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Biology Final Exam – Study Guide
Scientific Method
A. Identify the control group, experimental group, independent variable, and dependent variable
from a given situation. EXAMPLE: 50 students drank one gallon of water every day and had a
regular routine. Another 50 students drank one gallon of water and one glass of Pepsi w/ caffeine
every day. The students were tested to see how much energy they had at various times during the
day.
Ecology
B. Describe what a producer is and give some examples. What process does a producer use to gain
more biomass and to get its energy?
C. Give some examples of decomposers. What is the difference between a decomposer and a
detritivore?
D. What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors? Give examples of each.
E. Explain the levels of organization in an ecosystem. Examples of these levels are community,
population, and individual.
F. What are the differences between a food chain and a food web? Identify the different levels in a
food chain and a food web. Be able to analyze a diagram of a web or chain.
G. How much energy is lost at each level of an energy pyramid and what is this energy used for in the
animals?
H. Describe the term biodiversity and give an example. Describe the term niche and give an example.
I. What are keystone species and indicator species?
J. Describe what a trophic level is, and describe the 3 levels of consumers according to their trophic
level. (Notes, 13.4)
Ecosystems
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
P.
Q.
R.
S.
T.
U.
Describe pioneer species, primary succession, and secondary succession, climax forest.
What are some of the stages that happen during ecological succession (sand dunes)?
Be able to analyze hypotheses and relationships (direct/indirect) with data (labs, sand dune project).
Describe density-dependent factors and density-independent factors that limit population growth.
Give examples of each of these.
Describe what interspecific competition is. Describe what intraspecific competition is. Give
examples of each of these.
Describe ecological equivalents, niche partitioning and competitive exclusion among organisms.
Give examples of each.
Describe niche and habitat. Give examples of each.
Describe the different survivorship curves. (Type I, Type II, and Type II). What type of organisms are
examples of each, and what type of behavior causes this curve?
Describe a J-curve, S-curve, and carrying capacity. Be able to identify each of these.
Describe the 4 factors that affect the population of an organism.
What are some things that would cause a population crash?
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V. Describe the symbiotic relationships referred to as mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Give
examples.
W. Be familiar with the swimmer’s itch life cycle, larval stages and hosts.
X. Describe the basic graph of a predator-prey relationship (like the lynx and the hare). Identify some
of the basic trends that you find in a predator-prey graph.
Y. Describe population density and population dispersion and give the three basic types of dispersion.
Human Impact
Z. Describe eutrophication and describe its causes.
AA. Give several examples of exotic or “invasive” species. What is a common way for aquatic species to
get transported to a different area?
BB. What are some organisms that help cycle nitrogen through the environment?
CC. How does nitrogen get from the atmosphere into the soil? There are several ways.
DD. Understand the basics of the carbon cycle.
EE. What are the 4 basic steps of wastewater treatment at the Muskegon facility? What materials are
commonly found in wastewater?
FF. What is biomagnification? How do the fat soluble toxins relate to an energy pyramid or a food
chain?
Describe how acid rain forms. What is the general pH level of acid rain?
GG. What is the Greenhouse effect? Is it a positive or negative thing? Explain. Name the greenhouse
gases.
HH. Explain the two places that ozone can be found. Why is it so important to humans and animals?
Evolution
II. Describe the term natural selection. Give an example.
JJ. What were Darwin’s main contributions or ideas related to evolution?
KK. Describe how sedimentary rock can be used to help date fossil remains.
LL. What is an adaptation? Give a few examples.
MM.
Identify the 4 key concepts of natural selection (DOVA)
NN. What is the difference between analogous, homologous and vestigial structures?
OO. What is gene flow? How does it affect the speciation theory? How is reproductive isolation
important to the speciation theory? (There are three types list below).
PP. What are analogous structures? How could this be evidence of convergent evolution?
QQ.
Explain divergent evolution. Explain how homologous structures can support this theory.
RR. What is coevolution? Give an example of coevolution.
SS. Explain how gene pool and variation are related. What are adaptations and how do they relate to
gene pool, and variation?
TT. What is overproduction? How does it benefit Natural Selection?
UU. Descent with Modification – explain what it is.
VV. What are selection pressures? Give examples. What does it mean to be “selected” or “selected
against”?
WW. Explain heritability. What are alleles? Explain some different alleles for a type of species.
XX. How are gene pools and alleles related?
YY. Explain what genetic mutations are. How can mutations help a species’ population survive? What
percentages of mutations fail?
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Constructed Response

Pick one question from each category and provide a response with details and support.
Evolution/Natural Selection
A. Name and describe the four main principles of natural selection theory and give examples.
Explain how natural selection is nature’s quality control filter and how populations evolve, not
individuals.
B. Selection pressures are what drive evolution theory. Explain examples of them and how the
“rules of the game” can change affecting survival vs. extinction. What does “selected against”
and “selected” mean?
C. Explain (briefly) why speciation is dependent on mutations and geographic isolation.
Human Impact
D. Describe the greenhouse effect, how it supports life on the planet and discuss two human
activities that have contributed to possible global warming.
E. Name one exotic species that have had a negative impact in the Great Lakes region. Describe
how they got here, the damage they cause ecosystems and commerce and how we are
addressing them.
F. Reference the diagram to the right to support your
answer. It shows how excess nutrients from human
activity upset the natural balance in surface waters.
Draw and label the cycle for the process of
eutrophication. Include the following: Aerobic and
anaerobic bacteria, fish, algae, nutrients, oxygen
Ecosystems
G. Explain how energy flows through a Michigan
ecosystem (marsh, swamp, lake, hardwood forest) accounting for energy lost to
the environment. Include at least one of the following: producers, primary consumers,
secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and decomposers.
H. Describe the process of sand dune succession. Include an explanation of how sand is
transformed into soil, how plant communities become predictably more diverse and how
stability of the animal inhabitants are impacted. Clarify the difference between primary and
secondary succession.
I.
Explain how water quality can be determined by analyzing aquatic insect biodiversity and
pollution tolerance groups. Just focus on the big picture and not the details of identification.
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