Life Cycle Dictionary

ANIMAL
a multicellular organism that is capable of mobility, will eat food, and usually reproduces sexually

ARM
the extension of the body from the top of the shoulders to the fingers

BACKBONE
that part of the skeleton that is made up of vertebrae and serves as protection for the spinal cord and is located in the middle of the back

BUG
an insect or spider that crawls on the ground or flys

BULB
a form of underground stem composed largely of thick scale leaves

CHARACTERISTIC a recognizable trait or habit of an organism	CLASSIFY an arrangement of different organisms into separate groups based on their different characteristics	COMMUNITY the interaction of various organisms in a habitat
CONSUMER an organism that will eat another organism

ENVIRONMENT
the surroundings of an organism

FEMUR the heaviest, longest and strongest bone in the human body that connects to the pelvis and patella	FIBER a threadlike strand of which animal and vegetable tissue or a textile substance is made	FINGER extensions of the hands that consist of the phalanges
FLOWER the sexual reproductive part of an angiosperm	FOOD CHAIN the trasfer of the sun's energy from producers to consumers as organisms feed on one another	FOOT that part of the body that is connected to the leg and that serves as a balancing mechanism

GROWTH
a body activity that causes an organism to increase in size

HABITAT the place where an organism lives	HAND that part of the body that contains the fingers and is used to hold and grasp	HEAD the part of the human that contains the brain, and major sense organs
HEART the organ that pumps oxygenated blood to the body and pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs and where it receives oxygen

JAW
the part of the skull that holds the teeth

KIDNEY
organs that eliminate urea, nitrogenous wastes, excess sugars, excess salts, excess acids and bases, and maintain proper salt and osmotic balances

LAND the crust of the earth that is not covered with water	LEAF the principal lateral appendage of the stem of the plant, which functions in photosynthesis and transpiration and produces lateral buds in its axil	LEAVE
LEG that part of the body that is connected to the pelvis and is responsible for movement	LIGHT energy produced by the sun that is used by plants to produce food	LIVING something that can carry out such processes as irritability, reproduction, growth energy consumption, variation, and adaptation
LOWER LEG that part of the leg that isbelow the patella	LUNG an organ that is involved in the intake of oxygen and donation of this oxygen to deooxygenated blood which can be sent to the body via the heart

MARINE
a water based environment

MUSCLE
a type of tissue made up of muscle cells that can cause movement by contraction and expansion

NATURAL
not altered by humans

NON-LIVING
anything that can not carry out the processes that a living organism can

NUTRIENT
a chemical that is used for food and energy

ORGANISM
a complete and entire living thing that is capable of reproduction

PELVIS that part of the skeletal system that consists of the pubis, ilium, ischium, and protects the bladder	PHOTOSYNTHESIS the conversion of light energy into chemical energy by plants	PLANT an organism that can produce it's own food by using energy from light
PRODUCER an organism, typically a plant, that will produce food for itself and serve as food for a consumer

ROOT
the part of the axis of a vascular plant that is concerned with anchorage and the absorbtion of water and minerals

SEED a complete embryo plant surrounded by an endosperm and protected by seed coats	SHELL the outer covering commonly found among mollusca that is composed of calcium carbonate	SHRUB a woody plant smaller that a tree and usually divided into seperate stems from near the ground
SKELETON the bones of the body that act to form a support for the body and provide for the protection of vital organs and as a site for muscle attachment	SKULL that part of the skeleton that is connected to the neck	STEM the part of the vascular plant axis that bears the leaves, auxillary buds, and flowers, all compromising the shoot
STOMACH an organ that receives ingested food, prepares this food for digestion, and begins protein digestion using acids and enzymes found in the stomach