AP Biology Animal Physiology Study Guide
1) What happens to the blood when it is pumped into the thin walled blood vessels of the
alveoli of the lungs?
a) platelets are exchanged for plasma
b) carbon dioxide is replaced with oxygen
c) wastes are filtered out of the blood
d) carbon dioxide is converted to carbonic acid
Answer: B because co2 collects in the blood as blood returns to the heart and lungs. In
the lungs, the carbon dioxide leaves the body. It is replaced by oxygen when the lungs
inhale fresh air.
2) What is the difference between open and closed circulatory system?
Answer: Closed circulatory is when the blood never leaves the network of blood vessels
(explain what they are) when the flow is confined to the vessels. (What phyla?) The open
circulatory system is an arrangement of internal transport present in many animals such
as mollusks and arthropods, in which fluid in a cavity called the hemocoel bathes the
organs directly with oxygen and nutrients and there is no distinction between blood and
interstitial fluid.
1) What is a heart attack?
A) The stop of blood pumping through the heart due to the lack of oxygen.
B) The death of cardiac tissue due to cornory blockage.
C) The excess pressure around the heart due to the excessive body fat.
D) arrhythmic heart beat
(B)
2) What are the benefits of negative pressure breathing as found in mammals?
(With the ability to pull air into the lungs, mammals are better suited
to hold the air for a longer period of time. This is especially beneficial when
mammals are in habitats where the air is scarce/limited. EX: dolphins in water; humans in
a smoked room. )
What are the three types of T cells?
A. T cytotoxic cells, T helper cells, memory T cells
B. T cytotoxic cells, T helper cells, T receptor
C. T helper cells, T memory cells, T signal cells
D. T memory cells, T helper cells, T pain cells
Correct answer is A. T cytotoxic cells destroy cells infected by intracellular pathogens and cancer
cells. The T helper cells are present in the humoral and cell-mediate immunity. The memory T
cells fight against virus or other microbial molecules.
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Choose three of the five immunoglobins and explain their function.
The igM are the first antibodies present that indicate the presence of an infection. Even though
they have five antigen-bonding sites, it does not cross the placenta or detect maternal infection.
The igG is a monomer that crosses blood vessels and the placenta to fight against bacteria, virus,
and toxins. Another immunoglobin is the igA that can be found in saliva and tears. They are
responsible for preventing the attachment of viruses and bacteria from epithelial surfaces.
1) Which of the following is correct about the kidney?
a. Filtration occurs in the Bowman’s capsule and is nonselective.
b. Filtration is selective and occurs by active transport.
c. Filtration is selective and occurs by passive transport.
d. Reabsorption is selective and occurs by passive transport only
e. Reabsorption occurs in the glomerulus
Answer: A; Filtration occurs by diffusion and is passive and nonselective. The filtrate
contains everything small enough to diffuse out of the glomerulus and into the Bowman’s
capsule, including glucose, salts, vitamins, wastes such as urea, and other small
molecules.
Open Ended
What are the malpighian tubules? How do malpighian tubules contribute to the success
of insects in terrestrial environments?
Spiders and insects’ excretory system consists of several hundred malpighian
tubules. The blind ends of the malpighian tubes lie in the hemocoel, which is the blood
cavity, and are bathed in hemolymph. Hemolymph is a fluid in the body cavities and
tissues of invertebrates, in arthropods functioning as blood and in some other
invertebrates functioning as lymph. The cells of the tubule wall actively transport
substances, like uric acid, from the hemolymph into the tubule lumen. Other solutes and
water diffuse through the wall. The tubules empty into the gut of the insect. Water, some
salts, and other solutes are effectively reabsorbed into the hemolymph. Therefore, the
tubules are very effective with conserving body fluids, making life on terrestrial land very
successful for insects.
1) Which of the following statements is correct about the heart?
A. The right ventricle pumps blood to the aorta.
B. The left ventricle pumps blood to the entire body.
C. The right atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs.
D. The right ventricle pumps blood to the right atrium.
E. The right ventricle has the thickest wall of all the chambers.
Answer: B. The left ventricle pumps blood through the aorta and out to the entire body.
Because it provides the greatest force, it has the thickest wall of all the chambers. The
right atriums receives blood from the vena cava and sends it to the right ventricle.
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Use your knowledge of the excretory system to provide an example of a disease related to
the excretory system and explain what is the disease is.
Sample Answer: Chronic kidney disease is an example of a condition related to the
excretory system. Chronic kidney disease means that the kidneys, which are part of the
human excretory system, are not working correctly. Kidneys filter the blood and produce
urine to remove waste products from the body. As a result, when they don't work right,
wastes build up in our blood. Specifically, each kidney has about a million tiny filters
called nephrons. When nephrons are damaged, other nephrons are able to take on the
extra work for a while (which is why some people may live with kidney disease for
years) but after continuing abuse or damage, they will stop working as well. After some
time, the nephrons are not capable of filtering the blood any longer.
1) A person with a systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure
of 80 mm Hg typically has a mean arterial blood pressure of 90 mm Hg. Which of the
following offers the best explanation for why the mean arterial blood pressure is 90 mm
Hg, and not the average of the two pressures (100 mm Hg)?
a. The systolic blood pressure is higher than the diastolic blood pressure.
b. The quantity of fluid in the person's circulatory system must be greater during the
diastole.
c. The diastole of the heart lasts longer than the systole of the heart.
d. The systolic blood pressure is not as high as the diastolic blood pressure.
e. Angiotensin, produced from a blood protein by renin, elevates the diastolic blood
pressure.
Answer: The correct answer is C. The length of time the heart is in diastole is about
twice as long as it is in systole. Systole only occurs when the heart is actively contracting.
It remains in diastole for the majority of the time. Therefore, the mean arterial pressure is
usually closer to one's diastolic pressure than systolic, rather than the average of both
pressures.
2) What are the four regions of the nephron? Elaborate on the structure and function of
one of the regions.
Answer: The four regions are Bowman's capsule, Proximal convoluted tubule (PCT),
Loop of Henle, and Distal convoluted tubule (DCT).
Ex: Bowman's capsule is a large double walled cup. It lies in the renal cortex. It contains
a tuft of capillaries called glomerulus and the outer wall is continuous with the rest of the
nephron. The space between the two walls of the Bowman's capsule is continuous with
the lumen of the next part of the nephron. The Bowman's capsule and the glomerulus
together constitutes the renal corpuscle or malpighian body. Its function is to collect the
filtrate from the Glomerulus, passing it on to the Proximal Convoluted Tubules (PCT);
subsequently, to the rest of the Nephron.
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MC question:
Which of the following is not a process involved in thermoregulation?
A.Conduction
B.Radiation
C.Evaporation
D.Excretion
E.Convection
Open-ended question:
Why is a four-chambered heart more efficient than a three- chambered heart?
Answers:
MC: The answer is D. Excretion is not a part of thermoregulation as it does not regulate
body temperature.
OE: A four-chambered heart separates the blood that has oxygen from the blood
without the oxygen. Explain the flow of blood through the heart.
A. What are the five classes of Immuglobins and what are their functions?
B.
Answer:
1. IgM: 1st to circulate; indicates infection; too large to cross placenta
2. IgG: most abundant; crosses walls of blood vessels and placenta; protects against
bacteria, viruses, & toxins; activates complement
3. IgA: produced by cells in mucous membranes; prevent attachment of viruses/bacteria
to epithelial surfaces; also found in saliva, tears, and perspiration
4. IgD: do not activate complement and cannot cross placenta; found on surfaces of B
cells; probably help differentiation of B cells into plasma and memory cells
5. IgE: very large; small quantity; releases histamines-allergic reaction
B. Name all of the neurotransmitters?
Answer:
1. Biogenic amines(norepinephrine; dopamine; serotonin); Acetylcholine (skeletal
muscle); Neuropeptides(endorphin); Amino acids
2. Acetylcholine (skeletal muscle); Neuropeptides(endorphin)
3. Neuropeptides(endorphin)
Q: Explain the structure of an antibody.
A: An antibody is "Y" shaped and has two arms which combine with an antigen. The
molecule has four polypeptide chains which are made up of two heavy chains (identical)
and two shorter light chains. Each chain has a constant and variable region. The variable
region lies at the tips of the arms while the constant region makes up the heavy chains.
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Q: Which of the following neurotransmitters releases norepinephrine, dopamine, and
serotonin?
A. Amino acids
B. Biogenic Amines
C. Acetylcholine
D. Neuropeptides
Answer: B
Free Response Question:
In outer space, the force of gravity is lower than on Earth. Would this increase or
decrease pulse rate? Why?
Answer: Pulse rate would be lower in outer space because the force of gravity is lower.
This has a very important implication for the circulation of blood throughout the body.
When deoxygenated blood travels up the veins to the heart, it does not have as much
resistance from gravity. Therefore, it reaches the heart faster. Because the mode of
circulation becomes so much faster, the heart does not have to work as hard and the pulse
rate is decreased.
In blood pressure, which measurement is the one that shows contraction?
A. Dystolic
B. Systolic
C. Newtons
D. Joules
Answer: B
- Which system helps maintain homeostasis?
A - lymphatic system
B - endocrine system
C - nervous system
D - all of the above
The answer is D. The nervous and endocrine systems are most prevalent and energy
consuming, though the lymphatic as well as other systems are equally as important.
Nervous helps to regulate breathing, as well as digestive and urinary, functions. The
endocrine system monitors chemical/fluid levels and uses hormones to balance them out.
Lymphatic fights infection and urinary removes toxins from the blood and respiratory
maintains oxygen and pH.
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When undergoing an internal or external stimulus, sensory neurons send out
information to a human’s central nervous system which is then
A) Sorted out to the proper destination by interneurons, given to motor neurons that
create an impulse to then be acted upon by their muscles or glands.
B) Passed on to motor neurons to stimulate information, then the information goes
through integration to reach the effectors.
C) Transmitted through the synapse through motor neurons and then interpreted by the
effectors to then yield the reaction.
D) A & B
Open Ended
Name an example of a neurotransmitter and explain how it relates to the diagram
above
Dopamine first meets the presynaptic neuron. In the membrane calcium is
released through the channel to end up in the synaptic terminal. Due to the
calcium ion, synaptic vesicles combine with the plasma membrane to give out the
dopamine across the synapse. The receptors of the postsynaptic neuron then
attaches to the dopamine. Channels either open or close, which can cause
depolarization or hyperpolarization.
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