Biology 178-001 (Principles of Biology) Spring 2006
Study Guide for Final Exam
1. Exam format – Cumulative
You will be tested on material from previous exams and the recent material. However, the focus
will be on the material covered after exam 4. In addition to current material, there will definitely be a short
answer pedigree question. Multiple choice questions will be cumulative, with the emphasis on the recent
material. You will also definitely have an essay question on either the Watson and Crick paper and/or the
“Discover” paper on the work of Schweitzer et al. See previous study guides for material covered in exams
1-4. The review session will be in class at 8:10 AM April 28 – please do the practice test prior to coming.
2. DNA (Chapter 14)
 Know why scientists at first believed proteins were the hereditary material and what experiments
were performed to change this paradigm. Be prepared to write essays on the history of DNA
research, leading from determining that DNA is the hereditary material to the structure of DNA,
and how it replicates. You should be very familiar with the experiments behind our current
knowledge!
 Be able to describe the work of Griffith with mice and Streptococcus pneumoniae and know when
this work was performed. What was the significance behind this experiment?
 Be able to describe the Hershey and Chase experiment, when it was performed, and know why this
was the final proof that convinced scientists that DNA is the hereditary material. Know what a
bacteriophage is, of what it is composed, and how it reproduces.
 What did Levene determine about DNA? What was wrong with his theory? What determines
which is the 3 and 5 end of the DNA? What is a phosphodiester bond?
 Know Chargaff’s rules, how he determined them, and when.
 Be familiar with Watson and Crick’s landmark 1953 paper (you should have read the paper and
should understand it – there are web sites that can assist you with this). Be aware of the problems
with the model for DNA structure proposed by Pauling and Corey. What evidence/methods did
Watson and Crick use? What misleading statements were included in the paper? What significant
understatement was included at the end of the paper? Be able to describe the structure of DNA.
 Know the contribution of Franklin to the elucidation of DNA structure, what method she used and
why she was not awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize (know who did receive it!).
 What 3 methods for DNA replication were originally hypothesized? Who, and in what year,
proved that the semi-conservative hypothesis is correct? Understand, and be able to describe their
experiment. What results would you predict for this experiment if the other hypotheses had
been correct? REMEMBER – IF YOU HAND THIS IN YOU CAN OBTAIN BONUS
POINTS!
 Be familiar with the structure of a nucleotide, including how the carbon atoms are numbered.
 Be familiar with the process of DNA replication. What is the name of the group of enzymes that
perform this? What do they require for synthesis, and in which direction does synthesis occur?
What are leading and lagging strands? Why does the synthesis of one strand “lag”? What are the
functions of DNA helicase, primase, DNA polymerase I, and DNA ligase? What is the principle
difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with respect to DNA replication?
 How many genes encode one polypeptide?
 Who (and in what year?) showed that proteins are composed of distinct amino acid sequences?
3. Genes and How They Work (Chapter 15)
 Know what the 3 types of RNA are, what bases are found in the RNA molecule, and which base
each pairs with.
 Be able to describe the structure of ribosomes. Why could you describe ribosomes as ribozymes?
What are the E, P, and A sites of a ribosome?
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What is the genetic code? Be able to describe the 1961 hypothesis of Crick et al. regarding the
genetic code, their reasoning behind this, and how they tested it. What conclusions they did they
make after analyzing their results?
Who cracked the genetic code (and in what year?)? How did they do it?
Why can the genetic code be described as “universal”? What exceptions are there to this rule?
Be able to describe the process of transcription in prokaryotes and know where in the eukaryotic
cell it occurs. Also, know what RNA polymerase and promoters are. Which is the template
strand? Coding strand? What signals the transcription process to terminate?
How does transcription differ in eukaryotes from in prokaryotes? What is a TATA box? What is
the 5 cap and what is its function? The 3 poly-A tail? What are transcription factors? Introns?
Exons?
Know how mRNA exits the nucleus.
What are codons? Anticodons?
Know what the start signal for translation is, which amino acid it encodes and know what signals
the protein making machinery to stop translation. Be able to describe the process of translation
(the processes of initiation, elongation, translocation, and termination) and where in the cell it
occurs. What are release factors? How does translation differ in eukaryotes from in prokaryotes?
Know where translation occurs if a protein is to be secreted and where it occurs if it is to remain
within the cell.
Be able to solve genetic code problems (from a given DNA sequence be able to determine the
corresponding RNA and amino acid sequences (using Table 15.1) and also be able to determine
the consequences of given mutations in the DNA).
4. Mutation and Recombination (Chapter 20, P 410-411)
 Be able to define mutation and recombination and their importance for evolution (including
somatic versus germ line mutations).
 Be able to answer questions involving insertions, deletions, and substitutions (eg. know what they
are and be able to work out the consequences of a particular mutation in a given sequence).
5. Evolution (Chapters 1, 21, & 22)
 Know about Darwin, his theory of natural selection, and his voyage on the HMS Beagle. Know
what evidence Darwin used to propose that evolution occurs. Know about Darwin’s finches and
how differences in their beak size and shape provided evidence for natural selection.
 Be able to define evolution and natural selection.
 Know that there were competing theories for explaining evolution. Be familiar with Lamarck’s
theory.
 Be familiar with how populations evolve. Know what allele frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium are. What is polymorphism?
 Know the Hardy-Weinberg rule (memorize the equation and be able to use it to solve problems –
make sure you can distinguish when a question is asking for q and when it is asking for q 2!). Also
know the 5 conditions required for the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to apply.
 Know the effects of mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, non-random mating, and selection on the
evolution of populations (changing allele frequencies). Which of these factors have the greatest
effect on population evolution? The least? Be able to define gene flow, genetic drift, the founder
effect, and the bottleneck effect, and be able to recognize examples of these.
 What is assortative mating? Dissassortative mating? What is their effect on genotype frequencies
in a population?
 Be able to give examples of the founder and bottleneck effects.
 What are the selecting agents in (a) artificial selection and (b) natural selection? What is
frequency dependent selection? What are its possible effects on population variation?
 Be able to give an example of heterozygote advantage.
 What is fitness? How is the fitness of an organism determined?
 Know what disruptive, directional, and stabilizing selection are. Be able to give examples of
these.
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Be able to give evidence for evolution occurring by the mechanism of natural selection.
Why are Darwin’s finches important to evolutionists? Be familiar with the recent evidence of P.
and R. Grant. What is resource partitioning?
Be familiar with the industrial melanism example, including the current scientific controversy
regarding this data. Be familiar with Tutt’s hypothesis and Kettlewell’s experiment.
What is artificial selection? Be able to give an example of the speed at which artificial selection
can result in evolutionary change.
Be able to give evidence for macroevolution (fossil, molecular, and anatomical records). Know
what fossils are and how phylogeny can be made “quantitative”. Be familiar with the “Discover”
paper regarding the results of Schweitzer at al. Why are her results so surprising? Why are young
earth creationists interested in her work? What are the implications (for science) of her work if the
results can be replicated?
Be familiar with the fossil evidence regarding whale evolution. What is the importance of the
recent discoveries of Pakicetus, Ambulocetus, and Rodhocetus?
How has the horse evolved over the last 60 million years? What selective forces have been
responsible for this? Has horse evolution been a linear event?
Know what homologous and analogous structures are (be able to distinguish them!) and be able to
give examples.
Why is the embryonic development of vertebrates evidence for evolution?
What evidence regarding evolution can be inferred from imperfect structures? Be able to describe
an example of an imperfect structure.
Know what vestigial structures are and be able to give examples.
Know how sequence divergence is used in phylogeny and what a phylogenetic tree is. Which
nucleotide sequences are the most suitable for testing whether evolution has occurred? Why?
What is convergent evolution? Be able to give an example.
Why are islands important in the study of evolution?
6. The Origin of Species (Chapter 23)
 Be able to define the term “species” using the biological species concept. Who was responsible
for the BSC? What are the problems with the BSC?
 Be familiar with the mechanisms (and be able to give examples) of reproductive isolation.
 How do evolutionists propose new species are formed?
7. Classification of Organisms (Chapter 25, P 510-511, & 518)
 Know what the binomial system is (including who first used it), how genus and species are written
and how the name of an organism is abbreviated.
 Know the order of higher categories of classification (species - genus- family- order- class –
phylum – kingdom – domain). Know what the 6 kingdoms and 3 domains of life are. Who was
responsible for this classification system? Be familiar with the evolutionary relationship of the 3
domains.
STUDY HARD – REMEMBER JUST 1 OR 2 % POINTS CAN BOOST YOU BY A PARTIAL
GRADE IN THE PLUS/MINUS SYSTEM – AND GOOD LUCK!