Ultimate AP Biology Vocabulary Review 2023 with 100% correct questions and answers

polar Molecule with partial charges. Mixes with water. nonpolar No partial charges. Do not mix with water. electronegativity Attraction of an atom for electrons in a covalent bond. cohesion Water molecules sticking to each other. adhesion Water molecules sticking to other surfaces. solute Something dissolved in a solution. solvent Dissolving agent of a solution. isomers Same atoms but different arrangement. structural isomers Differ in arrangement of atoms. geometric isomer Differ in arrangement around a double bond. enantiomers Structures that are like a mirror-image. alpha glucose Monomer for starch and glycogen. beta glucose Monomer for cellulose and chitin. cellulose Carbohydrate component of plant cell walls. starch Storage polysaccharide of plants. glycogen Extremely branched polymer of glucose. chitin Polysaccharide found in arthropod exoskeletons and fungal cell walls. -ose Suffix of a sugar. tryiacylglycerol Glycerol and three fatty acids. steroids Made of four rings of carbon. cholesterol Steroid common in cell membranes, also in many hormones. peptide bond Bonds that connect amino acids. Fredrick Sanger Determined amino acid sequence of proteins. disulphide bridges Reinforce tertiary structure. primary structure Chain of amino acids. secondary structure Either an alpha helix or beta pleated sheet. tertiary structure Results from interactions between side chains. quaternary structure Results from two or more polypeptide subunits. -in Suffix of a protein. purines Bases with a double-ring structure. pyrimidines Bases with a single-ring structure. phosphodiester bonds Bonds between phosphate group and pentose sugar in nucleic acids. synthesis To put together. digestion To break apart. dehydration synthesis Condensation reaction where molecules are connected by loss of a water molecule. hydrolysis Reaction where water split into two hydrogens and one oxygen; this breaks a polymer. anabolism Metabolic pathways that construct molecules, requiring energy. catabolism Metabolic pathways that break down molecules, releasing energy. natural selection A population can change over time if individuals with more fit traits leave more offspring than less fit individuals. evolutionary adaptation An accumulation of inherited characteristics that enhance organisms' ability to survive and reproduce in specific environments. artificial selection Humans modifying species for desired traits through selective breeding. decent with modification Darwin's way of referring to evolution. MRSA Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. fitness Individuals whose inherited traits confer an advantage have a better chance of surviving in a given environment and will leave more offspring. homology Similarity resulting from common ancestry. homologous structures Same structure, different function. Comes from common ancestor. comparative embryology Embryos of vertebrates share many anatomical homologies. vestigial structures Are little or no importance to organism, but remain from an ancestor. biogeography Geographic distribution of species. microevolution Change in genetic makeup of a population from generation to generation. macroevolution Evolutionary change above the species level. population Group of individuals of the same species living in the same area. population genetics Study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of evolutionary processes. gene pool All the genes in a given population at a given time. allele frequency Proportion of an allele in a gene pool. Hardy-Weinberg Theorem Helps measure changes in allele frequencies over time. Provides an "ideal" population to use as a basis of comparison. mutation Changes in the nucleotide sequence in DNA. sexual recombination Crossing over and shuffling of genes during meiosis. genetic drift Change in allele frequencies due to chance. bottleneck effect When a population has been dramatically reduced, and the gene pool is no longer reflective of the original population's. founder effect When a small number of individuals colonize a new area; the new gene pool is not reflective of original population. gene flow When a population gains or loses alleles., movement of alleles into or out of a population due to the migration of individuals to or from the population. genetic variation Heritable variations in a population. discrete characteristics Characteristics that are classified on an either-or basis, determined by a single gene locus. quantitative characteristics Characteristics that vary along a continuum, usually due to influence of two or more genes. geographic variation Difference in variation between population subgroups in different areas. cline A graded change in a trait along a geographic axis. relative fitness Fitness of a particular genotype. directional selection Shift toward a favorable variation. disruptive selection Shift toward the extremes. stabilizing selection Shift that favors the mean. heterozygous advantage Maintains recessive alleles in a population, sexual selection Natural selection for mating success. sexual dimorphism Differences between the sexes in secondary sexual characteristics. speciation Origin of new species and the source of biological diversity. biological species concept Species is a group of populations whose members have the potential to produce fertile offspring. reproductive isolation Barriers that impede members of two different species fro producing fertile offspring. prezygotic barriers Barriers that impede mating or hinder fertilization. habitat isolation When two species encounter each other only rarely. temporal isolation When two species breed at different times of day, season, or years. behavioral isolation Incompatible courtship rituals, pheromones, or bird songs. mechanical isolation Morphological differences prevent fertilization. gametic isolation When sperm can't fertilize the eggs. postzygotic barriers Barriers that prevent the hybrid zygote from becoming a fertile adult. reduced hybrid viability When the genes of different species interact and impair hybrid development. reduced hybrid fertility Sterile hybrids due to uneven chromosome number. hybrid breakdown Hybrid is fertile, but when they breed the next generation is sterile. allopatric speciation When a population is divided; leads to speciation. sympatric speciation Speciation without a divided population. polyploidy In plants, the result of an extra set of chromosomes during cell division. autopolyploid Having more than two sets of chromosomes from a single species. allopolyploid Sterile hybrid is changed to a fertile polyploid due to mutation; fertile with each other, but not parent species. adaptive radiation Evolution of many new species from a common ancestor as a result of introduction to new environments. punctuated equilibrium A model of evolution in which a new species will change the most as it buds from a parent species, and then will change little for the rest of its existence. gradualism A model of evolution in which gradual change over a long period of time leads to biological diversity. heterochrony Change in the rate or timing of a developmental event; an organism's shape depends on relative growth rate of body parts. allometric growth Proportioning that gives a body a specific form. homeotic genes Genes that determine basic features of where a body part is. Hox genes Class of homeotic genes. Changes in these genes can have a profound impact on morphology. phylogeny Evolutionary history of a species or group of species. systematics Analytical approach to understanding the diversity and relationships of present and past organisms. analogy Anatomical similarity due to convergent evolution. homoplasies Analogous structures that have evolved independently. taxonomy A classification of organisms into groups based on similarities. bionomial nomenclature Scientific name. genus First part of scientific name. specific epithet Second part of scientific name. phylogenetic trees Branching diagrams that depict hypotheses about evolutionary relationships. cladogram Diagram that shows patterns of shared characteristics. clade A taxonomic grouping that includes only a single ancestor and all of its descendants. cladistics A phylogenetic classification system that uses shared derived characters and ancestry as the sole criterion for grouping taxa. monophyletic group A taxonomic grouping that includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants. paraphyletic group A monophyletic group in which some descendants of the common ancestor have been removed. polyphyletic group A taxonomic grouping consisting of several species that lack a common ancestor (more work is needed to uncover species that tie them together into a monophyletic clade). shared primitive character Trait shared beyond the taxon. shared derived character Evolutionary novelty unique to that clade. outgroups Species or group of species closely related to the ingroup. phylograms Diagram in which the length of a branch reflects number of changes in a DNA sequence. ultrametric trees Diagram in which length of a branch reflects amounts of actual time. maximum parsimony "Occam's Razor." A principle that states that when considering multiple explanations for an observation, one should first investigate the simplest explanation that is consistent with the facts. maximum likelihood A principle that states that when considering multiple phylogenetic hypotheses, one should take into account the one that reflects the most likely sequence of evolutionary events, given certain rules about how DNA changes over time. gene families Groups of related genes in an organism's genome. orthologous genes Homologous genes passed in a straight line from one generation to the next. paralogous genes Homologous genes that are found in the same genome as a result of gene duplication. Miller and Urey Experiment Experiment that found that organic molecules can form in a strongly reducing atmosphere. protobionts Aggregates of abiotically produced molecules surrounded by a membrane. liposomes Membrane-bound droplets that form when lipids are added to water. radiometric dating Dating using decay of radioactive isotopes. radioisotopes Isotopes that have unstable nuclei and undergo radioactive decay. stromatolites Oldest known fossils formed from many layers of bacteria and sediment. endosymbiotic theory Ancestors of mitochondria and plastids was prokaryotes thatcame to live in a host cell. serial endosymbiosis Sequence of endosymbiotic events that led to an ancestral eukaryote. genetic annealing Horizontal gene transfer between different bacteria and archae. colonies Collections of autonomously replicating cells. the three-domain system Domains Bacteria, Archae, and Eukarya. cocci Spherical bacteria. bacilli Rod-shaped bacteria. spirilla Spiral bacteria. plasmolyze When the membrane shrinks away from the cell wall as a result of water loss. lyse Cell bursting. peptidoglycan Cell wall of prokaryotes, but NOT ARCHAEA. Made of a sugar polymer and polypeptide. Gram stain Used to classify prokaryotes based on cell wall composition. Important for antibiotics; some antibiotics work on one but not the other. Gram-positive bacteria Bacteria that have simple cell walls with much peptidoglycan. Gram-negative bacteria Bacteria that have complex cell walls with less peptidoglycan but with lipopolysaccharides. Very toxic and hard to treat. antibiotics Interfere with production of peptidoglycan; harm bacteria but not eukaryotes. capsule Covers the cell wall in prokaryotes. pilli Hollow tubes used to move cells or exchange DNA between bacteria by conjunction. conjugation In bacteria, the direct transfer of DNA between two cells that are temporarily joined. taxis Movement toward or away from a stimulus. plasmids Small rings of DNA found naturally in some bacterial cells in addition to the main bacterial chromosome. Can contain genes for antibiotic resistance, or other "contingency" functions.