Biology Semester 1
Final Exam Review
January 2014
Chapter 2: Biochemistry
1.
On the pH scale, the lower numbers
mean _acidic____ and the higher
numbers mean ___basic_____. (pg.
44)
Biochemistry
Chapter 3
2. Most of the molecules that make
up living things are made from
which element?

Carbon
3. List the 4
macromolecules.

Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins,
Nucleic Acids
4. What is the function of
carbohydrates?

Storage of energy
5. Glycogen, used to store energy in the
liver and muscle tissue, is an example of
which type of macromolecule?

Carbohydrates
6. Amino acids are the
building blocks of which
macromolecule?
Proteins
7. Which element is found in
proteins, but not in
carbohydrates and lipids?
Nitrogen
8. Which macromolecule
makes up part of cell
membranes ?
Lipids
9. An organism’s genetic
information is stored in which type
of macromolecule ?
Nucleic
Acids
Cell Structure &
Function
Chapter 4
10. List the 3 parts of Cell
Theory.
1.
2.
3.
All living things are composed of cells.
Cells only come from other cells.
Cells are the basic unit of structure
and function in an organism.
11. The size of a cell is
limited by its…
Surface
Ratio
Area to Volume
12. The packaging and
distribution center of the
cell is the…
Golgi
Apparatus
13. List the major functions
of the plasma membrane.
– Is selectively permeable
– Separates the cell from the
environment
– Allows materials to enter and leave
the cell
Homeostasis and Cell
Transport
Chapter 5
14. What is a contractile
vacuole?

An organelle in paramecium that
pumps extra water outside the
cell.
15. Why is drinking seawater harmful
to humans? (Hint: Think about
osmosis and hypertonic solutions!)

Seawater is hypertonic to cells
causing them to lose water,
leading to dehydration
16. Define diffusion.

Movement of molecules from a
high concentration to a low
concentration.
17. When would substances
be likely to enter a cell
through diffusion?

When the concentration of a
substance is greater outside the
cell than inside.
18. Define Osmosis.
The
diffusion of water.
19. Which way does water
move during osmosis?
 Water
moves from a high
concentration to a low
concentration.
Chapter 6
Photosynthesis
20. Which process is directly
used by producers (plants) to
store energy in glucose?
 Photosynthesis
21. What is the equation
for photosynthesis?
22. In what organelle does
photosynthesis occur?
The
Chloroplast
23. Where did the energy
originally stored in glucose come
from?
The
Sun
24. During photosynthesis,
_________ energy is converted
into ___________ energy.
 Light
 Chemical
25. During photosynthesis, the energy from
the sun splits the water molecules into
hydrogen and oxygen. What happens to the
oxygen during the process of photosynthesis?
It
is given off as a byproduct
26. Plants produce large amounts of
oxygen during photosynthesis
because…(Hint: See #14).

Water molecules from the soil
are soaked up the roots of the
plant. The plant splits the water
molecules into hydrogen and
oxygen. The oxygen isn’t needed
by the plant so it is given off as a
by-product.
27. An acorn weighs approximately 200 grams. A
full grown oak tree can weigh almost 10 metric tons
(20,000,000 grams)! How do you explain where this
extra mass comes from?

Through the process of
photosynthesis, the tree
combines carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere with water from
the ground to produce
polysaccharides like cellulose
(wood), adding mass
28. In which organelle is a
cell’s ATP energy produced?
Mitochondria
29. If plants have chloroplasts that
capture energy from sunlight and store it
as chemical energy in glucose, why do
they also have mitochondria?

Mitochondria release energy in
glucose to create ATP which the
plant cell uses.
Chapter 7
Cellular Respiration
30. Why is cellular
respiration considered the
opposite of photosynthesis?

The products of photosynthesis
are the reactants of cellular
respiration.
31. How are photosynthesis
and cellular respiration
related?

In photosynthesis, carbon
dioxide and water are used to
capture light energy and
produce glucose and oxygen. In
respiration, carbon dioxide and
water result from the
breakdown of glucose which
releases chemical energy.
32. Why would an athlete lose weight over
time if she increased her activity level but
changed nothing else?

She is using stored energy
since her food intake has
not changed.
Homeostasis
33. The human body ha a system for
returning pH to normal levels after
exercise. This body process is called…

Homeostasis
34. If you are dehydrated, what would
happen to your urine production in order
to maintain homeostasis?
Decreased
urine
production to
conserve water
35. How does perspiring
(sweating) help the body
maintain homeostasis?

It helps cool the body down by
decreasing your body temperature
36. Microbes that enter the
body, causing disease, are
known as…
 Pathogens
37. What is the function
of the circulatory system?

Transports oxygen, Carbon Dioxide,
nutrients, and hormones to and from
cells.
38. What is the function
of the digestive system?

To mechanically and chemically break
down food and absorb nutrients
39. Microbes that enter the
body, causing disease, are
known as…

Pathogens
Ecology
Chapter 18
1. List several biotic and abiotic
components of an ecosystem.


Biotic (living) –
Plants, bacteria,
animals
Abiotic (nonliving) –
Energy, oxygen,
moisture
2. The maintenance of a selfsustaining ecosystem requires
what?

Cycling of materials between
organisms and their environment.
3. Define producers.
Organisms
that make
their own food.
Plants
4. In going from one trophic level to the
next, what happens to the energy available?
Does it increase or decrease?

Energy decreases as you go up the
pyramid.
5. Name the parts of the
water cycle.

Evaporation, Transpiration,
Precipitation, Run-off, Seepage
6. If hawks were to hunt snakes to
near extinction, what would
happen to the rest of the ecosystem?

The snakes prey population
(mice) would increase and their
predator’s (hawks) population
would decrease because all of
the snakes are almost gone.
7. What is a decomposer?
Give 2 examples.

Bacteria and Fungi help recycle
chemical nutrients in an
ecosystem by breaking down
dead material.
8. What is a biogeochemical
cycle? List the four cycles
briefly and describe each one.


Water and minerals needed by
all organisms on Earth pass back
and forth between the biotic and
abiotic portions of the
environment.
Water Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle,
Carbon Cycle and Phosphorus
Cycle are examples.
9. If lots of hot water were dumped into a
lake, what would happen to the amount of
oxygen available to the fish? Hint: Heat
removes the amount of oxygen from water.

You would see a decrease in the
amount of dissolved oxygen in
the lake.
10. How much of the total energy is
transferred from one energy level
to the next in an energy pyramid?
10%
11. The producers in an ecosystem produce
25,000,000 kilocalories per year. How much
energy is most likely available to the
organisms in Level 2 of the pyramid?


2,500,000 kilocalories
25,000,000 x .10 (10%)
= 2,500,000
12. How many levels can there
be in an energy pyramid? Why?


It depends. An energy pyramid
is limited by the amount of
energy that is lost at each
trophic level.
You could probably have 4-5
levels.
13. What is a consumer?
Give 3 examples.


An organism that needs to
consume plants or other animals
for energy.
Examples: A Bumble Bee, Tiger,
and an Eagle.
14. What’s the difference between
a food chain and a food web? Draw
an example of each.


Food Chain – pathway of energy transfer through
various stages as a result of the feeding patterns
of a series of organisms
Food Web – A diagram that shows the feeding
relationship among organisms in an ecosystem
Community Interactions
Chapter 20
1. Define succession.
 The process of one community
replacing another as a result of
changing abiotic and biotic factors.
2. Explain secondary succession.
Give an example.
 The change that takes place after a
community of organisms has been
removed by the soil remains.
Example: A fire burns down a
forest and after many years, it
grows back.
Human Impact on the
Environment
Chapter 22
1. How have the activities of
people accelerated (sped up)
extinction?




Habitat destruction
Hunting
Harvesting
Transfer of invasive species into new
habitats
2. How has human pollution
impacted the ozone layer?
 Burning large quantities of fossil
fuels, generating a lot of carbon
dioxide raising the carbon dioxide
level, and releasing large
quantities of chlorofluorocarbons
into the atmosphere.
3. Are habitat destruction, hunting,
and extinction all caused by human
activity? Explain.

Yes. Habitat destruction,
hunting and introduction of
invasive species are top reasons
for mass extinction of species
today because of human
activities.
4. The pesticide DDT accumulates in the fatty tissue of
animals and is transferred along food chains. DDT’s
concentration (amount) increases as the food chain
increases. This is called biological magnification. What
organism in the food chain would receive the highest
concentration of DDT?
Producers, Primary Consumers, Herbivores or a Top
Predator?

Top Predator because they are
the highest in the food chain!