BIOLOGY
Semester Exam Study Guide
Introduction (Chapter 1)
 Know the 7 characteristics of living organisms; be able to describe them
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Cells (Organization)
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Energy (i.e. metabolism)
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Homeostasis
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Response to stimuli
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Regulated growth and development
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Reproduction: sexual v. asexual
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Adaptation and Evolution
 What is Decent with Modification?
 How are living things organized? (i.e. atoms to organisms; groups of
organisms)
 How is life classified (i.e. know the taxonomic hierarchy: DKPCOFGS)
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Know characteristics of each Kingdom:
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Cell type: prokaryotic v. eukaryotic
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Mode of Nutrition: heterotrophic v. autotrophic
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Body Type: multicellular v. unicellular
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Presence of a cell wall and cell wall composition
 What is binomial nomenclature?
 Know the steps of the scientific method
- controlled experiment, dependent v. independent variable
 What is spontaneous generation?
Basic Chemistry
 What is matter?
 What are atoms? What are the characteristics of their subatomic
particles?
 Know the types of bonding: covalent v. ionic v. hydrogen
 Know the properties of water:
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Polarity
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Cohesion v. adhesion
 Know the difference between acids and bases; characteristics of the
pH scale
Macromolecules
 What are the four main macromolecules?
 What six elements form the backbone of these macromolecules?
 What is a monomer? What are the monomers of ALL the
macromolecules? Do any macromolecules NOT have a monomer?
 Know the characteristics of carbohydrates (i.e. polysaccharides):
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What are monosaccharides (i.e. the 6 carbon sugars)? Examples?
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What are disaccharides? Examples?
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What are polysaccharides? What are the differences between
starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin?
 Know the characteristics of lipids:
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triglycerides (glycerol + fatty acids)
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saturated v. mono/poly-unsaturated fats
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what are phospholipids?
 What are the characteristics of proteins (i.e. polypeptides):
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What are amino acids? Their characteristics?
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What are peptide bonds? How do they form?
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What is the importance of protein shape/structure and function?
What are the 4 levels of protein structure?
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What are six major functions of proteins?
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What is protein denaturation?
 What are the characteristics of Nucleic Acids (polynucleotides):
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What are nucleotides? Describe their structure
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What are the characteristics of the two main types of nucleic
acids? (DNA v. RNA)
Cell Structure and Function
 How were cells discovered?
 What is the Cell Theory?
 What are two general types of microscope? How is TOTAL
magnification determined using a compound light microscope?
 Why are cells small? How do the concepts of surface area-to-volume
ratio apply.
 Know the characteristics and differences between the arrangements
of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells and Plant and Animal cells:
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What are organelles? How do they help a cell function?
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Be able to describe the structure and function of each organelle
Cell Membranes and Transport
 What is the structure of a cell/plasma membrane?
 What does it mean when we say that a membrane is selectivelypermeable?
 What is the Fluid Mosaic Model?
 Be able to describe the composition/characteristics of the
phospholipid bilayer (i.e. hydrophilic and hydrophilic regions). Why is
this critical to how cells maintain equilibrium and osmotic balance.
 What are examples of membrane proteins? What is the function of
membrane proteins?
 What is the function of membrane carbohydrates?
 What’s a solution? What is the difference between solute and solvent?
 Be able to explain how particles are transported across a membrane:
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Passive v. Active transport
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Define passive transport and characteristics of the following
types:
1. simple diffusion (what effects diffusion rate)
2. facilitated diffusion (importance of channel and carrier
proteins)
3. osmosis (what is tonicity: iso/hyper/hypotonic solutions)
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Define active transport and its characteristics:
1. Sodium-Potassium Pump
2. Endocytosis (phago/pinocytosis) v. Exocytosis
Miscellaneous
Many of the exam questions will require you to analyze charts, graphs, food
webs, ecological pyramids, etc. Use your book and the standardized test
prep questions at the end of every chapter as a means of helping you study
***ONE FINAL NOTE:
This study guide is a means of refreshing your memory about things that you
may have forgotten and to direct your attention toward main topics and/or
concepts. It is not meant to inform you of every single thing that will be on
the exam or to teach you everything that we have learned this past
semester. It will be greatly beneficial to know all VOCAB & to study ALL of
your notes, labs, concept maps, and other worksheets. HAPPY STUDYING 