Download FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS Topic 1 Life on Earth is made

FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS
Topic 1
Life on Earth is made possible because of certain unique characteristics of water. Choose FOUR properties of water and
a. For each characteristics that you choose, identify and define the property.
b. Describe one example of how the property affects the functioning of living organisms.
Describe why viruses are typically not considered to be alive. Include discussion of their structure and means of
reproduction.
Topic 2
Death is a natural and necessary part of life cycles at all levels of organization.
a. DISCUSS TWO examples of how cell death affects the development and functioning of a multicellular organism.
b. DISCUSS ONE Example of how substances are degraded and reused in cells.
c. DISCUSS the evolutionary significance of death.
The following experiment was designed to test whether different concentration gradients affect the rate of diffusion. In thie
experiment, four solutions of (0% NaCl, 1% NaCl, 5% NaCl, and 10% NaCl) were tested under identical conditions. Fifteen
millimeters (mL) of 0% NaCl were put into a bag formed of dialysis tubing that is permeable to Na+, Cl- and water. The same
was done for each NaCl solution. Each bag was submerged in a separate beaker containing 300 mL of distilled water (just
H2O). The concentration of NaCl in mg/L in the water outside each bag was measured at 40-second intervals. The results
from the 5% bag are shown in the table below.
CONCENTRATION IN mg/L OF NaCl OUTSIDE THE 5% BAG
Time (seconds)
NaCl (mg/L)
0
0
40
130
80
220
120
320
160
400
a. DRAW a graph for the data in the table above.
b. Using the same graph, DRAW and LABEL three additional lines representing the results that you would predict
for the 0% NaCl, 1% NaCl, and 10% NaCl solutions. EXPLAIN your predictions.
c. Farmlands located near coastal regions are being threatened by encroaching seawater seeping into the soil. In
terms of water movement into or out of plant cells, EXPLAIN why seawater could decrease crop production.
Include a discussion of water potential in your answer.
Topic 3
Most chemical reactions do not occur haphazardly in the cell. To help control the chemical reactions essential for life, cells
rely on enzymes.
a. EXPLAIN how enzymes work.
b. LIST and DESCRIBE what factors affect reaction rate.
c. DESCRIBE in what ways enzymes are regulated.
DISCUSS the Krebs cycle, the electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation.
a. EXPLAIN why these steps are considered aerobic processes.
b. DISCUSS the location at which each stage occurs.
Topic 4
Chlorophyll is one of a class of pigments that absorbs light energy in photosynthesis.
a. RELATE the structure of chlorophyll to its function.
b. DESIGN an experiment to investigate the influence of sunlight on the activity of chlorophyll
c. DESCRIBE what information concerning the structure of chlorophyll could be inferred from your experiment.
Describe the similarities and differences between the biochemical pathways of aerobic respiration and photosynthesis in
eukaryotic cells. Include in your discussion the major reactions, the end products, and energy transfers.
Topic 5
The unit of genetic organization in all living organisms is the chromosome.
a. DESCRIBE the structure and function of the parts of a eukaryotic chromosome. You may wish to include a
diagram as part of your description.
b. DESCRIBE the adaptive (Evolutionary) significance of organizing genes into chromosomes.
c. How does the function and structure of the chromosome differ in prokaryotes?
Meiosis is the process by which chromosome number is reduced and genetic information is rearranged.
(a) Explain how the reduction and rearrangement are accomplished during meiosis.
(b) Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment are due to the movement of chromosomes during
meiosis. Describe the connection between Mendel’s laws and chromosome movement.
(c) Defects in the meiosis process result in several human disorders. Discuss one such chromosomal abnormality
and the effects it has on the phenotype of afflicted people. Describe how this abnormality could occur as a
result of a meiotic defect.
Topic 6
Gregor Mendel’s work with peas resulted in the formulation of Mendel’s laws of heredity- the law of independent
assortment and the law of segregation. However, as further experimental evidence presented itself, it became evident that
inheritance does not always follow a path described my Mendel’s research. Please discuss THREE of the following choices.
a. DISCUSS the two major forms of intermediate inheritance, define the two terms, and provide an example of
each. In your answer, EXPLAIN how blood types fit into the discussion of intermediate inheritance.
b. Thomas Hunt Morgan did a lot of hereditary research himself over the years, and discovered sex-linked
inheritance. DEFINE sex-linked inheritance; DESCRIBE how sex-linked traits are inherited; Provide an example of
sex-linked disorder/inheritance pattern. What might this look like in a pedigree.
c. Thomas Hunt Morgan also worked with linked genes. Define linked genes, discuss how they are inherited, and
describe how linkage maps can be created, which describe the relative location of linked genes.
d. Polygenic traits, pleiotropic traits, and epistatic traits are all slightly off the mendelian path. Define each of
these terms and provide an example of each. In your answer, briefly discuss why Mendel did not describe these
processes in his research on peas.
The Hardy-Weinberg equation can be used to determine if a population is evolving and what is driving that evolution; it can
also be used to determine types of inheritance patterns.
a. STATE and EXPLAIN three of the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
b. STATE the Hardy-Weinberg equation and DEFINE its variables.
c. IN a population of 1,000 moths, 160 show the homozygous recessive trait of white wings. The rest display the
dominant trait of gray wings. What is the frequency of the recessive allele? What is the frequency of the
dominant allele? How many moths will be heterozygous gray?
Topic 7
The human genome illustrates both continuity and change. (continued part b on next page)
a. Describe the essential features of TWO of the procedures/techniques below. For EACH of the
procedures/techniques you describe, explain how its application contributes to understanding genetics.
i.
The use of a bacterial plasmid to clone and sequence a human gene
ii.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
iii.
Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis
b. All humans are nearly identical in coding sequences and have many proteins that are identical in structure and
function. Nevertheless, each human has a unique DNA fingerprint. EXPLAIN this apparent contradiction.
Gene expression in a cell is influenced by a variety of factors. Not all genes on the eukaryotic chromosome are expressed,
and if fact, only a small fraction of the genes are transcribed into working proteins.
a. DISCUSS three ways in which gene control works in the cell.
b. DESCRIBE three laboratory procedures you could employ in order to determine how much transcription and
translation is going on in a cell at a given time.
Topic 8
DEFINE homologous, vestigial and analogous structures and give an EXAMPLE of each. EXPAIN how each is used as evidence
to support a theory.
Microevolution is the change in the gene pool from one generation to the next.
a. DESCRIBE four ways in which microevolution can take place.
b. DESCRIBE the difference between microevolution and macroevolution.
c. DESCRIBE four ways that macroevolution can take place and give an example for each.
Topic 9
Taxonomy is the field of biology that classifies organisms based upon the presence or absence of shared characteristics in
an effort to discover evolutionary relationships between species.
a. DESCRIBE the basic organization of the six Kingdom system, including how organisms can be assigned to a
particular kingdom.
b. The movement from water to land for plants was a giant leap that required some major adaptations for
survival. Discuss four important adaptation seen during the evolution of land plants and explain their
significance with examples.
Prokaryotes are earth’s most abundant organism. There are many characteristics that make prokaryotes unique on earth.
Pick any two of the following three comparisons and EXPLAIN how they relate to prokaryotes
Bacteria vs. Archaea
Chemoautotrophs vs. chemoheterotrophs
Transformation vs. transduction
Topic 10:
Angiosperms (flowering plants) have wide distribution in the biosphere and the largest number of species in the plant
kingdom.
a. Discuss the function of FOUR structure for reproduction found in angiosperms and the adaptive (evolutionary)
significance of each.
b. Mosses (bryophytes) have not achieved the widespread terrestrial success of angiosperms. Discuss how the
anatomy and reproductive strategies of mosses limit their distribution.
c. Explain alternation of generations in either angiosperms or mosses.
Describe the following processes in the plant life cycle and why they are important for the plant to complete, listing all of
the plant hormones involved and describing their function:
a. Elongation of the plant shoot.
b. The process by which plants orient themselves with respect to the sun.
c. Photoperiodism.
Topic 11:
The complexity of structure and function varies widely across the animal kingdom. Despite this variation, animals exhibit
common processes. These include the following.
o Transport of materials
o Response to stimiuli
o Gas exchange
o Locomotion
a. Choose two of the processes above and for each, DESCRIBE the relevant structures and how they function to
accomplish the process in the following phyla.
Cnidaria (ex: Hydra, jellyfish)
Annelida (ex: earthworm)
Chordata (ex: mouse)
b. EXPLAIN the adaptive (evolutionary) value(s) of the structural examples you described in part a.
An important defense against diseases in vertebrates animals is the ability to eliminate, inactivate, or destroy foreign
substances and organisms. Explain how the immune system achieves THREE of the following:
 Provides an immediate nonspecific immune response
 Activates T and B cells in response to an infection
 Responds to a later exposure to the same infectious agent
 Distinguishes self from non-self
Topic 12:
Using an example for each, discuss four of the following concepts
 Carrying capacity
 Succession
 Energy flow between trophic levels
 R-selected populations
 Mutualism
The activities of organisms change at regular time intervals. These changes are called biological rhythms. The graph depicts
the activity cycle over a 48-hour period for a fictional group of mammals called pointy-eared bombats, found on an isolated
island in the temperate zone.
a. Describe the cycle of activity for the bombast. Discuss how three of the following factors might affect the
physiology and/or behavior of the bombast to result in this pattern of activity.
i.
Temperature
ii.
Food availability
iii.
Presence of predators
iv.
Social behavior
b. Propose a hypothesis regarding the effect of light on the cycle of activity in bombast. Describe a controlled
experiment that could be performed to test this hypothesis, and the results you would expect.