• Copy and paste these objectives into a word processing program and use them as your guide to the textbook and all of your online resources.
• Answer the objective questions using your word processing program and use the finished document as your study guide for each of the section examinations.
• Use the finished document to direct the questioning/recitation sessions in your Study Group.

1. What are the characteristics of living things?

2. What is homeostasis? Define and identify cases of homeostasis.

3. What are some characteristics that classify organisms into specific domains and kingdoms?

4. Define the following terms:

a. metabolism

b. photosynthesis

c. evolution

d. metabolism

e. homeostasis

f. adaptation

5. Identify the following people and their contributions to the study of life.

a. Charles Darwin

b. Carolus Linnaeus

c. Gregor Mendel

d. Aristotle

6. What are the categories for classifying and naming an organism from kingdom to species?

7. What are the unifying themes of biology?

8. What are the differences between inductive and deductive reasoning, an hypothesis, a theory or principle, descriptive research, the features that characterize the process of science and the components of a controlled experiment?

9. List the common elements that compose living matter.

10. What are the characteristics of elements (atoms/isotopes/ions); structure (nuclear and orbital), subatomic particles, atomic number, mass number, the energy level locations of the electrons, and the structure and formation of molecules?

11. What are the characteristics of a chemical equation?

12. What are the characteristics of chemical bonds (ionic, covalent), hydrogen bonds, and how the location of electrons affects the formation of chemical bonds?

13. Describe the basic chemical properties of the carbon atom.

14. Define oxidation and reduction as they relate to the movement of electrons and hydrogen.

15. What are the properties of water (polarity, solubility, adhesion, cohesion, etc.)?

16. What is pH and how it is related to the dissociation or ionization of water?

17. What is the pH scale? Describe it.

18. What is a buffer ?

19. Identify the pH's of some simple substances. (vinegar, carbonated soda, pond water, etc.)

20. Describe the hydrocarbons from Methane to Octane.

21. What are some of the differences between basic organic chemistry and biochemistry?

22. Describe the functions of the following monomers and polymers :

a. monosaccharides-polysaccharides

b. glycerin and fatty acids-triglycerides (lipids)

c. 20 amino acids-polypeptides (proteins)

d. nucleotides-DNA & RNA (nucleic acids)

23. What are the chemical properties of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids?

24. What are the names and the type of chemical bonds that connect the monomers of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids together and break them apart ?

25. Describe the structure and function of various carbohydrates (starch, cellulose, glycogen, chitin).

26. What are the structural and functional differences between various lipid polymers such as saturated triglycerides, unsaturated triglycerides , steroids and phospholipids?

27 Explain each of the following structural characteristics of a protein molecule:

a. Primary Structure

b. Secondary Structure

c. Tertiary Structure

d. Quaternary Structure

28. How do the structural characteristics of a protein (fibrous or globular ) explain the following functions:

a. Support

b. Enzymes-catalytic properties

c. Transport

d. Defense

e. Hormones

f. Motion

29. How does the globular structure of a protein affect its functional properties?

30. How does the denaturation and the renaturation of a protein affect its functional properties?

31. What are the structural characteristics of the nucleic acids?

32. Describe the functions and characteristics of the following nucleic acid components:

a. the sugars (deoxyribose and ribose),

b. the phosphate molecule

c. the nitrogenous bases (A,T,C,G,U)

d. the nucleotides of the nucleic acids

e. hydrogen bonds

33. What is complementarity?

34. Identify the structural formula of monomers or polymers of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins or nucleic acids.

35. What is an ATP molecule and what is its function in biological systems?

Brief Response Questions

1. Is there evidence of life having once been on Mars? What factors would you look for to determine if life has been, or is currently present on the red planet?

2. What are some of the reasons why science limits its studies to the natural world and not to the questions of theology and the supernatural?

1. What are the specific statements that make up the cell theory?

2. List all of the cell parts and describe their function.

3. List the names and contributions of early microscopists.

4. What are the structural and functional differences between plant and animal cells?

5. What are the structural and functional similarities between plant and animal cells?

6. What are the structural and functional differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

7. What are the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes?

8. What are the relationships and interactions between cellular organelles?

Examples:

-What is the relationship between a lysosome and the Golgi complex?

-In which type of cells are vacuoles predominantly found?

9. What are the chemical components and functions of the cell membrane?

10. What are the circumstances under which things enter and leave through the cell membrane?

Examples:

-What affect does the size of a molecule have on whether or not it can enter a cell?

-What factors of cell membrane structure has spawned the name fluid mosaic membrane?

-What is the orientation of the phospholipids in the cell membrane?

-What are the functions of the proteins in the cell membrane?

11. What are glycoproteins and how do they create blood types?

12. Define and explain passive diffusion.

13. What is osmosis and what are the principles that explain the process?

14. Define and explain active transport.

15. What is turgor pressure and what does it have to do with the structure of green plants?

16. What are the principles that explain the effect of osmosis on cells placed in isotonic, hypertonic, or hypotonic solutions?

17. How do the prefixes iso, hyper, and hypo explain the concentration of a solute in a solution?

18. What is the Na/K pump and how does it work?

19. Define the following terms and provide an example of each of them:

a. facilitated transport.

b. active transport.

c. cotransport.

d. endocytosis.

e. exocytosis.

f. pinocytosis.

20. Describe and explain the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics.

21. What are the characteristics of an enzyme?

Examples:

-What are the effects of changing the temperature, pH, concentrations of substrate and enzyme on the rate of reaction and hence the eventual end reaction of enzyme systems?

-What do the suffixes -ase, -ose, etc. have to do with identifying specific molecules?

-Do enzymes lower the amount of activation energy needed to cause a chemical reaction to occur?

-How does the enzyme-substrate complex work to create a chemical reaction?

-What is a coenzyme and how does it work?

22. What are endergonic and exergonic chemical reactions?

23. Where you would find an electron transport system in a cell and what do they do?

24. What is the function of ATP?

Short answer questions

1. Describe several major differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Mention the nucleus, the differences in cell division, and any other important features.

2. What is osmosis? Explain how the concentration of solute (tonicity) affects the flow of water into and out of a cell.

3. What do the terms hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic have to do with the movement of water and solutes across the plasma membrane?

4. What is active transport? How is it used in the cell?

5. Explain the following formula: Be specific. State what each part means, and include definitions.

E + S ------> ES-------> E + EP

6. What is the first law of thermodynamics and give an example?

7. What is the second law of thermodynamics and give an example?

1. What are the names of the reactants and products of photosynthesis?

2. What are the names of the groups of organisms that are capable of photosynthesis.

3. What is the action spectrum of photosynthesis and how do the peaks on the graph, for a specific plant, correlate to the oxygen production in the same plant?

4. What are the names of the important photosynthetic pigments found in plants?

5. What causes most plants to appear to be green in color?

6. What are the names all of the parts in a chloroplast? What are their functions?

7. Where are each of the components of the photosynthetic process located in the cloroplast? What are the functions of each of the components of the photosynthetic process?

Ex. Where is the cytochrome system and what does it do?

8. What is the function of ATP? How is the terminal phosphate used to activate molecules?

9. What is and what isn't a coenzyme?

10. Which organelles in a eukaryotic cell contain ATP synthase complexes?

11. What is the name of the energy molecules produced during the light phase of photosynthesis?

12. What is a photon? What are its properties? What is its function in photosynthesis?

13. What is the order of the various wavelengths of light from shortest to longest in the visible spectrum?

14. What are Photosystems I & II?

15. What is the function of H+ (protons) in the process of synthesizing ATP?

16. What is the Calvin cycle and its reactants and products?

17. What molecule is the most common monosaccharide made by plants?

18. What are the names of some C3, C4, and CAM plants? What is different about the way the C3, C4, and CAM plants carry out their Dark Phases?

19. What type of plants are the C3 plants?

20. How many ATP (total number) are produced in the glycolytic and respiratory pathways?

21. What are the the products and the function of the transition reaction?

22. What is the Kreb's Cycle and what does it do?

23. What is the purpose of glycolysis? What is the purpose of respiration?

24. What are the differences between glycolysis and fermentation?

25. What is the function of the electron transport system?

26. Where is each component of the metabolic pathways of glycolysis, respiration and photosynthesis found in a eukaryotic cell?

27. How is ATP produced in to the process of chemiosmosis?

28. What is oxygen's function in the chloroplast and mitochondria?

29. What is the chemical components of Acetyl-CoA?

30. Where is the CO2 that we exhale produced in the metabolic pathways of glycolysis and respiration?

31. Where do fatty acids enter the metabolic pathway of respiration?

32. What happens to an electron after it passes through the electron transport system and reenters the matrix of the mitochondria?

Short Answer Question

• Compare and contrast the organelles and processes of photosynthesis and respiration.

1. What is the function of mitosis in multicellular organisms?

2. What are the three statements that compose the cell theory?

3. What are the similarities and differences in the chromosomes of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

4. What is the name of the region in a prokaryotic cell where the genetic information is found?

5. What are the definitions of haploid and diploid?

6. Describe and explain each of the phases of mitosis.

7. Diagram, describe and explain each of the events that occur in the cell cycle.

8. Describe and explain the cytokinesis and the karyokinesis in eukaryotic cells.

9. What are the names of the fertilized and unfertilized cells of muticellular organisms?

10. Explain and describe the phases and purpose of meiosis.

11. What are the specific events that make the Prophase of Meiosis I different from the events in the Prophase of Mitosis?.

12. What are the events that occur in the metaphase of Meiosis I & II?

13. What is the chiasma?

14. What is the function and of crossing over? How does it occur?

15. Compare and contrast the events in the phases of Meiosis II to the events in the phases of Mitosis.

16. What are gametes?

17. What is the process of fertilization? What is its purpose? 

18. How did Mendel's background in math and probability contribute to his discovery of the laws of inheritance?

19. Explain Flemming Jenkins' "Blending theory "of inheritance?

20. Define and use the terms below to interpret problems of inheritance associated with Mendelian genetics.

• P1 generation
• F1, F2, etc.
• monohybrid
• alleles
• dihybrid
• dominant
• recessive
• homozygous
• heterozygous
• genotype
• phenotype
• testcross
• phenotypic ratio
• genotypic ratio
• self-pollinate
• cross-pollinate
• 3:1 ratio
• 9:3:3:1 ratio
• haploid
• diploid
• autosomes
• sex chromosomes 

21. What are Mendel's Laws of Segregation and Independent Assortment? Explain them using examples.

22. What is a backcoss or testcross, how does it work and when it is used by breeders?

23. Define and use the terms below to interpret problems of inheritance associated with Mendelian genetics.

• incomplete dominance
• codominance
• epistasis
• pleiotropy
• multiple alleles
• polygenic inheritance

24. What is a karyotype? How is one made?

25. What are the causes and symptoms of the following genetic disorders: 

• Down Syndrome
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Marfan's syndrome
• Klinefelter syndrome
• Turner syndrome
• triple -X (XXX)
• Huntington Disease
• Tay-Sachs Disease
• Cystic Fibrosis
• neurofibromatosis
• phenylketonuria
• albinism
• pattern baldness
• colorblindness
• hemophilia
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

26. How is skin color in humans related to polygenic inheritance?

27. What is the diploid and haploid chromosome number in humans?

28. What is the meaning of the phrase "X-linked inheritance?"

29. What are the differences between X-linked traits and autosomal traits?

30. What is a genetic translocation?

31. What do base triplets have to do with fragile X syndrome?

32. What are the procedures involved in completeing the four Mendelian crosses listed below. How would each of their F1 phenotypic ratios be expressed?

a. Monohybrid

b. Dihybrid

c. Monohybrid Incomplete Dominance

d. X-linked

Short Answers Questions

• Describe the process of Mitosis. (Include diagrams of the phases)
• Compare and contrast Mitosis and Meiosis. (Include diagrams of the phases)
• Explain the relationship between genotype and phenotype. 

1. What are the major functions of genetic material? Mader e-Learning session on Chapter 14-#1

2. What were the factors that prevented DNA from being considered a good candidate for the genetic material in the early part of this century?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/15/concept/index.html

3. What causes bacterial transformation?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/17/concept/index.html

4. What is the name of the man who proved that DNA was the molecule that caused transformation?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/17/concept/index.html

5. How was sulfur and phosphorus used in the Hershey-Chase experiment that determined that DNA, and not protein, is the genetic material?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/18/concept/index.html

6. What is the chemical components of DNA and RNA? Explain what the following phrases have to do with the structure and function of DNA and RNA?

a. complementarity of the bases

b. percent composition of the bases

c. Linus Pauling's version of the DNA molecule

d. messenger RNA

e. transfer RNA

f. ribosomal RNA

g. the first deciphered RNA code word

h. different bases in DNA and RNA

i. introns and exons

j. triplets-codons-anticodons 

7. What is the name of the woman given credit for the x-ray crystallographic data used by Watson and Crick to determine the shape of the DNA molecule?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/19/concept/index.html

8. What is the process of semiconservative replication in DNA? What's a template and how it it used in DNA replication?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/20/concept/index.html

DNA Replication Animation

9. How long does the replication process generally take in eukaryotes?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/20/concept/index.html

10. What are repetitive sequences in DNA? What is their function?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/31/concept/index.html

11. What is the name of the man who used the phrase "inborn error of metabolism?"

11. What was the organism used by Beadle and Tatum in their "one gene-one enzyme experiment?"

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/16/concept/index.html

12. What part does electrophoresis play in the examination of sickle cell hemoglobin and normal hemoglobin?

13. What are transcription and translation? How do they work?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/21/concept/index.html

Transcription Animation

Translation Animation

14. What is the importance of ribozyme in explaining the origin of the genetic material used by early organisms on the planet?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/26/concept/index.html

15. What is the structure of the genetic code and how does it work in the production of a protein?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/22/concept/index.html

16. What are the events in the initiation-elongation-termination of protein synthesis?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/23/concept/index.html

Translation Animation

17. What is the basic structure and operation of the lac operon?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/33/concept/index.html

18. What is the difference between euchromatin and heterochromatin?

http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/29/concept/index.html

19. What are the definitions of the following terms and how are they used in explaining the disease of cancer?

• contact inhibition
• metastasis
• carcinogens
• oncogenes
• malignant
• benign

*20. What is the function of a vector in genetic engineering?

*21. What are the definitions of the following terms and how are they used in genetic engineering ?

• restriction enzymes
• ligases
• polymerase chain reaction
• transgenic organisms
• retroviruses
• gel electrophoresis

*22. The following substances are products of genetic engineering. What do they do?

• human growth hormone
• insulin
• tissue plasminogen activator
• clotting factor VIII

23. Does today's Theory of Evolution agree with Darwin's description of the process that he described as "descent with modification?"

24. What do the early notions of "fixity of species" and " a scala naturae" have to do with evolution?

25. How the contributions made by Cuvier, Lamarck, Lyell , Hutton, and Alfred Russell Wallace affect the development of the evolution theory?

25. What is the importance of the tortoises and finches of the Galapagos Islands in the development of Darwin's theory of evolution?

26. What is the importance of homologous structures in comparative anatomy as evidence of evolution?

27. Define the following terms:

• population
• mutation
• trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome)

28. What is the explanation for organisms like the coelacanth not changing for such long periods of time?

 

Short Answer Questions & Worksheets

Complete a Replication and a Transcription-Translation Worksheet Problem

Briefly describe Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection and how it can affect a population of organisms over a period of time.

Describe the evidence that showed that the transforming substance in bacteria was DNA.