Advanced Placement Biology
Semester 1 Final Exam Review
Format:
 2 written response worth 10% of your semester grade
 30 multiple choice worth 10% of your semester grade
Unit 1: Biochemistry and Statistics
Concept 2.2: Atomic Structure: Draw the atoms (with protons, neutrons, and e-) for carbon, oxygen, hydrogen,
and nitrogen. How does the atomic structure of the atom affect an atom’s bonding behavior?
Concept 2.3: Chemical bonds: Compare ionic, polar covalent, nonpolar covalent, and hydrogen bonds. Use the
drawings to explain electronegativity.
Concept 3.1: Water properties are due to hydrogen bonding which are the result of polar covalent bonds. Why
does water stick to other water molecules?
Concept 3.2: Why is liquid water the most dense phase of water? Why do polar molecules dissolve in water
but nonpolar molecules do not? Predict whether a substance will be hydrophobic or hydrophilic given its
structural formula.
Concept 36.3: What is the Cohesion-Tension hypothesis? How does it explain how water gets to the top of a
plant?
Concept 36.4: Describe the role of guard cells in regulating transpiration rates. How do stomata open and
close as environmental conditions change?
Lab: Alcohol and Water: Compare the polarity of water and methanol. How does this explain why more water
drops fit on a penny than methanol?
Lab: Transpiration: What environmental factors can affect transpiration rates?
Statistics: If given 2 data sets, can you reject/fail to reject a null hypothesis? Calculate: mean, standard
deviation, calculated t, degrees of freedom
Unit 2: Cell Transport
Concept 5.3: Phospholipids: Why are phospholipids useful in a cell membrane? Use the idea: hydrophilic,
hydrophobic, polar, nonpolar. Why does a phospholipid have more potential energy than a carbohydrate?
Concept 7.2: Explain selective permeability.
Concept 7.3: Why can some molecules move passively by facilitated diffusion. Compare hypotonic, hypertonic,
and isotonic. Determine the water potential of a cell when given the solute potential in an environment.
Which way will water go (in/out of cells) when a salmon reaches the ocean? How does facilitated diffusion
help you understand chemiosmosis?
Concept 6.2: How does a cell’s need to transport material affect the size of the cell? Explain how surface-tovolume ratio influences the plasma membrane. Explain why a high surface-to-volume ratio facilitates
exchange of materials between a cell and its environment.
Concept 7.4: Compare a sucrose cotransporter to a glucose 4 transporter, noticing energy demands of each.
Modeling Activity: Diffusion: Explain why some molecules can move by passive transport.
Modeling Activity: Cell Size: Explain how surface-to-volume ratio influences the shape of cells.
Modeling Activity: Facilitated Diffusion and Active Transport: Explain how molecules that are impermeable to
the membrane are moved.
Lab: Model Cells in Model Environments: Predict and explain results when dialysis bags are filled with various
solutions and placed in various environments. Calculate percent change.
Lab: Elodea and Yeast cells. Compare the response of plant and animal cells in different environments.
Calculate pressure potential.
Lab: Potato and Yams. Calculate solute potential, total potential. Graph change and use the x intercept to
determine the molarity of an unknown.
Unit 3: Enzymes
Concept 5.1: What is a polymer? What is the difference between dehydration and hydrolysis? When does each
happen and why?
Concept 5.4: Proteins: How is a protein polymerized? What makes 1 protein different than another? Know
primary and tertiary structure. Why do some amino acids’ R groups interact but others don’t? What can cause
R groups to no longer interact? Compare Hemoglobin A vs Hemoglobin S. Why is Hemoglobin S different and
what impact does this difference have on people with sickle cell anemia?
Concept 8.1: 1st law of thermodynamics explains energy transfers: examples? 2nd law of thermodynamics
explains entropy: examples? list some and explain
Concept 8.4: How do enzymes work? Why are enzymes substrate specific? Use tertiary structure of a protein
to explain. What environmental factors can influence the shape of an enzyme? Explain how.
Modeling Activity: Enzyme Substrate Model: Explain the role of denaturation, coenzymes, and competitive
inhibitors in influencing enzymatic reaction rates.
Concept 3.3: Acids and Bases: What does an acid/base do to an enzyme? How? In your explanation, discuss
how an acid/base can change pH.
Lab: Factors Affecting Rate of Enzyme Reaction: Know how to calculate the rate of a reaction. What factors
influence enzyme shape? How can this be measured?
Modeling Activity: Protein Structure: Understand how proteins fold.
Unit 4: Cell Communication
Concept 11.1: How do cells, in general, communicate? How are external signals able to affect changes within a
cell?
Concept 45.2: Explain the insulin/glucagon model. How is a signal transduction pathway passed by body cells
that have been stimulated by insulin/glucagon? What factors can disrupt this pathway? Know: glut4
transporter, glycogen synthase, glycogen phosphorylase, glucose, glycogen, facilitated diffusion, pancreas,
homeostasis, blood, body cell
Concept 48.2: Compare the role of passive and active transport in creating the resting membrane potential of
a neuron. Know: Na+/K+ pump
Concept 48.3: How does a neuron send a signal from one end to another end of the cell? Know: ligand gated
channel, Na+ voltage gated channel, K+ voltage gated channel, action potential
Concept 48.4: How does a neuron send a signal to another neuron? Know: vesicle, exocytosis, Ca+,
neurotransmitter
POGIL Activity: Neuron Function: Know the parts of the neuron: cell body, dendrites, axon, synapse. Know
what is happening on each phase of a graph showing changes in mV before, during, and after an action
potential: polarization, depolarization, repolarization, hyperpolarization
Concept 19.2: Why do viruses hurt us? Compare the life cycle of a bacteriophage, polio virus, influenza virus,
and HIV.
POGIL Activity: Immunity: Compare the initial and secondary exposure to an antigen. How do cells
communicate via antibodies and antigens?
Concept 43.2: Understand the role of the following in the adaptive immune response: antigen, antibody,
cytotoxic T cell, helper T cell, B cell, memory cell, macrophage, VDJ recombination, perforin, lysosome. Explain
why adaptive immunity is learned in an individual’s life.
Lab: ELISA: How can scientists determine if an organism is producing an antibody?
Unit 5: Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration (*only to Photosynthesis for Semester 1 Final Exam)
Concept 5.2: Carbohydrates: Why does a carbohydrate have more potential energy than carbon dioxide?
Explain using your understanding of electronegativity.
Concept 10.1: What is the general formula for photosynthesis? Where does it happen? How does it explain
where the mass of a plant comes from? Why do plants need light, air, water, and soil (remember, soil is not
needed for photosynthesis).
Concept 10.2: How do photosystems transfer energy to plants? Inputs/outputs? What is the role of
chlorophyll, a photon, and water?
Concept 9.4: For the electron transport chain: know where in the cell, what is the input/output, how energy is
transferred, the role of the phospholipid bilayer, integral proton pumps, and ATP synthase. Why do we
breathe oxygen?
POGIL Activity: Photosynthesis: Note location of each of the 2 reactions of photosynthesis: light reactions and
the Calvin Cycle. Compare the reactants and products of each.
Lab: Photosynthesis: How do different environmental factors affect photosynthesis? How can this be
measured?
Modeling Activity: Harvesting Light: Why is chlorophyll an affective molecule in absorbing light? What does it
mean to “absorb” a photon? Why are plants green?