Life and Living Glossary

  • abiotic: non-living; devoid of life
  • adapt: to change, become adjusted to new conditions
  • antibiotic: a compound, often produced by microorganisms, which kills or slows down the growth of bacteria
  • bacteria: microscopic organisms, lacking a nucleus; they can inhabit many different environments (air, water, soil, the bodies of other organisms etc.)
  • biosphere: the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth where different organisms live
  • biotic: relating to living organisms
  • camouflage: an adaptation in which an animal can hide by blending in with its surroundings
  • carnivore: an animal that feeds on other animals
  • chemical potential energy: stored energy in the form of chemical compounds
  • chlorophyll: a green pigment found in green plants (and certain bacteria) that absorbs radiant energy from the Sun to provide energy for photosynthesis
  • chloroplast: a part inside the plant cell of green plants that contains chlorophyll, where photosynthesis occurs
  • community: all the animals, plants or microorganisms that live together and interact in a certain area at a specific time
  • consumer: an organism that cannot produce its own food and therefore has to eat other organisms; also called a heterotroph; e.g. all animals, fungi
  • contaminate: unwanted or waste material enters a place where it does not belong e.g. sewage entering a river, bacteria entering a wound
  • decomposers: organisms that decompose (break down) organic material, including the remains of dead plant and animal material; usually bacteria or fungi
  • disease: an abnormal condition (or sickness) of an organism that interrupts the normal functioning; often includes pain, weakness and other symptoms
  • ecologist: a scientist who studies the interactions of organisms with each other and with their environment
  • ecology: the branch of biology that deals with the interactions of organisms with one another and with the physical and chemical environment
  • ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
  • endangered: organisms that are seriously at risk of extinction
  • energy pyramid: a triangular picture of a food chain with producers at the bottom and consumers higher up
  • extinct: an organism that no longer exists; the death of an entire species
  • fermentation: the chemical breakdown of a substance (by microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast) in the absence of oxygen, producing simpler compounds and energy
  • fever: dangerously high body temperature
  • fixed (fix, fixation): the process in nitrogen or carbon in their elemental forms are assimilated into biological molecules, eg nitrogen fixation by bacteria, carbon fixation during photosynthesis
  • food chain: a series of organisms linked together to show which one eats what; arrows show the flow of energy through it
  • food web: many food chains interlinked in an area form a food web, so organisms have many different food sources
  • fungi: a kingdom of organisms which includes moulds, yeasts and mushrooms, that do not contain chlorophyll, produce spores to reproduce and feed on other matter
  • glucose: a type of sugar, produced by plants during photosynthesis
  • habitat: a particular type of environment in which an organism lives
  • herbivore: an animal that eats only plants
  • hibernating: an instinctive behaviour in which some animals spend time where conditions are not ideal (e.g. winter; periods of food scarcity) in an inactive (dormant) state
  • immune system: the system that defends the body against infections, disease and foreign substances
  • infect: a microorganism enters the body and multiplies, causing illness and damage to the organs
  • insectivore: animals that feed on insects and other smaller invertebrates such as worms
  • insoluble: substances that do not dissolve in a liquid
  • interact: to have an effect on somebody/something else or on one another by being or working closely together
  • instinct: a pattern of behaviour that requires no thinking and is biologically driven
  • legumes: group of plants, including beans, lentils, peas and peanuts, that have edible seeds inside fruit that forms a pod
  • limewater: a solution of calcium hydroxide in water which turns cloudy white in the presence of carbon dioxide
  • limit: a restriction on the size or amount of something available or possible
  • migrate: to move from one region or habitat to another according to the seasons
  • migration: a seasonal movement of animals move from one place to another and back again
  • mimicry: an adaptation in which one animal imitates (copies) another in appearance or behaviour
  • nitrogen: an important element that forms part of proteins in all living organisms
  • nocturnal: active at night
  • omnivore: an animal that eats both plant and animal material
  • pathogen: a microorganism that causes a disease
  • pigment: is a molecule that absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others to produce colours
  • photosynthesis: the process by which green plants and some bacteria use radiant energy from the Sun to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen
  • population: a group of organisms from the same species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time
  • population ecology: the study of what contributes to the rise and fall of numbers of a species
  • predator: an animal that naturally preys on other animals for food
  • primary consumer: an organism that eats plant material
  • producer: an organisms that is able to make its own food; for example, all green plants
  • protist: member of a diverse group of microorganisms that are not viruses, bacteria or fungi; can be animal-like e.g. protozoa, plant-like e.g. algae or fungi-like e.g. slime moulds, water moulds
  • radiant energy: energy contained in light rays or other forms of radiation
  • respiration: the process by which energy is released from the glucose in food in a series of chemical reactions
  • secondary consumer: an organisms that eats herbivores and primary consumers
  • soluble: substances that are able to dissolve in a liquid
  • species: a group of organisms classified by common attributes that can breed and produce fertile offspring
  • starch: a substance which consists of many glucose molecules joined together; plants store glucose produced by photosynthesis in this complex form
  • terrestrial environment: an environment on dry land
  • tertiary consumer: an organism that eats secondary consumers; a carnivore at the highest level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores
  • transmitted: to cause something to be passed from one individual to another; eg. disease-causing microorganisms passed from one person to another
  • trophic level: a feeding level in a food web, chain or pyramid; all organisms at the same trophic level get their energy in the same way
  • virus: a small infectious agent that typically causes disease