BIOLOGY I – Notecard List
Objective 1 – Scientific Method – 20 notecards
- Parts of the microscope
- How to determine the magnification of a microscope
- Concave/Convex
- Purpose of the metric system
- How to use (read the fluid level) a graduated cylinder
- How to use a triple beam balance scale
- How to use a thermometer
- Relationship between Celsius, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit
- When reviewing an experiment, know the independent variable (x-axis…aka what is being tested) is in charge of the dependent variable (y-axis…aka what is measured)
- When reviewing an experiment, make sure…
- it was performed by an objective personB. the controls were properly done
- it was repeatable and/or had sufficient sample size.
- And MOST IMPORTANT, when reviewing an experiment make sure there was only one independent variable per treatment group.
- If an experiment has a “placebo,” it is used as a fake treatment to compare real treatments to.
- A hypothesis is an educated guess that can be tested. (If it cannot be tested, it isn’t valid).
- If the conclusion supports the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is true.
- If the conclusion does not support the hypothesis, then the “null-hypothesis” is true.
- A scatter-plot reports 2 sets of numerical data. Independent is X-axis, Dependent is the Y-axis.
- Pie charts are used to report percentages (the entire pie = 100%). The categories are the independent variable, and the percentage in each group is the dependent variable.
- A line graph should be used when the x-axis (independent variable) is a continuum (flows like numbers, time, weight, etc). The y-axis (dependent variable) is the measurement/result.
- A bar graph is similar to a line graph EXCEPT the x-axis on a bar graph contains categories. The y-axis (dependent variable) is the measurement.
- Variables (both independent and dependent) should be quantitative (numerical) instead of qualitative (labels) in order to 1) be accurate, 2) precise, and 3) objective (preventing bias).
Objective 2 - Chemistry of Life– 32 notecards
- Atomic charge = protons – electrons
- Ionic bonds have a transfer (or exchange) of electrons. One atom has one too many and the other has one too few…so the electron gets kicked over from one to the other.
- Covalent bonds occur when atoms share electrons. Both atoms in the bond want more atoms…so they hold onto each other’s electrons in order to fill the e- shells.
- The first e- shell holds 2 e-, the 2nd shell holds 8 e-, the 3rd shell wants 8 or 18 e- (usually 8).
- The four primary types of chemical reactions are…
A.Synthesis – joining 2 or more things together…A + B => AB
B.Decomposition – the breaking down of something into 2 or more things… AB => A + B
C.Single replacement – replacing one thing with another… AB + C => AC + B
D.Double replacement – trading… AB + CD => AC + BD
26)pH measures the amount of free Hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution.
27)pH from 0-6.999 is acidic. The lower the #, the more H+
28)pH of 7 is neutral. Water is neutral. This occurs when H+ = OH-
29)pH from 7.0001-14 is basic (aka…alkaline). The higher the number, the more OH- it has.
30)Characteristics of water…A. PolarB. AdhesionC. Cohesion
D. Hydrogen BondsE. Expands when frozenF. High specific heat
31)Macronutrients are nutrients needed in large quantities & include water, protein, carbohydrates, & fat.
32)Micronutrients- nutrients needed in small quantities, including vitamins & minerals (V&M aren’t organic).
33)Organic molecules – contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O), such as CH2O (carbohydrates), amino acids, proteins, and fats.
34)Amino Acids and their parts– see picture
35)An amine group (NH2) is a nitrogen bound to two H ions.
36)A methyl group (CH3) is a single carbon molecule bound to three H ions.
37)Lipids include fats and oils. Lipids are very energy dense (9 cal/g), hydrophobic (water fearing), which means fats do not mix with water. Fats are essential in the formation of the cell membrane.
38)Carbohydrates (CH2O) are sugars and starches, contain a carboxyl group
(COOH), and are produced by plants.
39)Monosaccharides are simple (short chain) carbohydrates.
40)Polysaccharides are complex (long chain) carbohydrates.
41)A catalyst speeds up a reaction but is not altered by the reaction. Enzymes are organic catalysts. Some enzymes put substrates together, while other enzymes take substrates apart. Temperature and pH influence enzyme activity.
42)How does pH & Temperature influence the activity rate of an enzyme?
43)ATP = Adenosine TriPhosphate (adenosine ribose w/ P:P:P).
ADP = Adenosine DiPhosphate (adenosine ribose w/ P:P)
When ATP is used a phosphate (P) molecule breaks off, creating the byproducts ADP + P. When this occurs, energy is released.
44)Photosynthesis occurs in plants and makes sugar from light
6CO2 +(6 carbon dioxide) / 6H2O
(6 water) / + solar energy
/ 6O2
(6 oxygen) / + C6H12O6
(1 sugar)
45)Cellular Respiration is the metabolism of fuel (glucose) by a cell, generally requires oxygen (O2)
6O2(6 oxygen) / + C6H12O6
(1 sugar) /
(heat is released) / 6CO2 +
(6 carbon dioxide) / 6H2O
(6water)
46)Aerobic respiration - One glucose molecule can make 36 ATP w/ O2 (oxygen)
47)Aerobic respiration requires the mitochondria (2 in cytoplasm & 34 in the mitochondria)
48)Glycolysis in cytoplasm produces 2 ATP
49)Kreb’s cycle is part of aerobic respiration in the mitochondria and makes 2 ATP
50)Electron Transport chain is in the mitochondria & produces 32 ATP (sometimes 34) molecules
51)Anaerobic respiration – One glucose molecule can only 2 ATP w/out O2 (oxygen)
52)Lactic acid is produced during anaerobic respiration, and can later be cleared with O2
Objective 3 - Ecology– 53notecards
53)Temperate grasslands - moderate rain, changing temperature and seasons, good soil, lot of grass. Grazing animals. Trees need strong roots to resist high winds & seeds need to tolerate fire. Some animals hibernate.
54)Tropical rainforests - lots of rain, high temperatures. Diverse life. Many decomposers. Nutrients are taken up quickly by the many life forms, leaving the soil low in nutrients.
55)Deciduous forests - (moderate rain, changing temperature, trees often loose leaves in winter). Many animals hibernate during the winter months.
56)Coniferous (taiga) forest – cold little rainfall. Trees have needles instead of leaves and don’t lose them in the winter. The northern most portion of this area (coldest) is called the taiga. Animals have lots of hair and big feet to walk on snow. Babies born in spring or summer.
57)Savanna – Hot and dry most of the year, but a savanna does have seasonal rainfall. (Africa)
58)Deserts - Very dry, little plant life, hot days and summers, but no water to stabilize temperature so deserts have cool nights. Organisms need to save water (scales on reptiles & wax on plants).
59)Tundra - Cold and frozen ground. There is very little or no plant life. The plants that are here must grow and reproduce quick with shallow roots because only the surface thaws. Animals are typically white and have a lot of body fat to keep warm.
60)Abiotic factors – non-living (non-organic) factors in an ecosystem (air, water, minerals, temperature)
61)Biotic factors – factors in an environment that come from organisms, such as organic matter (living organisms, plant compost/humus, animal waste, etc).
62)Ecology – The study of organisms and their environment.
63)Food chain – a simple model of feeding relationships…one way. Not accurate.
64)Food web –shows how food, matter, energy, etc cycle within an ecosystem resulting from organisms consuming each other.
65)Energy pyramid - Only 10% of the energy from each level of the energy pyramid is available to the higher levels of the pyramid. The other 90% escapes back into the environment as heat. Trophic level refers to energy level of a pyramid.
66)Producers/autotrophs – things that make their own food by capturing energy from the sun (photosynthesis) or chemicals in environment (chemosynthesis). Producers are the largest level in the energy pyramid and make up the first level.
67)Consumers/heterotrophs– all the layers of the energy pyramid EXCEPT the first. Eat to get food.
68)Herbivores – eat plants (eat “herbs).
69)Omnivores - eat many things, including plants, animals, and/or fungi
70)Carnivores eat meat/animals. “Top carnivores” are carnivores that are at the top of the energy pyramid.
71)Scavengers are opportunistic feeder that eats whatever it can find is part of their diet.
72)Decomposers break down organic matter. Fungi & bacteria.
73)Predator/Prey relationship – When prey population goes up, so does the predator. When predator population gets high, prey population drops, which then decreases the prey population. Cycle repeats.
74)Symbiosis - means “things that live together.”
75)Mutualism – occurs when organisms live together both benefit from the relationship (flowers bees).
76)Commensalism – occurs when organisms live together and one benefits & the other not affected.
77)Parasitism – occurs when one organism benefits at the expense of the other. Parasites are different than predators because predators must kill their prey while parasites don’t need to kill their host.
78)Precipitation – rain, snow, sleet, hail
79)Condensation – water droplets forming in air
80)Evaporation – from ponds, lakes, & oceans
81)Transpiration – from plants
82)Respiration – from animals breathing
83)Plants take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, while animals put it back in the air.
84)Animals take oxygen (O2) from the air, while plants put it back in the air.
85)Fossil fuels contain carbon, and when fossil fuels are burned it puts carbon back into the air.
86)Nitrogen fixation into the ground (in the form of ammonia) can occur from lightening or by bacteria in the soil or in plant roots.
87)Nitrogen (N2) gas is in the air. Non-gas (solid) forms of nitrogen are found in animal & plant proteins.
88)Nitrogen can go back into the air by denitrification or by the burning of fossil fuels.
89)Ammonia in the ground breaks down into nitrites and nitrates.
90)Succession is the progression of an ecosystem.
91)Primarysuccession is the first time an ecosystem develops (examples include the formation of new lake or an islands created by a volcanoes).
92)Secondarysuccession is the recovery of an ecosystem after some type of major interruption/disaster…such as a forest fire, pollution, or human disruption.
93)A population grows in 4 major stages. These stages include…
- Initial growth (getting started)
- Exponential growth (rapid)
- Leveling-Off growth (slowing down)
- Carrying Capacity (maximum # sustainable)
94)A climax community is fully developed community with many species. The difference between a climax community and a carrying capacity is the carrying capacity only considers one species, while the climax community includes all the species in an area.
95)Wildlife organizations list organisms with stable populations and good distribution as “non-threatened.”
96)“Threatened” species have populations that are at some risks but still have a relatively stable population.
97)“Endangered” species are at risk of going extinct because of small populations, limited distribution, and/or habitat destruction.
98)“Extinct” species are no longer believed to exist). It is important to conserve diversity of life, for many types of medicine are obtained from the great diversity of species found on earth, especially in tropical rain forests.
99)Greenhouse effect is caused by the ozone (O3) in the atmosphere blocking some of the energy from the sun (preventing extremely high temperatures during the day or summer) while also holding ontosome ofthe captured heat that did get through (which prevents extremely cold nights and winters). Helps life by stabilizing temperature on the earth.
100)Global warming is a concern that summers are getting too hot, and winters are getting too cold.
Rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are blamed for global warming. May increase severe storms.
101)Pollution comes in many forms (air, land, water, noise, etc) influences our ecosystem.
102)Preservation efforts do not allow any use of the area. No hunting, no mining, etc. Maybe hiking,
but no resources can be taken from a preservation area.
103)Conservation efforts do allow people limited use of the area and the resources in an area, but use
is carefully monitored and regulated. Some conservation areas allow hunting.
104)Air pollutionmay increases acid rain and may also play a role in destroying a healthy greenhouse
effect by decreasing ozone layers. Ozone is O3, oxygen is O2.
105)New technologycan increasing production rates, and it can increase or decrease pollution.
Objective 4 – The Cell – 69 notecards
106)ALL CELLS CONTAIN a cell membrane, cytoplasm, and ribosomes.
107)What are the three components of the cell theory…
- Cells come from pre-existing cells,
- Cells are the basic unit of life, &
- All living things are made of cells
108)Prokaryotic cells
109)Eukaryotic
110)Plant cells
111)Animal Cells
112)Nucleus
113)mitochondrion,
114)rough ER & smooth ER
115)ribosomes
116)Golgi bodies
117)Vesicles
118)Lysosomes
119)Vacuoles
120)Microtubules
121)micro-filaments
122)chloroplast
123)cytoskeleton
124)centrioles
125)nucleolus
126)chromosomes
127)nuclear membrane
128)cytosol
129)Cellular components of mobility (cilia, flagella, pseudopodia)
130)cell wall
131)cell membrane
132)active transport
133)passive transport
134)diffusion
135)osmosis
136)hypotonic solution
137)isotonic solution
138)hypertonic solution
139)Homeostasis – maintaining the same internal environment. Maintaining organization.
140)Structural levels of organization – on the state test, if you see a group of an item, go up one level.
141)Sub-atomic particles – Small particles that are (“sub”) less than an atom. Protons (positive
charge) & neutrons (neutral charge) are in the nucleus of an atom. Electrons (negative change) are in the shells.
142)Atoms – the smallest form of an element that still maintains the properties of that element.
Atoms are the basic structural component of all matter
143)Molecules – atoms joined together
144)Organelles – membrane bound structures inside the cell that perform specific.
145)Cells – the smallest and basic form of life.
146)Tissue – Groups of similar cells that work together.
147)Organ – A structure in an organism that performs a very specific function.
148)Organ system – Groups of similar organs that work together to perform a general function
149)Organism – anything that has all the characteristics of life.
150)Population – Groups of organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time.
151)Community– all the organisms/species in a given ecosystem (the same area) at the same time
152)Ecosystem – the living and non-living things in a given area.
153)Terrestrial biomes are on land,
154)Aquatic ecosystem are in water and include fresh water, salt water, and estuaries (brackish water
is located where fresh water rivers meet and mix with salt water oceans).
155)Biosphere - Living sphere or earth…a planet with life on it.
156)Plants have a vascular network (vessels that transport nutrients). The vascular tissue includes…
A) xylem for transporting water and minerals up from the roots to the leaves
B)phloem for transporting sugar down from leaves to the roots.
157)“Capillary action” occurs water comes up through “capillaries” in the plant from the roots. The
movement of the water up the stem occurs from capillary action, water goes up because of its
attraction to the cell walls (like water soaking up into a paper towel).
158)“Non-vascular plants” don’t have vessels. Mosses do not have roots or a vascular system, so they
need a film of water over them to remain hydrated.
159)Fungi and some plants (mosses and ferns) do not have seeds, but reproduce with “spores.” Spores
need a film of water to reproduce.
160)Plants with seeds(cones, flowers, or fruits) resist dehydration & don’t need a film of water.
161)Leaves are the main site of photosynthesis, which occurs in the chloroplast of the plant cells.
162)CO2enters and O2 exits through the stomata (tiny lip like
structures that open and close on the bottom of the leaf). Stomataopen/close to regulate water loss from the leaf.
163)Flowers contain stamens and anther (male parts)
164)Female flower parts include ovaries, pistil, & ovules.
165)Mitosis cell division produces 2 identical diploidcells.
166)Plants create a cell plate during telophase before forming the cell wall.
167)Events of Interphase – stage between mitotic divisions. (between mitosis).
- GAP-1 (G1) growth,
- Synthesis (S) replicates DNA,
- GAP-2 (G2) making extra organelles
168)During Prophase of mitosis - DNA condenses into chromosomes and nucleus disappears
169)Metaphase of mitosis - chromosomes line up & spindle fibers attach centrioles to centromeres
170)Anaphase of mitosis – spindle fibers pull chromosomes apart, which split into sister chromatids
171)Telophase of mitosis- cell membrane splits the cytoplasm and cell parts to complete division.
172)Asexual reproduction – cells are identical
173)Binary fission –Bacteria use this asexual form of reproduction. Is very rapid. Cells are identical.
174)Budding– uneven distribution of the cell, otherwise the cells are the same & the DNA is identical.
Objective 5 – Genetics – 64 notecards
175)Meiosis in sexual reproduction – is also known as“reductional division.” Meiosis increases
geneticvariation among offspring. Reproduction with gametes is slower than asexual means, but each individual is unique. Meiosis includes two cycles of division and therefore four haploid cells are created, with each only containing half the DNAfound in the somatic cells.
176)Haploid – contain only half of the chromosomes (one set of chromatids) for an organism. This is
the end result of meiosis for the production of sperm and eggs (gametes).
177)Diploid – contains two sets of DNA…one set from each parent’s gamete.
178)Fertilization occurs when the haploid male gamete & the haploid femalegametes join, which
creates a cell with a diploid chromosome number.
179)Crossing over increases genetic variation by producing gametes with new combinations of genes.
180)Independent assortment – The inheritance of one trait does not control the inheritance of others.
181)Linked traits are traits that tend to be inherited together.