Download BIL 106 FALL 2015 - STUDY GUIDE FOR EXAM I

BIL 106 FALL 2015 - STUDY GUIDE FOR EXAM I
The first exam will cover the material in Lectures 1-5 (up to the section labeled “Animal Body Cavities:
Where We Keep Our Guts” along with the text readings accompanying those lectures, as shown on the
syllabus. The following checklist will help you focus on what’s most important, but don’t think of it as a
substitute for studying your notes and text. Anything in the notes or discussed in class is fair game.
Introduction to Zoology
Know about how many animal species have so far been described.
Know the biological definition of “species”
Understand the nested hierarchy of taxonomic categories (“King Philip came over from Germany
Stoned”). Know that Domain is the largest, most inclusive taxonomic group, and each domain includes
several Kingdoms.
Know the characteristics that a thing must have in order to be considered truly “alive”
Know the major differences between a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell.
What types of organisms are prokaryotes? What types of organisms are eukaryotes?
Know the characteristics that define an organism as an ANIMAL.
What characteristics are UNIQUE to animals, and seen in no other organisms?
Be able to recognize the major organ systems and know their general functions.
Know the meaning/significance of: ingestive heterotroph, Hox genes
Understand the general course of animal embryo development, from zygote to 2-, 4- and 8-cell stage, to
blastula and gastrula. (The diagram will tell you what you need to know!
Know the meaning/significance of: zygote, blastula, blastocoel, gastrula, blastopore, archenteron,
endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm. Be able to recognize these on a diagram (all but the first four terms
here are found in the gastrula).
Genes and Inheritance
Know the basic units that make up living things, from atoms through organ systems.
Which of the above is the smallest thing that is truly ALIVE?
Know the meaning/significance of: proton, neutron, electron, element, compound, atom, molecule,
organic vs. inorganic molecules (be able to recognize examples of each), polymer, enzyme (which type of
biological macromolecule is an enzyme?)
Be able to recognize the most common atoms found in living tissues, C, H, O, N.
Know the four basic types of biological macromolecules, and the basic functions of each
Know the subunits that comprise each type of biological macromolecule
Know the meaning/significance of: gene, DNA, RNA, chromosome, homologous pair of chromosomes
(one from mom; one from dad),
Know the four “letters” of the DNA alphabet (A,C,G,T – adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine) and how
many “letters” represent one amino acid to the cell.
Know what information is encoded on a gene. What does it tell the cell how to make?
Know what is meant by the process of gene expression: DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then RNA is
translated into protein. (The product of a gene is always RNA, but often, that RNA is then used to make
protein.) This process results in the expression of the gene being transcribed/translated.
Know the meaning/significance of: mutation, mitosis, meiosis, wild type, mutant, allele, monogenic trait,
polygenic trait, locus, phenotype, genotype, dominant vs. recessive allele, diploid vs. haploid cell,
homozygous vs. heterozygous genotype.
Know the difference between somatic vs. germline cells (which is more related to evolution?)
What is the genome (how many copies of your genome do you have? Where is your genome located?)
Origin of Life and Evolution (they’re not the same thing)
Know the basic beliefs of early philosophers (Biblical, Greek) regarding the origin of life.
Know the meaning/significance of Aristotle’s scala naturae. (Was he right?)
Were most Victorian scientists atheists? If not…what?
Know the meaning/significance of: spontaneous generation, invention of the microscope re:
spontaneous generation, significance of Louis Pasteur swan-necked flask experiments re: spontaneous
generation, abiogenesis
Know the contributions of Francesco Redi, Anton Van Leewenhoek, Louis Pasteur, Stanley Miller and
Harold Urey to understanding the origin of life.
What does oxygen have to do with the origin of life?
Watch this incredibly cool video again, and understand its implications:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1790640610/
Understand the contributions to understanding evolution of: Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Charles Darwin
Know the meaning/significance of: sentiments interieurs (“felt need”), and how Lamarck thought
evolution occurred.
Know the five factors that can drive evolution, and the basic way that each one works/contributes to
evolution.
Understand the meaning/significance of: genetic drift, Founder Effect, Bottleneck Effect, inbreeding,
outbreeding, natural selection
What are the four basic tenets of Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection?
Can Darwin’s theory best be stated as “survival of the fittest”? If not, then what’s a better “catch phrase”
Common Misconceptions about Evolution
Know the meaning/definition of evolution, organic evolution. Be able to recognize an example of organic
evolution, which is NOT a change in a single individual, but rather a change in a population over
generations.
Understand the difference between theories about evolution vs. theories about the origin of life. Know
that evolution does not have a “goal” and be able to distinguish between examples illustrating this type of
misconception.
Know why organisms do not evolve things because they “need” them. Understand how natural selection
is the basis for much of evolution, though random processes also play a role. The most excellent UC
Berkeley Museum of Paleontology link can be found here:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/misconceptions_faq.php
Read through the last page: “Misconception: “Evolution is itself ‘religious,’ so requiring teachers to
teach evolution violates the First Amendment.” These pages are quick and easy to read, and are not to be
memorized. Simply read and understand the message!
Ecology: Animals and Their Environment
Know the origin of the word “ecology” from its Greek roots.
Know the meaning/significance of: biotic vs. abiotic components of an ecosystem, ecological niche,
fundamental vs. realized niche
Know the levels of complexity in an ecosystem: from the individual/species up through biosphere
Remember the basic levels of ecological science, from organismal up through global ecology. Be able to
recognize what scientists at each level study.
Know the meaning/significance of: homeostasis (maintaining a constant internal environment in the
body), endotherm vs. ectotherm, homeotherm vs. poikilotherm, osmoregulation (controlling water and
salt balance), conformer vs. regulator, Circadian rhythm
Know the meaning of symbiosis, and be able to recognize examples of each type (from the table in
Lecture 4) if I were to describe them to you in a scenario.
Know the meaning/significance of: keystone species, indicator species, exotic species, native species,
crypsis, aposematic/warning coloration, mimicry (Batesian vs. Mullerian)
Know the basic structure of a food web’s components, from primary producers (autotrophs) to the
various levels of consumers (heterotrophs).
Know the meaning/significance of: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, detritivore, insectivore, frugivore
What, specifically, is a decomposer? How is it different from a detritivore that doesn’t decompose?
Animal Form and Function (portion in blue below has been moved to Exam II)
Know the meaning/significance of: blastula, gastrula, endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm, blastomere,
diploblastic vs. triploblastic, Metazoan, Eumetazoan
Be able to recognize the basic types of animal body symmetry if you were to see examples.
Know what is meant by: acoelomate, pseudocoelomate/pseudocoelom, coelomate/true coelom
What are the main differences between protostome animals and deuterostome animals? (Think: embryo
developmental milestones and body cavity formation) (This is included in an earlier lecture.)
Know the meaning/significance of: metamerism, tagmatization, cephalization, gastrea
Be familiar with the ancestral “original animal”: a colonial choanoflagellate. And that the ancestor of all
bilaterally symmetrical animals probably looked very much like today’s acoelomate flatworms.