AP Biology Review Questions – Test #1 9/22/10
These questions are offered as a guide to help you prepare for the first test. They are
not all-inclusive, but should provide a good starting point.
Chapter 1 – Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
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What are the unifying themes that pervade the science of biology?
What is the hierarchy of structural levels in biology?
How do properties of life emerge from complex organization?
What are several emergent properties associated with life?
What is the difference between holism and reductionism?
How did technological breakthroughs contribute to our knowledge of cell
theory?
What are basic differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
What is meant by the phrase “form fits function”?
What are the five kingdoms of life, and what are some characteristics of each?
How did Charles Darwin’s ideas contribute to biology’s conceptual
framework?
What is the scientific method?
What are the features of a controlled experiment?
What are the differences between inductive and deductive reasoning?
How are science and technology interdependent?
Chapter 2 – The Chemical Context of Life
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What are elements and compounds?
What four elements essential to life make up 96% of living matter?
What is the structure of an atom?
What are atomic mass, atomic number, atomic weight, and valence?
How can the number of neutrons be found given the atomic and mass
number?
Why are radioisotopes important to biologists?
How does electron configuration influence chemical behavior of an atom?
What is the octet rule and how is it useful?
Why are the noble gases so unreactive?
What is electronegativity and how does it influence the formation of bonds?
What are the differences between polar, non-polar, and ionic bonds?
How does a hydrogen bond form, and how does it differ from a covalent or
ionic bond?
Why are weak bonds important to living organisms?
How do the concentrations of reactants and products affect a chemical
reaction?
Chapter 3 –Water and the Fitness of the Environment
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How does water contribute to the fitness of the environment to support life?
What is the structure and geometry of a water molecule?
How is water able to form hydrogen bonds?
What are several characteristics of water that result from hydrogen bonding?
How is the cohesiveness of water important biologically?
What is the difference between heat and temperature?
How do water’s high specific heat capacity, high heat of vaporization, and
expansion upon freezing affect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems?
How does the polarity of the water molecule make it a versatile solvent?
What is molarity, and why is it advantageous to measure quantities in moles?
How do you find molar mass or molarity?
What is the equation for the disassociation of water, and what is actually
transferred from one molecule to another?
What is the pH scale?
How do acids and bases directly or indirectly affect hydrogen ion
concentration?
What is a buffer and how does a buffering system work?
What causes acid rain, and how does acid rain adversely affect environmental
fitness?
Chapter 4 – Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
A. What are the philosophies of vitalism and mechanism, and how did they
influence the development of organic chemistry?
B. Why is carbon such a versatile building block of molecules?
C. In what ways can carbon skeletons vary?
D. How does variation in carbon skeletons contribute to the diversity of organic
molecules?
E. What are the three types of isomers and what are the differences between
them?
F. What are the major functional groups, and what are the chemical properties
of organic molecules in which they occur?