A&P
Basic Biological Topics to Review
Basic Chemistry & Biochemistry (Chp 2, Part 2: pgs 41-60)
 Inorganic compounds:
o Water
 Unique characteristics
 Importance of these characteristics for the human body
o Salts
 ions as electrolytes
 importance of salts (ionized form) for the human body
o acids & bases
 Proton donor v. Proton acceptor
 Ions released when dissolved in water
 Biologically important acids & bases & their role in the human body
 Neutralization reactions
 Buffers – biological significance; general understanding of how they work
 Organic compounds:
o Carbohydrates
 Examples
 Relation of size to solubility
 Mono v. di v. polysaccharides – structural description & identify key examples & their
biological importance
 What is an isomer?
 Hydrolysis v. dehydration synthesis
 Carbohydrate function
o Lipids
 Solubility
 Neutral fats v. phospholipids v. steroids: description, examples & biological
importance of each
o Proteins
 Examples & description of biological functions (there are many)
 Structural levels
 Fibrous v. Globular proteins
 Denaturing
 Enzymes
 Biological significance
 Activation energy
 Induced fit model
 Enzyme-Substrate complex
o Nucleic Acids
 DNA v. RNA (structure & function)
 Nucleotides
 Base-pairing
 Relationship between DNA, RNA & protein
o ATP
 Biological significance
 ATP v. ADP
 How is energy stored/released?
Review Cellular Basis of Life (Chp 3)

The Plasma Membrane: Structure
o Fluid Mosaic Model
 Basic Features
 Phospholipid bilyaer
 Integral proteins - role
 Peripheral proteins - role
 Glycocalyx – role
 Cholesterol - role
o Specializations of the Plasma Membrane
 Microvilli – What are they for? What type of cells are they found in?
 Membrane Junctions
 Basic Characteristics
 Tight Junctions (impermeable junctions)
 Desmosomes (anchoring junctions)
 Gap Junctions

The Plasma Membrane: Function
o Membrane Transport
 Basic characteristics
 Passive processes (general description of passive transport)
 Simple diffusion
 Osmosis
 Facilitated diffusion (proteins as passive carrier molecules, “channels”)
 Filtration
 Active processes (general description)
 Active transport (proteins as active carrier molecules, “pumps”)
 Vesicular transport
 Endocytosis
o Phagocytosis
o Receptor-mediated
 Exocytosis

Generating & Maintaining a Resting Membrane Potential
o Basic characteristics
o Membrane potentials (Be able to explain with respect to Na/K pump)
 Resting membrane potentials
 Concentration gradients
 Active transport pumps

The Cytoplasm
o Basic characteristics (What are the three components of the cytoplasm?)
o Organelles (How does organelle structure reflect function?)
 Mitochondria
 Ribosomes
 Endoplasmic Reticulum
 Rough
 Smooth
 Golgi apparatus
 Lysosomes
 Peroxisomes
 Cytoskeleton
 Microtubules
 Microfilaments
 Centrosome and Centrioles
 Cilia and Flagella

The Nucleus
o Basic characteristics
o Nuclear envelope
o Nucleoli
o Chromatin

Cell Growth & Reproduction
o Cell Life Cycle
 Interphase
 G1
 S (DNA Replication)
o Summarize the steps of DNA replication
o Complementary base-pairing
 G2
 M-Phase (cell division)
 Mitosis (nuclear division)
o General description of the four stages
 Cytokinesis (cell division)
 Why do cells divide?
o Be able to calculate SA:V ratios
o Protein Synthesis
 RNA v. DNA (structural & functional differences)
 The role of each type of RNA
 mRNA
 rRNA
 tRNA
 Transcription
 Summarize key events
 Translation
 Summarize key events