AP Biology Study Guide and Review Packet
Chapter 3 Properties of Water
Highly polar molecule due to unequal sharing of electrons
Universal solvent o Review terms solute, solvent, and solution
Adhesion and cohesion
Surface tension
High specific heat
Expands upon freezing
The difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules
Acids, Bases, and pH
Chapter 4 Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
Miller Urey experiment – Created a variety of organic molecules in a system that mimicked conditions thought to existed on early Earth.
Carbon is able to form a wide variety of molecules because of its valence electrons and bonding abilities.
Isomers o Structural o Cis-trans o Enantiomers
Functional Groups o Hydroxyl o Carbonyl o Carboxyl o Amino o Sulfhydryl o Phosphate o Methyl
ATP – adenosine triphosphate
Chapter 5 Macromolecules
Groups of macromolecules
Formation of polymers through dehydration (condensation) reaction
Breakdown of polymers through hydrolysis

Carbohydrates o Mono-, di-, and polysaccharides o Function of carbohydrates o Ex. Cellulose, glycogen, and chitin
Lipids o Not polymers o Fats, phospholipids, waxes, and steroids o Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids o Function of lipids
Proteins o Enzymes o Subunits are amino acids
 Amino group, carboxyl group, R group
 Polypeptide chain
 Dipeptide bond o Levels of protein structure
 Primary
 Secondary
 Tertiary
 Quaternary o Protein structure = function o Denaturation
Nucleic Acids o DNA and RNA o Subunits are nucleotides
 Five carbon sugar, phosphate group, nitrogenous base
 Different types of nitrogenous bases

RNA vs. DNA

Purines and pyrimidines

Chargaff’s rules o Structure of DNA o Types of RNA
Chapter 6 – The Cell
Eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells
Every cell has an inner substance (cytosol), outer boundary (cell membrane), and genetic material.
Organelles and their functions o Nucleus o Nuclear envelope

o Mitochondria o Chloroplasts o Golgi apparatus o Endoplasmic reticulum o Vesicles o Cytoskeleton o Ribosomes
Plant cells vs. animal cells
Chapter 7 - Membrane Structure and Function
Selective permeability – why is this important?
Fluid mosaic model
Structure of the cell membrane is a phospholipid bilayer
Cell Transport o Passive
 Down the concentration gradient
 Diffusion
 Osmosis
 Facilitated diffusion o Active
 Against the concentration gradient
 Cell membrane pumps
 Movement in vesicles – endocytosis and exocytosis (bulk transport)
 Cotransport
 Membrane potential o Hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solution
Chapter 8 – Metabolism
Definition of metabolism o Examples:
Catabolic vs. anabolic pathways
Endergonic vs. exergonic reactions (spontaneous)
First and second laws of thermodynamics
Enzymes speed up metabolic reactions by lowering the activation energy
Enzyme substrate complex o Active site
Enzymes are substrate specific
Effects of temperature and pH on enzyme activity (think back to enzyme lab!)

Competitive inhibitors vs. noncompetitive inhibitors
Enzyme inhibition and regulation of enzyme activity
Chapter 9 – Cellular Respiration and Fermentation
Equation for cellular respiration
Aerobic vs. anaerobic pathways
Aerobic pathways o Glycolysis o Citric Acid Cycle (Kreb’s) o Oxidative phosphorylation
 ETC and chemiosmosis
Types of fermentation o Lactic acid o Alcoholic
Advantages of aerobic cellular respiration
Substrate level phosphorylation vs. oxidative phosphorylation
Reactants and products of each step
How exactly is ATP generated?
Connection to photosynthesis
Chapter 10 – Photosynthesis
Equation for photosynthesis
Steps of photosynthesis o Light reactions
 Location
 Reactants
 Products
 Connection with Calvin o Calvin Cycle
 Location
 Reactants
 Products
 Connection with light reactions
Role of plant pigments o Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b
Photosystem II and Photosystem I
Primary production o GPP and NPP
Chapter 11 – Cell Communication
Type of Cell Signaling - Cells can communicate through either local or long distance signaling.

o Local Signaling
 Direct Contact

Cell junctions

Cell-cell recognition
 Paracrine signaling
 Synaptic signaling o Long-distance signaling
 Endocrine (hormonal signaling)
 Transmission of a signal through the nervous system
Three Stages of Cell Signaling o Reception
 Signaling molecule binds to receptor protein
 Chemical signal is detected o Transduction
 Converts the signal to a form that can bring about a specific cellular response
 May occur as a single step
 May also occur as a signal transduction pathway involving a series of molecules o Response
 Transduced signal triggers a specific cellular Response
Reception o Ligand – a molecule that specifically binds to another molecule o Ligand binding generally causes receptors to undergo a change in shape o Many receptors are embedded in the plasma membrane
 Cell surface receptors

G protein-coupled receptors o Works with a G protein o Binds to GTP (similar to ATP) o Many signaling molecules including hormones and neurotransmitters o GTP binds to enzyme, activating the enzyme and leading to a response

Receptor tyrosine kinases o Kinase – an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups o Transfers a phosphate group from ATP to tyrosine o Proteins bind to specific phosphorylated tyrosine and become activated o Activated proteins trigger a transduction pathway

Ion channel receptors o Ligand gated ion channel

o “gate” opens or closes, allowing or blocking ions through a channel in the receptor o Flow of ions through the channel changes the concentration and causes a cellular response o Voltage gated ion channels important part of the nervous system o Intracellular Receptors
 Intracellular receptor proteins are found in the cytoplasm or nucleus
 Chemical messenger passes through plasma membrane

Example – testosterone
Cascades of molecular interactions relay signals from receptors to target molecules in the cell o Signal transduction pathway
 Chain of molecular interactions
 Relay a signal from receptor to response o Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation
 Involved in a signal transduction pathway
 Protein kinase – an enzyme that transfers phosphate groups from ATP to a protein o Small Molecules and Ions as Second Messengers
 cAMP (Cyclic AMP) is an example of a second messenger
 Calcium is a widely used second messenger
Cell Signaling Leads to Regulation of Transcription or Cytoplasmic Activities
Many signaling pathways regulate protein synthesis
Activated molecule may function as a transcription factor
Signal pathways can be amplified
Chapter 12 – The Cell Cycle
Binary fission vs. mitosis
Chromosomes o Prokaryotic chromosomes vs. Eukaryotic chromosomes o Chromosome structure
 Sister chromatids
 Centromere
Phases of the cell cycle and what occurs in each phase o Interphase
 G1
 S
 G2 o Mitotic
 Mitosis
 Cytokinesis

Structure of the mitotic spindle o Centrosome, aster, microtubules, kinetochore
Checkpoints
Loss of control of the cell cycle leads to cancer
Chapter 13 – Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
What is a karyotype?
Autosomes vs. sex chromosomes
Haploid cells vs. diploid cells
How does the process of meiosis differ from mitosis?
Crossing over
Homologous chromosomes pair at metaphase plate
Separation of homologs
Sexual reproduction is important because it creates genetic variation
Crossing over
Independent assortment
Random fertilization
Chapter 14 – Mendel and the Gene Idea
Mendel’s experiments
P, F1, F2
Alleles
Law of Segregation
Law of Independent Assortment
Genotype vs. phenotype
Probability
Multiplication rule
Addition rule
Patterns of inheritance
Complete dominance, incomplete dominance, codominance
Polygenic inheritance
Pedigree analysis
Carriers
Sex-linked traits
Chapter 15 – The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Sex determination (humans, fruit flies, other animals)
Linked genes
Usually inherited together
Proximity on the same chromosome violates Mendel’s Law on I.A.
Linkage maps and recombination frequencies

Nondisjunction and associated disorders
Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome
Chromosomal mutations
Chapter 16 – The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Structure of DNA
Double helix
Sugar-phosphate backbone
Nitrogenous bases
Distances between bases and bonding
Roles of Watson, Crick, and Franklin
Antiparallel
Replication
Why does it have to occur?
Semiconservative model
Origins of replication in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
Role of enzymes
Helicase
Topoisomerase
Primase
DNA polymerase
Ligase
Direction of replication
Leading strand and lagging strand
Importance of Okazaki fragments
Role of telomeres and telomerase
Chapter 17 – From Gene to Protein
Central dogma of Biology: DNA  RNA  Protein
Differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Transcription
DNA  RNA
Takes place in the nucleus (eukaryotes)
DNA template strand and mRNA
Codons
Reading frame
Role of enzymes
RNA polymerase
Promoter, transcription initiation complex, TATA box
Stages of transcription
Initiation

Elongation
Termination
In eukaryotic cells, RNA processing has to occur
Pre-mRNA
Post transcriptional modification
1.
Cap
2.
Tail
3.
Splicing
Translation takes place on the ribosomes
Role of tRNA
What is an anticodon?
Stages of translation
Initiation
Elongation
Termination
What is wobble?
E, P, and A sites of the ribosome – what happens at each?
Mutations – multiple terms can be applied
Point mutation – change in a single nucleotide pair
Substitution – one nucleotide substituted for another
Insertion – nucleotide added
Deletion – nucleotide deleted.
Insertions and deletions result in frameshifts, typically leading to missense or nonsense
Substitutions can result in silent mutations, missense mutations, or nonsense mutations
Chapter 18 – Regulation of Gene Expression
Prokaryotes utilize operons
Eukaryotes utilize a number of different methods to regulate gene expressions
Operon consists of
Promoter
repressor
operator
genes
Examples of operons include the trp operon and lac operon
Corepressor
Inducer
Repressible operon vs. inducible operon
Eukaryotic regulation of gene expression
Differential gene expression

-
Histone acetylation
Methylation
Use of activators only present in certain cell types (pg. 361)
Alternative RNA splicing (pg. 363)
Chapter 19 – Viruses
Viruses are not considered living things. Why?
Viruses are classified by their genetic material
DNA or RNA
Double stranded or single stranded
Viruses have a variety of capsid (protein shell) shapes
Bacteriophages
Retroviruses
Reverse transcriptase
Ex. Of retrovirus
Lytic vs. lysogenic cycles
What is a prion?
Chapter 20 – Biotechnology
Recombinant DNA – DNA molecules formed when segments of DNA from two different sources are combined
Role of a plasmid in biotechnology and genetic engineering
Cloning
Restriction enzymes, restriction site, restriction fragments, sticky ends
Using plasmids pg. 399
PCR (pg. 404)
Amplifies the amount of DNA available to work with
Steps
Gel electrophoresis
DNA fragments (restriction fragments) are separated by size
Utilizes electricity
“run to red”
Gene therapy
Use of GMOs
Steps of bacterial transformation (see virtual lab)
Chapter 21 – Genomes and Their Evolution
Human Genome Project
Chapter 22 – Descent with Modification

Natural selection
Evidence of evolution
Biogeography
Fossil record
Homologous structures
DNA, RNA, Proteins (biological molecules)
Comparative embryology
Homologous vs. analogous structures
Vestigial structures
Phylogenetic tree
Chapter 23 – Evolution of Populations
Microevolution vs. macroevolution
Sources of genetic variation – needed for natural selection
Population
Gene pool
Hardy-Weinberg Principle
YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO USE THIS FOR THE EXAM
No mutations
Random mating
No natural selection
Large population
No gene flow (no migration)
Genetic drift
Founder effect
Bottleneck effect
What is fitness?
Types of natural selection
Disruptive
Directional
Stabilizing
Chapter 24 – Origin of Species
Biological species concept
Speciation results from isolation
Allopatric speciation
Sympatric speciation
Prezygotic and postzygotic barriers to reproductive isolation (pg 490-491)
Hybrids
Chapter 25 – History of Life on Earth

Life on early earth was very different than today due to early earth conditions
Anaerobic environment
Oxygen came later “oxygen revolution”
Fossils can be dated using radiometric dating
Endosymbiont theory
Mitochondria and chloroplasts
Evidence of this?
Chapter 26 – Phylogeny and the Tree of Life
Taxonomy
Taxonomic groups
Morphology
Linnean system
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
(King Philip Came Over for Good Spaghetti)
Binomial nomenclature – genus and species
Phylogenetic tree
Morphological and molecular homologies
Cladistics
Shared characters
Derived characters
Cladogram
Ingroup
Outgroup
Chapter 27 – Bacteria and Archaea
Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative
Cell wall of peptidoglycan
Genetic recombination in bacteria
Transformation
Transduction
Conjugation
Plasmids and antibiotic resistance
Lawn vs. colony

Plants
Vascular vs. nonvascular plants
Vascular tissue
Xylem and phloem (roles of each)
Cuticle
Angiosperms vs. gymnosperms (examples of each)
Role of stomata in photosynthesis
Structure of a flower
Organs of plants
Roots (function)
Shoots (function)
Leaves (function)
Water potential
KNOW HOW TO DO THESE CALCULATIONS
Direction of water movement due to water potential
Pressure potential
Solute potential
Turgor pressure
Phototropism
Chapter 52 - Ecology
Biotic and abiotic ecosystem components
Rainshadow effect (how mountains affect climate)
Biomes
Zones of a lake
Turnover in a lake
Zones of the ocean
Chapter 53 – Population Ecology
Population density
Population dispersion
r-selected vs. K-selected species
logistic growth model
carrying capacity
Population boom and bust cycles (ex. Lynx and Snowshoe hare)
Chapter 54 – Community Ecology
Principle of Competitive Exclusion

Resource partitioning
Species interactions
Competition
Predation
Symbiosis
Parasitism
Mutualism
Commensalism
Biodiversity
Species richness and species abundance (relative distribution)
Food webs vs. food chains
Why does energy flow and matter cycle?
Biomagnification
Bald eagle
Keystone species (ex. Sea otter)
Primary vs. secondary ecological succession
Primary – no soil, takes a long time
Secondary – soil intact, happening all the time
Chapter 56 – Ecosystems
GPP vs. NPP
What is productivity?
Limiting nutrients
Nitrates and phosphates
Cultural eutrophication = too much of a good thing
Biogeochemical cycles
Nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation important
Legumes
Most of the air is metabolically inert nitrogen
Carbon
Photosynthesis and respiration
Phosphorus
No atmospheric component
Very slow, weathering of rocks
Environmental Problems
Climate change
Causes
Link between temperature and CO2
Difference between climate change and greenhouse effect

Ozone depletion
Caused by CFCs
Higher rates of skin cancer
Invasive species
Take over the ecosystem and cause ecosystem disruption
May have no natural predators
Acid deposition (acid rain)
NOx and SOx from burning fossil fuels
Forms nitric acid and sulfuric acid
Kills fish and can change soil pH and kill plants