AP Biology
Midterm: Outline of Topics
Please bring the following materials to the exam:
Several #2 pencils
Pens
White out
Reading/Studying material
Review:
At Home:
 Review notes
 Review vocabulary
 Go over homework and labs
 Use summaries at the end of each chapter to assess your recall and review areas
that are unclear
In Class:
 Gather old tests/quizzes and review
 Ask specific questions or topics
Chapter 1:
Biological systems – emergent properties and reductionism
Feedback regulation
Diversity of life
Evolution and natural selection
“Tree of Life” – phylogenetic
Exploring science
Chapter 2:
Composition of Matter
Elements
Atoms
Compounds and Bonding
Electron configuration and chemical properties
Bonding – ionic, covalent, hydrogen, van der waals
Chapter 3:
Polarity of water
Four properties of water – cohesion/adhesion, moderation of temp, insulation, solvent of
life
pH and effects of acid rain
Chapter 4:
Properties of carbon
Versatility of carbon
Functional groups
ATP
Chapter 5:
Polymers
Synthesis and breakdown
Monomers
Four organic compounds
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acids
Chapter 6:
History of the cell
Eukaryotic cell organelles
The endomembrane system
Mitochondria and chloroplasts
Cytoskeleton
Extracellular components and gap junctions
Chapter 7:
Cell membrane structure and function
Transport of materials through membrane
Passive
Active
Bulk
Chapter 11:
Cell-to-cell communitcation
Long-distance and local signaling
Reception of signals
Transduction – different types
Response
Chapter 8:
Forms of energy
Metabolic pathway
Free energy change and endothermic/exothermic reactions: spontaneous?
ATP and energy coupling
Role and function of enzymes
Regulation of enzymes
Chapter 10:
Photosynthesis and the chloroplast
The light reactions: the ETC and chemiosmosis
The Calvin cycle
C3, C4 and CAM plants
Chapter 9:
Cellular respiration and the mitochondria
Glycolysis
Citric Acid Cycle
Oxidative phosphorylation: the ETC and chemiosmosis
ATP production
Fermentation: lactic acid and alcoholic
Cellular respiration and photosynthesis
Chapter 12:
The cell cycle
Mitosis
Kinetichores
Control of the cell cycle
Cancer
Chapter 13:
Asexual vs. Sexual reproduction
Sexual life cycles
Meiosis
Sources of genetic variation
Chapter 14:
Mendel’s laws of inheritance
More complex forms of inheritance
Polygenic, multiple alleles, codominance, incomplete dominance, pleiotropy,
epistasis, multifactorial
Environmental effects
Human traits and inheritance
Pedigree charts and genetic counseling
Human disorders
Chapter 15:
Chromosomes and inheritance
Morgan’s experiments on chromosomes
Linked genes and genetic recombination and linkage mapping
Sex-linked genes
Chromosomal mutations or mistakes in number
Chapter 16:
DNA: Structure and discovery
DNA replication
Chapter 17:
Transcription
Translation
Types of RNA
Gene mutations and consequences
Ecology Unit: Chapters 50-55
Ecology Basics
Interactions between organisms and environment
Biotic and Abiotic factors
Role of Climate
Biomes
Behavioral ecology
Proximate vs. Ultimate behavior
Genetic component
Behavior and diet; behavior and natural selection; behavior and survival
Population ecology
Exponential vs. logistic growth
Abiotic and biotic influences on populations
Human population trends
Community Ecology
Interaction between organisms and other organisms
Distrubances and succession
Ecosystems
Primary productivity
Energy transfer
Nutrient cycles
Human disturbances of cycles
Conservation and restoration ecology