Biology Midterm Study Guide
Chapter 1: The Nature of Life (p.2)
Students will be able to…
● identify variables in an experiment
● distinguish between observations and inferences
● match examples to characteristics of living things
Mike’s dad always buys bread with preservatives because he says it lasts longer. Mike asks, “Will bread with preservatives stay fresh longer than bread without
preservatives?” He hypothesizes that bread with preservatives will not grow mold as quickly as bread without preservatives. In order to test his hypothesis, he obtains
one slice of bread containing preservatives and one slice of bread without any preservatives. He dampens two paper towels and folds the paper towels so that they will
lay flat inside two separate ziploc bags. One slice of bread is placed in each bag and the bags are sealed and kept in a dark environment for one week. Mike records
mold growth once a day for one week.
What is Mike’s hypothesis? ______________________________________________________________
What is the independent variable?
Dependent variable?
Control group?
Name 3 controlled variables in Mike’s experiment.
“The bread with preservatives has less mold growing on its surface than the bread without preservatives” is an (observation, inference,
opinion).
“The bread without preservatives tastes better” is an (observation, inference, opinion).
“The preservatives in the bread include fungicides” is an (observation, inference, opinion).
Distinguish between a hypothesis and a theory.
List the 8 characteristics of living things and gives examples of each:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Biochemistry:
Label:
22.________________________________
23.________________________________
24.________________________________
What is an enzyme?
Why are enzymes referred to as a lock and key mechanism?
What are the functions of:
a.Lipids
b.Carbohydrates
c.Nucleic acids
d.Proteins
Ch 10 and 11.4: Cellular Inheritance
Describe what is going on in each phase of the cell cycle picture here:
Explain how the cell cycle is regulated and what happens when this system
malfunctions (ie. cancer)
Meiosis is the formation of sex cells or gametes. What is crossing-over? Explain
their contribution to genetic diversity.
Compare and Contrast Mitosis and Meiosis in terms of where these processes occur,
their function or purpose, the number of divisions and daughter cells produced, the
number of chromosomes in the daughter cells.
:
MITOSIS
MEIOSIS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ch 12: DNA and RNA
1. Compare DNA and RNA by filling out the chart below.
DNA
Stands for:
RNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Name of Sugar:
4 Nitrogen Bases:
Single or Double Stranded:
Where is it in the cell?
Types of:
cDNA
complementary strand of DNA
Purpose:
Sketch a picture of the molecule:
2. DNA replication:
a. What is it?
b. When does it occur in the cell cycle?
c. Why does it occur?
3. Transcription and translation: how is genetic information encoded in DNA
transcribed (copied) as mRNA in the nucleus and translated into a specific protein
in the ribosome? Transcribe the master DNA strand into mRNA:
______________________________________________________
Master DNA strand: TAC CAT GGG TGA CAA GTC
mRNA:
Protein:
Label each part:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
5. Human hair is made of protein. Explain how the
processes of DNA replication/transcription/translation, cell
cycle with Meiosis all can lead to two people having
different colored hair.
Ch 15, 16, 17-4: Evolution
1. Who is Charles Darwin? Describe his ideas of natural selection and common descent.
2. How can the diversity of living things be explained using the theory of natural selection?
3. What causes genetic variation occur? __________________ & ______________________
4.How do the processes described in #3 above, provide material in organisms for natural selection to work upon? In other words, how
does the absence of the processes described in #3 prevent natural selection from occurring?
5.How does natural selection explain how bacteria becomes immune to antibiotics?
Ch 17: The History of Life,
Geologic time: Place the major groups of animals and mass extinctions into the appropriate era
PALEOZOIC:
MESOZOIC:
CENOZOIC: