BIOLOGY EOC STREAMLINED STUDY GUIDE (use the BIG study guide to dig deeper
and look at more links on all the topics…..but make sure you know at least the following information for each of these
Learning Standard!)
MATTER AND ENERGY IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS
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Photosynthesis = converts water, carbon dioxide and sunlight into glucose and oxygen
CO2 comes from the atmosphere, water comes from the soil, energy comes from the sun
Equation is: 6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight → C6H12O6 + 6O2 (the 6 = 6 molecules of each)
Occurs in the chloroplasts
Many special proteins called enzymes speed up this complex series of chemical reactions
Uses chlorophyll (green pigment that absorbs light) to capture sun's energy
Carried out by autotrophs (organisms that make their own food)
Autotrophs include plants, some bacteria and some protists such as Euglena and Volvox
CELLULAR RESPIRATION
 Cellular Respiration = breaks down glucose (using oxygen) to produce carbon dioxide, water and ATP
 Cellular Respiration is the process by which the chemical energy in "food" molecules is released and
captured in the form of ATP.
 ATP is the energy form for all living cells.
 Formula is: C6H12O6 + 6O2 →6 CO2 + 6 H2O + ATP
 Cellular respiration is not unlike your car burning gasoline (glucose) to get energy (ATP) to move. Your car
also needs oxygen to burn the gas and releases CO2 and H2O in its exhaust.
 The glucose broken down during cellular respiration is produced by plants.
 Primarily takes place in the mitochondria of cells; a preliminary step occurs in the cytoplasm.
 Many special proteins called enzymes speed up this complex series of chemical reactions
 ALL living things carry out the process of cellular respiration!
ORGANELLES
 Know the parts of the cell! There are a myriad of online resources to help you with this. At the very least,
make sure you know what these major cell parts do: mitochondria, nucleus, ribosome, chloroplast (plant
cell only), cell membrane, chromosome, cytoplasm)
CELL MEMBRANE
 The cell membrane controls what goes into and out of a cell.
 Cell membranes are a lipid bilayer
 Items may move through the cell membrane by diffusion or osmosis (water). These require no input of
energy from the cell
 Sometimes the cell must use energy to move items across the membrane; into or out of the cell
 CHECK OUT THE INTERACTIVE LINK ON THE BIG STUDY GUIDE!!
DNA, GENES AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
 DNA composes the chromosomes of all living things and carries the instructions (or blueprint) for
that organism.
 DNA is composed of smaller molecules called nucleotides. Nucleotides, in turn, are composed of
sugar, phosphate and nitrogen base units.
 The sugar in DNA is deoxyribose.
 The four bases in DNA are thymine, guanine, adenine and cytosine.
 A specific section of DNA that gives specific information is called a gene.
 Genes give instructions to make proteins.
 Proteins can be structural (hair, muscle), enzymes, hormones, pigments, carriers (hemoglobin),
etc.
 Proteins doing their specific jobs result in traits!
 Proteins are made up of specific sequences of amino acids; DNA gives instructions how to put
these amino acid chains together.
 Proteins are assembled in the ribosome of the cell.
 RNA plays a major role in the assembly of proteins.
 Check out this link to learn the basics: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/tour/
 Study this link for more about DNA: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/dna/builddna/
 How proteins are made: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/dna/
CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN CELLS
 All living things are composed of these large molecules: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and
nucleic acids.
 Carbohydrates (such as starch) are composed of smaller units called simple sugars (such as
glucose)
 Proteins are composed of smaller units called amino acids.
 Lipids are composed of smaller units called fatty acids.
 Nucleic acids are composed of smaller units called nucleotides.
 Cells continually build larger molecules from smaller molecules and break down large molecules
into smaller molecules.
 Enzymes are proteins that are need to speed up the chemical reactions in cells. They are also
called catalysts.
 ATP is a special molecule that transfers energy to be used in cell processes.
CHROMOSOMES AND MITOSIS
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Genes are carried on chromosomes
Most organisms contain two copies of each chromosome in their cells; one from each parent
Cells divide by mitosis resulting in 2 cells each with an identical set of chromosomes.
Check out the mitosis links on the BIG study guide! Don’t worry about the stages; just be familiar with the
overall process.
MEIOSIS, FERTILIZATION AND OFFSPRING VARIATION
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Check out the meiosis links on the BIG study guide to review the process of meiosis!!
Meiosis produces sex cells, called gametes. These are known as eggs and sperm.
Gametes have half of the chromosomes of regular cells; one of each pair.
Gametes are produced with a unique set of chromosomes and therefore a unique combination of genetic
information.
 Fertilization, the joining of gametes, restores the original set of chromosomes.
 Fertilization, the joining of gametes, results in a unique combination of traits in the offspring.
 If AA mates with aa, all the offspring will be Aa. You should be able to work out simple genetic crosses using a
Punnett square.
TRANSFERS AND CYCLES OF MATTER & ENERGY
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Check out the nitrogen cycle document.
Look over the links on the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle on the BIG study guide.
Review how carbon moves using a food chain or food web diagram.
Be able to explain the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration
POPULATION DENSITY
 Healthy ecosystems have both biotic and abiotic components that depend on each other and affect one
another.
 Population growth patterns can be shown graphically. (predator-prey graph, carrying capacity graph, boom and
bust graph, exponential growth graph)
 Invasive species can make huge impacts on ecosystems.
 Be able to calculate the population density of an organism when given the population size and the size of the
area.
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
 Genetic variation resulting from sexual reproduction and mutation enables some organisms to survive better
and eventually produce offspring.
 Some mutations are negative; however many are neutral and some will increase the chances of survival of an
organism.
 The environment “decides” which organisms will survive and go on to reproduce.
 Natural Selection (proposed by Charles Darwin) describes the process of biological evolution.