Name ______Date ______Period ______
Biology Semester Final
Study Guide
Chapter 1: Biology: The Study of Life
1. What are the characteristics that scientists use to define a living organism? Define each characteristic.
2. Identify the manipulated, responding, and controlled variable(s) in each experiment.
Scientists were trying to determine if junk food would cause a mouse to gain weight. The diet of mice was varied. Some mice were given junk food. Others were given Mouse Chow. The mice were weighed daily. All mice were the same sex, the same age and the same type of mouse.
· Manipulated Variable =
· Responding Variable =
· Controlled Variable =
· Constants =
A scientist was trying to determine if the shape of hot air balloons would affect how high they went. The shape of 10 hot air balloons was varied. Some were oval; some were round. The altitude (how high they went) was measured. The scientist tested them on the same day so the weather conditions would be the same. The balloons were all the same size.
· Manipulated Variable =
· Responding Variable =
· Controlled Variable =
· Constants =
·
Chapter 2: Principles of Ecology
3. Define the terms:
a. Biosphere ______
b. Ecosystem ______
c. Community ______
d. Population ______
4. Fill in the chart for the different relationships that two organisms can have with each other in a community.
5. When two different bird species temporarily occupy the same niche, they would most likely
a. change their nesting behaviors
b. not affect one another
c. interbreed to form a new species
d. compete with one another
Explain your answer:
6. Create a food web or food chain to help put the following events in the most probable order.
a. Predatory birds poisoned by insecticide.
b. Trees sprayed with insecticide.
c. Earthworms eat leaves, which fall from trees.
d. Predatory birds eat small birds.
e. Beetles damage trees by spreading a virus.
f. Insecticide absorbed by tree leaves.
g. Small birds eat earthworms.
7. The figure below shows three simple food chains for land production.
· In which of the three situations is the most energy available to people? Explain.
· What percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next? Where does the lost energy go?
8. The carbon atoms in gasoline were originally carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Draw the carbon cycle to help trace the carbon atoms from CO2 in the atmosphere to octane (C8H18) in gasoline. Make sure to label the major processes that move carbon through the ecosystem. Include as many steps and as much detail as you can.
· What is the impact of combustion on the carbon cycle?
· What is the impact of deforestation on the carbon cycle?
Chapter 4: Population Biology
9. Why does the exponential growth curve produce a “J-shaped” curve instead of a straight line?
10. Why is an exponential growth curve rarely seen in nature? Give examples of when it is likely to occur.
11. What types of environmental and population factors would regulate population size?
12. What happens to a population when the number of individuals approaches carrying capacity?
13. What are some human activities that decrease our own carrying capacity further?
14. Recently, the bison population in Yellowstone National Park declined significantly. This was due in part to a particularly harsh winter. State some reasons why a harsh winter would have this negative effect on the bison population.
Chapter 6: The Chemistry of Life
15. According to the periodic table, the atom of what element has 4 protons, 5 neutrons, and 4 electrons?
a. beryllium b. boron c. fluorine d. aluminum
16. Use a periodic table to determine how many of the following a neutral atom of Carbon has:
Protons ______Neutrons ______Electrons ______
How many electrons can it share to form bonds? ______
Draw a picture of the atomic structure of carbon to the side à
17. Label and briefly explain the types of bonding shown in these two diagrams.
18. What is a hydrogen bond? How does it form and how is it different from a covalent bond?
19. Why is H bonding so important to water’s properties? Draw a hydrogen bond between two water molecules.
20. Define polarity and explain why water is a polar molecule. Draw water as a polar molecule.
21. List the PROPERTIES OF WATER, explain what occurs in each.
A. ______/ B. ______C. ______/ D. ______
E. ______/ F. ______
22. Fill in the blanks for the measurements of the pH scale using the following terms: acidic, basic, neutral
1-6 = ______7 = ______8-14 = ______
23. Consider the graph. Which statement best summarizes the information in the graph?
a. The cells survive best under acidic conditions.
b. The cells survive best under basic conditions.
c. These cells would survive better in distilled water.
d. The survival of these cells does not affect pH.
24. Ethanol burns in the presence of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water as shown by the equation:
Circle the reactants and underline the products in this equation.
25. Fill in the blanks for the following information on macromolecules. ** Use your yellow table ****
Carbohydrates Elements:______Building Blocks: ______
Functions:
Examples:
Draw it: / Lipids Elements:______
Functions:
Building Blocks: ______
Examples:
Draw it:
Proteins Elements: ______
Building Blocks: ______
Functions:
Examples:
Draw it: / Nucleic Acids Elements: ______
Building Blocks: ______
Function: ______
Examples:
Draw it:
Chapter 7: A View of the Cell
26. What happens when a collection of phospholipids molecules are placed in water?
27. The cell membrane is selectively permeable. What does that mean?
· Which molecules easily cross the membrane?
· How are molecules transported that do not easily cross the membrane?
28. What are the three features all cells have in common?
29. Compare and contrast the structures of plant and animal cells.
30. What are the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
31. Explain how the following organelles work together to perform the life functions of the cell.
· Nucleus and ribosomes:
· Vacuoles and lysosomes:
· Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies and vesicles:
· Chloroplasts and mitochondria:
Chapter 8: Cellular Transport
32. Define the following:
· Diffusion ______
· Facilitated Diffusion______
· Osmosis ______
· Hypotonic ______
· Hypertonic ______
· Isotonic ______
33. Plant cells would shrivel up and die in what kind of aquatic environment?
34. Animal cells would swell up and even explode in what kind of aquatic environment?
35. How do active and passive transport differ?