Download Organic Compounds (Chapter 1)

General Biology
Midterm Study Guide
Characteristics of Life (Chapter 1)
 All living organisms must meet certain criteria in order to be
considered living:
1. Organism must be made of cells
2. Organisms use energy (metabolism)
3. Organisms have features that help them to adapt to their surroundings
4. All organisms respond to their environment
5. Organisms grow
6. Organisms reproduce
7. Organisms maintain stable internal conditions (homeostasis)
Organic Compounds (Chapter 1)
 Carbohydrates used for quick energy; include sugars and starches
 Lipids these are fats and are used to store energy
 Proteins these help build and repair cells; building blocks of proteins
are called amino acids.
 Nucleic Acids DNA and RNA
Organism Needs (Chapter 1)
 Organisms need: energy, air, water, proper temperature and a
place to live
Life Processes (Chapter 1)
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Ingestion taking in food
Digestion changing food to a usable form
Transport movement of nutrients and waste products
Excretion getting rid of waste products
Parts of the Microscope (Chapter 2)
 The invention of the microscope allowed for huge advancements in
science. Scientists use the microscope to study living things and this
is why we know so much about different organisms, especially humans.
 Total magnification= eyepiece (10x) X the objective lens (10 or 40 or 43)
Cells (Chapter 2)
 Cells are the basic unit of life and carry out all life processes
 First person to discover cells was Robert Hooke who looked at dead
cork cells
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to observe living cells
 Cell Theory all living things are made up of cells; cells are the
basic unit of structure and function and carry out all life processes;
cells come only from other living cells
 The three main cell parts are :
Cell membrane thin structure that surrounds and
protects the cell
Nucleus control center of the cell; controls all life
processes; controls cell reproduction (contains the DNA)
Cytoplasm gel-like interior of the cell where most of the
cell’s activities take place
Cell Parts (Chapter 2)
 Organelles are small structures suspended in the cytoplasm that
perform a specialized job
 Mitochondria store and release energy (ATP)
 Endoplasmic Reticulum system of tubes that move substances to
different parts of the cell
 Ribosomes tiny structures that make proteins
 Golgi Bodies package and distribute materials to other parts of the
cell in vesicles
 Vacuoles small sacs used for storing food and waste. Plant cells have
one large one for water storage
 Lysosomes “clean up crew” of the cell; rids the cell of waste
Cell Types (Chapter 2)
 Prokaryotic cells that have no nucleus or membrane bound
organelles; examples include bacteria
 Eukaryotic cells that do have a nucleus and membrane bound
organelles (“you” are made of eukaryotic cells)
 Two types of eukaryotic cells include plant and animal cells
 Animal Cells irregular shaped cells; these cells do not have cell walls,
chloroplasts, or large vacuoles
 Plant cells box-like cells; these cells do have cell walls, chloroplasts
(for photosynthesis) and large vacuoles for water storage
Movement of Materials in and out of Cells (Chapter 2)
 Diffusion movement of a substance from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration. Goal is equilibrium
(equal on both sides of the cell)
 Osmosis diffusion of water molecules across a membrane
 Active transport requires energy to take place (think “activity”
 Passive transport does not require energy to take place
Energy for Cells (Chapter 2)
 Cells perform many activities and all of them require energy, or the
ability to do work or cause change
 Animals are heterotrophs (organisms who must consume other
organisms for energy)
 Plants are autotrophs (organisms that make their own food)
 Plants have to use the energy from the sun to make food. This is
called photosynthesis. Byproducts include sugar and oxygen
 Photosynthesis takes place in organelles called chloroplasts.
 Plants and animals undergo a process known as cellular respiration
which takes place in the mitochondria of the cell and releases energy
from sugars for the cell to use to make ATP. Byproducts include
carbon dioxide and water.
 We give plants the carbon dioxide they need to perform
photosynthesis and plants give us the oxygen we need for cellular
respiration.
Climate Change
 Greenhouse Effect – Incoming sunlight energy heats Earth. Warmed
Earth then radiates heat energy out. Greenhouse gases (water vapor,
carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) trap some of this energy and prevent it
from going into space.
 Burning fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal releases carbon dioxide, a
greenhouse gas. Each year, humankind releases an increasing amount of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. More carbon dioxide traps more
heat, making the atmosphere warmer.
 In addition to increased carbon dioxide emissions per person, a major
problem is that the human population is increasing very fast.
 Computer models of the climate predict that Earth’s temperature will
increase somewhere in the range of 9 oF in the next 90 years (by
2100). One of the worst results of this global warming would be global
sea level rise of 5 feet, flooding huge populated areas.