AP Bio

What is biology?

the scientific study of life

Define the different levels in hierarchy of biological organization

1. Biosphere - all the environments on Earth that are inhabited by life.

2. Ecosystems - all living things in a particular area; all Earth's ecosystems combined make the biosphere.

3. Communities - the different organisms living in one ecosystem.

4. Populations- all the individuals of a species living in a specific area.

5. Organisms - individual living things

6. Organs and organ systems - organs perform a specific function, while organ systems are made of multiple organs (ex. Digestive system).

7. Tissues - a group of similar cells

8. Cells - unit of structure and function

9. Organelles - functional components that make a cell.

10. Molecules - a chemical structure of 2 or more atoms.

What is the cell theory?

All living things are made up of cells, cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things, new cells are produced from existing cells

What are the 2 types of cells in this world?

1. Prokaryotic - bacteria & archaea

2. Eukaryotic - has organelles and is membrane enclosed

What is an ecosystems 2 major processes?

Energy transformation & biogeochemical cycling

Why are organisms considered open systems?

They interact with their surroundings through taking and then giving (ex. plants and humans)

What's the difference between - and + feedback? What's their importance?

Negative feedback - the accumulation of an end product decreases it's production. The current conditions will change as a result.

Positive feedback - an end product speeds up it's production.

It's important because they help regulate all life form through homeostasis.

What is evolution? What is intelligent design?

Evolution is the change over time, usually through common ancestors.

Intelligent design is the theory that life can't have happened on its own and required an intelligent being to form.

What are domains and why was it necessary to develop them?

They are groups that contain a variety of things to help us organize things according to similarity. They are the most inclusive.

How is there unity in the diversity of life?

Through similar skeletons & the universal language of DNA, we are also all made of cells, all organisms run on ATP.

What is science?

Knowledge of the natural world

Differentiate between hypothesis, theory, and law

Hypothesis - a specific possible answer to a well framed question.

Theory - a more broad version of a hypothesis that is usually supported by a large body of evidence.

Law - a description of how nature behaves and is accepted from a scientific standpoint

What is discovery and induction

Discovery - describing nature

Induction - reasoning from a set of specific observations to reach a general conclusion.

What is hypothetico-deductive science?

Deriving specific results from a general assumption (if your flashlight is broken you test both the bulb and batteries to find out the problem)

What are the basic steps of the scientific method?

Observation, question, Hypothesize, predict, test, use results to answer hypothesis, make new observations based

Describe a controlled experiment with: independent & dependent variables, controls/constants, control & experimental group.

dependent - changes based off of the independent variable.

independent - what you as the experimenter change

controls -

constants -

control group - group you keep the same

experimental group - the group that changes

What 8 elements make up the majority of our bodies?

Oxygen (O), Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N), Calcium (Ca), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Sulfur (S)

Ostriches Can Hear Nothing. (Ca)ts Play Kickball Seriously.

Describe the structure of an atom, including the location and charge of the subatomic particles.

An atom is made up of neutrons, electrons, and protons. The neutrons and positively charged protons (+) are bound together in the middle (atomic nucleus) while negatively charged electrons (-) form a cloud around them.

What are isotopes? What are the applications of them?

Isotopes are atoms that have more or less neutrons than others of the same element and therefore have greater/lesser mass.

Applications: dating fossils & tracing the human body to find things such as cancer through radioactivity.

How is energy transferred through atoms?

through the electrons

What electrons are important in determining chemical bonds?

valence electrons

What is the difference between a compound and a molecule?

Compound- two or more different elements joined

Molecule- two or more atoms combined (group of the same element)

How does a covalent bond hold together?

Through a shared pair of electrons

What's the difference between polar & nonpolar covalent bonds?

Nonpolar bonds have the same electronegativity and share electrons equally.

Polar bonds - when an atom is bonded w/a more electronegative atom so the electrons aren't shared equally.

What is an ion, the 2 types, and the biological uses of them?

An ion is a charged particle. When the charge is +, it's called a cation. A - charged ion is called an anion.

They are salts, so we use them for seasoning. We also manufacture drugs as salts since they dissolve in water.

What is a hydrogen bond?

When one slightly + atom is attracted to one slightly - atom nearby and are weakly held together.

What are Van der Waals interactions?

Induced electrical interactions between 2+ atoms/molecules that are very close to each other

What is the difference between cohesion & adhesion

Cohesion: Water is attracted to water, and Adhesion: Water is attracted to other substances.

What's the difference between solute and solvent?

Solute - substance that is dissolved

Solvent - the dissolving agent

What's the difference between hydrophilic & hydrophobic molecules?

Hydrophilic - gets along with water (usually dissolves but not always)

Hydrophobic - repels water (ex. vegetable oil)

What are the unique characteristics of water that make it important to biology?

It's a "universal solvent", temperature regulation because of high specific heat.

What are 2 ways in which water can dissociate? What are the 2 products?

H+ and OH-

What makes an acid an acid, and what makes a base a base?

Acids release hydrogen ions into a solution.

A base accepts hydrogen ions in a solution.

What are at least 3 differences between acids and bases?

- acids PH \=

- strength of acid depends on amount of Hydrogen ions, strength of base depends on amount of Hydroxide ions.

- acids donate protons/accept electron pairs, bases accept protons/donate electron pairs.

How is the carbon molecule suited as a building block to many biological molecules?

It's able to form diverse molecules and proteins, DNA, and carbohydrates are all majorly composed of carbon. It can form at least 4 bonds.

What are functional groups?

a group of atoms responsible for the characteristic reactions of a particular compound.

What are the 6 functional groups & their characteristics?

1. Hydroxyl

2. Carbonyl

3. Carboxyl

4. Amino

5. Sulfhydryl

6. Phosphate

What is a polymer and monomer?

Polymer- A large molecule that forms when many smaller molecules are linked together by covalent bonds

Monomer- The smaller molecules that join together to form a polymer

What happens in a condensation/dehydration reaction?

Monomers are joined to make a polymer through the loss of H20

Describe hydrolysis

Reverses the dehydration reaction through water.

What are carbohydrates?

The monomers are sugars. They are molecules made of C, O and H.

What is the difference between starch, glycogen, and cellulose?

Starch - Enables the stockpiling of extra glucose and then releases through hydrolysis.

Glycogen - stored in liver and muscle cells. Releases glucose but only lasts a day and needs to be replenished through food consumption.

Cellulose - composes the tough walls that enclose plant cells

What are lipids, they're monomers, and their function?

They're large molecules that don't include true polymers, and have hydrophobic behavior. They help move and store energy. They have glycerol and fatty acids as monomers.

What is the biological significance of phosopholipids, steroids, and cholesterol?

Phospholipids - make up cell membranes

Steroids - form hormones & help regulate cell processes

cholesterol - forms steroids

what is the structure of amino acids

primary - sequence

secondary - coiled

tertiary - interactions with side chains

quaternary - combination of tertiary structures that have a function.

what is metabolism?

sum of all chemical reactions in the body