AQA GCSE Biology key terms

The checking of research methods, results and conclusions by other scientists with relevant expertise before publication.

The mass gained or lost, divided by the initial mass and multiplied by 100.

A fluid-filled space in a plant cell that contains cell sap and helps keep the cell rigid.

An organism that damages crops, stored food or livestock and so reduces agricultural output.

A shallow, circular dish with a lid, used to grow microorganisms on a solid culture medium such as agar.

A white blood cell that engulfs and destroys pathogens.

The process in which a phagocyte engulfs and digests a pathogen.

The observable characteristics of an organism, influenced by its genes and its environment.

The relative numbers of offspring predicted to show each characteristic.

Plant transport tissue made of tubes of elongated cells that carries dissolved sugars from leaves to other parts of the plant.

The process in which green plants and algae use light energy to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen.

A directional growth response to light.

An endocrine gland at the base of the brain that releases several hormones, some of which stimulate other glands to release hormones.

An inactive treatment made to resemble the treatment being tested, used as a comparison in a clinical trial.

A temporary organ attached to the wall of the uterus where substances are exchanged between the pregnant person's blood and the developing foetus.

A chemical produced by a plant that coordinates its growth or development.

The yellow liquid component of blood that carries blood cells, platelets and dissolved substances around the body.

A small, circular piece of DNA found in bacteria that can be used as a vector.

A stage of a graph where the dependent variable remains approximately constant even though the independent variable continues to increase.

A small fragment of a cell that helps blood to clot at a damaged blood vessel.

The addition of harmful substances to the environment, causing damage to organisms or ecosystems.

A large molecule made from repeating smaller units.

All the organisms of one species living in a particular area at a particular time.

Apparatus that estimates a plant shoot's rate of water uptake, often by tracking an air bubble in a narrow tube.

Laboratory testing of a potential drug on cells, tissues and live animals before it is tested in people.

A consumer that kills and eats another animal.

Birth before the pregnancy has reached its usual full length.