Introduction: Biology Today

Introduction: Biology Today

Chapter 1: Introduction: Biology Today
1.

List the seven characteristics of life as it is known on Earth.

2.

Rank the levels of life from atoms and molecules to the biosphere.

3.
What is the difference between EUKARYOTES and PROKARYOTES? Classify
each of the following organisms as eukaryotic or prokaryotic: bacteria, Archaea, protists,
fungi, plants, and animals.
4.

What are the three domains of life? Which organisms belong to each domain?

5.

What are Darwin’s two main observations and his inescapable conclusion?

6.

Compare and contrast natural and artificial selection.

7.

Compare and contrast discovery science and hypothesis-driven science.

8.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

9.

What is the difference between a scientific hypothesis, theory, and law?

Chapter 2: Essential Chemistry for Biology
1.

What is matter? What are its three physical states?

2.
What is an element? How many elements occur naturally? How many are essential for life? Which 4 elements are most abundant in living things (including humans)?
What are trace elements?
3.

What are compounds?

4.

List the 3 main subatomic particles, their charge, and their location in the atom.

5.
Define the atomic number and the mass number of an atom. If given these, be
able to calculate the number of each subatomic particle.
6.

What are ions? What are ionic bonds?

7.

What are covalent bonds? What are hydrogen bonds?

8.

Explain why the covalent bonds in H2O are polar covalent bonds.

9.

What are the two components of a chemical reaction?

10.

Why do water molecules stick to other water molecules? What is surface tension?

11.

What is the relationship between solution, solute and solvent?

12.
What is an acid? a base? Complete the following sentence by circling the correct
choice or filling in the blank with the correct term: “At lower pH’s, there are more/less
(circle one) _______ (a.k.a. ________ ions) present in the solution; at higher pH’s there
are more/less (circle one) _______ present in the solution.”
13.
What is the range of the pH scale? What is the pH of pure water (a neutral solution)? What is a buffer?
Chapter 3: The Molecules of Life
1.

What are organic compounds? Why is carbon such a versatile atom?

2.

What is a hydrocarbon? What is the simplest one?

3.
What is a macromolecule? What are monomers and polymers? Which biological
molecules form polymers? Contrast dehydration reactions and hydrolysis reactions?
4.

What are the four categories of large molecules?

5.
What roles do carbohydrates play in humans? Define the terms monosaccharide,
disaccharide, and polysaccharide. Give examples of each.
6.

Define hydrophilic and hydrophobic.

7.
What characteristic do all lipids share? What is a triglyceride? What is the function of lipids?
8.

What is meant by saturated and unsaturated fats?

9.

What are steroids? Which compound are they made from?

10.

What are the functions of proteins? Give specific examples.

11.

What is a polypeptide?

12.
What basic structure do all amino acids have? How many amino acids are used to
build proteins? What type of bond links amino acids to each other?
13.

Describe the four levels of protein structure.

14.

What happens when a protein is denatured?

15.

What is the function of nucleic acids?

16.

What three parts does every nucleotide have? What are the four bases in DNA?

17.
Describe the structure of the DNA double helix. What makes up the backbone?
Which bases are bonded to each other?
18.

List the three main differences between DNA and RNA.

Chapter 4: A Tour of the Cell
1.

Give examples of unicellular and multicellular organisms.

2.

How are light microscopes used? Define magnification and resolving power.

3.

What are the three statements of the cell theory?

4.

What are the two types of electron microscopes? How is each of them used?

5.

Compare and contrast eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.

6.

What are organelles?

7.
What are the components of the cell membrane? How is the bilayer structure
formed?
8.

Describe the structure and function of the following organelles/structures:
Nucleus; Nucleolus; Ribosomes; Rough ER; Smooth ER; Golgi apparatus; Lyso -

somes;
Vacuoles; Mitochondria; Chloroplasts; Cytoskeleton; Cilia; Flagella
Chapter 5: The Working Cell
1.

Define the following terms: energy; kinetic energy; potential energy; heat; entropy

2.

What is the principle of conservation of energy?

3.

What is a calorie? What is a food calorie?

4.
What does ‘ATP’ stand for? What functional group is typically removed from
ATP (often transferred to another molecule) when it is used?

5.

List the three types of energy-requiring work that go on in cells.

6.

What is the ATP cycle?

7.
What are enzymes? How would an enzyme speed up a reaction occurring
between two starting materials? Define the terms: induced fit; active site; substrate.
8.

What determines in which direction a substance dissolved in water diffuses?

9.

What is the difference between passive transport and active transport?

10.

How is facilitated diffusion different from regular diffusion?

11.
What is osmosis? Define the terms: isotonic; hypotonic; and hypertonic medium.
What happens to an animal and a plant cell placed in each of these types of environ ments?
12.

Define exocytosis and endocytosis. What are the three types of endocytosis?

Chapter 6: Cellular Respiration: Obtaining Energy from Food
1.

Define autotroph and heterotroph.

2.
In which organelles do photosynthesis and cellular respiration occur? In which organisms?
3.

In what ways is cellular respiration similar to breathing?

4.

Write the equation that summarizes the process of cellular respiration.

5.

What is the role of NAD+? How is it related to NADH?

6.
cur?

List the three stages of cellular respiration. Where in the cell does each stage oc-

7.
Make a table in which you summarize the following information for each of these
three stages: 1) the starting material and final product (for example, glycolysis begins
with glucose and ends with pyruvate), 2) whether electron carriers are produced, 3)
whether CO2 is produced, and 4) whether ATP is produced.
8.
What happens to sugar in glycolysis, which gives this pathway its name? What
are the three different products that result from this pathway?

9.
How many cycles of the citric acid cycle are required for the complete catabolism
of one molecule of glucose? (Hint: it is important to understand how many products
come out of glycolysis per glucose.) In what way is this pathway cyclical?
10.
What is the electron transport chain? What happens to the energy of electrons as
they travel along the chain? To what form of energy do the chain molecules transfer the
energy of the electrons? How does the chain depend on oxygen?
11.
12.

What does ATP synthase do and how?
Up to how many ATP molecules can be generated via cellular respiration?

13.Which food molecules, other than glucose, can be used in cellular respiration?

14.Define fermentation. What molecule must be recycled for this process to continue
for a period of time? What byproduct is also produced during this type of fermentation?
15.What is yeast? Which type of fermentation do they perform?

16.Up to how many ATP molecules can be generated via fermentation?

Chapter 7: Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food
1.What is photosynthesis? Which organisms use it?

2.Define the following terms: thylakoid, grana, chlorophyll, stroma, stomata.

3.Write the equation that summarizes the process of photosynthesis.

4.List the two stages of photosynthesis.

5.What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

6.Describe the types of pigments found in chloroplasts.

7.What are photons? What happens when these are absorbed by chlorophyll molecules?
8.hat are photosystems? List the two types involved in the light reactions of photosynthesis.
9.Summarize how ATP and NADPH are produced during the light reactions.

10.Summarize how glucose is produced during the Calvin cycle.