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Selected response questions (SR)-standard multiple-choice questions with at least four foils.

Brief Constructed Response Questions (BCR)-these are short answer questions designed as single paragraph responses that take approximately 5 minutes to complete. They are graded using a 4 point rubric.

1. What are the components of the scientific process.? How is the process done? From determining the problem, through theorizing from hypotheses that have been supported by experimental data, these questions (scenario based) will test your knowledge of the process of science.

Examples:

SR a. What do scientists use as the ultimate test of the truth? In other words, what method is used to say that a hypothesis can't be disproven and must be accepted?

SR b. What is a hypothesis? Define it.

 

What kind of result must a hypothesis be able to demonstrate when it is tested?

 

SR c. What are the two specific types of errors that an investigator must be aware of in order to accurately do an experiment?

 

BCR Explain them with examples.

 

SR d. What part does observation play in planning and carrying out an experiment?

 

SR e. What is a variable? How many variables should be allowed to be a part of a well designed experiment?

 

SR f. What does it mean when an investigator says that they must, "control an experiment"? What is a control?

 

SR g. What is a theory? How are they developed?

Be able to interpret data that is interpreted through selected response questions.

 2. What is acid rain and how is it produced?

a. What is pH and how does the number scale from 0-14 describe conditions of acid or base?

 

b. What does the pH system actually measure and why is the system important to any living organisms on earth?

 

3. What possible affect could acid rain have on developing frog eggs? Some Data Analysis from the web.

 

4. Interpret two experimental scenarios that use selected response questions to evaluate your understanding of the components of an experiment. One describes a girl's attempt to determine the effect of two different food products on mice and the other uses seeds to test a variable that affects the seed's germination and growth.

BCR 5. What is the "Glue Animal" demonstration and what does it say about the characteristics of life?

 

BCR a. What are the specific characteristics that determine if a thing is living or nonliving? List them.

 

6. Scenario-based

What is the affect of ultraviolet radiation on mutations in amphibians?

 

How would amphibian mutations affect the food chain and the interactive food web? What does a food web demonstrate? Define the following terms and be able to relate them to the organisms in a food web:

a. carnivore

b. herbivore

c. omnivore

d. consumer

e. producer

f. decomposer

g. first order consumer, second order consumer, etc.

 

BCR 7. Explain the importance of peer review and replication of results in scientific investigations.

a. What is peer Review?

 

b. Why is the replication of the results in an experiment important as to the truth, or validity, of the data?

 

BCR 8. Why is it important to make the "Methods and Materials" portion of a scientific write-up very explicit and as easy as possible to understand?

 

a. How will an investigator use the Methods and Materials portion of a scientific experiment?

 

BCR 9. An experiment involving the use of a new drug on cancer cells is presented. You are asked to determine the next logical step in the scientific procedure and why you chose it.

 

a. What organisms would be used to test a new drug that might fight cancer?

 

BCR 10. A scientist is monitoring a population of fish-eating ospreys. He has found that a pesticide used by local farmers is in the body tissues of the birds and may be the cause of the decline in the osprey's numbers. The farmers can't understand how the birds acquired the pesticides when they don't live near their farms. You are asked to supply an answer for the biologist.

 1. Be able to define the following terms and use them in context;

a. prediction

b. theory

c. conclusion

d. hypothesis

e. experiment

f. qualitative data.

g. quantitative data.

h. anecdotal data. 

2. What does pattern formation have to do with determining the validity of data?

3. How does prediction figure into verifying a hypothesis?

4. BCR How is the data collected in an investigation used to get at the "truth"? Is it possible to "prove" and investigation true?

Explain your answer in a few sentences describing what the scientific method actually provides the investigator and how it would be used to identify the "truth".

5. Be able to interpret if data kept about Brother Gregory's feet, and the weather patterns, verify or negate the hypothesis that was proposed in the investigation.

6. Be able to answer True/False questions about data that was recorded during investigations of the weather conditions versus the soreness of Brother Gregory's feet, and the weather when Brother Gregory's feet are eliminated, but the temperature and air pressure are the variables.

7. BCR There is a glaring error in the Brother Gregory presentation on scientific method. The error is in not having a control in the experiment. Explain the controls that should have been in the two experiments on the weather/sore feet and air pressure/temperature.

8. Be able to design an experiment from some observations and data that will be provided for you. The investigation will involve the effect of a substance on the boiling point of water.

I. Molecules and Cells: Cells are the structural and functional units of life; cellular processes are based on physical and chemical changes.

1. Define the following terms and be able to use them in context to answer questions:

element

atomic no.

bond energy

acids

electron

empirical formula

covalent

proton

structural formula

ionic bond

neutron

compound

ionization

atomic wt.

molecule

isomers

atom

organic

inorganic

2. Use and explain the Periodic Table of the Elements.

3. Identify specific elements from their electron configurations.

4. Use a chart of atomic numbers and atomic weights to determine the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in an atom.

5. Explain electronegativity and the part it plays in forming chemical bonds.

6. Explain the differences between organic chemistry and biochemistry.

7. Identify the 6 elements that make up 96% of living matter.

8. Explain polarity/nonpolarity and the chemical characteristics of water molecules.

a. How do the unique chemical and physical properties of water make life on earth possible?

9. Explain the chemistry of a carbon atom.

a. What is the role of carbon in the molecular diversity of life?

10. Be able to identify the basic nature and differences of hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions, ionic (valent) bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds.

11. Be able to draw the hydrocarbons from methane to octane, name each molecule, and show its empirical formula.

12. Be able to draw the following functional groups.

a. amine

b. carbonyl

c. carboxyl

d. sulfhydryl

e. methyl

f. phosphate

g. hydroxyl (alcohol)

1. Define and be able to use the following terms in context to answer questions:

organic

polysaccharide

cellulose

monosaccharide

disaccharide

amylose/starch

carbohydrates

glycerol/fatty acids

hydrolysis

condensation bonds

dehydration synthesis bonds

2. Describe and explain the chemical characteristics (monomers, bonds, conformation, etc.) of carbohydrates and lipids.

a.How do the structures of carbohydrates and lipids, account for their functions?

3. Be able to draw the structural formulas for the following molecules:

linear D glucose

linear D fructose

alpha & beta glucose

amylose

cellulose

glycerol

stearic acid

oleic acid

triglyceride

phospholipid

4. Identify and explain the following chemical bonds:

a. alpha 1-4 Glycosidic Bond

b. beta 1-4 Glycosidic Bond

c. Ester Bond

 1. Define and be able to use the following terms in context to answer questions:

amino acids

polypeptide

purine

pyrimidine

DNA

double helix

RNA

A-T-C-G (Adenine-Thymine-Cytosine-Guanine)

2. Identify various depictions of proteins and nucleic acids.

3. Describe and explain the chemical characteristics (monomers, bonds, conformation, etc.) of proteins and nucleic acids

a.How do structures of proteins and nucleic acids account for their functions?

b. How do temperature and pH affect proteins?

Example: Denaturation

c. Be able to match specific proteins with their function:

Example:

transport protein-hemoglobin

storage protein-ovalbumin

defensive proteins-antibodies

 

4. Be able to draw the structural formulas for the following molecules:

general formula for any of the 20 amino acids

glycine

alanine

polypeptide

5. Identify and explain the following chemical bond:

a. Peptide Bond

6. List and explain the 4 structural and functional levels of a protein:

a. Primary

b. Secondary

c. Tertiary

d. Quaternary

7. Describe and explain the chemical nature of the nucleic acids in the following categories:

nucleotides

purines

pyrimidines

8. Identify James Watson and Francis Crick as the co-discoverers of the DNA molecule's double helical

structure

1. Determine enzyme activity from graphs describing their actions in particular situations.

2. Be able to define and use the following terms to explain enzymes:

a. catalyst

b. surface catalyst

c. substrate

d. enzyme substrate complex

e. induced fit

f. active site

g. denature

h. cofactor

i. enzyme kinetics

j. enzyme concentration

k. substrate concentration

l. competitive inhibition

m. noncompetitive inhibition

n. allosteric (other place) affector

o. coenzyme

3. Be able to answer the following question related to enzyme activity:

a. What is an enzyme?

b. How do enzymes regulate the rate of chemical reactions?

c. How does the specificity of an enzyme depend on its structure?

d. How is the activity of an enzyme regulated?

(a.) Feedback inhibition

e. What are the factors (temperature, pH, etc.) that influence the affect the action of enzymes? How do the factors affect enzyme actions?

f. What is an enzyme pathway and how are they organized?

g. What are the optimum conditions for the operation of an enzyme? The Enzkin Project

A. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

1. What are their similarities and differences?

a. Bacteria-Plant-Animal

b. Kimball-What are bacteria?

c. Kimball-Animal Cell

d. Kimball-Plant Cell

2. What are their evolutionary relationships?

a. Endosymbiosis and the Evolution of the Eukaryotic Cell

3. What is the basic history of the discovery of the cell, and how are the following individuals involved (Hooke, Schleiden Schwann) ?

• Historical Time line
• Basic Cell Biology

4. What is the Cell Theory as proposed by Rudolf Virchow?

• Cell Theory

B. Subcellular organization

Kimball-What are bacteria?

Kimball-Animal Cell

Kimball-Plant Cell

• plant cell walls composed of cellulose

5. What is the cytoplasm and how does compartmentalization organize a cell's functions?

• Basic Cell Biology
• Cells and Cell Organelles
• Cell Biology

6. How are the structures of the various subcellular organelles related to their functions?

a. What is the structure and function of the cell membrane?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

b. What is the structure and function of the nucleus and nucleolus? What are the processes of mitosis and meiosis? Mendelian genetics:a correlation of nuclear structure, function and phenotype.

• Nucleus and Nucleolus

7. What is structure and function of the Golgi apparatus?

• Golgi apparatus
• Golgi Structure and Function

8. What is the structure and function of a eukaryotic ribosome.

• Role of the ribosome
• Ribosome-Structure and Function

9. What is a lysosome's structure and function?

• Lysosome

10. What is a mitochondrion and what is the importance of compartmentalization in mitochondrial function? What is glycolysis and respiration? What is their chief product?

• Mitochondria
• Glycolysis
• Respiration

  a. Respiration occurs in the mitochondria and the process starts in the cells cytoplasm and specifically uses glucose.

  b. Oxygen is important for the breakdown of glucose for energy.

  • C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ ---------> CO₂ + H₂O

  c. Oxygen is a waste product in the process of photosynthesis.

  • CO₂ + H₂O ---------> C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂

  d. Carbon dioxide is a waste product of respiration.

11. What are the functions of the cytoskeleton?

• Cytoskeleton

12. What is a chloroplast and what is the importance of compartmentalization in chloroplast function? What is photosynthesis (Light and Dark Phases)? What is its chief product?

• Chloroplast
• Photosynthesis

13. What are the functions of the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum?

• Endoplasmic Reticulum

14. How do these organelles function together in cellular processes?

• Basic Cell Biology

15. What factors limit cell size?

a. How big..?

b. Why Most Cells are Small

16. How does Charles Darwin's natural selection explain the development and evolution of the cell?

• Explore the Theory of Evolution
• A History of Evolutionary Theory
• Evolution and Adaptation

Cell Membranes

17. What is the current model of the molecular architecture of membranes?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

18. How do variations in this structure account for functional differences among membranes?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

19. How does the structural organization of membranes provide for transport and recognition?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

20. What are the fluid properties of the cell membrane and how is membrane fluidity influenced by membrane composition?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

21. How are proteins spatially arranged in the cell membrane and how do they contribute to membrane function?

• Main Components of the Cell Membrane

22. What are passive transport, active transport, and facilitated diffusion and how do they work?

• Cell Membrane

23. What are various mechanisms by which substances cross membranes?

• Cell Membrane

1. What are the principles involved in diffusion and osmosis?

Osmosis

• What is the role of ATP in coupling the cell's anabolic and catabolic processes?
• How does chemiosmosis function in bioenergetics?

• How does photosynthesis convert light energy into chemical energy?
• How are the chemical products of the light-trapping reactions coupled to the synthesis of carbohydrates?
• What kinds of photosynthetic adaptations have evolved in response to different environmental conditions?
• Be able to answer the following specific objectives on photosynthesis that represent selected response and true and false questions on the examination.

 

• Paper and Pencil

1. What are the names of the substances needed to produce a monosaccharide in the Calvin Cycle?

2. In which metabolic pathway (photosynthesis or respiration) the following specific events occur?

a. synthesis of ATP

b. Fixing of CO₂ to make a monosaccharide.

c. Reduction of NADP⁺

d. Splitting of a water molecule

3. What are the products of the Light Reaction that are used in the Calvin Cycle?

4. What are the primary functions of the Light Reaction in photosynthesis?

5. What are the basic steps in the Light Reactions and the Calvin Cycle?

6. What happens to light when it strikes and object that allows us to see color?

7. List the end products of photosynthesis.

8. Name the groups of different ( bacteria, algae & plants) organisms are capable of photosynthesis.

9. Where in the chloroplast do the Light and Dark reactions occur?

10. What can a pigment absorption spectrum tell you about which pigment is being used and what part of the spectrum is absorbed by the pigment?

11. How many turns of the Calvin cycle are needed to produce a molecule of glucose?

 

• Computer

1. How has photosynthesis become the driving force on the planet that has allowed organisms to expand evolutionary strategies?

2. What does an inverse relationship have to do with wavelengths of light and the energy they contain?

3. What is a transducer and how does a plant qualify as one?

4. Name the two most important photosynthetic pigments that absorb red and blue light.

5. What is the molecule used in photosynthesis that releases O₂?

6. Identify the structural parts of a chloroplast and how they are used in photosynthesis.

7. What are the functions of the Calvin Cycle?

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Chapter 8: Respiration

Return to Index

• How are organic molecules broken down by catabolic pathways?
• What is the role of oxygen in energy-yielding pathways?
• How do cells generate ATP in the absence of oxygen?
• What is a substrate level phosphorylation and what is its relationship to chemiosmosis?
• What interactions exist between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
• Be able to answer the following specific objectives on fermentation and cellular respiration that represent selected response and true and false questions on the examination.

 

1. What are the endproducts of of glycolysis?

2. What is the structure of ATP and how many ATP are necessary to breakdown glucose. 

3. What is the total number of ATP produced in the complete oxidative breakdown of glucose?

4. What is the name of the cycle that produces NADH and FADH₂?

5. What is the name of the process that produces lactate or alcohol?

6. At what point in the mitochondrial process of respiration is O₂ used to produce water?

7. Where is the greatest amount of CO₂ produced in the respiratory pathway?

9. What are the food molecules that the respiratory pathway can transduce?

10. Define metabolism, catabolism and anabolism.

 

• Computer

  1. What are the functions of CO₂ and O₂ in the environment?

  2. What components make up a metabolic pathway?

  3. What are the characteristics and functions of ATP?

  4. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic?

  5. By what process in the human body are glucose and O₂ delivered to the cells.

 

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Chapter 9: The Cell Cycle, Mitosis and Meiosis

Return to Index

• The Cell Cycle
• Animal Cell Mitosis
  • a. The similarites and differences between the parent and daughter cells.
    • Examples:
      • DNA packed into chromosomes
      • number of chromosomes
      • cell volumes in parents and daughters

    b. Cancer is a cell division (mitosis) disease where cells divide at a faster than normal rate producing tumors.

    • How can aberrations in the cell cycle lead to tumor formation?
• Meiosis Tutorial
  • a. The number of chromosomes that are found in gametes (sperm or egg) and in body (somatic) cells.

    b. The importance of crossing over in meiosis I.

    c. Meiosis produces four cells unlike mitosis which produces two cells.

    d. What features of meiosis are important in sexual reproduction?

    e. Why is meiosis important in heredity?

    f. How is meiosis related to gametogenesis?

7. Be able to match the following terms to their best definitions, or descriptions:

a. somatic cells

b. gametes

c. diploid number 2N (46)

d. haploid number N (23)

e. mitosis

f. meiosis

g. telophase

h. G2 phase

i. prophase

j. S phase

k. cytokinesis

l. metaphase

m. anaphase

n. G1 phase

o. zygote

8. Be able to calculate the number of cells that would be produced by mitosis over a period of time.

9. Be able to identify the fact that during prophase of mitosis that the DNA is in an "unorganized form."

10. Be able to identify the fact that a diploid organism is reproduced from haploid gametes.

11. Be able to draw the steps of the cell cycle and describe what happens at each of these steps. Be able to explain what happens at each phase of mitosis.

12. Be able to identify the fact that meiosis involves the reduction of the chromosome number in gametes by going through two cell divisions. Recognize that crossing over occurs during the prophase I stage of meiosis.

13. Be able to identify the fact that the daughter cells produced from a parent cell in mitosis contain the same number of chromosomes as the parent, but half of the cytoplasm, or volume of the parent cell.

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Chapter 10: Molecular Genetics

1. Define and be able to use the following terms in context to answer questions:

a. transcription

b. translation

c. triplet

d. codon

e. anticodon

f. ribosome

g. DNA polymerases

h. RNA polymerases

i. DNA- 3'-5'

j. RNA 5'-3'

k. frame reading

l. introns

m. exons

n. semi-conservative replication

o. template

p. Okazaki fragments

q. lead strand and lag strand

2. What is semi-conservative replication and how does the process occur? What are the steps in the process?

3. What is transcription and how does the process occur? What are the steps in the process?

4. Explain the process of translation. What are the steps in the process?

5. Complete worksheets, and online exercises, that demonstrate the processes of transcription and translation.

• How do the structures of nucleic acids relate to their functions of information storage and protein synthesis?
• What are the similarities and differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes?

• What are some mechanisms by which gene expression is regulated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

• In what ways can genetic information be altered?
• What are some effects of these alterations?
• What is the relationship of the nitrogenous bases in DNA to each other in terms of the % composition?
• What are Okazaki fragments and what is their function in the replication process?
• What is the basic chemistry of the nucleic acids? What
  • a. bases do they contain?

    b. Categorize the bases as purines or pyrimidines.

    c. types of bonds are holding the bases and the sides of the DNA and RNA molecules together?

    d. elements make up the DNA and RNA molecules?

    e. is the structure and function of a nucleotide?

    f. enzymes service the DNA (replication/transcription) and RNA (transcription/translation) molecules ?

• How is the coded information organized grammatically and syntactically (direction of read, sequence, triplet, codon, anticodon)?
• Who are the following individuals and what was their contribution to our knowledge of the DNA molecule?
  •  a. Fred Griffith

    b. Hershey and Chase

    c. Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty

    d. Chargaff

    e. Meselson and Stahl

• How are the designations of 5'-3' /3'-5' important in the operation of the nucleic acids?
• What is the relationship of DNA, a gene, and a chromosome?
• How do you decode DNA or mRNA. How is the code organized?
• What are the differences and variations in the mRNA molecule in a prokaryotic cell and a eukaryotic cell (introns and exons)?
• How does the process of transcription and translation (initiation-elongation-termination) work?
• What is the structure and operation of a ribosome?
• What is the function of reverse transcriptase in a retrovirus?
• How bacteria gain antibiotic resistance? How do they inherit that resistance from one another?
• How does the differentiation of cells occur? What appears to be the mechanism of differentiation?
• What does the phrase, "the universal DNA code" mean?
• What is the "central dogma" in molecular biology concerning the role of DNA?

• What is the structure of viruses?
• What are the major steps in viral reproduction?
• How do viruses transfer genetic material between cells?

• What are some current recombinant technologies?
• What are some practical applications of nucleic acid technology?
• What legal and ethical problems may arise from these applications?

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Chapter 12 Test: Mendelian Genetics

Eukaryotic chromosomes

• How is genetic information organized in the eukaryotic chromosome?
• How does this organization contribute to both continuity of and variability in the genetic information?

Inheritance patterns

• How did Mendel's work lay the foundation of modern genetics?
• What are the principal patterns of inheritance?
• What is a Punnett diagram and what does it have to do with dominance, recessiveness, etc.?
• What are the definitions of the following terms associated with Mendelian genetics and how are they used to interpret problems of inheritance?
  • P1 generation

    F1, F2, etc.

    monohybrid

    alleles

    dihybrid

    dominant

    recessive

    homozygous

    heterozygous

    genotype

    phenotype

    gamete

    meiosis

    crossing over

    pedigree

    testcross

    phenotypic ratio

    genotypic ratio

    3:1 ratio

    9:3:3:1 ratio

    haploid

    diploid

    Punnett Square

• What are Mendel's Laws of Segregation and Independent Assortment?
• How does a backcoss or testcross work and when it is used by breeders?
• How do the following terms relate to Mendelian genetics?
  • incomplete dominance

    codominance

    multiple alleles

    polygenic inheritance

• What is a karyotype ?
• What are the causes and symptoms of the following genetic disorders?
  • Down Syndrome

    Sickle Cell Anemia

    Huntington Disease

    Cystic Fibrosis

    albinism

    colorblindness

    hemophilia

• How is skin color in humans related to polygenic inheritance?
• What is the diploid and haploid chromosome number in humans?
• What are the fundamentals of X-linked inheritance?
• How do you do the following Mendelian crosses andwhat would be their F1 phenotypic ratios?
  • a. Monohybrid

    b. Dihybrid

    c. Monohybrid Incomplete Dominance

    d. X-linked

    e. ABO blood types (Multiple alleles-Codominance)

  Mendelian Genetics concepts and Animations 1 through 14

  • a. What are the genotypes of males and females?

    • Males XY
    • Females XX

    b. What do the following terms mean and how are they used in genetics problems?

    • genotype-the types of genes an organism contains
      • (T-tall, t-short)
    • phenotype-the physical appearance of an organism as the result of the genotype.
      • (T genotype-tall phenotype t short phenotype)

    c. What is the genetic disease sickle-cell anemia and how is it inherited?

    d. What is Down's Syndrome? What is trisomy of chromosome 21?

• What are the current biological models for the origins of biological macromolecules?
• What are the current models for the origins of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

• What types of evidence support an evolutionary view of life?
• What are the differences between the Darwin-Wallace Theory of evolution as compared to the Lamarckian notion of the inheritance of acquired characteristics?
• How did Lamarck use the giraffe to explain the inheritance of acquired characteristics? What is the difference between genetically inherited traits and inheriting acquired characteristics?.
• What was the state of reproductive and genetic knowledge in Darwin's day?
• How did the work of Charles Lyell change the notion that the earth was 6,000 years old?
• What does it mean when evolution is defined as a genetic change in the makeup of a population?
• What is a homology and what do they have to do with evolution and comparative anatomy?
  • Ex. the wing of a bat and the arm of a human. Gill slits in reptile and bird embryoes.
• How did Darwin incorporate the Uniformitarianism ideas of Hutton and Lyle into his theory of evolution?
• What were the 5 premises that Darwin gave for the existence of Natural Selection?
• How did the writings of Thomas Malthus first influence Darwin and his Theory of Natural Selection?
• How did morphology and anatomy influence the classification system of Linnaeus?
• What factors about the etiology of the peppered moth make it an example of microevolution?
• How do different environments appear to influence an inherited trait?
• What is Darwin's gradualism and how did Darwin use it to explain how species adapt to changing environments?
• How does the fossil record support the theory of evolution.
• What are the current arguments about the mechanism of evolutionary change?
• How do biogeography, molecular biology, taxonomy, and paleontology all contribute to the theory of evolution?

• What is the role of natural selection in the process of evolution?
• How are heredity and natural selection involved in the process of evolution?
• What mechanisms account for speciation and macroevolution?

• What different patterns of evolution have been identified and what mechanisms are responsible for each of these patterns?

   

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  1. Explain how the histories of Earth and life are inseparable.

  2. Describe the major events in Earth's history from its origin up to about 2 billion years ago. In particular, note when Earth first formed, when life first evolved, and what forms of life existed up until about 2 billion years ago.

  3. Describe the timing and significance of the evolution of photosynthesis.

  4. Describe the timing of key events in the evolution of the first eukaryotes and later multicellular eukaryotes. Describe the snowball-Earth hypothesis.

  5. Describe the timing of key evolutionary adaptations as life colonized land.

  6. Contrast the concept of spontaneous generation and the principle of biogenesis. Describe the biogenesis paradox and suggest a solution.

  7. Describe the four stages of the hypothesis for the origin of life on Earth.

  8. Describe the contributions that A. I. Oparin, J. B. S. Haldane, and Stanley Miller made toward developing a model for the abiotic synthesis of organic molecules. Describe the conditions and locations where most of these early organic reactions probably occurred on Earth.

  9. Describe the evidence that suggests that RNA was the first genetic material. Explain the significance of the discovery of ribozymes.

  10. Describe how natural selection would have worked in an early RNA world.

  11. Describe the key properties of protobionts in the evolution of the first cells.

  12. Describe the evidence that suggests that life first evolved on the sea floor near deep-sea vents.

  1. Explain how advances in recombinant DNA technology have helped scientists study the eukaryotic genome.

  2. Describe the natural function of restriction enzymes.

  3. Explain how the creation of sticky ends by restriction enzymes is useful in producing a recombinant DNA molecule.

  4. Outline the procedures for cloning a eukaryotic gene in a bacterial plasmid.

  5. Describe the role of an expression vector.

  6. Explain how eukaryotic genes are cloned to avoid the problems associated with introns.

  7. Describe two advantages of using yeast cells instead of bacteria as hosts for cloning or expressing eukaryotic genes.

  8. Describe three techniques to aggressively introduce recombinant DNA into eukaryotic cells.

  9. Define and distinguish between genomic libraries using plasmids, phages, and cDNA.

  10. Describe the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and explain the advantages and limitations of this procedure.

  11. Explain how gel electrophoresis is used to analyze nucleic acids and proteins and to distinguish between two alleles of a gene.

  12. Describe the process of nucleic acid hybridization.

  13. Describe the Southern blotting procedure and explain how it can be used to detect and analyze instances of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

  14. Explain how RFLP analysis facilitated the process of genomic mapping.

  15. List the goals of the Human Genome Project.

  16. Explain how linkage mapping, physical mapping, and DNA sequencing each contributed to the genome mapping project.

  17. Describe the alternate approach to whole-genome sequencing pursued by J. Craig Venter and the Celera Genomics company. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of public and private efforts.

  18. Describe the surprising results of the human genome project.

  19. Explain how the vertebrate genome, including that of humans, generates greater diversity than the genomes of invertebrate organisms.

  20. Describe what we have learned by comparing the human genome to that of other organisms.

  21. Explain the purposes of gene expression studies. Describe the use of DNA microarray assays and explain how they facilitate such studies.

  22. Explain how in vitro mutagenesis and RNA interference help to discover the functions of some genes.

  23. Define and compare the fields of proteomics and genomics.

  24. Explain the significance of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the study of the human genome.

  25. Describe how DNA technology can have medical applications in such areas as the diagnosis of genetic disease, the development of gene therapy, vaccine production, and the development of pharmaceutical products.

  26. Explain how DNA technology is used in the forensic sciences.

  27. Describe how gene manipulation has practical applications for environmental and agricultural work.

  28. Describe how plant genes can be manipulated using the Ti plasmid carried by Agrobacterium as a vector.

  29. Explain how DNA technology can be used to improve the nutritional value of crops and to develop plants that can produce pharmaceutical products.

  30. Describe the safety and ethical questions related to recombinant DNA studies and the biotechnology industry.

1. Be cognizant of the importance of vocabulary throughout the test. All of the questions will use specific terms that express each aspect of the areas that have been studied this semester. Terms describing osmosis, evolution, biochemistry, molecular and Mendelian genetics, mitosis, meiosis, cell cycle, cell structure and function, environment, etc. Be sure to review your notes, and text, to refresh your memory as to the definition and contextual usage of each of the terms from each of the areas covered.

2. Be able to interpret data presented to you in scenario form containing text, drawings, graphs or charts.

Example:

-Identifying the parts of things.

-Charts that contain specific information about some

function of a living thing that requires interpreting.

-Using graphics to describe a function that is to be

identified. 

3. Be able to analyze scientific data presented in various forms and draw conclusions from the results.

4. Be able to identify conditions necessary to run a controlled experiment.

5. Be able to identify the factors that would be used to configure a classification system.

Examples:

Evolution

Physical characteristics

6. Be able to solve several problems that involve hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic osmotic situations and gradient movement.

7. Be able to solve problems that involve the use of natural selection in understanding how organisms evolve.

Example:

Peppered moth

8. Be able to identify the major differences between prokaryotic (bacteria and cyanobacteria) and eukaryotic cells (plants and animals) and the names of certain cell structures (mitochondria, ER, etc.) and relate them to their functions.

-Golgi Apparatus

-Golgi Apparatus

-Endoplasmic Reticulum

Endoplasmic Reticulum

-Cytoskeleton

• Cytoskeleton

-Cell Membrane

Main Components of the Cell Membrane

Cell Membrane

-Receptors

Mediated Endocytosis

-Endocytosis-Exocytosis - into a cell/out of a cell

 

9. Be able to identify the stages and what happens at each phase of MITOSIS, MEIOSIS, and the CELL CYCLE.

Examples:

Inter, Pro(chromosomes appear), Meta, Ana, Telo

Pro I (crossing over)-Pro II, etc.

M,G1,G2,S (replication)

10. Be able to relate the production of energy in living things to a molecule of ATP.

11. Be able to describe and identify the chracteristics of an enzyme and its operational parameters.

Examples:

Temp.

pH

Concentration

12. Be able to draw and name the empirical formulas, and structural formulas (structural isomers) of the hydrocarbons from methane to octane.

13. Be able to draw and identify the characteristics (polar, acid,etc.) all of the functional groups used as components of the carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Examples:

methyl

carboxyl

amine, etc.

14. Be able to identify the empirical and structural formulas of all of the main biochemical monomers and polymers (carbs, lipids, proteins, & nucleic acids). Identify the names and structures of the bonds that hold polymers together (glycosidic, peptide, etc.).

15. Identify the structural characteristics of proteins and how the affect the type of protein that the become (Primary, Secondary, etc.).

16. Be able to describe the structure and function of the DNA, mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA and the processes of transcription and translation.

17. Be able to relate the primary structure of proteins to the coding inherent in a gene. Identify how the DNA code becomes the sequence of amino acids in a protein and the evolutionary effect of mutations. Relate how the primary sequence of a protein can be indicative of close or distant evolutionary relationship between organisms.

18. Be able to identify the significance of Darwin's theory concerning the evolution of life on earth.

1. Darwin's explanation that natural selection is a process working on populations of organisms. Each organism phenotypically displays variations that may or may not be conducive to reproductive success. These differences are the cornerstone of evolution and refelect a system of inheritance that generates these variations through a mechanism that he did not understand.

- Natural selection is falsifiable, but not provable.

- Evolution is the major unifying theme in biology.

-Evolution replaced Lamarck's hypothesis:

Phenotypes can be acquired through interactions with the environment

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

-Evolution explains diversity in the fossil record.

-Evolution provides a basis for organizing biological knowledge (classification.

-Insecticide and atibiotic resistance

-Traits must be inherited to be affected by natural selection.

-Peppered Moth Problem

-Darwin's Pond

19. Be able to relate the interrelationship of respiration and photosynthesis in the production of energy on earth.

-Chloroplast - the organelle in plant cells that is reponsible for thr process of photosynthesis. The chloroplast is a transducer that coverts light energy into chemical bond energy. Enzyme pathways found in the chloroplast direct the capturing and conversion of photon energy into the chemical bond energy found in ATP ( adenosine triphosphate). The process involves a Light Phase that produces ATP and a Dark Phase that fixes carbon, from carbon dioxide, and makes a molecules of monosaccharide (glucose). The overall empirical chemical reaction is shown below.

6CO₂ + 6H₂O --------> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Chloroplast

• Photosynthesis

-Mitochondria - this organelle is found in all eukaryotic cells, both plant and animal, and is a membrane bound vesicle that contains the enzyme pathways of respiration. Respiration is supported by an aneroboc enzyme pathway in the cytoplasm called the glycolytic pathway. This pathway converts glucose molecules entering a cell into pyruvic acid which is then transported into the mitochondria to under the final conversion into carbon dioxide and water and ATP. The process is esentially the reverse of photosynthesis. The empirical formula for respiration is shown below:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ --------> 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + 36 ATP

• Mitochondria
• Glycolysis
• Respiration

20. Be able to use Mendelian terms to identify the characteristics of specific phenotypes and genotypes (homozygous, recessive, etc.). Be able to do specific genetic problems involving monohybrid dominant-recessive crosses, monhybrid codominant crosses, dihybrid crosses, carrier crosses, and sex-linked crosses.

1. The gene-chromosome theory best explains Mendel's Laws:

-Law of Segregation

-Law of Independent Assortment

2. Mendelian genetics has a diverse vocabulary. Here are some of the terms necessary to understand how the inheritance of Mendelian traits occurs:

-phenotype

-genotype

-phenotypic ratio

-genotypic ratio

-homozygous

-heterozygous

-dominant

-recessive

-F₁

-incomplete dominance

-sex-linked

-monohybrid cross

-dihybrid cross

-Punnett Square

3. Monohybrid Crosses/Dihybrid Crosses

Rabbits

B-black

b-brown

S-spotted

s-solid

4. Brown Spotted X ? solid coat

 

5. Yellow guinea pigs X white = cream 1:2:1 (incomplete dominance)

 

6. Black male rat who had a white mother X and black female rat who had a white father

-phenotypic and genotypic ration of F₁

7. YyDd X yyDd (Phenotypic Ratio)

-Y yellow

-y green

-D disk

-d sphere

8. Sex-linked

-hemophilia

 21. Be able to relate the operations of the ecosystem to biospheres, communities, producers, consumers, food chains, and food webs.