.::Dictionary Entries D::.

Dictionary Entries D

Daughter element: In radioactive decay, the product of the decaying parent element. For example, in the decay of ²³⁸U to ²⁰⁶Pb, ²⁰⁶Pb is considered the daughter element.

Deciduous: Term used to refer to plants that shed their leaves at the end of a growing season. Examples include Maples (Genus Acer), Oaks (Genus Quercus), and Sycamores (Genus Planatus).

Dehiscent: A term referring to a method of seed disersal by the bursting of fruit, or fruiting bodies. Examples include legumes, such as peas and black locusts plants.

Deliquiescent: Tissue that liquifies. In some fungi, this is used as a method of spore dispersal.

Dendrochronology: The study of tree rings, and their use for establishing a continuous time line. Many trees have an annual growth ring, which is used to help establish the timeline. They also have other indicators, such as width of the rings which can tell you about the growth season of the tree. These dates are only used for relatively recent ages.

Deoxyribose: A five-carbon sugar that has one less oxygen atom than ribose.

Dicot: Also dicotyledon. A flowering plant that has two cotyledons.

Image can be found at Lab Help for Ex. 5 Green Plant - I

Digestive: Also known as the alimentary canal. Generally, a hollow muscle-lined tube that extends from the mouth to the anus of an animal. The digestion of food particles is done along this canal, with the introduction of digestive enzymes. Food in the alimentary canal is moved along by muscle contractions called peristalsis.

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. The molecule that encodes genetic material. DNA is comprised of four different nucleotide bases: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine.

Domain: The most general taxonomic division which is above kingdom.