academic: Relating to school, classes or things taught by teachers in formal institutes of learning (such as a college). biology: The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists. coral: Marine animals that often produce a hard and stony exoskeleton and tend to live on reefs (the exoskeletons of dead ancestor corals). curriculum: (plural: curricula) The official classroom materials (often readings) used to lead students through a course of study on a particular topic. DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make. environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things …