Biology 300 Final Exam

Define: Gene

A section of chromosome that codes for a specific trait?

A karyotype shows 3 #21 chromosomes, what does this individual have?

Down Syndrome

The result of meiosis is that each new cell nucleus has how many chromosomes?

Half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell

Whose work led to the formation of basic genetic principles?

Gregor Mendel

What does a Punnett Square do?

Determines the probable outcome of a cross

Who determines the sex of human offspring?

The male parent - XX = Female; XY = Male

Why are more males born with hemophilia?

Males need only one recessive gene for hemophilia to occur because hemophilia is a sex-linked trait

What is incomplete dominance?

1 allele for a specific trait is not completely dominant over the other allele - This results in a combined phenotype (expressed physical trait)

Define: Heterozygous

Organism with 2 different allele

Define: Genotype

Genetic makeup of an organism

There are how many blood types?

4

Define: Restriction enzyme

Enzymes which cut DNA molecules between specific base sequences called restriction sites

What was the initial goal of the Human Genome Project?

To create maps showing where genes are located on human chromosomes

What technique is used to identify individuals in paternity cases and criminal cases?

DNA fingerprinting

Define: Clone

A population of genetically identical cells or organisms- Asexual reproduction

Define: Recombinant DNA

A form of artificial DNA made by the combination of two or more DNA sequences that would not occur in nature

What are plasmids?

Circular pieces of bacterial DNA; Can replicate independently of the organism's main chromosome; Are often used as vectors in genetic engineering experiments

Define: Transgenic Organism

An organism that has had it's genotype altered to produce a new strain (genetically modified organism) - the result of Recombinant DNA

Why are embryonic stem cells important?

They are "programmable" and can be stimulated to become needed tissue

What are embryonic stem cells?

Special types of cells in the early stages of life; Having potential to develop into any type of tissue

What is the purpose of DNA fingerprinting?

Identify genes that cause genetic disorders; Establish whether 2 people are related; Solve violent crimes

Define: Mass extinction

When many living things all die at the same time

Define: Adaptation

Special features that help living things survive in their environment.

Define: Fitness

How well adapted an organism is to their environment

What are analogous structures?

These are structures that share similar function, but not common ancestry (Bird's wings and Butterfly's wings)

Define: Vestigial Structures

Remnants of structures that may have had important functions in an ancestral species, but have no clear function in some of the modern descendants

Define: Comparative Biochemistry

Comparing DNA and protein of different organisms

What are the parts of Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

1. More individuals are produced each generation that can survive; 2. Phenotypic variation exists among individuals and the variation is heritable; 3. Those individuals with heritable traits better suited to the environment will survive; 4. When reproductive isolation occurs new species will form

Define: Common ancestor

An organism which is the shared ancestor of two (or more) different descendant groups of organisms

What is the most important biological consideration for identifying organisms as separate species?

The inability to produce fertile offspring

The 2 classification categories represented by binomial nomenclature are what?

Genus and species

What is the proper sequence of classification categories, moving from the largest to the smallest group of organisms?

Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

What are Plantae?

Organisms that are eukaryotic, multicellular, and autotrophic with cell walls made of cellulose

What are abiotic factors?

Physical factors such as light, temperature, and moisture that affect an organism's life and survival

What would be examples of density-dependent limiting factors?

Overcrowding and disease in an animal population

Define: Community

A group of organisms of different species living together in a particular place

What is Ecology?

The study of the interaction of living things with one another and the local abiotic factors

What would be an example of a relationship between a producer and consumer?

Zebra eating grass

If a population grows larger than the carrying capacity of the environment, the population size will...

Eventually decrease

As the prey population decreases, the first this to occur is that the...

Predators begin to starve

When an organism dies, the nutrients in its body...

Are recycled by the action of decomposers

What is mutualism?

A symbiotic relationship from which both organisms involved derive some benefit (Ants and the acacia tree)

Define: Niche

The ways in which an organisms interacts with its environment?

An example of a population is what?

All the Quercus alba in Illinois

Define: Transpiration

As water cycles through an ecosystem, the process that returns it to the atmosphere