DEFINITIONS: -

1. Movement: an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of

position or place
2. Respiration: the chemical reaction itself of breakdown of nuclear molecules or
release energy
3. Sensitivity: the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external
environment
4. Growth: a permanent increase in size
5. Reproduction: the processes that make more of same kind of organism
6. Excretion: the removal of all toxic waste is known as excretion
7. Nutrition: the taking in of materials for growth or development
8. Species: a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
9. Fertile: able to produce
10. Infertile: not able to produce
11. Genus: a group of species that share similar features and a common ancestor
12. Dichotomous key: a way of identifying the organism, by working through pairs of
statements that leads to its name
13. Kingdom: one of the major groups into which all organisms are classified
14. Chlorophyll: a green pigment (coloured substance) that absorbs energy from light;
the energy is used to combine carbon dioxide with water and glucose
15. Cellulose: a carbohydrate that forms long fibres, and makes up the cell walls for
plants
16. Fungus: an organism whose cells have cell walls, but that does not photosynthesise
17. Prokaryote: an organism whose cells do not have a nucleus
18. Protoctista: a single-celled organism, or one with several very similar cells
19. Hyphae: microscopic threads, made of cells linked in a long line, that make up the
body of a fungus
20. Decomposers: organisms that break down organic substances outside their bodies,
releasing nutrients from them that other organisms can use
21. Spores: very small groups of cells surrounded by a protective wall, used in
reproduction
22. Multicellular: made of many cells
23. Unicellular: made of a single cell
24. Metamorphosis: changing from a larva with one body form to an adult with a
different body form
25. Mammary glands: organs found only in mammals, which produce milk to feed the
young
26. Diaphragm: a muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity in
mammals; it helps with breathing
27. Arthropod: an animal with jointed legs, but no backbone
28. Exoskeleton: a supportive structure on the outside of the body
29. Dicotyledons: plants with two cotyledons in their seeds
30. Monocotyledons: plants with only one cotyledon in their seeds
 DEFINITIONS: -
CHAPTER II
1. Cells: the structural and functional unit of living organism
2. Cell membrane: a very thin layer surrounding the cytoplasm of every cell; it controls
what enters and leaves the cell
3. Selectively permeable: allows some molecules and ions to pass through it
4. Cell wall: a tough layer outside the cell membrane; found in the cells of plants, fungi
and bacteria
5. Vacuole: a fluid-filled space inside a cell, separated from the cytoplasm by a
membrane
6. Nucleus: a membrane bound organelle that contains chromosomes
7. Chromosome: it contains genetic information in the form of many different genes
8. Chloroplasts: small structures found inside some plant cells, inside which
photosynthesis takes place
9. Cellular Respiration: mitochondria are tiny organelles inside cells that are involved in
releasing energy from food
10. Mitochondria: aerobic respiration energy is released from glucose; mitochondria is
also known as the power house of the cell
11. Aerobic respiration: chemical reactions take place in mitochondria, which use
oxygen to break down glucose and other nutrient molecules to release energy for
the cell
12. Ribosomes: very tiny structures I a cell that use information on DNA to make protein
molecules
13. Bacteria: unicellular organisms whose cells do not contain a nucleus
14. Prokaryotic cells: cells with no nucleus; bacteria have no prokaryotic cells
15. Tissue: a group of similar cells that work together to perform a particular function
16. Organ: a group tissues that work together to perform a particular function

DEFINTIONS: -
CHAPTER III
1. Kinetic energy: energy of moving objects
2. Diffusion: the movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a
region of lower concentration as a result of their random movement
3. Compound: a substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more
elements in fixed proportions
4. Osmosis: the diffusion of water molecules through a partially permeable membrane
5. High water potential: an area where there are a lot of water molecules – a dilute
solution
6. Low water potential: an area where there are not many water molecules – a
concentrated solution
7. Active transport: the movement of molecules through a cell membrane from a
region of lower concentration to region of higher concentration using energy
 DEFINITIONS: -
CHAPTER IV
1. Carbohydrates: substances that includes sugar, starch and cellulose; they contain
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
2. Glucose: a sugar that is used in respiration to release energy
3. Glycogen: a carbohydrate that is used as an energy store in animal cells
4. Starch: a carbohydrate that is used as an energy store in plant cells
5. Lipids: substances containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; they are insoluble in
water and are used as energy stores in organisms
6. Emulsion: a liquid containing two substances that fully do not mix; one of them
forms tiny droplets dispersed throughout the other
7. Protein: a substance whose molecules are made of many amino acids linked
together; each different protein has a different sequence of amino acids
8. Antibodies: molecules secreted by white blood cells, which bind to pathogens and
help to destroy as bacteria
9. Pathogen: microorganisms that cause disease, such as bacteria
10. Keratin: the protein that forms hair

DEFINIIONS: -
CHAPTER V
1. Alimentary canal: the part of the digestive system through which food passes as it
moves from the mouth to the anus
2. Catalyst: a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction and is not
changed by the reaction
3. Enzymes: proteins that are involved in all metabolic reactions, where they function
as biological catalysts
4. Amylase: an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of starch to maltose
5. Protease: an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of protein to amino acids
6. Catalase: an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide to water
and oxygen
7. Lipases: that breaks down lipids
8. Sucrase: an enzyme that breaks sown sucrose
9. Substrate: the substance that an enzyme causes to react
10. Product: the new substance formed by a chemical reaction