AP Biology Comprehensive Review: Units 1-8

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering AP Biology lecture notes including cell structure, metabolism, heredity, and ecology.

Ribosomes

Subcellular structures composed of rRNA and protein that synthesize proteins according to mRNA sequences and are found in all cells.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

A membrane-bound organelle involved in protein synthesis and compartmentalization of the cell.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

A membrane-bound organelle responsible for detoxification and lipid synthesis.

Golgi Complex

A series of flattened membrane sacs involved in correctly folding and chemically modifying newly synthesized proteins and packaging them for trafficking.

Mitochondria

Organelles with double membranes that provide compartments for aerobic cellular respiration; the inner membrane (cristae) is highly folded to increase the efficiency of ATP synthesis.

Lysosomes

Membrane-enclosed sacs containing hydrolytic enzymes used for intracellular digestion and apoptosis.

Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio

A ratio that affects a cell's ability to obtain nutrients, eliminate waste, and exchange chemicals; smaller cells have a higher ratio and more efficient exchange with the environment.

Water Potential Equation

$$\Psi = \Psi_p + \Psi_s$$

Active Transport

The movement of molecules against a concentration gradient that requires transport proteins and energy input to maintain membrane potential.

Hypotonic Solution

A solution with a low solute concentration and high free water concentration; it typically loses water to hypertonic solutions.

Enzymes

Proteins that act as biological catalysts to speed up chemical reactions by lowering activation energy without being changed or affecting the change in Gibbs Free Energy.

Competitive Inhibitors

Molecules that bind to the active site of an enzyme to prevent substrate binding.

Noncompetitive Inhibitors

Molecules that bind to an allosteric site on an enzyme, causing a conformational change that prevents the substrate from binding to the active site.

Glycolysis

A metabolic pathway occurring in the cytosol that breaks down glucose into 2 pyruvate, $2\,NADH$, and $2\,ATP$.

Krebs Cycle

Occurs in the mitochondrial matrix; starting with Acetyl CoA, it produces $2\,CO_2$, $3\,NADH$, $1\,FADH_2$, and $1\,ATP$ while completing the breakdown of glucose.

Calvin Cycle

The carbon fixation stage of photosynthesis occurring in the stroma; it uses $3\,CO_2$, $9\,ATP$, and $6\,NADPH$ to produce G3P.

Signal Transduction Pathway

A three-stage process consisting of reception (ligand binding), transduction (signaling cascades like phosphorylation), and response (such as gene expression or cell growth).

Negative Feedback

A mechanism that maintains homeostasis by reducing the initial stimulus to return a system to its target set point.

Checkpoints in Cell Cycle

Regulatory stops (G1, G2, M) that determine if a cell is ready to proceed based on factors like growth, DNA damage, and chromosome attachment.

Mitosis

Nuclear division producing two diploid, genetically identical daughter cells for growth, tissue repair, and asexual reproduction.

Meiosis

A two-step division process resulting in four haploid, genetically unique daughter cells intended for sexual reproduction.

Crossing Over

Occurs during Prophase I of meiosis where non-sister chromatids exchange genetic material to increase genetic variation.

Law of Segregation

The principle that homologous chromosomes segregate to opposite poles during anaphase, separating alleles into different daughter cells.

Incomplete Dominance

An inheritance pattern where the heterozygous phenotype is a blend of the two homozygous phenotypes (e.g., pink flowers from red and white parents).

Helicase

The enzyme responsible for unwinding DNA strands by breaking hydrogen bonds during replication.

Transcription

The process of reading a DNA template strand in the 3' to 5' direction to synthesize mRNA in the 5' to 3' direction.

Operon

A functional unit of DNA in prokaryotes containing a promoter, operator, and genes that are regulated together.

Natural Selection

Evolutionary process where individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those traits to the next generation.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Formulas

$p+q=1$ and $p^2+2pq+q^2=1$, used to model allele and genotype frequencies in a non-evolving population.

Genetic Drift

A nonselective process in small populations that can change allele frequencies through events like the bottleneck effect or founder effect.

Allopatric Speciation

Speciation that occurs when populations are geographically isolated from one another.

Endotherm

An organism that maintains its body temperature through internal metabolic processes.

Logistic Growth Equation

$$\frac{dN}{dt} = rN\left(\frac{K-N}{K}\right)$$

Keystone Species

Organisms that have a disproportionate effect on their ecosystem relative to their abundance; their removal often causes ecosystem collapse.

Simpson's Diversity Index

A measure of biodiversity calculated using the formula: $1 - \sum(\frac{n}{N})^2$