HONORS BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
Dr. Shannon—Westhill H.S.
The Study Guide here is an interactive linked study guide to practice questions on the Internet. They are categorized in the table
according to topics in our Syllabus. Some topics overlap and some questions may not be completely appropriate. They are taken from
a variety of sources to help you prepare.
Dr. Shannon’s hints on preparing for the midterm exam.
1. Retake old tests and quizzes without looking at notes or preparing.
2. Check your answers to questions
3. Check previous answers.
4. Prioritize your studying.
1st Priority. Questions and topics you missed twice.
2nd Priority. Questions and topics you missed during this retake but got right before
3rd Priority. Questions you missed before but got right on the retake
4th Priority. Questions you got right twice. (YOU MAY NOT GET TO THESE but that’s ok you probably know it anyway.)
5. Use linked questions here to test yourself on areas of weakness.
# of Questions corresponds to the entire shaded region covering multiple topics and concepts.
BLUEPRINT
UNIT/ # of
Questions
CONCEPTS/
TOPICS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & CONCEPTS
PRACTICE QUESTION SOURCES
BOLDED LISTINGS ARE LINKS TO PRACTICE
QUESTIONS URLs are at the bottom of this page
ECOLOGY
How do living and nonliving components of
ecosystems interact?
 The science of ecology is organized into several
levels
 Species in ecosystems interact with other species
and with their nonliving environment
Biotic vs. Abiotic
Ecology from BSCS MA
POPULATIONS
How do populations affect one another?
 Species are organized into populations
 Predictable factors influence the size of a
population
 Population growth is faster in the less-developed
countries and slower in the more-developed
countries
Population Diversity
CAPT Released Items: Use open ended items to
study for Embedded Tasks, Yeast Populations,
Human Populations.
COMMUNITY
ECOLOGY
How do species interact to determine the nature of
communities?
 Ecologists recognize five major kinds of species
interactions in communities: predation,
parasitism, competition, mutualism, and
commensalisms
 Species richness improves a community’s stability
Succession is a change in the species composition
of a community
Organizational Levels
Organism Relationships
Ecological Succession
BSCS Molecular Approach
BSCS Molecular Approach Succession
Matter &
Energy in
Ecosystems
16 MULTIPLE
CHOICE
3 OPEN
ENDED/
Short Answer
ECOSYSTEMS
BIOMES
 How do living and nonliving components of
ecosystems interact?
 The science of ecology is organized into
several levels
 Species in ecosystems interact with other
species and with their nonliving environment
Organizational Levels
Material Cycles
Energy Flow
BSCS Molecular Approach
How have human actions impacted ecosystems?
 Humans have affected global systems Humans
have the ability to impact biodiversity
Technological Developments
Improvements
BSCS Molecular Approach Human Actions
Living things share common characteristics
Cell Theory
Living vs. Nonliving
 Scientists use a variety of processes to answer
scientific questions.
 Understand controlled experiments, Identification
of Independent & Dependent Variables
 Compound microscope use including how image
is seen and Total Magnification
CAPT Released Items: Use open ended items to
study for Embedded Tasks, Yeast Populations,
Apple Juice Enzyme Lab, Human Populations.
Chemistry
How do chemical structure and reactions underlie
biological processes?
 Matter is rearranged through chemical reactions
 Energy change is involved in chemical reactions
 Chemical reactions occur within aqueous solutions
within living things
Basic Chemistry from Glencoe
Chemical Reactions from Glencoe
Solutes, Solutions, pH from Glencoe
BSCS Chemistry of Life Chapter Test
Biochemistry
How does life depend on water and carbon
compounds?
 Water’s polar nature is essential to life
 Organic compounds contain carbon atoms that are
covalently bonded to other carbon atoms
 Four main classes of organic compounds are
essential to the life processes of all living things:
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
DNA
Biochemical Processes
CAPT Released Items: Apple Juice Enzyme Lab,
Macromolecules from Glencoe
Macoromolecules from BSCS MA
The Structure
and Function
of Cells
Cell Biology
How does cell structure and function relate in the
cell?
 Cells are the smallest unit of matter that can carry
on all of the processes of life
 Organelles carry out specific functions in the cell
Multicellular organisms are organized into tissues,
organs, and organ systems
Cell Structure
BSCS Molecular Approach Cells
Cell Structure & Function from Glencoe
21 Multiple
Diffusion and
How do cells regulate the movement of materials
Life Functions
ENVIRONMEN
TAL SCIENCE
The Chemistry Intro to
of Life
Biology
16 Multiple
Choice
5 Open ended/
short answer
BSCS Molecular Approach Biomes
Choice
2 Open ended/
short answer
Genetic
diversity and
variation
Osmosis
across membranes to maintain homeostasis?
 Passive transport does not require the cell to
expend of energy
 Active transport requires the cell to expend energy
Cellular Communication
Osmosis Video
Cellular
Respiration
How do cells obtain energy from food molecules?
Life Functions
Cellular Respiration & Photosynthesis from
Glencoe
Photosynthesi
s
How do plants use photosynthesis to convert solar
energy to chemical energy?
 Photosynthesis harnesses light energy
 The Calvin Cycle combines hydrogen with
Carbon Dioxide to produce sugars
 Environmental factors affect the rate of
photosynthesis
Life Functions
Cellular Respiration & Photosynthesis from
Glencoe
Mitosis
How does cell reproduction perpetuate life?
 DNA is organized into chromosomes
 The cell cycle is a continuous sequence of events
in the life of a cell
 Eukaryotic cells divide by Mitosis that produces
identical copies of cells.
 Mitosis is a continuous process that can be
observed in distinct stages.
Asexual Reproduction
BSCS Chromosomes and Mitosis
Mitosis from Glencoe
 Cell respiration release energy from food
molecules
 Glycolysis begins the production of energy
 The Krebs Cycle completes the breakdown of
glucose
 The Electron Transport System packages energy
from glucose to ATP
 Anaerobic respiration acts in the absence of
oxygen
3 Multiple
Choice
ONLINE SOURCES FOR PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Regents questions for Practice
http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/core/questions/topics.cfm?Course=BIOL
The topics below are relevant to the Honors Biology Midterm are hyperlinked and can also be found on the URL above
1a Living vs. Nonliving 1b Population Diversity 1c Organizational Levels 1d Cell Structure 1e Life Functions 1f
Cellular Communication 2a DNA 4a Asexual Reproduction 5a Biochemical Processes 6a Biotic vs. Abiotic 6b
Energy Flow 6c Material Cycles 6d Organism Relationships 6e Biodiversity 6f Ecological Succession 7b
Technological Developments 7c Improvements 8d Instrumentation
Glencoe Practice Questions
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078802849/
BSCS A molecular Approach Questions
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078664276/student_view0/check_challenge_quizzes.html
CAPT Released Items are organized on the Westhill Website at the URL Below: See also additional CAPT Items on this page that relate to the Yeast Population Lab
http://westhillweb.com/capt-resources-review.aspx