Embryonic Tissues, Cytoskeleton, Organelles, Cellular Energy, and DNA/RNA

Primary Embryonic Tissues and Their Development

Name the three primary embryonic tissues. What tissues does each of these eventually form as the fetus develops?

  • Ectoderm: The outermost layer, forms the skin and nervous system.
  • Endoderm: The innermost layer, responsible for the gut and related organs (liver, pancreas, lungs).
  • Mesoderm: The middle layer, forms muscles, skeleton, blood vessels, and connective tissues. It holds everything together inside and is made up of ectoderm and endoderm.

Four Categories

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Water and Minerals: Structure, Properties, and Biological Functions

Structure and Properties of Water

Water exhibits strong cohesion between its molecules, resulting in high surface tension. It also has a high heat of vaporization, meaning a significant amount of energy is required to change it from a liquid to a gaseous state. Notably, water is denser in its liquid state than in its solid state. It serves as an excellent solvent for various substances and possesses a high specific heat, allowing it to act as a thermal buffer.

  • Heat of Vaporization: The amount of energy
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Human Digestive System: Functions and Organs

Functions of the Digestive System

  • Digestion of Food: Breakdown of food into smaller particles.
  • Mechanical Digestion: Changes the physical form of food.
    • Chewing in the mouth
    • Churning in the stomach.
  • Chemical Digestion: Enzymes change the chemical composition of food.
    • Lipids to fatty acids
    • Proteins to amino acids
    • Carbohydrates into simple sugars
  • Absorption of Nutrients: Transport of nutrients to the blood.
  • Assimilation of Nutrients: Transport of nutrients into the cells.
  • Egestion of Faeces: Semi-solid waste
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Photosynthesis: Light Energy to Sugar

Photosynthesis

Plants are autotrophs, meaning they are self-nourishing.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

  • Shortest wavelength = Gamma rays
  • Then X-rays
  • Then UV radiation
  • Then visible light (ROYGBIV)
  • Then infrared radiation
  • Then microwaves
  • Longest wavelength = Radio waves

Photons are packets of light energy. They have differing amounts of energy depending on their wavelengths.

Pigments

The color you see is the wavelengths not absorbed.

The light-catching part of a molecule contains electrons that move to higher energy

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Understanding Food Webs: Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems

Food Webs

Of course, the real world is much more complicated than a simple food chain. While many organisms have very specialized diets, such as anteaters, in most cases, this is not true. Snakes do not limit their diets to frogs, and frogs and toads eat more than just black ants. Every living thing feeds on different prey types and, in turn, is prey to different predators. In addition, some organisms (like mice and birds) include both plants and animals in their diets. This determines that ecosystems

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Endocrine System: Hormones and Glands in the Human Body

Endocrine Regulation

The proper functioning of our body is due to the joint coordination of two mechanisms: nervous control and hormonal control. The first is through the action of the nervous system in three sections: central, peripheral, and autonomic. The central control takes place through the action of a group of organs called endocrine glands and internal secretion, which produce chemicals called hormones.

Meaning and Origin of Gland

A gland is an organ whose cells are specialized in the production

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