Biology SOL Review Part 3

A set of flashcards covering key concepts in classification, evolution, and ecology based on a Biology SOL review.

What are the three domains of life?

Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya.

How are organisms classified hierarchically?

Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species.

What is binomial nomenclature?

A universal scientific naming system using 2 Latin names (Genus capitalized + species lowercase) that helps eliminate language barriers.

What characterizes the Protists kingdom?

Mostly unicellular, some multicellular, nucleus present, have organelles, use cilia or pseudopods to move.

What defines the Fungi kingdom?

Uni/multicellular, cell walls with chitin, heterotrophic, decomposers or parasites.

What is the main characteristic of the Plant kingdom?

Autotrophic organisms that use sunlight to make glucose through photosynthesis.

What distinguishes the Animal kingdom?

Multicellular, heterotrophs, no cell wall, various feeding methods.

How are evolutionary relationships depicted?

Through phylogenetic trees or cladograms showing common ancestors and traits.

What types of evidence support the theory of evolution?

Biochemical evidence, embryology, morphology, fossil records.

How do mutations contribute to evolution?

Mutations create new traits that can be inherited if they occur in sex cells.

What is a mutagen?

Factors like radiation or chemicals that cause mutations.

What is natural selection?

The process where organisms with favorable traits survive and reproduce more successfully.

Why is genetic variation important in evolution?

More variation leads to better survival chances in changing environments.

What are the types of adaptations?

Behavioral, structural, and reproductive adaptations that help organisms survive.

Who evolves: individuals or populations?

Populations evolve, not individuals.

What can cause extinction?

When a species cannot adapt to environmental changes.

How is life organized ecologically?

Population (one species in an area) → Community (all living things) → Ecosystem (living + nonliving factors).

How is energy transferred in ecosystems?

Through producers making food, consumers eating others, and decomposers breaking down dead matter.

What do the arrows in a food web indicate?

They point to the organism that is doing the eating (the consumer).

What is the carbon cycle?

The cycle in which CO₂ is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis, utilized in the food chain, and released back into the atmosphere through respiration, decomposition, and combustion.

What happens to the ocean when CO₂ levels increase?

More CO₂ forms carbonic acid, making the ocean more acidic and harming marine ecosystems.