Biology Review Questions – Midterm Key

Biology Chapter 1 - What is Science?1. The basic unit of length in the metric system is the meter. 2. A student sees a bee on a flower. The student wonders how the bee finds flowers. This student is displaying the scientific attitude of curiosity. 3. Based on your observations, you suggest that the presence of water could accelerate the growth of bread mold. This is a hypothesis. 4. A skeptical attitude in science means a new idea will only be accepted if it is backed by evidence. 5. Information gathered from observing a plant grow 3 cm over a two-week period is called data.6. Which of the characteristics of living things best explains why some North American birds fly south for the winter? Living things respond to their environment. 7. Be able to convert meters to kilometers and kilometers to meters. 8. A scientist discovers an important breakthrough in cancer treatment. The scientist thinks the information could save thousands of lives and immediately announces the results on national television, skipping peer review. How might other scientists react to this news? They will be skeptical because the report was not peer-reviewed. 9. Know the goals of science. One goal of science is to provide natural explanations for events in the natural world. Science also aims to use those explanations to understand patterns in nature and to make useful predictions about natural events.10. Know the characteristics of all living things. Living things are made up of basic units called cells, are based on a universal genetic code, obtain and use materials and energy, grow and develop, reproduce, respond to their environment, maintain a stable internal environment, and change over time.11. Science is best described as a way of knowing. 12. Know the ways that science influences society. Science provides answers to some of society’s practical problems, science advances technology that is useful to society, and science increases society’s understanding of how people affect the environment. 13. A personal preference or point of view is a bias. 14. Know the big ideas of biology. Cellular basis of life, information and heredity, matter and energy, growth development and reproduction, homeostasis, evolution, structure and function, unity and diversity of life, interdependence in nature, and science as a way of knowing. 15. Know the fields of biology. Biotechnology, building the tree of life(diversity), ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, genomics and molecular biology, 16. The statement “The insect is 3 centimeters long” is a(n) observation. 17. Be able to recognize questions that can and cannot be answered by science. Questions that cannot be answered by science are those that cannot be tested, for example, questions that deal with relative values and morals. 18. A well-tested explanation that explains a lot of observations is a theory. 19. The work of scientists usually begins with careful observations. 20. The standard or English system of measurement uses units such as yards, miles, quarts, and gallons. The metric system uses units such as meters, kilometers, milliliters, and liters. Why is the metric system easier to use than the English system? The metric system is based on multiples of ten. 21. Using a universal system of measurement is MOST important during which part of scientific methodology? Collecting data. 22. Cells in multicellular organisms have many different sizes and shapes. These differences in cells is called cell specialization. Cell specialization allows cells to perform different functions. 23. What does a reviewer do during peer-review? Check for mistakes and bias.24. To be useful in science, a hypothesis must be testable. 25. A scientific hypothesis can be tested by experiments or observations. 26. During a controlled experiment, a scientist isolates and tests a single variable. 27. A scientist working in which area of biology is MOST likely to study DNA? Information & heredity28. The information gathered in an experiment is called data.29. In a controlled experiment, the group that is exposed to the same conditions as the experimental group except for the variable that is deliberately changed is the control group.

30. In a controlled experiment, the variable that is observed and that changes in response the variable that is deliberately changed is called the dependent variable.31. A logical interpretation based on what scientists already know is a(n) inference.32. The type of reproduction in which cells from two parents unite to form the first cell of a new organism is sexual reproduction.33. In a controlled experiment, the variable that is deliberately changed is the independent variable.34. The combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials as it carries out its life processes is called metabolism.35. An organized way of gathering and analyzing evidence about the natural world is called science.36. The part of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and air or atmosphere is called the biosphere.37. The type of reproduction in which a single organism produces offspring identical to itself is called asexual reproduction.38. A signal to which an organism responds is called a(n) stimulus.39. Observation is the act of using your senses to notice and describe events or processes in a careful, orderly way.40. The study of life is called biology.41. Be able to differentiate between a theory and a hypothesis.42. Be able to describe the location and purpose of each of the following pieces of safety equipment found in our classroom: fire extinguisher, fire blanket, eyewash, and safety shower.

Biology Chapter 2 - The Chemistry of Life1. The pH scale is a measurement system that indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution.2. When an atom has gained or lost electrons, it is called a(an) ions.3. A five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base are all parts of a nucleic acid.4. The elements or compounds that come out of a chemical reaction are products.5. The substance formed when covalent bonds unite atoms is called a(an) molecule.6. A water molecule is polar because there is an uneven distribution of electrons between the oxygen and the hydrogen atoms.7. An element or compound that enters into a chemical reaction is called a(an) reactant.8. A chemical bond formed by the transfer of electrons is a(an) covalent bond.9. The energy need to start a chemical reaction is called the activation energy.10. Solutions that have more OH– than H+ ions are bases. 11. Solutions that have more H+ than OH– ions are acids. 12. Carbon-12 is the most common isotope of carbon. It has 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons. Of its 6 electrons, 4 are valence electrons. How many covalent bonds can a carbon atom form? 413. A covalent bond is formed as the result of sharing electrons. 14. Be able to answer questions about enzymes, substrates, active sites, and how enzymes work. 15. What is the process that changes one set of chemicals into another set of chemicals? Chemical reaction16. Why is carbon so special compared to other elements? Carbon atoms can bind to one another and form a lot of different structures. 17. Be able to differentiate between diagrams that show reactions that absorb energy and reactions that release energy. 18. Enzymes affect the reactions in living cells by changing the speed of the reaction. 19. What are found in the space surrounding the nucleus of an atom? electrons20. What is the monomer of a polysaccharide? Monosaccharide or simple sugar What is the monomer of a protein? Amino acid What is the monomer of a nucleic acid? Nucleotide 21. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons and a different number of neutrons.22. Chemical reactions that release energy often occur spontaneously. 23. The three particles that make up atoms are protons, neutrons, and electrons.

24. If the pH of stomach acid and of ammonia were measured, the pH of stomach acid would be below 7, but the pH of ammonia would be above 7.25. Identify the reactant(s) and product(s) in the chemical reaction, CO2 + H2O H2CO3. Reactants: carbon dioxide + water. Products: carbonic acid26. Which property of water causes the curved surface in a graduated cylinder (see the figure in your test)? adhesion27. In chemical reactions, atoms are rearranged. 28. A solution is a mixture in which the substances are evenly spread out. 29. You should know that catalysts speed up the rate of chemical reactions, lower the activation energy for chemical reactions, and are not used up during a chemical reaction. 30. Name the substance formed by the chemical joining of two or more elements in definite amounts. compound31. Water molecules are polar, with the oxygen side being slightly negative and the hydrogen side being slightly positive. 32. Acidic substances have a pH value below 7, neutral substances have a pH value of 7, and basic substances have a pH value greater than 7. The more acidic a substance, the closer its pH value is to 0, the more basic a substance, the closer its pH value is to 14. 33. Why is the melting of ice not a chemical reaction? Whether frozen or liquid, it is still water. 34. Why are atoms considered neutral? They have an equal number of protons and electrons35. What is the difference between a saturated fatty acid and an unsaturated fatty acid? Saturated fatty acids have only single carbon-carbon bonds. Unsaturated fatty acids have at least one carbon-carbon double bond. 36. List the 6 major elements of life. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur37. Name the functions for each of the following macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Carbohydrates: main source of energy for most organisms , Lipids: stored energy and heat insulation , Proteins: control of reaction rate, regulation of cell processes, formation of important cellular structures, transportation of substances into or out of cells, and disease fighting , Nucleic acids: storage and transmission of genetic information.

Biology Chapter 3 The Biosphere1. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the biomass. 2. The total amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem can be shown in a(n) biomass pyramid. 3. Why can’t the producers in some ecosystems make an unlimited supply of organic material? One or more nutrients are in short supply4. Primary producers are organisms that use energy taken in from the environment to convert inorganic molecules into complex organic molecules.5. Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the remaining energy, some is used for the organism’s life processes, and the rest is elimated as heat.6. What term describes a group of different species that live together in a defined area? community7. In what way are herbivores and carnivores alike? They both obtain energy by consuming other organisms. 8. Corn planted in a field that has been previously planted with legumes and then plowed under is likely to be more productive because bacteria living on the roots of legumes fix nitrogen in the soil.9. A model of the complex feeding interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers is called a food web. 10. What animals eat both producers and consumers? herbivores11. Be able to differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors. 12. Be able to name and describe the processes by which carbon cycles through the biosphere. Processes that return carbon to the atmosphere: consumers by respiration, burning of forests and fossil fuels, Processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere: producers by photosynthesis, decomposition of animals and plants into rocks.13. A group of individuals that belong to a single species and that live together in a defined area is known as a(n) population. 14. Which biogeochemical cycle does NOT include a major path in which the substance cycles through the atmosphere? Phosphorus cycle15. Be able to interpret a water cycle diagram and identify what is happening at each step in the diagram. Water cycles into the atmosphere by evaporation from bodies of water and transpiration from plants. Water droplets in the atmosphere condense into clouds. Water cycles back to the Earth by precipitation, water on the Earth

exists as runoff, gets into ground water, or runs into bodies of water such as lakes and streams, and eventually back into the ocean. In bodies of water, evaporation starts again. 16. Nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by bacteria. 17. A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which pair of ecological terms describes the bird? Carnivore and consumer18. Animals get the most of the nitrogen they need by consuming plants or other animals. 19. Which ecological inquiry method is an ecologist using when he or she sets up a greenhouse and measures the effects of different levels of carbon dioxide on an endangered plant species? Experimenting. 20. All of life on Earth exists in the biosphere. 21. Be able to identify biotic factors that affect the size of a population in a specific ecosystem? Answers vary, should have to do with some lifeform. 22. Which is a source of energy for Earth’s living things? Sunlight and chemical energy23. What are the three kinds of ecological pyramids? Biomass, energy, and numbers24. The repeated movement of water between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere is called the water cycle.25. What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web? Trophic level26. The nonliving components of an ecosystem are called abiotic, while the living parts are called biotic. 27. Be able to interpret a food web to determine a food chain within the food web, the role of each organism on the food web (producer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, etc.)28. What is at the base of all ecological pyramids? Producers.29. Animals that get energy by eating the carcasses of other animals that have been killed by predators or have died of natural causes are called scavengers. 30. A word that means the same thing as consumer is heterotroph. 31. Ecologists make models to study large-scale phenomena, such as Earth’s water cycle.32. Be able to interpret a food chain to determine the role of each organism on the food chain from producer to decomposer and detritivore. Be able to identify the highest and lowest trophic levels on the food chain. Also, be able to determine the result of an increase or decrease in the numbers of organisms at any level of the food chain. 33. Organisms such as earthworms, that commonly digest decomposers that live on, or in, detritus particles are called detritivores.34. Organisms that break down organic matter and return it to the environment are called decomposers.35. Plant-eating animals such as cows are called herbivores.36. The study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical surroundings is called ecology.37. Be able to name the different levels of organization within the biosphere, from smallest to largest ending with biosphere. Individual organism (species), population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere.38. Be able to describe the flow of energy to different trophic levels if given the amount of energy supplied to one of the trophic levels. Each level should only get 10% of the energy from the level before. 39. Be able to compare and contrast the movement of energy in the biosphere with the movement of matter through the biosphere. Matter moves in biogeochemical cycles through living systems, Earth, the atmosphere, and the oceans and is recycled over and over, energy flows in only one direction from sun to producers to consumers. 40. Why are decomposers the final consumers in every food chain? In time, all living things die regardless of where they are in the food chain. The decomposers break down the remains of dead plants and animals, releasing substances that are reused by other organisms in the ecosystem.

Biology Ch 4 Ecosystems and Communities1. Be able to determine if a relationship between organisms is commensalism, herbivory, mutualism, parasitism, or predation. 2. Know the types of freshwater ecosystems. Rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, freshwater wetlands.3. Know the types of marine ecosystems. Know the characteristics of each type of marine ecosystem. Intertidal zone is submerged at high tide and exposed to air and sunlight during low tide. Thus they are exposed to extremes in temperature and battered by waves and currents. The coastal ocean extends from the low tide mark to the outer edge of the continental shelf. Water here is brightly lit, gets nutrients from runoff, and is highly productive,

including coral reefs and kelp forests. The open ocean begins at the edge of the continental shelf and extends outward. It includes the photic zone which extends to 200 m, and the aphotic zone which gets no sunlight and must depend on organisms that fall from the photic zone or chemosynthetic organisms for productivity. The organisms in the aphotic zone are exposed to frigid temperatures and deep sea vents. 4. Know the difference between niche and habitat. For example, polar bears live in the arctic. The arctic is their habitat.5. An organism’s niche is the range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way it obtains what it needs to survive and reproduce. Be able to identify biotic and abiotic factors in an organism’s niche. 6. Know all three types of symbiotic relationships. For example:

(a) A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit is mutualism. (b) A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed is

commensalism. Note: often the unaffected organism is unaware of the symbiosis. (c) A symbiotic relationship in which one organism is harmed and the other benefits is parasitism.

7. Organisms that live on or near the ocean floor are called benthos. 8. In a tropical rainforest, the dense covering formed by the leafy tops of tall trees is called the canopy. 9. In a tropical rainforest, the shorter trees and shrubs form the layer called the understory. 10. Be able to answer basic questions about the characteristics of any of the biomes discussed in class. Basic questions would include questions about the soil, temperature, precipitation, and any special animal or plant adaptations that would apply. Use your handout about biomes to study this. 11. Which two biomes have the least precipitation? Tundra and desert12. Which biome is characterized by very low temperatures, little precipitation, and permafrost? Tundra.13. Several species of warblers can live in the same spruce tree ONLY because they occupy different niches within the tree. 14. The photic zone extends to a depth of about 200 meters.15. Be able to differentiate between primary and secondary succession. Know types of disturbances that would cause primary or secondary succession. 16. The competitive exclusion principle states that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time. 17. Know which landforms or locations on the globe are not classified into major biomes. North and south poles, mountain ranges. 18. Which is one way a freshwater wetland differs from a lake or pond? Water does not always cover a wetland as it does a lake or pond. 19. Know the factors that contribute to Earth’s climate. Latitude, transport of heat by winds, shape and elevation of landmasses. 20. An increase in the greenhouse effect often causes an increase in temperature. 21. An interaction in which an animal feeds on plants is called herbivory. 22. A wolf pack hunts, kills, and feeds on a moose. In this interaction, the wolves are predators. 23. Be able to describe how an area’s weather is different from its climate. Weather is the area’s day-to-day conditions and climate is the area’s average conditions.24. Be able to describe how predator populations would be affected by a difference in prey populations, and how prey populations would be affected by a different in the predator’s population. 25. A small valley where the average temperature is usually higher than that of the surrounding countryside has its own microclimate. 26. The taiga contains dense evergreen forests of coniferous trees.27. The community that is the end result of ecological succession is called a climax community.28. Any relationship in which two species live closely together is called symbiosis.29. A species that causes dramatic changes in the structure of a community if its population changes is called a Keystone species.30. A species’ tolerance is its ability to survive and reproduce under a range of environmental conditions.31. The three main climate zones for the Earth are the polar (almost always cold), temperate (temperature changes with seasons, and the tropical (almost always warm – gets the most direct rays from the sun) zones. Be able to answer questions about typical temperatures in those areas.

32. The material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter is called humus.33. The three types of freshwater wetlands are marshes, swamps, and bogs.34. The first species to repopulate an area affected by any ecological disturbance are called pioneer species.35. The three greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane.36. The main factors that determine climate are temperature and precipitation.37. What are the four main factors of an aquatic ecosystem that affect organisms found there? Water depth, nutrient availability, temperature, and flow. 38. Name the two types of plankton found in marine ecosystems. How are they different? Phytoplankton (plant-like and producers), zooplankton (animal-like and consumers).39. What are the two kinds of disturbances that can change ecosystems? Be able to identify examples of each. Natural (wildfires, volcano eruptions) and human caused (clearing fields, destruction of rainforest)40. List the four things that can happen to sunlight that hits the Earth’s surface. Some is reflected back to Earth’s surface, some escapes as heat into space, some is trapped as heat by the greenhouse gases, and some is absorbed by the Earth’s surface.41. What do you call the area where a river or lake empties into the ocean? Estuary.