Definitions- Biology IGCSE 0610
1. Movement – an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
2. Respiration – the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy
for metabolism
3. Sensitivity – the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
4. Growth – a permanent increase in size and dry mass
5. Reproduction – the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
6. Excretion – the removal of the waste products of metabolism and substances in excess of
requirements
7. Nutrition – the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development
8. Species – a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
9. Diffusion – the net movement of particles from a region of their higher concentration to a region of
their lower concentration (i.e. down a concentration gradient), as a result of their random movement
10. Osmosis – the net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential (dilute
solution) to a region of lower water potential (concentrated solution), through a partially permeable
membrane
11. Active transport – the movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration (i.e. against a concentration gradient), using energy
from respiration
12. Catalyst – a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction and is not changed by the
reaction
13. Enzymes – proteins that are involved in all metabolic reactions, where they function as biological
catalysts
14. Photosynthesis – the process by which plants synthesize carbohydrates from raw materials using
energy from light
15. Balanced diet – not explicitly defined, but described as including carbohydrates, fats and oils,
proteins, vitamins, mineral ions, fiber (roughage), and water
16. Physical digestion – the breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical change to the food
molecules
17. Chemical digestion – the breakdown of large insoluble molecules into small soluble molecules
18. Pathogen – a disease-causing organism
19. Transmissible disease – a disease in which the pathogen can be passed from one host to another
20. Reflex action – a means of automatically and rapidly integrating and coordinating stimuli with the
responses of effectors (muscles and glands)
21. Synapse – a junction between two neurons
22. Sense organs – groups of receptor cells responding to specific stimuli: light, sound, touch,
temperature and chemicals
23. Hormone – a chemical substance, produced by a gland and carried by the blood, which alters the
activity of one or more specific target organs
24. Homeostasis – the maintenance of a constant internal environment
25. Asexual reproduction – a process resulting in the production of genetically identical offspring from
one parent
26. Sexual reproduction – a process involving the fusion of the nuclei of two gametes to form a zygote
and the production of offspring that are genetically different from each other
27. Gene – a length of DNA that codes for a protein
28. Allele – an alternative form of a gene
29. Mutation – genetic change
30. Adaptive feature – an inherited feature that helps an organism to survive and reproduce in its
environment
31. Natural selection – not formally defined but described through its process (genetic variation,
production of many offspring, struggle for survival, reproduction of better adapted individuals)
32. Food chain – showing the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with a
producer
33. Food web – a network of interconnected food chains
34. Producer – an organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually using energy from sunlight,
through photosynthesis
35. Consumer – an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms
36. Herbivore – an animal that gets its energy by eating plants
37. Carnivore – an animal that gets its energy by eating other animals
38. Decomposer – an organism that gets its energy from dead or waste organic material
39. Population – a group of organisms of one species, living in the same area, at the same time
40. Community – all of the populations of different species in an ecosystem
41. Ecosystem – a unit containing the community of organisms and their environment, interacting
together
42. Biodiversity – the number of different species that live in an area
