Biology 1406 Test I Study Guide
Chapter 1.
1. What is Biology?
2. What are the different levels of organization of living systems?
3. What are the different domains and kingdoms of living organisms?
4. How does a prokaryote differs from an eukaryote?
5. What are the steps of the scientific method?
Chapter 2. Chemistry of Living Systems
6. What is an atom? What three types of particles are commonly found in
atoms? Where in the atoms is each particle found?
7. Be familiar with concepts / terms such as: electrically neutral, atomic
number, atomic weight, isotope, ion, cation, anion, electron donor,
electron acceptor, acid, base, and buffer.
8. What determines whether a particular atom is gold rather than silver, lead
rather than carbon?
9. What are the elements necessary to living systems? Which of these are
the most common?
10. How many electrons are typically found in orbitals (energy levels)? How
many electrons are at various distances around an atom’s nucleus? What
are valence electrons and why are they important?
11. What sorts of bonds are commonly used in living system to combine
atoms into molecules? How does each form? (i.e. sharing vs. transfer of
electrons)
12. How do polar and nonpolar covalent bonds differ from each other?
13. What are hydrogen bonds? How do they differ fundamentally from both
covalent and ionic bonds?
14. What are reactants and products in a chemical reaction?
15. What determines whether a particular chemical is ‘organic’? Know the
definitions for both acid and base. What ion is common to all acids? What
ion is common to all bases?
16. What is a buffer?
17. What properties of water are important for life?
Chapter 3.
18. Know why is carbon important for biological molecules.
19. Identify the main 6 functional groups (in general, how their formulas give
rise to their structures)
20. Know what are the main 4 classes of biomolecules.
21. Know what is the general mechanism of synthesis of large molecules from
their subunits and the mechanism that breaks apart the large molecules
into their monomers.
22. Know some examples of monosaccharides, of disaccharides, and of
polysaccharides. How does the structure of starch differs from that of
cellulose and from chitin, and how this affects each one in its function.
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23. Recognize the glucose structure
24. How can glucose be stored and where.
25. What are the main subunits of fat. How does saturated fat differs from
unsaturated fat. Which one is fluid at room temperature?
26. How do you make a triglyceride.
27. What part of the phospholipids is polar and which one is non-polar.
28. Know the general formula of a carbohydrate
29. Know the general formula of an aminoacid and what makes them different
30. What is the name of the bond between aminoacids.
31. Be able to mention at least 3 functions of the proteins.
32. What are the four levels of protein structure?
33. What are the 3 parts of a nucleotide?
Chapter 5.
34. What are the main differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic
organisms?
35. What theory is more commonly used in textbooks about the origin of
eukaryotic organisms?
36. What are the main differences between a plant cell and an animal cell?
What are the functions/components of the following organelles/structures.
Can you identify them on a drawing?
37. Rough Endoplasmic reticulum
38. Smooth Endoplasmic reticulum
39. Golgi Body (Apparatus)
40. Lysosomes
41. Nucleus
42. Nucleoid
43. Nucleolus
44. Ribosome
45. Chloroplast. Identify parts
46. Vacuoles
47. Cytoskeleton
48. Cilia and flagella
49. Nuclear membrane
50. Cell membrane
51. Mitochondrion. Identify parts
From lab experiments:
52. Use your lab manual and your notes to :
53. Identify the parts of the microscope (Exercise 1), and make calculations
on magnification.
54. Know how to handle the microscope and use.
55. Remember some of the organisms, cellular organelles, etc.,we saw:
Euglena, hydrilla, chloroplasts, cyclosis,plasmolysis (Exercises 1, 4 and
5). Different between isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic solutions.
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