Pre-AP Biology 2025 Final Exam Review Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for reviewing key concepts for the final exam.

Macromolecules

Large organic molecules essential for life, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Monomer

A small building block that is linked together to form a polymer.

Enzymes

Biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy.

Substrate

The reactant on which an enzyme acts.

Active site

The region of an enzyme where the substrate binds and the reaction occurs.

Product

The result of an enzymatic reaction.

ATP

Adenosine triphosphate, the primary energy currency of the cell.

Autotrophs

Organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organisms.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants and other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells break down glucose to release energy in the form of ATP.

Glycolysis

The first step in cellular respiration, where glucose is broken down into pyruvate.

Krebs Cycle

A series of chemical reactions that extract energy from pyruvate and produce carbon dioxide and ATP.

Electron Transport Chain

A series of protein complexes that transfer electrons and generate a proton gradient to produce ATP.

Eukaryotes

Organisms with cells containing a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

Prokaryotes

Unicellular organisms that lack a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a stable internal environment.

Negative Feedback

A regulatory mechanism that reduces or reverses a change in a controlled variable.

Positive Feedback

A regulatory mechanism that amplifies a change in a controlled variable.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecule that carries genetic information in cells.

Mutation

A change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA.

Point Mutation

A mutation affecting only one or very few nucleotides in a gene sequence.

Frameshift Mutation

A mutation caused by the insertion or deletion of nucleotides in a DNA sequence that is not divisible by three.

Asexual Reproduction

A type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes.

Sexual Reproduction

A type of reproduction that involves the fusion of gametes and results in offspring with genetic variation.

Gamete

A mature haploid male or female germ cell that is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that results in four daughter cells each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell, as in the production of gametes and plant spores.

Sister Chromatids

Two identical copies of a single chromosome that are connected by a centromere.

Homologous Chromosomes

Chromosome pairs (one from each parent) that are similar in length, gene position, and centromere location.

Gene

A unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

Genotype

The genetic constitution of an individual organism.

Phenotype

The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

Homozygous

Having two identical alleles for a particular gene.

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles for a particular gene.

Incomplete Dominance

A form of inheritance in which one allele for a specific trait is not completely expressed over its paired allele.

Codominance

A relationship between two versions of a gene. Individuals receive one version of a gene (allele) from each parent.

Diffusion

The movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.

Osmosis

The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration.

Hypertonic

Having a higher solute concentration compared to another solution.

Isotonic

Having the same solute concentration compared to another solution.

Endocytosis

The process by which cells absorb molecules by engulfing them.

Exocytosis

The process by which cells expel molecules by fusing vesicles with the cell membrane.