Fertilization (the fusing of one sperm and an ovum) results in a(n) _____.

The autonomic nervous systemis responsible for activities that arenonvoluntaryand under unconscious control. This system controls glands and the smooth muscles of internal organs, heart rate, breathing, and digestion. The autonomic nervous system is further divided into the following:

• Sympathetic nervous system: The sympathetic nervous system focuses on emergency situations by preparing the body forfight or flight. (Sympathetic = Stress)
• Parasympathetic nervous system: The parasympathetic nervous system controls involuntary processes unrelated to emergencies. This system deals with “rest or digest” activities. (Parasympathetic = Peace)

Thesomatic nervous systemprimarily controlsvoluntaryactivities such as walking and riding a bicycle. Thus, this system sends information to the CNS and motor nerve fibers that are attached to skeletal muscle.

Mendel developed theories of genetics that scientists around the world use today.

From experiments with garden peas, Mendel developed a simple set of rules that accurately predicted patterns of heredity. He discovered that plants eitherself-pollinateorcross-pollinate, when the pollen from one plant fertilizes the pistil of another plant. He also discovered that traits are eitherdominantorrecessive. Dominant traits are expressed, and recessive traits are hidden.

Mendel’s Theory of Heredity

To explain his results, Mendel proposed a theory that has become the foundation of the science of genetics. The theory has five elements:

• Parents do not transmit traits directly to their offspring. Rather, they pass on units of information calledgenes.
• For each trait, an individual has two factors: one from each parent. If the two factors have the same information, the individual ishomozygousfor that trait. If the two factors are different, the individual isheterozygousfor that trait. Each copy of a factor, orgene, is called anallele.
• The alleles determine the physical appearance, orphenotype. The set of alleles an individual has is itsgenotype.
• An individual receives one allele from each parent.
• The presence of an allele does not guarantee that the trait will be expressed.

The protein disc that holds two sister chromatids together is what collectively makes a chromosome. A gene is a segment of DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, which transmits information from parent to offspring. A single molecule of DNA has thousands of genes. A chromosome is a rod-shaped structure that forms when a single DNA molecule and its associated proteins coil tightly before cell division.

Chromosomes have two components:

• Chromatids: two copies of each chromosome
• Centromeres: protein discs that attach the chromatids together

Human cells have 23 sets of different chromosomes. The two copies of each chromosome are called homologous chromosomes, or homologues. An offspring receives one homologue from each parent. When a cell contains two homologues of each chromosome, it is termed diploid (2n). A haploid (n) cell contains only one homologue of each chromosome. The only haploid cells humans have are the sperm and eggs cells known as gametes.

A pH of 7 is a neutral solution, which is how pure water is classified. Researchers can determine the strength of an acid or a base by measuring the pH of a solution. The pH value describes how acidic or basic a solution is. On pH scale, shown below, if the number is less than 7 the solution is acidic. A pH greater than 7 means the solution is basic. When the pH is exactly 7, the solution is neutral.

A sensory nerveis a nerve that carries sensory signals from the external environment to the brain to the central nervous system. It is also an afferent nerve, long dendrites of sensory neurons, which sends sensory information towards the central nervous system (CNS). This information is what is sensed, using the five senses from external environment, sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Motor nerveshave onlyefferent fibers, long axons of motor neurons, that carry impulses away from the CNS to the effectors, which are typically tissues and muscles of the body.

Interneuronsarenerve cellsthat act as a bridge between motor and sensory neurons in the CNS. These neurons help form neural circuits, which helps neurons communicate with each other.

The particles in a sample of gas are farther apart than in solids or liquids and therefore have the lowest amount of cohesion.

• Cohesion is the tendency of particles of the same kind to stick to each other.
• A solid has the lowest amount of energy because its particles are packed close together. Liquids have more energy than a solid, and gases have more energy than solids or liquids because the cohesive forces are very weak.

Robert Hooke discovered the first cells in the mid-eighteenth century. The cell theory is a theory because it is supported by a significant number of experimental findings. The cell theory took many years to be developed because microscopes were not powerful enough to make such observations.

This theory, or in-depth explanation, about cells consists of three parts:

• All living things are composed of one or more cells.
• Cells are alive and represent the basic unit of life.
• All cells are produced from pre-existing cells.

A neutralization reaction is a type of acid-base reaction where an acid and base react to form a salt and water.

In an aqueous solution, a base increases the hydroxide concentration (OH–), while an acid increases the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration. Sometimes,neutralization reactionsalso occur. This type of reaction happens when an acid and a base react with each other to form water and salt. Salt is typically defined as anionic compoundthat includes any cation except H+and any anion except OH–. Consider the following example of a neutralization reaction between hydrobromic acid (HBr) and potassium hydroxide (KOH).

HBr+KOH→KBr+H2O

Not all neutralization reactions proceed in the manner where all reactants are in the aqueous phase. In some chemical reactions, one reactant may be a solid. The neutralization reaction can still proceed to completion.

The duodenum is the first part of the small intestines, located between the stomach and the middle part of the small intestines (jejunum). Once food has mixed with acid in the stomach, it moves into the duodenum, where it then mixes with bile from the gallbladder and digestive juices secreted from the pancreas. In the duodenum, absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients begins.

The cardiovascular system is closely associated with hematopoiesis because it includes the heart and blood vessels, which are responsible for circulating blood throughout the body. Hematopoiesis, the process of blood cell formation, primarily occurs in the bone marrow, which is part of the skeletal system. However, the cardiovascular system plays a crucial role in transporting these blood cells to various parts of the body once they are produced in the bone marrow.

So, while the skeletal system provides the site for hematopoiesis, the cardiovascular system is responsible for distributing the blood cells, making it the most closely associated system in this context.