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Biology Final Exam

Terms in this set (68)

Describe seven properties common to all life.
- Order: Living cells are the basis of this complex organism
- Reproduction: Organisms reproduce their own kind
- Growth and development: Inherited information in DNA controls the pattern of growth development of all organisms.
- Energy Processing: It will use the chemical energy stored in the fish to power its own activities and chemical reactions.
- Response to the environment: All organisms respond to environmental stimuli
- Regulation: many types of mechanisms regulate an organism's internal environment.
- Evolutionary Adaptation: leaf like appearance of this katydid camouflages it in its environment.
Compare the three domains of life.
Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.

The first two are all prokaryotic microorganisms, or single-celled organisms whose cells have no nucleus. Then, All life that has a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, and multicellular organisms, is included in the Eukarya.
Describe the levels of biological organization from molecules to the biosphere, noting the interrelationships between levels.
- Biosphere: all of the environments on Earth that support life.
- Ecosystem: all the organisms living in a particular area and the physical components with which the organisms interact.
- Community: the entire array of organisms living in a particular ecosystem.
- Population: all the individuals of a species living in a specific area.
- Organism: an individual living thing,
- Organ system: several organs that cooperate in a specific function.
- Organ: a structure that is composed of tissues and that provides a specific function for the organism.
- Tissues: a group of similar cells that perform a specific function.
- Cells: the fundamental unit of life
Describe the concept of emergent properties.
It's the property where living things become more and more complex as it goes from cellular level to organ system.
(ex. humans are made of cells)
(ex. humans are made of organ system composed of millions of cells).
(Cell -> Tissue -> Organ -> Organ System -> Animal)
Define science and distinguish between a hypothesis and a scientific theory.
Science is the study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

A scientific hypthesis is an educated guess that can be tested, while scientific theories are concepts that join together well-supported and related hypotheses and is supported by a broad range of observations and experiments.
Describe the structure of a controlled experiment.
A controlled experiment is when you have a baseline to compare your other results to.

For example: Comparing the decay of teeth when soaked in coke to teeth soaked in water.
Describe the process and products of natural selection.
- Variation: Organisms (within populations) exhibit individual variation in appearance and behavior.
- Inheritance: Some traits are consistently passed on from parent to offspring.
- High rate of population growth.
- Differential survival and reproduction.
Explain how DNA determines an organism's structures and functions.
It is DNA that contains the genetic code that is used to make proteins. In turn, it is the structure of proteins that determines many of the biological functions and physical characteristics of an organism. Genesare segments of DNA.
Describe the relationship between structure and function in biology.
In biology, a key idea is that structure determines function. In other words, the way something is arranged enables it to play its role, fulfill its job, within an organism (a living thing).
Structure-function relationships arise through the process of natural selection.
Compare the dynamics of nutrients and energy in an ecosystem.
- Nutrients in an ecosystem are recycled. Nutrients in plants are eaten by animals, when animals die they are eaten by decomposers, who create nutrients for plants. It is a cycle.
- Energy in an ecosystem is inconsistent. Energy enters the ecosystem from the sun and is photosynthesized by plants, plants are eaten by animals, giving them energy, and energy is released as heat.
Describe the importance of carbon to life's molecular diversity.
Diverse molecules in cells are composed of carbon bonded to other elements.

Organic compounds contain carbon.

Carbon can bond up to four other atoms
+ can form up to four branches
Describe the chemical groups that are important to life.
There are 7 important functional groups in the chemistry of life:
Hydroxyl, Carbonyl, Carboxyl, Amino, Thiol, Phosphate, and aldehyde groups.
Explain how a cell can make a variety of large molecules from a small set of molecules.
- Dehydration reaction.

Taking an H2O molecule from a polymer chain and creating a longer polymer chain.
Define monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides and explain their functions.
- Monosaccharides: sugar monomers like glucose and fructose.
- Disaccharides: two sugars together like sucrose or lactose.
- Polysaccharides: multiple monomers together like starch
Define lipids, phospholipids, and steroids and explain their functions.
Lipids are water insoluble (hydrophobic) compounds that are important in energy storage

Phospholipids are similar to fats and are an important component of all cells

Steroids = lipids with fused ring structures
Describe the chemical structure of proteins and their importance to cells.
A protein is a polymer built from various combinations of 20 amino acid monomers

Proteins have unique structures that are directly related to their functions

Enzymes, proteins that serve as metabolic catalysts, regulate the chemical reactions within cells
Describe the chemical structure of nucleic acids and how they relate to inheritance
Phosphate group
Sugar
Nitrogenous base
Describe the importance of microscopes in understanding cell structure and function.
By using microscopes scientists were able to discover the existence of microorganisms, study the structure of cells, and see the smallest parts of plants, animals, and fungi.
Describe the two parts of cell theory.
• all living things are composed of cells
• all cells come from other cells.
Compare the structures and functions of chloroplasts and mitochondria.
Chloroplasts are very similar to mitochondria, but are found only in the cells of plants and some algae.
Like mitochondria, chloroplasts produce food for their cells. Chloroplasts help turn sunlight into food that can be used by the cell, a process known as photosynthesis
Describe the evidence that suggests that mitochondria and chloroplasts evolved by endosymbiosis.
Chloroplasts are like tiny green factories within plant cells that help convert energy from sunlight into sugars, and they have many similarities to mitochondria.
The evidence suggests that these chloroplast organelles were also once free-living bacteria.The first eukaryotic cell evolved more than a billion years ago.
Compare the structures and functions of microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules.
Microfilaments are made up of actin monomers strung together into strands and then coiled together. Polar. Use ATP to form.

Intermediate filaments are composed of many strands of fibrous subunits twisted together. They function to provide structural support for cell, anchor the nucleus, provide an adaptable connection between the cell membrane and the cytoskeleton and maintain the nuclear envelope.

Microtubules are made up of alpha and beta tubulin monomers that assemble as rings onto the + end of the tube and depolymerize at the (-) end of the tube. Polar. Use GTP to form.
Describe the fluid mosaic structure of cell membranes.
The Fluid Mosaic Model states that membranes are composed of a Phospholipid Bilayer with various protein molecules floating around within it.
The 'Fluid' part represents how some parts of the membrane can move around freely, if they are not attached to other parts of the cell.
Describe the diverse functions of membrane proteins.
For example, plasma membrane proteins carry out functions as diverse as ferrying nutrients across the plasma membrane, receiving chemical signals from outside the cell, translating chemical signals into intracellular action, and sometimes anchoring the cell in a particular location.
Define diffusion and describe the process of passive transport.
Diffusion is the spreading of something more widely.


Passive transport is the cellular process of moving molecules and other substances across membranes. Passive transport differs from active transport in that it does not involve any chemical energy.
Explain how osmosis can be defined as the diffusion of water across a membrane.
If two solutions of different concentration are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, then the solvent will tend to diffuse across the membrane from the less concentrated to the more concentrated solution.
This process is called osmosis.
Distinguish between hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solutions.
- Hypertonic solution: is the solution in which the concentration of solute is more in the outside of the cell, than inside the cytoplasm.
- Hypotonic: it is the solution in which the solutes inside the cell is more than the solutes outside of the cell.
- Isotonic: It is the solution in which the effective osmole concentration is same as the solute concentration of the cell.
Explain how transport proteins facilitate diffusion.
The diffusion of polar molecules and ions across a membrane with the aid of transport proteins, with either channel proteins or carrier proteins.
Channel proteins: Hydrophobic pathways through a membrane are provided for specific molecules, such as aquaporins, which facilitate water passage.
Distinguish between exocytosis, endocytosis, phagocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Endocytosis:
-Active transport
-Membranes fold inward to bring in large molecules by forming a vesicle
-3 different types: phagocytosis, pinocytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis

Exocytosis:
-A vesicle fuses with the membrane and expels its contents
-Used to move large molecules or large amounts of liquids
Explain how enzymes speed up chemical reactions.
Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy to speed up the reaction
Compare the processes and locations of cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis in the chloroplasts of plants converts light energy to chemical energy.
Cellular respiration in the mitochondria of eukaryotes (including plants and animals) harvest the food energy to generate ATP.
Explain how breathing and cellular respiration are related.
While photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, cellular respiration requires oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. It is the released oxygen that is used by us and most other organisms for cellular respiration. We breathe in that oxygen, which is carried through our blood to all our cells.
Explain how the energy in a glucose molecule is released during cellular respiration.
During cellular respiration, glucose is broken down in the presence of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water.
Energy released during the reaction is captured by the energy-carrying molecule ATP
Explain how redox reactions are used in cellular respiration.
The redox actions of oxidizing and reducing are used on molecules such as glucose and pyruvate through the cellular respiration process to produce ATP
Compare the reactants, products, and energy yield of the three stages of cellular respiration.
Stage 1:
"Glycolysis" breaks down glucose into two molecules of a three carbon compounds called pyruvate.
Stage 2:
"Citric Acid Cycle" takes place in the mitochondria, pyruvate oxidizes to a two carbon compound.
Stage 3:
"Oxidative Phosphorylation" the electron transport and the chemiosmosis.
Compare the reactants, products, and energy yield of alcohol and lactic acid fermentation.
Lactic Acid Fermentation- occurs in your muscles where NADH is oxidized to NAD+ and pyruvate is reduced to lactate.
Alcohol Fermentation- occurs in brewing, wine making, and baking and produces C02 and ethanol (c02 is actually the bubbles in wine/beer, releases yeast)
Explain how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are used as fuel for cellular respiration.
- Carbohydrates: glucose to pyruvate to ATP
- Fats: make cellular fuel because the contain hydrogen atoms (energy rich electrons) also make twice as much ATP the carbohydrates/ proteins
- Proteins: amino acids to pyruvate to ATP
Define autotrophs, heterotrophs, producers, and photoautotrophs.
- Autotroph: make their own food through the process of photosynthesis, sustain themselves, do not consume organic molecules derived from other organisms, are called producers because they produce food for the biosphere.

- Producers: autotrophs are the producers

- Photoautotroph: are autotrophs that use the energy of light to produce organic molecules, most plants, algae and other protists, and some prokaryotes.
Describe the structure of chloroplasts and their location in a leaf.
Chloroplasts are concentrated in the cells of the mesophyll, the green tissue in the interior of the leaf.
Thylakoid membranes also house much of the machinery that converts light energy to chemical energy.
Describe the role of redox reactions in photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
In photosynthesis water molecules are split for elections and H+ molecules and are being oxidized. CO2 is reduced to sugar as electrons and hydrogens are added to it in respiration glucose loses electrons and is oxidized and O2 gains electrons and becomes reduced.
Compare photophosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation.
Photophosphorylation: phosphorylation whose initial energy input comes from light

Oxidative Phosphorylation: is the production of ATP using energy derived from the redox reactions of the electron transport chain
Describe the reactants and products of the Calvin cycle.
Light reactions convert solar energy to chemical energy. They use light energy to drive the synthesis of two molecules: ATP and NADPH. This stage of photosynthesis does not produce sugar. The Calvin cycle makes sugar from carbon dioxide. The ATP powers the sugar synthesis and the NADPH provides the high energy electrons for the reduction of carbon dioxide to glucose.
Compare the parent-offspring relationship in asexual and sexual reproduction.
Asexual- dont need a partner (ex: plants), produces offspring that are identical to the original; basically making a clone because only one gene
Sexual- needs a partner, offspring are similar but not the same because genes are form two people 50% from each parent
Explain why cell division is essential for prokaryotic and eukaryotic life.
If the cells don't divide then they don't reproduce.
Explain how daughter prokaryotic chromosomes are separated from each other during binary fission.
Duplication of the chromosome, daughter chromosomes move to either end of the cell, elongates to twice its original size, and the plasma membrane grows inward and more cell wall is made-making two daughter cells.
Compare the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromosomes.
Prokaryotes do not have a nuclear membrane so it doesn't have to copy more stuff, but eukaryotes are more complex that have more genes on multiple chromosomes.
Prokaryotes have one single strand of DNA 1 chromosome, Eukaryotes have multiple chromosomes
Describe the stages of the cell cycle.
First formed from another cell, then divides itself.
1. Interphase: duplication of cell contacts (longest phase)

-G1: growth, increase cytoplasm

-S: duplication of chromosomes

-G2: growth, preparation for division

2. Mitotic phase: division

-Mitosis: division of the nucleus

-Cytokinesis: division of cytoplasm
List the phases of mitosis and describe the events characteristic of each phase.
Mitotic spindle: help chromosomes move within a cell, composed of microtubules.
1) Prophase: coiling chromatin, microtubules starts to make the mitotic spindle
2) Pro-metaphase: spindles are set where they need to be, then attach the sister chromatids, chromosomes move to the center of the cell and nuclear envelope disappears
3) Metaphase (middle): spindle is fully formed, all chromosomes are aligned in the center (mitotic plate/equator) kinetochores are facing the opposite directed because they eventually get pulled out
4) Anaphase: sister chromatids separated, daughter move to opposite sides, the cell elongates a bit
5) Telophase: nuclear envelope forms around chromosomes, chromatin uncoils and nucleoli reappear, the spindle disappears

- Cytokinesis: splitting of the cells (end of the duplication)
Compare cytokinesis in animal and plant cells.
Animal: cytokinesis via cleavage.
A cleavage furrow forms due to the action of actin & myosin in the contractile ring - results in the pinching of the cell into
2. Plant: cytokinesis via cell plate formation.
Describe the functions of mitosis.
The main functions of mitosis are growth and repair. Some cells once fully formed do not undergo cell division, such as nerve cells and muscle cells. Since you can never re-grow or repair these types of cells once they are mature, you must take care of the ones you have.
Explain how chromosomes are paired
The cell has two sets of each chromosome; one of the pair is derived from the mother and the other from the father.
The maternal and paternal chromosomes in a homologous pair have the same genes at the same loci, but possibly different alleles.
Describe the causes and symptoms of Down syndrome.
The most common form of Down syndrome is known as Trisomy 21, a condition where individuals have 47 chromosomes in each cell instead of 46.
This is caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction, which leaves a sperm or egg cell with an extra copy of chromosome 21 before or at conception
Describe the theory of pangenes and the blending hypothesis. Explain why both ideas are now rejected.
Pangenesis: particles from all parts of organism incorporated into eggs or sperm.
Characteristics acquired by parents through life could be transferred to offspring

Aristotle: rejected pangenesis potential to produce traits was inherited

Blending Hypothesis:Hereditary materials from male and female mix to produce offspring didn't explain traits skipping generations
Compare the structures of DNA and RNA.
DNA is a long polymer with deoxyriboses and phosphate backbone. Having four different nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.

RNA is a polymer with a ribose and phosphate backbone. Four different nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil.
Describe the process of DNA replication.
DNA is made up of a double helix of two complementary strands. During replication, these strands are separated. Each strand of the original DNA molecule then serves as a template for the production of its counterpart, a process referred to as semiconservative replication.
Describe the structure and function of ribosomes.
Ribosomes consist of two major components: the small ribosomal subunit, which reads the RNA, and the large subunit, which joins amino acids to form a polypeptide chain.

Each subunit is composed of one or more ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules and a variety of ribosomal proteins.
Diagram the overall process of transcription and translation.
In transcription, the RNA is synthesized on the DNA template. Occurs in nucleus.

Translation can be divided into 4 steps, all of which occur in the cytoplasm. The 2 ribsomal subunits come apart, and the tRNA and mRNA are released.
Describe the the regulatory mechanisms of the lac operon.
The lac operon is an inducible operon and contains genes that code for enzymes used in the catabolism of lactose
Explain how DNA is packaged into chromosomes.
- Eukaryotic chromosomes undergo multiple levels of folding and coiling called DNA packing
~ Tightly packed DNA= heterochromatin
~ Loosely packed DNA= euchromoatin
Explain how eukaryotic gene expression is controlled.
Gene expression is controlled by the frequency of transcription initiation.
Also can be controlled by splicing the exons. As well as controlling access to or the efficiency of transport channels
Explain why the development of most cancers is a slow and gradual process.
The formation of cancer is gradual and slow through the result of mutations. Proto-oncogenes must be mutated to oncogenes and knock out tumor suppressor genes
Explain how plasmids are used in gene cloning.
Plasmids are often used in gene cloning as vectors to carry genes. The plasmid is isolated and treated with the same restriction enzyme as the target gene. The plasmid will mix with the target gene and recombinant DNA molecules are produced.
Describe the basic steps of DNA profiling.
- Separate white and red blood cells with a centrifuge.
- Extract DNA nuclei from the white blood cells.
- Cut DNA strand into fragments using a restriction enzyme.
- Place fragments into one end of a bed of agarose gel with electrodes in it.
- Use an electric current to sort the DNA segments by length.
Compare the fields of genomics and proteomics.
The difference between genomics and proteomics is simple as the names sounds.
Genomics is the study of the genes in an organism while Proteomics is the study of the all the proteins in a cell.
Proteomics studies are more beneficial because proteins are the functional molecules in cells and represent actual
Distinguish between microevolution and speciation.
- Microevolution is the change in the gene pool of a population from one generation to the next.
- Speciation is the process by which one species splits into two or more species.
Describe five types of prezygotic barriers and three types of postzygotic barriers that prevent populations of closely related species from interbreeding.
For Prezygotic:
- Temporal isolation is reproductive isolation based on breeding at different times or seasons

- Habitat isolation is reproductive isolation that stems from living in different habitats

- Behavioral isolation is reproductive isolation based on the failure to send or receive appropriate signals

- Mechanical isolation ir reproductive isolation based on physical incompatibility of reproductive parts

- Gametic isolation is reproductive isolation based on incompatible gametes.

For Postzygotic:
- Reduced hybrid viability (hybrids are impaired in development or survival)

- Reduced hybrid fertility (infertile)

- Hybrid breakdown (not infertile, but continued offspring are feeble or sterile.)
Explain how reproductive barriers might evolve in isolated populations of organisms.
Organisms are not able to produce viable, fertile offspring
Explain how sexual selection can lead to speciation.
Mate choice creates a reproductive barrier that can keep gene pools separate.
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