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Word Sheets
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9Aa – Monsters and myth

Word Pronunciation Meaning
genus jeen-ous A group of similar organisms. The genus name is the
first word in the scientific name for a species (the second
word is the ‘species name’). Different closely related
species belong to the same genus.
journal A scientific magazine in which scientists publish their
findings by writing articles called scientific papers.
scientific paper An article written by scientists and published in a
science magazine called a journal. It is like an
investigation report but usually shows the results and
conclusions drawn from many experiments. Scientific
papers are often just called papers.
species spee-shees or A group of organisms that can reproduce with each
spee-sees other to produce offspring that will also be able to
reproduce.
variation vair-ee-ay-shun The differences between things.

9Aa – Environmental variation

Word Pronunciation Meaning
abiotic factor Something that is abiotic has nothing to do with living
organisms (e.g. temperature, the wind).
biotic factor An activity of an organism that affects another organism
(such as competition or predation).
characteristic kar-ack-ter-iss-tick A feature of an organism.
classification Sorting things into groups.
continuous Continuous data can take any value between two limits.
Examples include length, mass, time.
continuous variation When the value of a variable is continuous, it shows
continuous variation.
discontinuous Data values that can only have one of a set number of
options are discontinuous. Examples include shoe sizes
and blood groups.
discontinuous When the value of a variable is discontinuous, it shows
variation discontinuous variation.
environment The conditions in a habitat caused by physical
environmental factors and living organisms.
environmental factor Anything that can change the conditions in a habitat or
the organisms that live there.
environmental Differences between organisms caused by
variation environmental factors.
physical A non-living factor that can change the conditions in a
environmental factor habitat (e.g. amount of light, rainfall).
resource rez-ors Something needed by an organism. For example, plants
need light as a resource and animals need food as a
resource.
species spee-shees or A group of organisms that can reproduce with each
spee-sees other to produce offspring that will also be able to
reproduce.

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Word Sheets
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9Ab – Inherited variation

Word Pronunciation Meaning
fertilisation fert-ill-I-zay-shun Fusing of a male gamete with a female gamete.
fuse fewz When two things join together to become one.
gamete gam-meet A cell used for sexual reproduction.
gene jeen Section of the long strand of DNA found in a
chromosome, which contains instructions for a
characteristic.
genetic information jen-et-tick The inherited instructions that control your
characteristics.
inherit A feature that an organism gets from a parent is
inherited.
inherited variation Differences between organisms that are passed on to
offspring by their parents in reproduction.
normal distribution If the value of a variable changes in a continuous way, it
will often show a normal distribution. This means that the
middle values of the data range are most common and
values at the highest and lowest extremes are least
common. This sort of data forms a bell shape on charts
and graphs.
nucleus new-clee-us The ‘control centre’ of a cell, where genetic information
is found.
offspring The new organisms produced by reproduction.
parent An organism that has produced offspring.
sexual reproduction Reproduction that needs two individuals to produce a
new organism of the same type.
zygote zY-goat Another term for ‘fertilised egg cell’.

9Ab – Probability (WS)

Word Pronunciation Meaning
correlation cor-al-lay-shun A relationship between two variables. If an increase in
one variable appears to cause an increase in the other,
it is a positive correlation. An increase in one variable
linked with a decrease in the other is a negative
correlation.
estimate An approximate answer, often calculated from a sample
or using rounded values.
probability The likelihood of something happening.
sample To take a small part of something to investigate. You
use a sample to draw conclusions about what the larger
whole is like.

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Word Sheets
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9Ac – DNA
Word Pronunciation Meaning
cell division The splitting of a parent cell to form two identical
daughter cells. The daughter cells both contain the same
genetic information as the parent cell.
chromosome krow-mO-sOwm A structure found in the nuclei of cells. Each
chromosome contains one enormously long DNA
molecule.
DNA A substance that contains genetic information. Short for
deoxyribonucleic acid.
gene jeen Section of the long strand of DNA found in a
chromosome, which contains instructions for a
characteristic.
sex chromosome krow-mO-sOwm Chromosome that determines the sex of an organism.
In humans, males have one X sex chromosome and one
Y sex chromosome, while females have two Xs.

9Ad – Genes and extinction

Word Pronunciation Meaning
adaptation The features that something has to enable it to do a
certain job or survive in a particular place.
biodiversity bI-O-die-ver-sit-ee The range of different species of organisms in an area.
competition com-pet-ish-un There is competition between organisms that need the
same resources as each other. We say that they
compete for those resources.
ecosystem All the physical environmental factors and all the
organisms that are found in a habitat.
endangered en-dayn-jerd When a type of organism is in danger of ceasing to exist.
extinct An organism that no longer exists is extinct.
food web Many food chains linked together, showing the flow of
energy through organisms in a habitat.
gene bank Any facility that stores genetic material from different
organisms (e.g. seeds, gametes, tissue samples).
native Naturally found in a certain area.

9Ae – Natural selection

Word Pronunciation Meaning
evolution A change in one or more characteristics of a population
over a long period of time.
natural selection A process in which an organism is more likely to survive
and reproduce than other members of the species
because it possesses a certain inherited variation.

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