Living Environment Vocabulary

any one of several building blocks of protein

An animal that eats primarily meat

a process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances

an organism in the early stages of development

to copy

a substance that can speed up the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed or used up during the reaction

the unborn, developing young of an animal during the later stages of development

(deoxyribonucleic acid) the material found in all cells that contains genetic information about that organism

the body’s primary defense against disease-causing pathogens

a carnivore that eats the bodies of dead organisms

an organism that invades the body, causing disease

the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment even when the external environment changes

a protein, produced by the immune system, that either attacks invading pathogens or marks them for killing

a thick threadlike structure that contains genetic information in the form of DNA

the basic unit of structure and function that makes up all organisms

a condition in which a person’s immune system is overly sensitive to environmental substances that are normally harmless

any alteration in the sequence of DNA

the process by which organisms produce new organisms of the same type

a segment of DNA (on a chromosome) that contains the code for a specific trait

any change in the environment that causes an organism to react

a large structure within a cell that controls the cell’s metabolism and stores genetic information, including chromosomes and DNA

pod-shaped organelles that contain enzymes used to extract energy from nutrients

the passing of traits from parent to offspring

Animals that eat primarily plants