Biology Final Study Guide
Last page questions due Monday, Dec. 15
This guide is NOT comprehensive! There may be material on your final exam that is not
mentioned here!
The first unit of the course discussed the basic tools and concepts needed
to perform investigations in biology.
Observation/Inference  Observations are units of information that can
be perceived with the senses. They are categorized as qualitative or
quantitative. Inferences are conclusions based on observations.
• The woman is sick.
• The woman will skip work today.
• The woman is cold.
Chapter 1: Intro to Biology (p. 4-9, 15-28)
Scientific Method
Observations vs. Inferences
Variables (Independent, Dependent,
Control)
Microscope Function
Units of Measurement
Characteristics of Living Things
Biological Levels of Organization
• The woman is on the telephone.
• The woman has a fever.
• The woman is holding a cup.
Of the six statements above, only two are true observations! The rest are inferences drawn
from the situation.
The Scientific Method  a systematic process by which scientists predict and deduce information. Observation,
Hypothesis, Data Collection and Analysis are critical elements of the process. Experiments must be designed in ways that
can be repeated by others. Variables  are independent (deliberately changed by the experimenter), dependent
(observed and measured), and controlled (kept constant so as not to interfere with the test).
Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the productivity of workers. He creates
two groups of 50 workers each and assigns each group the same task (to staple a set of
papers). Group A is given the special juice to drink while they work. Group B is not given
the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts how many stacks of papers each group has
made. Group A made 1,587 stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks.
What are the independent and dependent variables? What variables should be controlled?
Characteristics of Living Things (from textbook p. 16)  Living things:
• are made up of cells
• reproduce
• are based on a universal genetic code
• grow and develop
• obtain and use materials and energy
• respond to stimuli
• maintain a stable internal environment (via homeostasis)
• change over time
Levels of Organization  the categories in which life can be studied: biosphere, ecosystem, community, population,
organism, organ system, organ, tissue, cell, molecule
For each level of organization, write a sentence to describe it. (Ex. a population is a group of organisms of the same
species)
Chapter 2: Biochemistry (p.34-53)
Periodic Table of the Elements
Subatomic Particles
Atomic Bonding
Ions and Isotopes
Properties of Water
Acid/Base/Buffer Chemistry
Macromolecules
Enzyme Activity
The second unit addressed the principles of biochemistry. First and
foremost, you must know how to read the periodic table!
What are the names and
characteristics of the three
primary subatomic particles?
Indicate their masses,
charges and locations.
Water is a molecule with special properties because of its molecular composition. H2O is a polar
molecule because it has a positive side and a negative side despite having a net neutral charge.
Draw a diagram of an H2O molecule including its electrons to show what makes it polar.
Water’s polarity allows it to create hydrogen bonds which attract water molecules to each other.
The cohesion among water molecules allows them to have high surface tension and high specific
heat.
Water is often found in mixtures which are categorized as solutions or suspensions. In solution,
water is almost always the solvent, while a substance mixed into it (and in lower volume) is its
solute.
Acids and bases are solutions in which the ratio of hydrogen ion (H+)
to hydroxide ion (OH-) is unequal. Pure water has a pH of 7,
substances like stomach acid and lemon juice have pH values below 7
and alkaline substances like soap and bleach have pH values above 7.
What are the physical characteristics of acids and bases? Buffers 
are resistant to changes in pH. The bicarbonate/carbonic acid system
in human blood works as a buffer to prevent the blood pH from
changing dramatically when we consume foods with extreme pH
values.
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids  these
comprise the categories of organic compounds found in
living things. These are also called macromolecules, and
they are polymers built from individual monomers. It may help to remember that, generally, particles store energy
when they are bonded together and release energy when they are split apart.
Can you identify the
active site on this
diagram? What is the
purpose of an enzyme?
What are some factors
that affect the rate of
enzyme activity? What
does it mean for an
enzyme to be denatured?
Chapter 7: Cells (p.168-198)
Cell Theory
Cell Types
Cell Organelles
Diffusion/Osmosis/Active Transport
The next unit explores properties of cells, the smallest units of life. It is
important to know the structures that all cells, both eukaryotic and
prokaryotic, have in common; they are simply a cell membrane,
cytoplasm and DNA. Eukaryotic cells are complex relative to
prokaryotic cells. A key difference is that eukaryotic cells contain
internal organelles, such as nuclei, mitochondria and ribosomes.
Search your notes and textbook pages 173-83 to review the organelles and understand their comparison to a factory.
Cell membrane  also known as the phospholipid bilayer and it is a particularly important component of cells. Among
other duties, it regulates entry to and exit from the cell. This movement across the membrane occurs in one of a few
ways, namely, diffusion, osmosis and active transport. Diffusion generally refers to the movement of materials from
areas of high concentration to low concentration. Osmosis is the diffusion of water and active transport is an energyintensive process that moves materials from low to high concentration, against the concentration gradient. What other
types of movement across the cell membrane exist? Because cell membranes are semi-permeable and allow some
materials to pass through while others cannot, the environment outside of the membrane is important. Cells behave
differently in isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions. The relative concentrations of water inside and outside of a
cell will affect how much water enters or leaves.
Photosynthesis  this concept is critically important in biology. All energy on Earth comes from its sun. However, we’re
unable to harvest that light energy beaming down. Thankfully, plants are
able to do so via photosynthesis. Understanding the pioneering
Chapter 8: Photosynthesis (p. 200-218)
contributions of the scientists Priestley, Ingenhousz and van Helmont
Photosynthesis Pioneers
will help you understand the photosynthetic process.
Energized Molecules
Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts of plant cells. Plants are
able to absorb light energy thanks to the pigment chlorophyll. Absorbed
light excites electrons which bond to electron carriers to create
Light & Pigments
Light-Dependent Reactions
Calvin Cycle
Leaf Stomata
energized molecules such as ATP and
NADPH. These molecules are crucial to the
two-step photosynthetic process, including
light-dependent reactions and the Calvin
cycle.
Chapter 9: Cellular Respiration (p.220-232)
Glycolysis
Krebs Cycle
Electron Transport Chain
Fermentation
Cellular respiration  the aerobic process of breaking
down food (glucose) and converting it to usable energy
(ATP). Identify and describe the pathways for the
conversion of glucose with oxygen (cellular respiration)
and without oxygen (glycolysis and fermentation).
Questions (Please answer on a separate sheet)
Chapter 1:
1. How does an observation differ from an inference?
2. How can a graph of data be more informative than a table of the same data?
3. List and describe each of the biological levels of organization.
4. A young animal normally grows larger no matter what food it eats. Suggest an experiment that
would show whether one type of food was better than another at helping an animal to grow
faster.
Chapter 2:
5. Explain the properties of cohesion and adhesion. Give an example of each property.
6. What are ions and isotopes?
7. Describe two factors that influence enzyme activity and explain how this occurs
8. As part of the digestive process, the human stomach produces hydrochloric acid, HCl.
Sometimes excess acid causes discomfort. In such a case, a person might take an antacid such
as magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. Explain how this substance can reduce the amount of acid
in the stomach.
Chapter 7:
9. Describe the structure of a cell membrane. How does the cell membrane affect the contents of
the cell?
10. What is meant by an isotonic solution? Do particles move across the membrane in an isotonic
solution?
11. Which organelle helps prevent damage to cells that are subjected to high osmotic pressure?
12. What would happen to a sample of your red blood cells if they were placed into a hypotonic
solution? Explain your solution.
Chapter 8:
13. Compare the amounts of energy stored by ATP and by glucose. Which compound is used by the
cell as an immediate source of energy?
14. How were Priestley’s and Ingenhousz’ discoveries about photosynthesis related?
15. What are leaf stomata and what purpose do they serve for plants?
16. Write a metaphor to explain the energy differences between ADP & ATP and also NADP + and
NADPH.
17. EXPLAIN HOW THE LIGHT DEPENDENT REACTION AND CALVIN CYCLE ARE RELATED.
Chapter 9:
18. How is glucose changed during glycolysis? What products are produced as a result of
glycolysis?
19. What are the two pathways that might follow glycolysis? What factor determines which of the
pathways a cell might follow?
20. What is the chemical equation for cellular respiration?
21. Certain types of bacteria thrive in conditions that lack oxygen. What does that fact indicate
about the way they obtain energy?