Biology Final Review Packet
Name:
Directions: Complete this packet and USE IT TO STUDY. This is not a “guarantee” of what will be on the
final. Anything covered 2nd semester is fair game. Do your best to answer the following questions.
Understand that this is NOT a full review. It is an overview to help you target the important features of
the class. You need to study smart—i.e. study early, make flashcards, review notes, watch youtube
videos, etc. Expect to put a lot of time into preparing for the test. You will be asked some higher level,
critical thinking questions. In order to be successful with these types of questions, you have to know the
basic information and definitions.
GENETICS
1. Define and give an example.
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co-dominance:
Incomplete dominance(intermediate)
Polygenic inheritance
Allele
Homozygous
Heterozygous
Genotype
Phenotype
Dominant
Recessive
2. _____________ is known as the father of genetics for his experiments with pea plants.
3. Long ears are dominant to short. A heterozygous, long-eared male mates with a short-eared female.
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What are the chances the offspring will have long ears?
Human blood type is determined by codominant alleles. A woman with type A blood and a man with
type B blood could potentially have offspring with which blood type?
HONORS ONLY: A father is heterozygous for wavy hair and heterozygous for brown eyes. He has
children with a mother who has straight hair and blue eyes.
____/16 offspring will be heterozygous?
In sex-linked traits, do males or females have the disorder
more often? Why?
According to the pedigree, is the trait dominant or recessive?
Explain. Is it simple dominance or sex-linked? Explain.
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8. Color-blindness is a recessive, sex-linked trait. People who are
color blind, b , cannot see color. People with normal vision, B, can
see color. A female that is a heterozygous carrier for normal vision
has a child with a male who has normal vision. What percent
chance does each have of:
Normal female:________
female:_______
Carrier female:________
Normal male:________
Colorblind(affected)
Colorblind male:________
DNA and Protein Synthesis
Alleles
B = Normal vision
Phenotype
b =colorblind
Genotype
Normal female------------------ XB XB
Normal female (carrier)-------- XB Xb
Colorblind female--------------- Xb Xb
Normal Male---------------------
XB Y
Colorblind Male ----------------- Xb Y
COMPARISON OF DNA AND RNA
DNA
RNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Double-stranded, twisted helix
Never leaves the nucleus
Nitrogenous bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine
(Guanine w/Cytosine, Adenine w/Thymine)
(Purines opposite the Pyrimidines)
(held together by weak hydrogen bonds)
Sugar: deoxyribose
Controls production of all proteins
DNA Replication:
(DNA unravels and each strand makes a new exact copy
so that when mitosis takes place, each cell has the exact
copy of DNA- replicated DNA has 1 original strand and 1
new strand)
DNA coiled into chromosomes in nucleus
Tiny sections of DNA are called genes
Sequence of bases determines sequence of amino acids
in proteins
Ribonucleic acid
Single-stranded
Leaves the nucleus; goes to the cytoplasm
Nitrogenous bases: adenine, uracil, guanine, cytosine
(Guanine w/Cytosine, Adenine w/Uracil)
Sugar: ribose
Leaves the nucleus to carry out functions in cytoplasm
Transcription:
(mRNA is made from one strand of DNA, carries message to
ribosomes)
Translation:
(mRNA codons are translated into amino acids at the ribosome.
The amino acids link together and fold into proteins.)
Protein Synthesis:
Transcription and
Translation
9. Define:
 amino acid
 nucleotide
 codons
 protein synthesis
 gene
10. Watson and Crick are given credit for making a model of the DNA structure known as the ______.
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11.
a. Replication: Copies________. This new DNA has 1 strand from the original piece and 1
___________ strand.
b. Transcription: Pairs up DNA with _____________. RNA molecules are also made of nucleotides,
but the base ________________ replaces the base _______________.
c. Translation: Reads mRNA codon and converts it into an ____________ ___________ at the
________________________.
12. Use the key below to indicate the correct base pairs in the diagram.
A=Adenine
B=Guanine
C=Cytosine
D=Thymine
13. Replicate, transcribe, and translate the following DNA sequence:
A
C
T
T
G
C
Content Domain: Evolution
SPECIES / POPULATION SURVIVAL:
- Natural Selection – mechanism for change in populations; occurs when organisms with favorable
variations survive, reproduce, and pass their variations to the next generation; “survival of the fittest”
- Adaptation (Behavioral or Physiological) – evolution of a structure, behavior, or internal process that
enables an organism to respond to environmental factors and live to produce offspring
- Limiting Factors (Environmental) – any biotic or abiotic factor that restricts the existence,
numbers, reproduction, or distribution of organisms
- Genetic Mutations – any change or random error in a DNA sequence (one gene or many; somatic cells
or gametes)
- Biodiversity – variety of life in an area; usually measured as the number of species that live in an area
- Evolution (Macroevolution vs. Microevolution) – gradual change in a species through adaptations
over time
- Endangered Species – number of individuals in the species falls so low that extinction is possible
- Extinction – disappearance of a species when the last of its members die
EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION:
- Fossils – may appear in rocks, ice, amber; when fossils are arranged in order of their age, the fossil
record provides a series of changes that occurred over time; comparison of anatomical characteristics
reveals shared ancestry
- DNA - when gene or protein sequences from organisms are arranged, species thought to be closely
related based on fossil evidence are seen to be more similar than species thought to be distantly related
- Embryology – embryos of different vertebrates look alike in their early stages, giving the superficial
appearance of a relationship
- AnatomyHomologous structures
Vestigial structures
Analogous structures
14. Define the following terms:
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Evolution
Biodiversity
Speciation
Natural Selection
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Fitness
Homologous structures
Vestigial structures
Analogous structures
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Gene pool
Allele frequency
Genetic Drift
Adaptive radiation
Speciation
Honors:
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directional/disruptive/stabilizing selection
HW theorem
15. Besides natural selection, list the processes that can cause
evolution:
16. What is the relationship between allele frequency and evolution?
17. Describe the significance of the picture to the right.
18. List and describe the pieces of evidence for evolution.
Classification:
19. How would organisms with closely related DNA sequences be represented on a phylogenetic tree?
20. What are the levels of classification?
21. Define taxonomy.
22. What does the “base” or bottom triangle of all phylogenetic trees represent?
23. Know how to read a dichotomous key.
Ecology
24. What is ecology?
25. Define the following terms associated with populations:
 Exponential growth (j-shaped curve)
 Logistic growth (s-shaped curve)
 Carrying capacity
26. Draw a rough sketch of a logistic growth and exponential
growth graph.
27. Circle the producers on the food web.
28. Put a star next to the primary consumers.
29. What is “missing” from the food web?
30. Producers use the sun’s ______________to create their own food while consumers must eat other
organisms to obtain their energy and nutrients. Organisms that break down dead plants or animals
or their waste products are known as ______________. Organisms are grouped into trophic levels
based on their source of energy. Because energy cannot be recycled, there must be a way for it to
move through an ecosystem. As sunlight hits the Earth, energy flows first to the tissues of
____________, who get their energy from the sun, then to consumers, and finally to decomposers.
This is called a __________ _________. It shows how matter and energy flow through an
ecosystem. A more complex interconnected system is known as a ____________ __________.
31. Energy pyramids show how energy decreases at each succeeding trophic level. In fact, the total
energy transfer from one trophic level to another is only
about _____%.
32. How would each of the following affect the population?
 Birth
 Death
 Emigration
 Immigration
33. How much energy is LOST between each trophic level in food chains/webs?
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