Monday, September 9, 2013

50/50 - Flower ovary

In flowering plants the ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ and is the part of the pistil that holds the ovules. Above the ovary is the style and the stigma where the pollen lands and germinates for each individual pollen grain to fertilize an ovule.

49/50 - Dominant vs. recessive phenotype

Phenotypes are the physical characteristics of an organism. Dominant alleles are usually more common than recessive alleles. This is mainly because a recessive trait needs two under case letters to be present while a dominant trait needs only one upper case letter to be present. For example, unattached ear lobes are a dominant trait while attached ear lobes are recessive.

48/50 - Tropism

A tropism growth or turning movement of an organism like a plant in response to its environment. This response is dependent on the direction of the stimulus and may be either positive (towards the stimulus) or negative (away from the stimulus).

47/50 - Succesion

Succesion is the series of changes in a community that happen over time. The community usually begins with relatively few plants and animals and develops until it becomes stable enough to be called a climax community.

46/50 - Stigma & style of carpel

The stigma is the receptive tip of a carpel and receives pollen during pollination. It adapted to catch and trap pollen with various hairs and flaps. The pollen may also be captured from the air, water or visiting insects. The style connects the stigma to the ovary and pollen tubes grow to the length of the style to reach the ovules.

45/50 - Rhizome

A rhizome is a modified stem of a plant that is usually found underground and sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. They develop from buds and grow vertical to the force of gravity. The rhizome also has the ability to grow new shoots upward. In this picture, you can see some of the roots of the tree  sticking out of the ground.

44/50 - Population

A population is a group of all the organisms of the same species who live in the same area and are capable of interbreeding. The probability of interbreeding is higher than the probability of cross-breeding with organisms from other areas and breeding is more common within the area then outside of it.

43/50 - Pollen

Pollen is a powder containing gametophytes of seed plants that produce the male sperm cells. When pollen lands on a compatible female cone like when pollination occurs it germinates and transfers the sperm to the ovule.

42/50 - Niche

Organisms have niches so that they can survive better and if every organism is doing the same thing then it would be difficult to survive because of competition. Every organism has a niche, it's how they have food and shelter and it's also how they either directly or indirectly play their role in the ecosystem.

41/50 - Mutualism

Mutualism is the way two organisms of different species benefit each other.  Mutualism is different from exploitation or parasitism where one species benefits at the expense of the other. Mutualism is a type of symbiosis where both organisms gain an advantage from their relationship.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

40/50 - Modified stem of a plant

Modified stems of a plant elevate the leaves and serve as a channel from the roots to the leaves and generate new growth. Stolons like a cactus are oriented horizontally and are adapted to create new plants that are identical to the original.

39/50 - Modified root of a plant

Modified roots of a plant are adapted to their environment allowing them to do things like secure energy and other resources. Some modified roots are able to keep the plant secure and absorb water and mineral nutrients. A modified vine may form roots that help the plant bond to a substrate.

38/50 - Modified leaf of a plant

A modified leaf is a leaf that is changed for a certain purpose and some functions it can perform are transpiration and photosynthesis. An example of this would be that stipules can adapt and form spines for defense.

37/50 - Homologous structures

Homologous structures don't always have the same function but they come from the same common ancestor. For example, a bone that exists inside the ear of mammals is a homologous structure to some species of fish.

36/50 - Eubacteria

Eubacteria is complex and single celled and most bacteria are in the eubacteria kingdom. Eubacteria is classified in its own kingdom because their chemical makeup is different. Most eubacteria are helpful and some produce vitamins and foods like yogurt but some eubacteria can give you strep throat.


35/50 - Ethylene


Ethylene is a colorless flammable gas with a sweet odor when pure. Ethylene is used in the chemical industry, and has the largest production out of all organic compounds. It's also an important natural plant hormone that's used in agriculture to force the ripening of fruits.

34/50 - Epithelial tissue

Epithelial tissue is an animal tissue that lines the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body and forms many glands. Some functions of epithelial cells are secretion, selective absorption, protection and detection of sensation.

33/50 - Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and maintains a stable or constant condition like temperature. It's a process where the body's internal environment is kept stable. An advantage of homeostasis is that it allows an organism to function properly in a variety of environmental conditions.

32/50 - Hermaphrodite


A hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs of both male and female sexes. Many invertebrates do not have separate sexes and hermaphroditism is a normal condition for them which enables sexual reproduction where both partners can act as the "female" or "male". Some snails and slugs are hermaphrodites along with some species of fish. Most plants are hermaphrodites too.

31/50 - Gametophyte


A gametophyte is a multicellular stage in land plants and algae that forms in the life cycle. A gametophyte produces gametes through the cell division of spores. Gametophytes also produce male, female or both gametes during mitosis. The female and male gametes are also called, respectively, egg cells and sperm cells.

30/50 - Enzyme

Enzymes are large molecules responsible for thousands of chemical reactions that support life. Most enzymes are proteins. Enzymes have a specific structure that can create organic and inorganic components to assist in catalysis.

29/50 - Endosperm

Endosperm is the tissue produced inside the seeds of most flowering plants. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch and can also contain oils and protein. This makes endosperms a source of nutrition in plants and humans.

28/50 - Connective tissue

Connective tissue is a tissue that supports, connects or separates other types of tissues and organs in the body. Some functions of connective tissue are storage of energy, protection of organs, connection of body tissues and connection of epithelial tissues to muscle fiber.

27/50 - Calvin cycle

In the calvin cycle plants use energy from the sun in chloroplasts and they convert the sun's energy into a storable form for sugar molecules like glucose. Carbon dioxide and water are combined to form the more ordered sugar molecules.

26/50 - Bilateral symmetry

Organisms that are bilateral symmetry can be divided vertically into left and right halves. Most animals are bilaterally symmetric. In nature and biology, symmetry is approximate and rarely match up exactly when folded in half.

25/50 - Auxin producing area of a plant

Auxin is a class of plant hormones that play a big role in the growth and behavior in plants. They were one of the first major plant hormones to be discovered. Auxin is a key factor for plant growth, reacting to its environment and the development of plant organs like leaves and flowers.

24/50 - Asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is a way to reproduce where the offspring comes from a single parent and inherits the genes of that parent only. The offspring will be exact genetic copies of the parent, except in some specific cases. Asexual reproduction is the primary form of reproduction for single-celled organisms, and many plants and fungi reproduce asexually as well.

23/50 - Xylem

Xylem is a types of transport tissue in vascular plants, and the best-known xylem tissue is wood found throughout plants. Its main function is to transport water and it also transports some nutrients through the plant as well.

22/50 - Phloem

Phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients in vascular plants. The phloem is in charge with the transport of organic material made during photosynthesis, this is called translocation.


21/50 - Sporophyte


A sporophyte is a generation of a plant or alga that has a double set of chromosomes. The sporophyte produces spores by meiosis and they develop into a gametophyte. Both the spores and the gametophyte only have one set of homologous chromosomes. The gametophyte produces male, female or both gametes by mitosis and the combining of male and female gametes produces a zygote that develops into a new sporophyte.

20/50 - Spore

A spore is a unit of asexual reproduction that can be used for dispersal and survival in unfavorable conditions. The opposite of spores are gametes which are units of sexual reproduction. Spores are part of the life cycles of many plants, algae and fungi. Spores are also found in bacteria but are not part of a sexual cycle and are used as resistant structures for survival instead.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

19/50 - Redox reaction


Redox reactions are all chemical reactions where the oxidation state of atoms is changed. The two concepts of the term "redox" involved with electron transfer are oxidation and reduction. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom or ion and reduction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state by a molecule, atom or ion.

18/50 - Eukaryote

A Eukaryote is an organism with cells that contain a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes get their name by the existence of a nucleus. All multicellular organisms like animals, plants and fungi are eukaryotes.

17/50 - Meristem

Meristem is the undifferentiated plant tissue usually made up of small cells that are capable of creating similar cells that differentiate to make tissues and organs. Its cells actively divide to form new tissues that cause the plant to grow.

16/50 - Long-day plant

A Long-day plant is a plant that requires a minimum set amount of hours of sunlight to flower, these plants usually flower in the northern hemisphere during late spring or early summer when days are getting longer. Some examples of long-day plants are spinach, lettuce, and some varieties of wheat.

15/50 - Lipid used for energy storage

Some of the main functions of lipids are storing energy, signaling, and acting as components of cell membranes. Lipids are a group of natural molecules that include fats, oils, waxes, sterols. These molecules play a big role in cosmetic and food industries.

14/50 - Heterotroph

A Heterotroph is an organism that cannot create its own food so it's dependent on other organisms for nutrition. The opposite of a heterotroph is an autotroph like plans and algae that get energy from the sun and use inorganic compounds to produce organic compounds. All animals are heterotrophs and when this shark was alive it was one too but sadly, it died as a baby.

Monday, September 2, 2013

13/50 - Gymnosperm leaf

Gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants like conifers, cycads and ginkgo. Gymnosperm seeds develop on either the surface of scales or leaves which often form cones. Gymnosperms are different from angiosperms because angiosperms are flowering plants which are enclosed within an ovary.

12/50 - Glycogen

Glycogen serves as a form of energy storage in animals and fungi and occurs mainly in the liver and muscle tissue. Small amounts of glycogen are found in the kidneys and in certain glial cells in the brain and white blood cells. Glycogen is readily converted to glucose as needed for the body to satisfy energy needs and also plays an important role in the glucose cycle.

11/50 - Gibberellins

Gibberellins are plant hormones that control growth and influence different development processes. Some of these processes' include stem elongation, germination, dormancy, flowering, sex expression, enzyme induction and leaf and fruit senescence.

10/50 - Genetically modified organism

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been changed using genetic engineering techniques. Some organisms that have been genetically modified are bacteria and yeast, insects, plants, fish and mammals. GMOs make genetically modified food and are used in scientific research to produce things other than food.