General Biology – Unit 4 Review
Mary Stangler Center for Academic Success
This review is meant to highlight basic concepts from Unit 4. It does not cover all concepts presented by your instructor. Refer
back to your notes, unit objectives, labs, handouts, etc. to further prepare for your exam.
A: Heredity and Inheritance Lesson
1. Define the following terms:
a. Karyotype –
b. Nondisjunction –
c. Trisomy –
d. Monosomy e. Deletion –
f.
Duplication –
g. Inversion –
h. Translocation 2. Describe the pattern (number, pairing, and size) of chromosomes in a human cell.
3. Describe how a karyotype is created and what it is used for.
4. List some common genetic disorders.
5. Describe what sort of mutations have to occur to have a genetic disorder.
6. Define the following terms:
a. Heredity –
b. Trait –
Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 1
c. Gene –
d. Allele –
e. Homozygous –
f.
Heterozygous –
g. Genotype –
h. Phenotype i.
True-breeding strain –
j.
Monohybrid cross –
k. Dihybrid cross –
l.
Punnett square –
m. Dominant –
n. Recessive –
o. Blended inheritance –
p. Polygenic inheritance –
q. Pleiotropy –
r.
codominance -
s. Epistasis –
7. Describe how traits are passed on between parents and offspring.
8. Describe what a ‘gene’ actually is and how they make up our traits.
9. Explain how alleles combine to form genotypes and phenotypes.
Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 2
10. Describe a genotype using the terms homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, and recessive.
11. Explain how the basics of heredity were discovered, who discovered them, and what organism was used.
12. Describe what a punnett square is, and what it is used for.
13. Describe what a dihybrid and monohybrid cross are used for and what information they can tell us.
14. Be able to determine genotype and phenotype ratios/percentages that in offspring when crossing different
parents.
15. What are the characteristics of a dominant trait versus a recessive trait?
16. List and describe the different ways that genes can interact (blended, polygenic, codominance, pleiotropy,
epistasis)
B: DNA Structure, Replication, and Repair Lesson
17. Define the following terms:
a. DNA –
b. Nucleotide –
c. Initiation –
Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 3
d. Elongation –
e. Replisome –
f.
Termination –
g. Mutagen –
h. Mutation –
i.
Point mutation –
j.
Base substitution –.
k. Frameshift mutation –
18. Explain the structure of a DNA molecule, including its shape and building blocks.
19. Explain the structure of a nucleotide.
20. List the different bases in DNA and explain how they are structured and how they behave with each other.
21. Explain the process of DNA replication including when and why it occurs, the beginning and ending product, the
steps, and the enzymes necessary to complete the process.
22. Describe why mutations in DNA can be negative.
23. List and describe the different types of mutations that occur and how your cells might deal with mutations.
Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 4
C: Protein Synthesis Lesson
24. Define the following terms:
a. Protein synthesis –
b. Transcription –
c. Translation d. mRNA –
e. tRNA –
f.
Codon -
g. Anti-codon –
h. Amino acid –
25. Explain why protein synthesis is necessary, what is created from protein synthesis, and what is needed for the
process to occur.
26. Describe the process of transcription including what is necessary to start the process, what enzymes are
necessary, the role of mRNA, the location, and how the info is transferred from DNA to mRNA.
27. Describe the process of translation including what is necessary to start the process, what structures in the cell
are used, where it occurs, the role of tRNA, the role of amino acids, and how the code on mRNA is read and
recognized.
28. Describe what happens to the final product that comes out of protein synthesis.
D: Biotechnology Lesson
29. Define the following terms:
a. Restriction Enzymes –
b. Gel Electrophoresis Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 5
c. DNA fingerprinting –
d. DNA transformation –
e. Molecular Cloning –
f.
Genetic Engineering –
g. Genomics 30. Give examples of the uses of biotechnology.
31. Explain the purpose of each of the techniques listed in the definitions above, and the general procedure.
32. Explain how the discovery of restriction enzymes helped the field of biotechnology.
Rev. 12.3.2012 pg. 6