Study Guide for A.P. Exam
Text: Campbell Biology (7th edition)
A. Chemistry of Life
1. Water (this should be an easy review (Ch. 3) but be sure to go over properties like cohesion, heat of vaporization,
etc. Look on the review section on page 56 – tie these concepts to why they are important for life in general. Look
over the summary of this chapter. Go over pH and buffers if you are still uncertain about this….
2. Organic molecules (from carbon to DNA) this is really a big area but you know a lot. Review the summary
pages at the end of chapters 4 and 5. Review protein types and their functions on table 5.1 page 78You should be
able to recognize major classes of molecules from a structural formula.
B Cells (This should be easy, but review the details)
1. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic (Eu know this!). Review the diagram of a prokaryotic cell on page 98. .
Remember that they are in the domain bacteria. Compare/contrast plant and animal cells on pages 100-101(Fig.
6.9). Be able to describe the domain archaea. Relate the structure of organelle to their function. Understand the
endosymbiotic theory.
2. Membranes (structure diagram of mosaic model on page _127_) Remember the functional aspects of the
membrane such as diffusion, passive and active transport on page 135 (Fig. 7.17), osmosis (pg. 132 Fig. 7.12) and
water balance in living cells (pg. 133, Fig. 7.13). Review Na/K pump on page 135. Review page 138 (Fig. 138)
on phagocytosis, pinocytosis and endocytosis.
Cellular energetics –(Chapters 9-10) – Some of this will seem new because of the detail.
1. Coupled reactions… don’t worry here…just think about free energy change and the fact that some reactions
are easier than others….and they are coupled pg 148.
2. Free energy change -definition on page 145. Review graph on pg. 152 (Fig. 8.15) and page 154 (Fig. 8.18).
Know structure and function of ATP on page 148.
3. Enzymes: Review inhibitors, and allosteric sites pages 155-156. Study chapter review on page 158.
4. Fermentation and cellular respiration-(Chapter 9) - this is a big area…..glycolysis, Kreb’s Cycle, electron
transport, ATP production. Look at the overall diagram of cell respiration on page 173. The diagram in your
text is color coded: green is glycolysis, orange is Kreb’s and purple is hydrogen transport. Do NOT try to
memorize all of the details, but focus on the end products like NADH, FADH and ATP. How is each step
regulated. Review phosphofructokinase on pg 178 (Fig. 9.20)???, where is oxygen used? Where is carbon
dioxide produced? Which has redox reactions? How do you get the 38 ATP? Why is fermentation less
efficient (study figure 9.17, page 175)? Review the process of chemiosmosis on page 172 (Fig. 9.15). Study
the process of fermentation as in figure 9.17.
5.
Photosynthesis (Chapter 10). Do the same kind of review as for Chapter 9. Start with the diagrams on page
183 (Fig. 10.3), 185 (Fig. 10.5), 187 (Fig. 10.9) and the light reaction on page 193 (Fig. 10.17) and the
Calvin cycle on page 194 (10.18). Look at the end products of the light reaction (ATP, NADPH) as they
drive the Calvin cycle. Why is this a redox process? How is this regulated? Where is the carbon dioxide
used? Where is the oxygen produced? How is this regulated? Why are plants green? This is for all C3
plants…review the exceptions for the Calvin cycle in C4 and CAM plants pages 196-197). Finish this section
by reviewing the overall process on page 198 (Fig. 10.21).
D. Cell cycle and regulation
1. This is a big area……mitosis in chapter 12. Look at the pie chart on pg. 221 (Fig. 12.5) and review the stages
of mitosis on pages 222-223. Try to tie this to DNA replication and how this cycle is regulated by a molecular
control system 228-231). Remember that cancer cells do not follow the rules (pages 232-233).
E. Heredity
1. Meiosis: This should be an easy review. Be able to tie this to crossing over and to the Sordaria experiment.
Be able to compare to mitosis, page 246.
2. Gametogenesis: Egg and sperm production. Gametes are haploid and involve meiosis in their production.
Study Fig. 13.6 on sexual life cycles of animals, plants and fungi.(page 242).
3. Eukaryotic chromosome duplication and distribution: Figure 12.4 on page 220. Cellular organization of
eukaryotic genome on page 219.
4. Inheritance patterns (monohybrid, dihybrid crosses, sex linked traits) such as 3:1 ratio in monohybrid
crosses and 9:3:3:1 for dihybrid crosses. All problems will be simple and will not require a calculator.
C.
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F. Molecular genetics
1. RNA and DNA structure and function. This is the whole central dogma. Fig. 16.7 on page 297. Review
replication (Fig. 16.10 and Fig. 16.16 & Table 16.1), transcription/translation---but do it generally (review Figure
17.26, page 331). Individual enzymes are very unlikely to be asked—with the exceptions of ligase (DNA glue),
restriction endonuclease (specific cuts), and polymerase (RNA polymerase does transcription; DNA polymerase
does replication). Be able to list the differences between DNA and RNA.
2. Gene regulation (everything from operons (pg. 353) to methylation (pages 362-364) to pre M-RNA to interons to
inactive proteins Fig.19.3) this covers a lot of territory.
3. Mutation (base-pair substitution, missense/nonsense, inserions, deletions and frameshift on pages 328-329).
Mutations can happen at the nucleotide level, the gene level, or the chromosome level. Review mutagens on page
329-330.
4. Viral structure and replication - Think nucleic acid and a protein; lytic and lysogenic cycles (page 337-339/Fig.
18.7), review Table 18.1 on page 340. Understand the AIDS virus, see Figure 18.10 on page 342.
5. Nucleic acid technology and applications. This is where the objectives of your understanding of the
transformation lab and restriction enzyme lab go. Review these labs (pages 386-387-Fig. 20.4 and 392-394-Fig.
20.8).
G. Evolutionary biology-1. Early evolution of life – origin of life; Miller’s experiment –Fig. 26.2 and the Oparin hypothesis on page 513.
What is the significance of the four gasses methane, ammonia, water and hydrogen?
2. Evidence for evolution – think about molecular biology (chimps and us differ by 1% in our DNA), fossils,
homology (similar structures), and embryology (similar development). The last is why a tunicate is considered a
chordate (pages 673-675).
3. Mechanisms of evolution: this is in chapters 22-24. We have concentrated on the mechanism in a population
i.e. Hardy-Weinberg. Remember the factors that can cause a change in the allele frequency of a population such as
non random mating, natural selection, immigration, emigration and a small population. Understand the concepts of
speciation and adaptation. There are a lot of specific examples provided in these chapters. Remember the difference
between micro and macro evolution.
H. Taxonomy
1. Remember the 3 domains as well as the 5 kingdom classification system.
2. Each kingdom is divided into subgroups. Those groups are illustrated for animals on page 635 -Fig. 32.11 and for
plants on page 579 -Fig. 29.7. Know the characteristics that are used for grouping these organisms (i.e. chordates
have a notochord, vertebrates have a backbone, etc.). Know the characteristics that are used for the major groups
(divisions) of plants as well. While animals also alternate between diploid and haploid, plants often live a great
portion of their lives in the haploid phase (e.g. only the tall spikes (sporangia) that come out of moss are diploid.
3. Know the different classes of chordates that are listed and described on page 672 -Fig. 34.2. The orders of
mammals are on page 699. Know the characteristics that differentiate these groupings.
I. Plants (Chapters 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39). Read the summary for each of these chapters
1. Review the generalized life cycle for angiosperms on page 600 -Fig. 30.10.
2. Review tissues and general functions such as the transport of water and food page 739 -Fig. 36.2 and page 748Fig. 36.13 and the functioning of stomata on page 750- Figure 36.15. Review the following diagrams to about
plant anatomy and physiology: Figures 35.2 on page 713, Fig. 35.8 on page 717, know the five kinds of plant cells
described in Fig. 35.9 on pages 718 and 719, primary and secondary growth illustrated in Figure 35.18 on page
726. Review the structural cross section of a leaf on page 725 -Fig. 35.17. Compare and contrast the x-section of
a eudicot and monocot stem - page 724, Fig. 35.16. Review the longitudinal diagram of primary growth in a root
on page 721 -Fig 35.12 and page 722 -Fig. 35.13- these often occur as MC questions.
3. On page 794, study the plant hormones in Table 39.1. Compare and contrast short-day plants to long-day plants
and as described on page 806.
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J. Animals (Chapters 32, 33, 34, 40-49) - Read the summaries for each of these chapters.
1. Review tissues (pages 824-826- Fig. 40.5), organ systems and their main components and functions in mammals
on page 827, Fig. 40.1. Relate each to the problem that it solves for the organism – describe how structure is related
to function!!!!!.
2. Review each of the sensory organs such as the eye on page 1059, Fig. 49.18), the skin (page 1048, Fig. 49.3), the
and the ear on page 1070- Figure 49-8.
3. Review movement. Look at the diagrams on pages 1069-1070 –Figures 49.32 and 49.33 which describes how a
muscle works.
4. Review animal development described in Chapter 47. Know the following terms: morula, blastula, gastula,
neurula, ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm, grey crescent, animal pole, vegetal pole, blastopore as described in pages
992-994. On page 998-999 read the section on the adaptations of amniotes, be familiar with the chicken egg
described in Figure 47.17.
K. Ecology (most of this should be a review from 8th, 9th and 10th grade)
1. Review ecosystems (Chapter 54). Focus on the following concepts: food chains and food webs, primary
productivity, trophic layers, energy flow, and bio-geo chemical cycles on pages 1196-1197 - Fig. 54.17. Read the
section on human impacts on ecosystems and the biosphere- pages 1200-1206.
2. Review the key concepts for population ecology (Chapter 52). Know terms such as limiting factor, and carrying
capacity (page 1145).
3. Review key concepts for community interactions (Chapter 53) such as NICHE! Know types of species
interactions (mutualism commensalisms, parasitism, predation, etc.), succession patterns. Tie adaptation to the
environment of an organism.
L. Animal behavior
1. Look through the pictures in chapter 51. Focus on the learning and behavior sections. Review pages 1114-1117.
Figures 51.4, 51.5 and 51.7 should be reviewed briefly.
Finally, be prepared for questions related to the labs that we have done up (in chronologic order) to this point
including:
1. Animal Behavior (lab 11)
2. Dissolved Oxygen and Aquatic Primary Production (Lab 12)
3. Diffusion and Osmosis (lab 1)
4. Enzyme Catalysis (lab 2)
5. Cell Respiration (lab 5)
6. Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis (lab 4)
7. Mitosis and Meiosis (Lab 3)
8. Molecular Biology (Lab 6)
9. Population Genetics and Evolution (Lab 8)
10. Transpiration (Lab 9)
Labs not given - review in Cliffs Notes:
o Genetics of Organisms (Lab 7)
o Physiology of the Circulatory System (lab 12)
There is a good review of these labs in the Cliff’s AP Biology Review, starting on page 313.
Recommended sources for your review:
o APEX Learning System – AP Biology – general review
o Cliffs Notes for AP Biology – general review
o Preparing for the AP Exam (for Campbell’s Biology)- general review
o This review of Campbell Biology (7th edition) – specific review
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