Midterm Study Guide
Washington Township High School
Honors Biology
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Chapter 2: The Chemical Basis of Life
Vocabulary Words: acid, adhesion, aqueous solution, atom, atomic mass, atomic
number, base, buffer, chemical bond, chemical reaction, cohesion, compound, covalent
bond, double bond, electron, electron shell, electronegativity, element, heat, hydrogen
bond, ion, ionic bond, isotope, mass number, matter, molecule, neutron, nonpolar
covalent bond, nucleus, pH scale, polar covalent bond, polar molecule, product, proton,
radioactive isotope, reactant, salt, solute, solution, solvent, surface tension,
temperature, trace element.
Elements, Atoms and Molecules
Define matter, an element and a trace element
Define a compound and explain how compounds in living organisms are different
from compounds in non-biological materials
Describe the structure of an atom
Define the atomic number and mass number of an atom
Define an isotope and explain what makes some isotopes radioactive
Explain how the electron configuration of an atom influences its chemical
behavior
Distinguish between ionic bonds, nonpolar bonds, nonpolar covalent bonds, polar
covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds, noting their relative strengths and how and
where they form
Water Life-Supporting Properties
Describe the special properties of water that make it vital to living systems
Explain the properties related to hydrogen bonding
Define and distinguish between cohesion and surface tension
Define a solute, a solvent and a solution
Explain how acids and bases directly or indirectly affect the hydrogen ion
concentration of a solution
Explain the basis of the pH scale
Explain how buffers function
Chemical Reactions
Explain the significance of chemical reactions
Identify reactants and products in a chemical reaction
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Chapter 3: Molecules of Cells
Vocabulary Words: alpha helix, amine, amino acid, amino group, anabolic steroid,
carbohydrate, carbon skeleton, carbonyl group, carboxyl group, carboxlyic acid,
cellulose, chitin, cholesterol, dehydration reaction, denaturation, deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA), disaccharide, double helix, enzyme, fat, functional group, gene, glycogen,
hydrocarbon, hydrolysis, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, hydroxyl group, isomers, lipids,
macromolecule, methyl group, monomer, monosaccharide, nucleic acid, nucleotide,
organic compound, peptide bond, phosphate group, phospholipid, pleated sheet,
polymer, polypeptide, polysaccharide, primary structure, protein, quarternary structure,
ribonucleic acid (RNA), saturated, secondary structure, starch, steroid, tertiary structure,
unsaturated
Organic and Inorganic Compounds
Define and give examples of each.
What are the elements associated with organic compounds?
List the four main classes of large organic biological molecules.
Functional Groups
What are functional groups of organic compounds and what is their importance?
List the 6 most common functional groups and draw their structures.
Carbon Molecules
Define and give examples of monomers, polymers, and macromolecules
Illustrate a dehydration and hydrolysis reaction
Define a dehydration reaction
Define a hydrolysis reaction
Carbohydrates
Give examples of simple carbohydrates (fruits and sugars)
Give examples of complex carbohydrates (starches-potatoes)
Describe examples of monosaccharides (monomer)
Know the molecular formula of a monosaccharide (C6H12O6) or 1:2:1
Give examples of disaccharides
Explain how a disaccharide is formed and broken down
Give an example of polysaccharides
Explain how a polysaccharide is formed and broken down
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Proteins
Give examples of proteins
What types of foods do we get proteins from?
Describe the monomer of a protein
Recognize the molecular structure of an amino acid
How are dipeptides formed and broken down?
How are polypeptides formed and broken down?
Be able to describe protein structure, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary
Lipids
Give an example of lipids
What types of food do we get lipids from?
Recognize the molecular structure of a fatty acid/lipid.
Identify the molecular structure of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
What are phospholipids?
Recognize the molecular structure of a phospholipid.
What are triglycerides?
Recognize the molecular structure of a triglyceride
How are phospholipids different from triglycerides?
What is a hormone?
Nucleic Acids
Give examples of nucleic acids
What type of foods do we get nucleic acids from?
Recognize the molecular structure of a nucleic acid
Identify a nucleotide (monomer)
What are the three components of a nucleotide?
DNA
RNA
What are the names of the two men that discovered the structure of the DNA
molecule?
Midterm Study Guide
Washington Township High School
Honors Biology
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Chapter 4: A Tour of the Cell
Vocabulary Words: basal body, cell theory, cell wall, cellular metabolism, central
vacuole, centriole, chloroplast, chromatin, chromosome, cilia, crista, (plural,
cristae), cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, electron microscope (EM), endomembrane
system, endoplasmic reticulum (ER),, endosymbiosis, eukaryotic cell, extracellular
matrix (ECM), flagellum (plural, flagella), glycoprotein, Golgi apparatus, granum (plural,
grana), integrins, intermediate filament, intermembrane space, light microscope
(LM), lysosome, microfilament, micrograph, microtubule, mitochondrial
matrix, mitochondrion, (plural,mitochondria), nuclear
envelope, nucleoid, nucleolus, nucleus (plural, nuclei), organelle, peroxisome, plasma
membrane, plasmodesma (plural, plasmodesmata), prokaryotic cell, ribosome, rough
endoplasmic, reticulum, scanning electron, microscope (SEM), smooth
endoplasmic, reticulum, stroma, thylakoid, transmission electron, microscope
(TEM), transport vesicle, vacuole, vesicle
Microscopes
Compare the designs of and the images produced by a light microscope, a
scanning electron microscope, and a transmission electron microscope
Distinguish between magnification and resolving power
Two scientists involved with the discovery of cells
Robert Hooke
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Cell Theory
Define cell theory and briefly describe the discoveries that lead to its
development
Cell Diversity
Explain why there are upper and lower limits to cell size
Explain the surface area to volume ratio.
Why are cells small?
Types of Cells
Distinguish between the structures of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
o Define & provide examples of each
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Types of Cells
What is endosymbiosis?
Describe the evidence that suggests that mitochondria and chloroplasts evolved
by endosymbiosis
Explain why compartmentalization is important in eukaryotic cells.
Compare the structures of plant and animal cells.
Organelles
Cell Structures involved in Manufacturing and Breakdown
o Describe the structure and functions of the nucleus, endomembrane
system, smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus,
lysosomes and vacuoles
Energy-Converting Organelles
o Compare the structures and functions of mitochondria and chloroplasts
o What organs or cells would have a lot of mitochondria?
o What are cristae? Explain why cristae are important.
o How is ATP related to the mitochondria and chloroplast?
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Internal and External Support: The Cytoskeleton and Cell Surfaces
o Cell Membrane
 Describe the hydrophobic and hydrophilic components of the
plasma membrane
 How are the phospholipids arranged? Why?
 What significant roles do proteins play in membrane?
o Cytoskeleton
 Compare the structures and functions of microfilaments,
intermediate filaments, and microtubules
 How are microfilaments associated with cell motility?
o Cilia and Flagella
 Relate the structure of cilia and flagella to their functions
 What types of cells contain cilia and flagella?
o Cell Surfaces
 Compare the structures and functions of tight junctions, anchoring
junctions, and gap junctions
o Cell Wall
Relate the structure of plant cell walls to its function
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Chapter 5: The Working Cell
Vocabulary Words: active site, active transport, adenosine triphosphate (ATP),
aquaporin, cellular respiration, chemical energy, coenzyme, cofactor, competitive
inhibitor, concentration gradient, diffusion, endergonic reaction, endocytosis, energy
coupling, energy of activation (EA), energy, entropy, enzyme, exergonic reaction,
exocytosis, facilitated diffusion, feedback inhibition, first law of thermodynamics, fluid
mosaic, heat, hypertonic solution, hypotonic solution, induced fit, isotonic solution,
kinetic energy, metabolic pathway, metabolism, noncompetitive inhibitor,
osmoregulation, osmosis, passive transport, phagocytosis, phosphorylation,
pinocytosis, potential energy, receptor-mediated endocytosis, second law of
thermodynamics, selective permeability, substrate, thermodynamics, tonicity
Membrane Structure and Function
Describe the fluid mosaic structure of cell membranes
Describe the diverse functions of membrane proteins
Relate the structure of phospholipid molecules to the structure and properties of
cell membranes
Define diffusion and describe the process of passive transport
What is osmosis? Explain how osmosis can be defined as the diffusion of water
across a membrane
What is the difference between hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic solutions
Explain how animal and plant cells change when placed into hypertonic and
hypotonic solutions
What is facilitated diffusion? Explain the role of proteins in this process
What is the function of aquaporins in the cell membrane?
What is the difference between exocytosis, endocytosis, phagocytosis,
pinocytosis and receptor-mediated endocytosis?
Midterm Study Guide
Honors Biology
Washington Township High School
Chapters 2 – Chapter 5
Energy and the Cell
Define and compare kinetic energy, potential energy, chemical energy and heat
What are the first and second laws of thermodynamic? Explain how these laws
relate to energy use in the cell
What is the difference between endergonic and exergonic reactions?
Describe the three main types of cellular work
Explain the importance of ATP in the cell
How Enzymes Function
Explain how enzymes speed up chemical reactions
Describe the structure of an enzyme-substrate interaction
How does the cellular environment affect enzyme activity?
What are competitive and non-competitive inhibitors? How do they alter an
enzyme’s activity?
Describe the process of feedback inhibition