A word used to describe many similar species.
common name
A life form too small to see without without magnification.
microorganism
A eukaryotic organism that cannot be classified as a fungus, a plant, or an animal.
protist
Thin filaments that make up the body of a fungi.
hyphae
A group of organisms that resemble one another and can mate to produce fertile offspring.
species
An organism that makes its own food using energy from sunlight or from inorganic compounds.
autotroph
Single-celled eukaryotes that move and are heterotrophs.
protozoan
A tangled mass of hyphae.
mycelium
A two-part naming system in which the genus name is first, followed by the species name.
binomial nomenclature
An organism that cannot make its own food but must eat other living things. Includes herbivores, carnivores, and scavengers.
heterotroph
Small photosynthetic organisms that float and drift near the ocean's surface.
phytoplankton
An organism, such as a fungus, that gets its nourishment from dead and decaying organisms.
saprophyte
The science of classifying living things.
taxonomy
A form of reproduction where a single-celled organism grows in size and then splits into two complete organisms.
binary fission
Extensions of an amoeba used to move around and capture and engulf food.
pseudopodia (singular: pseudopodium)
The study of fungi.
mycology
A taxonomic category above the kingdom level.
domain
A chemical that kills bacteria or prevents them from reproducing.
antibiotic
Short, hairlike structures of some protists used for movement and searching for food.
cilia (singular: cilium)
An organism that feeds on other organisms called hosts.
parasite