Unit A Summary
Key Concepts
Chapter Summary
Chapter 1 Identifying and classifying living things require a common language.
 Biodiversity
 Taxonomy
 Phylogeny
 Prokaryotes
 Eukaryotes
 Species diversity, ecosystem diversity, and genetic diversity are key components
of biodiversity. (1.1)
 Taxonomy is the science of naming, identifying, and classifying species. (1.2)
 All organisms are classified into one of six kingdoms: Eubacteria, Archaebacteria,
Protista, Fungi, Plantae, or Animalia. (1.2)
 Phylogeny is the evolutionary development of a group of organisms. Biologists
use phylogenic analysis to compare living organisms to extinct organisms. (1.2)
 Phylogenetic trees are a visual hypothesis of the evolutionary history of a species
and show its relationships to other species. (1.2)
 Classification systems continually evolve as new evidence about the evolutionary
relationships among organisms is discovered. (1.2)
 Prokaryotes are microscopic unicellular organisms that lack membrane-bound
organelles. (1.2)
 Eukaryotes are unicellular and multicellular organisms that have complex cells
that contain membrane-bound organelles. (1.2)
Chapter 2 A diversity of micro-organisms, protists, and fungi is intrinsic to life on Earth.
 Viruses are not alive.
 Archaea and bacteria are
prokaryotes.
 Protists are a diverse
kingdom of eukaryotes.
 Fungi are heterotrophic
eukaryotes.
 Viruses are not considered living things, even though they have many
characteristics of living organisms. (2.1)
 Prokaryotes are divided into two domains: archaea and bacteria. (2.1)
 Archaea are complex prokaryotic organisms often found in extreme
environments. (2.1)
 Bacteria have a cell wall and DNA, and can divide into two cells through binary
fission. (2.1)
 The kingdom Protista contains all the eukaryotic organisms that do not fit into the
other five kingdoms. (2.2)
 As more evidence of the evolutionary relationships among protists is discovered,
most biologists think the kingdom Protista will be divided into several kingdoms.
(2.2)
 Most fungi are composed of two main structures: thread-like hyphae and mat-like
mycelia. (2.3)
 Fungi can reproduce sexually or asexually. (2.3)
 Climate change has both positive and negative impacts on the diversity of
prokaryotes, protists, and fungi. (2.3)
Chapter 3 Biodiversity evolves over time and is affected by changing conditions
on Earth.
 Plants are autotrophic
eukaryotes.
 Animals are multicellular,
heterotrophic, eukaryotes.
 Alternation of generations
 Threats to biodiversity
 Conservation of biodiversity
 Green algae, mosses, ferns, seed plants, and flowering plants are
the five major groups of plants. (3.1)
 Plants have a reproductive cycle that alternates between a haploid generation
and a diploid generation. (3.1)
 Animal body plans reflect the evolutionary history of animals and
provide key characteristics used to classify animals into taxa. (3.2)
 Animals are often divided into two groups: vertebrates, animals with
a backbone, and invertebrates, animals without a backbone. (3.2)
 Both plants and animals have evolutionary adaptations to conserve water that
allowed them to transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. (3.1, 3.2)
 Climate change has positive and negative impacts on plant and
animal diversity. (3.1, 3.2, 3.3)
 Habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, overexploitation, and climate change are
the major threats to biodiversity. (3.3)
 Sustainable development is important for the conservation of
biodiversity. (3.3)
Chapter 1
Identifying and
classifying
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binomial
binomial nomenclature
biodiversity
classes
dichotomous key
domain
ecosystem diversity
eukaryotes
family
genes
genetic diversity
genus
keystone species
kingdoms
morphology
multicellular
orders
phyla
phylogenetic tree
phylogeny
prokaryotes
scientific name
species
species diversity
taxon
taxonomy
unicellular
Unit A Vocabulary
Chapter 2: diversity of
Chapter 3: Biodiversity
micro-organisms, protists,
and fungi
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algae
bacilli
bacteriophages
binary fission
cilia
ciliates
cocci
conjugation
diploid
endospore
flagella
fruiting body
haploid
hyphae
mycelium
mycorrhizae
phytoplankton
plankton
plasmodium
protists
pseudopodia
slime moulds
spirochetes
spores
structural diversity
transduction
transformation
water moulds
 alternation of generations
 asymmetrical
 bilateral symmetry
 blastopore
 body plan
 embryo
 flowers
 fruit
 gametophyte
 gymnosperms
 invertebrates
 non-vascular plants
 paired limbs
 pollen grains
 radial symmetry
 seeds
 segments
 sporophyte
 tissues
 vascular tissues
 vascularization
 vertebrae
 zygote