Xylem

Celery is a plant that retains a lot of water. One of the biggest reasons that it's able to keep this much water is the amount of xylem in it. Xylem is the transportation system for water in the stem of a plant. The xylem will move water and other necessary minerals upward through the plant's stem. The hollow circles that you can see on the stem of celery is where the xylem is transferring those nutrients and water to the leaves of the plant. 

Vestigial Structure

In humans it's common to see the remaining pieces of a certain structure that may have been useful to our ancestors but now it is completely unnecessary. These are called vestigial structures. The plica semilunaris is shown in this picture is a great example of a vestigial structure. More commonly known as the 3^rd eyelid, it is a small fold of tissue in the inside corner of our eyes that is a remainder of the nictitating membrane, which was a transparent eyelid used for vision while simultaneously moistening the eye. 

Stigma & Style of Carpel

Although it isn't very clear, this flower contains both a stigma and a style that make up the carpel. The stigma is the region where grains of pollen accumulate in order to get ready for fertilization. This is seen by the top part of the center of the flower that is covered in the yellow pollen. The style is the stem that is supporting the stigma in order for it to be fertilized. The style sits just on top of the ovary and the stigma. The style is harder to see in the picture because it is encased by the petals. The stigma and the style both make up the carpel which can also be called a pistil. 

R-Strategist

The tiny black dot in the center of that leaf is a fly, which is considered to be an R-Strategist. An R-Strategist is any organism that produces a large amount of offspring that live in unstable environments. R-strategist tend to not care for their young and often have a low life expectancy. This fly is an R-Strategist because it is able to produce many larvae at one time with very little energy used to make each one; all the larvae mature very early on in life, which contributes to the low life expectancy. 

Predation

Although many people find spiders either disgusting or creepy, they help the environment very much. They trap flies and other insects in their webs to use as a source of food. This method of consuming food is called predation. In this instance the spider is the predator and whatever lands in its web is the prey that it utilizes as its food source. Although the spider is absent from this picture, there are still several small insects in the web that the spider, who created the web, will later eat for food. 

K-Strategist

This Yorkie just recently gave birth to 3 puppies. Because of this, she is considered to be a K-Strategist. K-Strategist are species that live in a stable environment, tend to have few offspring, and care for their offspring for a good portion of their lives. The puppies of this Yorkie are predicted to have a longer lifespan than say a turtle (an example of the opposite—and R-Strategist) because she offers assistance to her puppies for as long as they need whereas a turtle does not nurture its offspring. 

Homeostasis

If you have ever noticed yourself shivering or, in this case sweating, your body is going through homeostasis. Homeostasis is when the cells in a person or animal's body are trying to maintain their normal conditions. In order to do this, the cells must utilize self-regulating mechanisms. When our bodies start getting too warm, they attempt to fix the problem and cool themselves down by sweating. When the sweat evaporates, the individual begins to cool down. This is all done by the body's cells automatically. 

Hermaphrodite

The following picture is of a snail found on the side of my house. Most snails are examples of hermaphrodites, meaning that they have both the male and female sex organs and gametes inside of each of them. This is helpful because it means that if the snail is able to find any other snail to reproduce with sexually. If the snail is unable to find another snail, it will reproduce asexually. 

Gymnosperm Leaf

This picture of leaves that belong to a pine tree is are examples of gymnosperm leaves. These leaves are able to produce either seed cones or pollen cones. These leaves are classified as gymnosperm leaves because they produce gymnosperm seeds, which are seeds that don't have the ovules covered all the way by sporophyte tissue while it's pollinating. The seeds that fall from this leaf are considered to be "naked seeds" as a result of the incomplete covering. 

Gymnosperm Cone

 This pine cone found in my backyard is a great example of a gymnosperm cone. Gymnosperm cones come from plants that do not use sporophyte tissue to completely cover the seeds in its ovary. In order to protect the seeds, this gymnosperm cone must finish covering them with a hard outer layer that humans recognize as a pine cone. This is a female cone because it doesn't have leaves like its male counterpart and has a distinct outer texture. 

Gibberellins

This flowering plant is able to look this way as a result of hormones called gibberellins. The primary job of these hormones is to regulate growth. While these hormones are being released, other factors such as flowering are also being affected. The reason that these flowers are way above the ground and not merely poking out on the surface is because the gibberellins have influenced how long the stem will grow out. 

Eukaryote

This picture shows some moss that was growing on the side of a tree stump. This is able to be classified as a eukaryote for many reasons. Moss belongs to the domain Eukarya which makes it a eukaryote. All eukaryotes have cells inside of them that have their nucleus surrounded by a membrane and membrane bound organelles. 

Enzyme

This banana peel is beginning to blacken as a result of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. An enzyme is usually a protein that acts a catalyst in order to speed up the reactions that cells are going through. Because this enzyme is considered to be oxygen dependent, the color change is more evident when the fruit is taken out and the peel comes in direct contact with oxygen in the air. 

Endosperm

The seeds inside of this apple all have an endosperm, which is any tissue in a plant that serves as a place to store energy for the developing embryo. The embryo in this apple is able to survive and mature because of the nutrients that reside in the endosperm. 

Ectotherm

This gecko, whose name is Spike, differs very greatly from humans in the way that he controls his body temperature. Spike is ectothermic, which means that he needs external sources of heat rather than internal sources that humans have in order to regulate his body temperature. For Spike this might mean that on a cold night he might decide to sleep on a warm rock or stay under a heated lamp in order to keep his internal temperature near where it normally is at. 

Detritivore

This beetle that was found on the sidewalk might be small but is a very important organism in the ecosystem. Beetles are considered to be detritivores, which is any organism that gets the majority of its nutrients for its body from the waste and debris in the ecosystem. This waste and debris is made of organic matter that is decomposing. This beetle helps the bacteria and fungi that get rid of the debris by breaking it down into smaller portions, which makes the whole process of decomposing a little bit faster.  

Cuticle Layer of a Plant

Although this plant might seem as though it is shimmering in the sunlight, it is really just the outer layer of the plant, the cuticle layer. This waxy-looking part of the plant is actually protecting the plant from drying out and dying. The cuticle layer covers the epidermis of the plant, allowing for it to keep water in and keep out bugs and other organisms that might carry diseases with them. Without its cuticle, this plant would not be able to protect themselves from extremely warm weather conditions.  

Cambium

As seen in the picture, this tree stump seems as though it has different rings around it. These "layers" are a result of cambium being produced in the plant. This cambium is a certain type of tissue that comes in parallel rows of cells, which is why it seems as though the trunk of the tree is thickening. Sometimes cork will be overproduced in the stem of the plant and cracks and ridges will appear, as seen in the photo, allowing for gas to be exchanged between the air and the inside of the  stem. 

C3 Plant

This picture of a strawberry is a great example of a C₃ plant. A C₃ plant is any plant that, when going through the Calvin Cycle, intakes carbon dioxide through its pores, later to be combined with sugar. This strawberry will then join those carbon dioxide molecules with the sugar molecules and make a molecule that has three carbons (why it's called a C₃ plant) in its chloroplast. These particular plants allow oxygen to be taken in and carbon dioxide to be let out in the presence of light. This process in C₃ plants is called photorespiration, which some plants that live in hot and dry climates avoid to conserve water (C₄ plants). 

Bilateral Symmetry

My sister and all other humans are a perfect example of bilateral symmetry. This occurs when an organism has two halves of their bodies that are identical; a longitudinal line separates these two halves. All animals that possess bilateral symmetry are able to move forward because the motions are guided by its anterior end; it is these anterior and posterior ends that classify the organism as having bilateral symmetry. 

Auxin Producing Area of a Plant

This photo is a budding flower. When a flower is first developing, the bud serves as the auxin producing area of a plant. Auxins serve as hormones that allow the plant to grow and develop. When released, these auxins allow for roots to grow while simultaneously preventing the flower from losing its leaves. This flower produces the auxin in its leaves rather than its stem in order to keep the leaves from falling off. 

Autotroph

This is a picture of a tree found in my backyard. This tree is a great example of an autotroph, which is any organism that is able to produce its own food. This tree is classified as an autotroph because the only resources it needs to grow and mature are inorganic nutrients and an energy source that does not come from within the plant. By synthesizing organic molecules, it provides for itself and for its community. 

Anther and Filament of a Stamen

This photo of a beautiful flower clearly shows the anther and filament. These two structures are considered to be one portion of the reproductive parts of a flower, meaning that just about every flower will have both of these parts. The anther is the small black part that rests on top of the filament (the stalk-like structures circled in the photo). The anther's main purpose is to produce the pollen, which pollinators come and disperse in order to grow more of those flowers. The filament serves as a solid structure that supports the anther. These two parts make up the stamen, which is the male reproductive structure of a flower. 

Animal That Has a Segmented Body

This is a picture of an earthworm. When looked at closely one can see that it has a segmented body. An animal that has a segmented body is any organism that has its different body parts repeating themselves throughout the entire length of the organism's body; this allows it to move across different surfaces and burrow deep into mud. This segmentation of the body occurs both internally and externally.  

Amniotic Egg

This photo of a chicken egg is considered to be an amniotic egg. Amniotic eggs typically come from mammals, birds, and reptiles. These eggs have certain membranes that protect the embryo and remove waste. These membranes are called extraembryonic membranes. Although this egg is used for cooking, if it had developed fully, the embryo inside of it would've been supplied with oxygen, food, and water from the extraembryonic membrane.