperm that has two cotyledons, net venation, and flower parts in groups of four or five |
| stamen | male reproductive part of a flower that produces pollen and consists of an anther at the tip of the filament |
| anther | in flowering plants, the tip of the stamen, which contains the pollen sacs where pollen grains form |
| pistil | female reproductive part of a flower that produces seeds and consists of an ovary, style, and stigma |
| fruit | mature plant ovary; plant organ where seeds are enclosed |
| dermal tissue | outer covering of a plant |
| vascular tissue | specialized conducting tissue that is found in higher plants and that is made of mostly xylem and phloem |
| ground tissue | plant tissue other than the vascular tissue that makes up much of the inside of a plant |
| stoma | one of many openings in a leaf or stem of a plant that enables gas exhange (plural = stomata) |
| guard cell | one pair of specialized cells that border a stoma and regulate gas exchange |
| xylem | type of vascular plant tissue that provides support and conducts water and nutrients from the roots |
| phloem | tissue that conducts food (sugars, amino acids, mineral nutrients) in vascular plants |
| vascular bundle | in a plant, a strand of conducting tissue that contains both xylem and phloem |
| pith | tissue that is located in the center of the stem of most vascular plants and used for storage |
| heartwood | center of the tree |
| sapwood | contains the vessels for moving water through the tree, surrounds the heartwood |
| blade | broad, flat portion of a typical leaf |
| petiole | stalk that attaches a leaf to the stem of a plant |
| mesophyll | in leaves, the tissue between epidermal layers; where photosynthesis occurs |
| germination | beginning of growth or development of a seed, spore, or zygote, especially after a period of inactivity |
| meristem | cell division in this portion of the stem and roots adds to the length or width of the plant |
| primary growth | growth adding to the length of the plant (taller) |
| secondary growth | growth adding to the girth of the plant (wider) |
| apical meristem | the site of primary growth |
| lateral meristem | the site of secondary growth |
| transpiration | the process by which plants release water vapor into the air through stomata |
| tropism | movement of all or part of an organism in response to and external stimulus such as light or heat; movement is either towards or away from stimulus |
| phototropism | plant growth in response to the direction of a light source |
| thigmotropism | response of an organism or part of an organism to touch, such as a vine coiling around an object |
| gravitropism | growth of a plant in a particular way in response to the pull of gravity |
| photoperiodism | response of plants to seasonal changes in the relative length of nights and days |
| dormancy | state in which seeds, spores, bulbs, and other reproductive organs stop growth and development and reduce their metabolism, especially respiration |
| nastic movement | plant response that is independent from the direction of the stimulus |
| heterotroph | must feed on other organisms to gain energy for life processes |
| invertebrate | no backbone |
| vertebrate | backbone is present |
| exoskeleton | hard, external support structure |
| endoskeleton | internal skeleton of bone and/or cartilage |
| cephalization | concentration of nerve tissue/sensory organs at the anterior of the organism |
| coelom | body cavity for internal organs |
| notochord | flexible supporting rod in the dorsal side of a chordate embryo |
| amniotic egg | egg produced by reptiles, birds, and some mammals that contains a large amount of yolk; surrounding by hard or leathery shell; embryo develops inside without the need for an outside aquatic environment |
| therapsid | extinct order of mammal-like reptiles that gave rise to mammals |
| choanocyte | flagellate cell lining the cavity of a sponge |
| amoebocyte | amobea-like cell that moves through the tissues and body fluids of sponges removing wastes |
| spicule | needle of silica or calcium carbonate in the skeleton of some sponges |
| spongin | fibrous protein containing sulfur/composes fibers of the skeletons of some sponges |
| medusa | free swimming jellyfish-like and umbrella shaped stage of sexual reproduction of a cnidarian; also a jellyfish or hydra |
| polyp | form of cnidarian with a cylindrical/hollow body and is attached to another object |
| cnidocyte | stinging cell of a cnidarian |
| nematocyst | stinging component of the cnidocyte that is used to capture prey or inject toxins |
| planula | free-swimming ciliated larva of a cnidarian |
| proglottid | a body section of a tapeworm; contains reproductive organs |
| pseudocoelem | a "false body cavity" in rotifers and roundworms |
| mantle | layer of tissue that covers the body of many invertebrates |
| foot | appendage some invertebrates use to move; lower end of a vertebrate's leg |
| radula | rasping, tongue-like organ covered with chitinous teeth used for feeding by many mollusks |
| siphon | hollow tube of bivalves used for sucking in and expelling sea water |
| septum | diving wall or partition (example: wall between right and left chambers of the heart) |
| cerebral ganglion | pair of nerve cell clusters serving as the primitive brain at the anterior end of some invertebrates, like annelids |
| thorax | in higher vertebrates, the part of the body between the neck and abdomen; in others it is the body region behind the head; in arthropods it is the mid-body region |
| spiracle | external opening in arthropods and insects; used in respiration |
| molting | shedding of the exoskeleton, skin, hair, or feathers in order to be replaced by new parts |
| spinneret | organ that spiders certain insect larvae use to produce silky threads to make webs and cocoons |
| mandible | type of mouth-part found in some arthropods and used to pierce and suck food; lower part of the jaw |
| chrysalis | hard-shelled pupa of certain insects, like butterflies |
| pupa | immobile, non-feeding stage of between the larva and the adult of insects that undergoes metamorphosis |
| caste | group of insects in a colony with a specific function |
| ossicles | small calcium carbonate plates making up the endoskeleton of an echinoderm |
| tube foot | small, flexible, fluid filled tubes that project from the body of an echinoderm and that are used in locomotion |
| skin gill | transparent structure that projects from the surface of a sea star and enables respiration |
| swim bladder | in bony fishes, a gas filled sac used to control buoyancy |
| lateral line | faint visible line on both sides of a fish's body that runs the length of the body; detects vibrations in the water |
| gill | in aquatic animals, a respiratory structure that consists of many blood vessels and surrounded by a membrane which allows for gas exchange |
| operculum | in fish, hard plate that is attached to each side of the head, covers gills, open at the rear |
| teleost | group of ray-finned fishes that have a caudal fin, scales, and swim-bladder; largest group of bony fishes |
| tympanic membrane | the eardrum |
| pulmonary vein | carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart |
| tadpole | aquatic, fish-like larva of a frog or toad |
| Jacobson's organ | olfactory sac that opens into the mouth and is highly developed in reptiles |
| ectothermic | ability of an organism to maintain body temperature by gaining heat from the environment |
| oviparous | organisms that produce eggs which hatch outside of the mother |
| ovoviviparous | organism that produces eggs that hatch inside the mother |
| carapace | in some crustaceans, a shield-like plate that covers the body; in turtles and tortoises, the upper shell |
| plastron | bottom portion of a turtle's head |
| constrictor | snake that kills prey by crushing/suffocating it |
| endothermic | ability of an organism to maintain constant body temperature by using heat produced by metabolism |
| contour feather | one of the most external feathers of a bird, determines shape |
| down feather | soft feather that covers body of young birds and insulates adult birds |
| mammary gland | a gland that is located in the chest of a female mammal; secretes milk |
| placenta | structure that attaches a developing fetus to the uterus and that enables the exchange of nutrients, wastes, and gases between mother and fetus |
| gestation period | in mammals, the process of carrying young from fertilization to birth |
| echolocation | process of using reflected sound waves to find objects; used by dolphins and bats |
| monotreme | mammal that lays eggs |
| primate | group of mammals including humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians; highly developed brain, forward-direct eyes with binocular vision, opposable thumbs, varied locomotion |
| hominid | member of the Family Hominidae; characterized by bipedalism, long lower limbs, lack of a tail; example: Humans and ancestors |
| community | a group of various species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other |
| ecosystem | a community of organisms and their abiotic environment |
| habitat | the place where an organism usually lives |
| biodiversity | the variety of organisms in a given area |
| succession | the replacement of one type of community by another at a single location over a period of time |
| climate | average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
| biome | a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities |
| producer | an organism that can make organic molecules from inorganic molecules; a photosynthetic or chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic food source in an ecosystem |
| consumer | an organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources |
| decomposer | an organism that feeds by breaking down organic matter from dead organisms; examples include bacteria and fungi |
| energy pyramid | a triangular diagram that shows an ecosystem's loss of energy |
| carbon cycle | the movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back |
| respiration | in biology |
| nitrogen cycle | the cycling of nitrogen between organisms |
| Phosphorus cycle | the cyclic movement of phosphorus in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment |
| population | a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area |
| carrying capacity | the largest population that an environment can support at any given time |
| predation | an interaction between two organisms in which one organism |
| coevolution | the evolution of two or more species that is due to mutual influence |
| parasitism | a relationship between two species in which one species |
| symbiosis | a relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other |
| mutualism | a relationship between two species in which both species benefit |
| commensalism | a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected |
| niche | the unique position occupied by a species |
| fundamental niche | the largest ecological niche where an organism or species can live without competition |
| realized niche | the range of resources that a species uses |
| competitive exclusion | the exclusion of one species by another due to competition |
| keystone species | a species that is critical to the functioning of the ecosystem in which it lives because it affects the survival and abundance of many other species in its community |
| fossil fuel | a nonrenewable energy resource formed from the remains of organisms that lived long ago; examples include oil |
| acid rain | precipitation that has a pH below normal and has an unusually high concentration of sulfuric or nitric acids |
| global warming | a gradual increase in average global temperature |
| greenhouse effect | the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide |
| erosion | a process in which the materials of Earth's surface are loosened |
| deforestation | the process of clearing forests |
| biodiversity | the variety of organisms in a given area |
| extinction | the death of every member of a species |
| recycling | the process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap; the process of reusing some items |
| ecotourism | a form of tourism that supports the conservation and sustainable development of ecologically unique areas |
| bacteriophage | a virus that infects bacteria |
| lytic | viral replication that results in the destruction of a host cell and the release of many new virus particles |
| lysogenic | viral replication in which a viral genome is replicated as a provirus without destroying the host cell |
| Koch’s postulates | a four-stage procedure for identifying a pathogen |
| pathogen | an organism or virus that causes disease; an infectious agent |
| toxin | a substance that is produced by one organism that is poisonous to other organisms |
| antibiotic | a substance that can inhibit the growth of or kill some microorganisms |
| resistance | the ability of an organism to tolerate a chemical or disease-causing agent |
| plasmid | a circular DNA molecule in bacteria |
| peptidoglycan | a protein-carbohydrate compound that makes the cell walls of bacteria rigid |
| Gram-positive | a prokaryote that has a large amount of peptidoglycan in its cell wall and is stained violet during Gram staining |
| Gram-negative | a prokaryote that has a small amount of peptidoglycan in its cell wall |
| conjugation | a type of sexual reproduction in which two cells join to exchange DNA |
| transformation | the transfer of genetic material in the form of DNA fragments |
| transduction | the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another through a virus |
| endospore | a thick-walled structure that forms inside bacteria and resists harsh conditions |
| capsid | a protein sheath that surrounds the nucleic acid core in a virus envelope a membrane like layer that covers the capsids of some viruses |
| gamete | a haploid reproductive cell that unites with another gamete to form a zygote |
| zygote | the cell that results from the fusion of gametes |
| zygospore | a thick-walled protective structure that contains a zygote |
| alternation of generations | within the life cycle of an organism |
| pseudopodium | a cytoplasmic extension that functions in food ingestion and movement |
| plasmodium | the multinucleate cytoplasm of a slime mold that is surrounded by a membrane and that moves as a mass |
| algal bloom | a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic ecosystem |
| chitin | a carbohydrate found in the cell walls of fungi and other organisms |
| hypha | a filament of a fungus |
| mycelium | the mass of fungal filaments that forms the fungal body |
| rhizoid | a rootlike structure that holds fungi in place and absorbs nutrients |
| saprobe | an organism that absorbs nutrients from dead or decaying organisms |
| zygosporangium | a sexual structure that contains zygotes |
| ascus | the microscopic structure that produces spores in sac fungi |
| basidium | the microscopic structure that produces spores in club fungi |
| lichen | a fungus in a symbiotic association with a photosynthetic partner |
| mycorrhiza | a symbiotic association between fungi and plant roots |
| dermatophyte | a fungus that infects the skin |
| cuticle | waxy or fatty and watertight layer on the external wall of epidermal cells |
| spore | reproductive cell or multi-cellular structure that is resistant to environmental conditions and that can develop into an adult without fusion with another cell |
| sporophyte | in plants and algae that have alternation of generations, the diploid individual or generation that produces haploid spores |
| gametophyte | in alternation of generations, the phase in which gametes are formed; haploid individual that produces gametes |
| archegonium | female reproductive structure of small, non-vascular plants that produces a single egg and in which fertilization and development take place |
| antheridium | reproductive structure that produces male sex cells in flowerless and seedless plants |
| sporangium | specialized sac, case, capsule, or other structure that produces spores |
| rhizome | horizontal, underground stem that provides a mechanism for asexual reproduction |
| frond | leaf of a fern or palm |
| sorus | cluster of spores or sporangia |
| gymnosperm | woody, vascular seed plant whose seeds are not encased by an ovary or fruit |
| angiosperm | flowering plant that produces seeds within a fruit |
| ovule | structure in the ovary of a seed plant that contains an embryo sac and that develops into a seed after fertilization |
| seed | plant embryo enclosed in a protective coat |
| pollen grain | structure that contains the male gametophyte of seed plants |
| pollination | transfer of pollen from the male reproductive structure (anther) to the female reproductive structure (pistil) of a flower in angiosperms or to the ovule of gymnosperms |
| monocot | plant that produces seeds that have only one cotyledon |
| cotyledon | embryonic leaf of a seed |
| dicot | angiosperm that has two cotyledons, net venation, and flower parts in groups of four or five |
| stamen | male reproductive part of a flower that produces pollen and consists of an anther at the tip of the filament |
| anther | in flowering plants, the tip of the stamen, which contains the pollen sacs where pollen grains form |
| pistil | female reproductive part of a flower that produces seeds and consists of an ovary, style, and stigma |
| fruit | mature plant ovary; plant organ where seeds are enclosed |
| dermal tissue | outer covering of a plant |
| vascular tissue | specialized conducting tissue that is found in higher plants and that is made of mostly xylem and phloem |
| ground tissue | plant tissue other than the vascular tissue that makes up much of the inside of a plant |
| stoma | one of many openings in a leaf or stem of a plant that enables gas exhange (plural = stomata) |
| guard cell | one pair of specialized cells that border a stoma and regulate gas exchange |
| xylem | type of vascular plant tissue that provides support and conducts water and nutrients from the roots |
| phloem | tissue that conducts food (sugars, amino acids, mineral nutrients) in vascular plants |
| vascular bundle | in a plant, a strand of conducting tissue that contains both xylem and phloem |
| pith | tissue that is located in the center of the stem of most vascular plants and used for storage |
| heartwood | center of the tree |
| sapwood | contains the vessels for moving water through the tree, surrounds the heartwood |
| blade | broad, flat portion of a typical leaf |
| petiole | stalk that attaches a leaf to the stem of a plant |
| mesophyll | in leaves, the tissue between epidermal layers; where photosynthesis occurs |
| germination | beginning of growth or development of a seed, spore, or zygote, especially after a period of inactivity |
| meristem | cell division in this portion of the stem and roots adds to the length or width of the plant |
| primary growth | growth adding to the length of the plant (taller) |
| secondary growth | growth adding to the girth of the plant (wider) |
| apical meristem | the site of primary growth |
| lateral meristem | the site of secondary growth |
| transpiration | the process by which plants release water vapor into the air through stomata |
| tropism | movement of all or part of an organism in response to and external stimulus such as light or heat; movement is either towards or away from stimulus |
| phototropism | plant growth in response to the direction of a light source |
| thigmotropism | response of an organism or part of an organism to touch, such as a vine coiling around an object |
| gravitropism | growth of a plant in a particular way in response to the pull of gravity |
| photoperiodism | response of plants to seasonal changes in the relative length of nights and days |
| dormancy | state in which seeds, spores, bulbs, and other reproductive organs stop growth and development and reduce their metabolism, especially respiration |
| nastic movement | plant response that is independent from the direction of the stimulus |
