Biology 1020 EXAM ONE STUDY GUIDE

Biology 1020 EXAM ONE STUDY GUIDE

Textbook Chapters 1-5; 8

Remember that exams in this course are based mostly on the lecture notes and what I say in class. The textbook should be used as a resource (especially the figures). Laboriously reading the textbook will be an inefficient use of your time, since some material that I cover won’t be in the book and some of the material in the book is not in the notes or lectures and thus will not be tested. HOWEVER, there are some exceptions – if I’ve told you in class that something from the book will be on the test even if it isn’t in my notes or covered in class, then you should expect it to be on the test. For this test I told you that the “levels of biological organization” in your textbook Ch. 1 would be on the test.

The test is worth 100 points; it will consist only of multiple-choice questions. It will be based on 40 questions worth 2.5 points each, but I’ll add in an extra question or so to build some bonus points into the test (for example, a 42-question test will allow you to earn 42x2.5 = 105 points, meaning up to 5 bonus points could be earned). Half points will round up.

Below I have divided the material to be tested into major topic groups. On the exam each group will be represented by about 2-5 questions. Some test questions may cover more than one topic area. This study guide is intended to help you focus your efforts as you review the lecture notes and textbook chapters; most of the test questions will be covered if you know the things listed below and can apply that knowledge.

For all topics, it will be very useful to know the meanings of the key terms associated with them (usually bold-faced in the lecture notes), and be able to apply those terms to understand a question and select an appropriate answer. At least 80% of the exam questions will involve one of the bold-faced terms in some way. Don’t get carried away with just memorizing definitions, however. As you should be able to tell from the MasteringBiology assignments, much of this is based on applying your knowledge, not just memorizing a definition.

Group 1:

Scientific Method – know the general sequence of the scientific method and what makes a good hypothesis; distinguish deductive reasoning from inductive reasoning

Characteristics of Living Matter – know the characteristics of living things

Information Transfer in Living Systems – know the general methods of information exchange between cells and between cell generations

Group 2:

Diversity of Biological Organisms – know the classification scheme (Dashing King Phillip….DKPCOFGS), the relationships (and the basis for them) between the widely accepted 3 domains and 6 kingdoms; and how to write species names

“Levels of Biological Organization” from textbook Figure 1.4

Life Depends on Energy – know how energy flows through ecosystems, and the particular roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers

Group 3:

Elements and Atoms – know the 12 elements commonly found in living organisms by name and chemical symbol; C,H, O, and N make up 96% of living organisms; interpret atomic diagrams for such things as atomic number, isotopes, numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons, etc.; role of valence shell/electrons in chemistry (rule of 8)

Group 4:

Atomic Combinations – recognize different ways of writing chemical formulas; understand the mole and molecular mass

Chemical Bonds – recognize different bonds in diagrams; know what these bonds are (ionic = opposite charges coming together, covalent = shared electron pair, etc.); know relative bond strengths (covalent>ionic>hydrogen)

Group 5:

Chemical Equations – know how to interpret chemical equations; know equilibrium as reactions occurring simultaneously and at the same rate in both directions

Redox – know what is oxidized and what is reduced in the rusting example; know how the terms relate to electron movement, and that energy goes with electrons when they are moved (thus a reduced atom or molecule has more energy than it did before it was reduced)

Group 6:

Properties of Water – know the unusual properties of water due largely to hydrogen bonding, such as heat stability (heats or cools slowly compared to most other substances), ice floating, adhesion and cohesion and their consequences, roles of water in living organisms and the biosphere as a temperature buffer and as a solvent

Acids and Bases – recognize likely acids and bases from chemical formulas (HA – acid; BOH – base; where A can be any anion, B any cation); basis of pH scale, its logarithmic nature and directionality (pH 7 is neutral, pH 5 is acidic, pH 4 is 10x more acidic than pH 5, etc.); recognize a pH buffer from its effects

Group 7:

Organic Compounds – role of carbon in organic compounds; diversity of organic compounds

Isomers – recognize different isomer types from examples; importance of isomers in biology (isomers often have different compound natures, essentially only L-amino acids are used, etc.)

Functional Groups – recognize different functional groups by name; recognize natures of these groups (polar, nonpolar, weakly basic or acidic)

Polymers – roles of hydrolysis (breaks with water) and condensation (joins monomers, removes equivalent of water)

Group 8: Lipids, Carbohydrates

Group 9: Proteins and related compounds

Group 10: Nucleic Acids and related compounds

For all of the above, know the names of types of compounds placed in each class (DNA, steroid, starch, etc.), be able to classify a compound into one of these based on a diagram of the compound, know the subunit building blocks where appropriate (monosaccharides, glycerol + 3 fatty acid chains, amino acids, nucleotides, etc.); know special bond names and what type of polymer uses them (peptide bond in proteins, phosphodiester bond in nucleic acids, etc.); know the roles associated with molecules from each group (phospholipid bilayer in biological membranes, ATP as energy currency, etc.); roles of amino acid variable groups (R-groups) in amino acids; protein structure levels; differences between DNA and RNA.

Group 11:

Energy, Thermodynamics, and Metabolism – know how thermodynamics governs chemical reactions; know the terms for chemical reactions and how they relate to each other (anabolism/catabolism; exergonic/endergonic, etc.); know about coupled reactions

energy currency and energy transfer molecules – ATP/ADP, NADH/NAD+, NADPH/NADP+ - know the role of ATP as energy currency in cells and how that works (coupled reaction, typically with phosphorylated intermediate(s)); know the general equations for reactions involving these compounds; know which are the energy storage forms (include FADH2/FAD here); for all but ATP/ADP, know which form is reduced and which is oxidized (include FADH2/FAD here)

Group 12:

Enzymes –

know what a catalyst is (speeds up reaction by lowering activation energy – not consumed in the reaction);

know how enzymes work in general;

know terms (active site, enzyme-substrate complex, apoenzyme, coenzyme)

know how to influence enzyme-catalyzed reaction rates

what to add to speed up the rate when [substrate] > [enzyme]

what to add to speed up the rate when [substrate] < [enzyme]

allosteric activation/inhibition

inhibition – irreversible/reversible(competitive/noncompetitive)