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Nucleic acid
An organic compound that contains Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus.
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Adenosine Triphosphate
a nucleic acid that living things use to store and release energy.
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Macromolecule
a molecule containing a very large number of atoms, such as a protein, nucleic acid, or synthetic polymer.
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Polymer
large molecular built by combining many monomers.
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Monomer
small unit that can join together with other small units to form polymers.
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Condensation reaction
a chemical reaction in which water is released and a macromolecule is built.
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Hydrolysis
A chemical reaction in which water is added and macromolecules are broken down.
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Monosaccharide
any of the class of sugars that cannot be hydrolyzed to give a simpler sugar.
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Disaccharide
any of a class of sugars whose molecules contain two simple sugars.
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Glycosidic bond
a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a condensation reaction.
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Polysaccharide
a polymer of up to over a thousand monosaccharides, formed by condensation reactions.
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Phospholipids
a molecule that is a constituent of the inner layer of biological membranes, having a polar, hydrophilic head and a nonpolar, hydrophobic tail.
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Enzyme
A protein serving as a biological catalyst, a chemical agent that changes the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.
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Catalyst
a chemical agent that changes the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.
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Peptide bond
The covalent bond between two amino acid units, formed by a condensation reaction.
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Nucleotide
A building block of a nucleic acid, consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group.
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Light microscope
An optical instrument with lenses that refract (bend) light to magnify images of specimens.
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Organelles
One of several formed bodies with specialized functions, suspended in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells.
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Electron microscope
An instrument that focuses an electron beam through a specimen, resulting in resolving power a thousandfold greater than that of a light microscope.
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Prokaryotic cell
A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; found only in the domains of Bacteria and Archaea.
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Eukaryotic cell
A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles, present in protists, plants, fungi, and animals; also called eukaryote.
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Cytoplasm
jelly-like portion of the cell, exclusive of the nucleus and bounded by the plasma.
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Plasma membrane
The fluid boundary of every cell that acts as a selective barrier, thereby regulating the cell's chemical composition.
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Cell nucleus
The chromosone-containing organelle of a eukaryotic cell.
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Nucleolus
a specialized structure in the nucleus, formed from various chromosomes and active in the sysnthesis of ribosomes.
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Ribosome
sites of protein synthesis in all types of cells.
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Rough endoplasmic reticulum
internal membrane system found in eukaryotic cells covered with ribosomes; place where proteins bound for the cell membrane are assembled.
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Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
site of lipid synthesis and detoxification in eukaryotic cells.
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Golgi apparatus
an organelle in eukaryotic cells consisting of stacks of flat membranous sacs that modify, store, and route products of the endoplasmic reticulum.
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Lysosomes
A membrane enclosed sac of digestive enzymes found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells.
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Phagocytosis
A type of endocytosis involving large, particulate substances, accomplished mainly by macrophanges, neutrophils, and dendritic.
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Pinocytosis
A type of endocytosis in which the cell ingests extracellular fluid and its dissolved solutes.
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Vacuole
A cell organelle that stores materials such as water, salts, proteins, and carbohydrates.
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Mitochondria
cell organelle that converts the chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are more convenient for the cell to use.
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Chloroplast
organelle found in cells of plants and some other organisms that captures the energy from sunlight and converts it into chemical energy.
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Cytoskeleton
network of protein filaments in a eukaryotic cell that gives the cell its shape and internal organization and is involved in movement
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Centrioles
structure in an animal cell that helps to organize cell division.
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Flagella
structure used by protists for movement; produces movement in a wavelike motion
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Cilia
short hairlike projection that produces movement
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Cell wall
strong, supporting layer around the cell membrane
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Selectively permeable
A property of biological membranes that allows some substances to cross more easily than others.
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Integral proteins
Typically a transmembrane protein with hydrophobic regions that completely spans the hydrophobic interior of the membrane.
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Peripheral proteins
A protein appendage loosely bound to the surface of a membrane and not embedded in the lipid layer.
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Transport proteins
A transmembrane protein that helps a certain substance or class of closely related substances to cross the membrane.
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Diffusion
The spontaneous tendency of a substance to move down its concentration gradient from a more concentrated to a less concentrated areas.
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Passive transport
The diffusion of a substance across a biological membrane.
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Osmosis
The diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane.
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Hypertonic solution
the solution with a greater solute concentration.
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Hypotonic solution
the solution with a lower solute concentration.
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Isotonic solution
the same solute concentration as another solution.
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