A | B |
organism | A living thing. |
cell | The basic unit of structure and function in living things |
organelle | A tiny cell structure that carries out a specific function within the cell. |
cell membrane | The outside boundary of a cell; controls which substances can enter or leave the cell. |
cell wall | A rigid layer of nonliving material that surrounds the cells of plants and some other organisms. |
cytoplasm | The region of a cell located inside the cell membrane (in prokaryotes) or between the cell membrane and nucleus (in eukaryotes); contains a gel-like material and cell organelles. |
chloroplast | A structure in the cells of plants and some other organisms that captures energy from sunlight and uses it to produce food. |
endoplasmic reticulum | A cell structure that forms a maze of passageways in which proteins and other materials are carried from one part of the cell to another. |
nucleus | The control center of a cell that directs the cell’s activities; contains the chemical instructions that direct all the cell’s activities and determine the cell’s characteristics. |
mitochondrion | Rod-shaped cell structures that produce most of the energy needed to carry out the cell’s functions |
vacuole | A water-filled sac inside a cell that acts as a storage area |
prokaryote | An organism whose cells lack a nucleus and some other cell structures. |
eukaryote | An organism with cells that contain nuclei and other cell structures. |
microscope | An instrument that makes small objects look larger. |
autotroph | An organism that makes its own food. |
heterotroph | An organism that cannot make its own food. |
unicellular | A type of organism that is made up of a single cell. |
multicellular | A type of organism that is made up of many cells. |
homeostasis | The process by which an organism’s internal environment is kept stable in spite of changes in the external environment. |