BIO-NYA Notepack 1

What are the properties of life?

1) Unity in living world

2) Growth and development

3) Reproduction

4) Order

5) Natural selection

6) Regulation

7) Homeostasis

How is order exhibited in organisms?

Parts/organs/organelles with specific functions

What is the 1st law of thermodynamics?

Law of conservation of energy

What is the 2nd law of thermodynamics?

The total amount of entropy/disorder tends to increase in the Universe => release of heat (unusable form of energy) + small molecules

Cells need to constantly counteract the tendency => require continual energy input from food (cellular respiration) or sunlight (photosynthesis)

What do the 2 energy laws explain?

Energy processing

Energy flows but does not cycle

What is homeostasis

Cells and organisms regulate chemical activities (metabolism) in order to maintain a balanced internal environment

What’s adaptation to environment?

Organisms can respond to specific conditions in the environment by changing their metabolism, patterns of behaviour

How are organisms adapted to their environment?

Through evolution by natural selection

What happens through reproduction?

Organisms pass on their characteristics/traits to offspring based on the heritable instructions encoded in the molecular structure of their DNA

What are the hierarchical levels of biological organization?

Cell

Tissue

Organ

Organ system

Organism

Population

Community

Ecosystem

Biosphere

What are the macromolecules?

Carbohydrates

Lipids

Proteins

Nucleic acids

What are the 3 domains?

Bacteria

Archae

Eukarya

What are the divisions in eukarya?

Super group protists

Kingdom Planta

Kingdom Fungi

Kingdom Animalia

Which cells are prokaryotes?

Bacteria + archaebacteria

What are the characteristics of prokaryotes?

Very small

1 micron

No nucleus

Which cells are eukaryotes?

Protists

Fungi

Plants

Animals

What are the characteristics of eukaryotic cells?

Large

100 micron

Nucleus

What is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection?

1) Individuals of a given population differ in their versions of the same heritable traits; variant forms of traits may affect the ability to survive and reproduce

2) Overproduction of off-spring

3) Competition in a given environment

4) Differential survival an reproductive success

What is natural selection?

The outcome of differences in survival and reproduction among individuals that show variation in one or more traits

What are metabolic activities?

Homeostasis

Synthesis of macromolecules

What are autotrophs?

Producers

How do autotrophs work?

Depend on light energy + inorganic CHNOPS for synthesizing their own macromolecules

Photosynthesis

What does inorganic mean?

Not from living matter but from minerals in soil and grass

What’s a heterotroph?

Consumer + decomposer

Rely on other

How does a heterotroph work?

Depend on other organisms for their energy and CHNOPS sources

Cellular respiration

What are types of consumers?

Protists

Animals

What are types of decomposers?

Bacteria

Fungi

What do decomposers do?

Recycle important elements (CHNOPS) back into the environment for reuse by producers

What is the Pyramid of Energy/net productivity?

Chart showing the amount of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next

Bottom heavy (more in producers)

What is the pyramid of biomass?

Chart showing the total amount of biomass for each trophic level

Each tropic level retains \~10% biomass + energy of a lower trophic level

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What is biomass?

Dry weight of organic material

What is the Pyramid of Numbers?

Chart showing the total number of individuals per trophic level for a given ecosystem

What is biomagnification?

Increased concentration of toxic chemicals in higher trophic levels

How does biomagnification happen?

1) Inefficient biomass/energy transfer

2) Hydrophobic (fatty/oily) nature of chemicals

What is a food web?

Bunch of food chains interconnected

=> arrows for direction of energy

How do nutrients (CHO) cycle?

Through photosynthesis and cellular respiration

(explain in more detail with autotrophs + heterotrophs)

Where do energy transformations occur?

Chloroplasts

Mitochondria

What is photosynthesis?

Transformation of light energy into chemical energy (organic molecules)

6 CO2 + 12 H2O => C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6 H2O

What is cellular respiration?

Extraction of chemical energy in food to produce ATP

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 => 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + chemical energy

What is ATP?

Adenosine **tri**phosphate

Sugar, Nitrogenous base (adenine) + 3 phosphate groups

Energy currency used by cells

Temporarily stores chemical energy into phosphodiester bonds

How is the energy stored in ATP release?

Through ATP hydrolysis

What does ATP hydrolysis serve to power?

Cellular work (movement, transport, anabolism)

What is hydrolysis?

Breaking down with water

Identify this molecule

**ATP**

‘High energy’ P bonds

Sugar (ribose)

NB (nitrogenous base = adenine)

What does ATP hydrolysis produce?

A**D**P + P

How is ATP produced?

(ADP + P) + energy from catabolism (digestion of food by cellular respiration)

Identify the parts of the ATP cycle

What is ecology?

Study of the interaction of organisms with one another and with their environment

What is a biosphere?

Portion of earth inhabited by life (all of the ecosystems of the planet)

Upper part of crust + lower part of atmosphere

What are biomes?

Major ecosystems defined by geographic area + dominant vegetation that inhabits it

What is an ecosystem?

Self-contained/stable and distinct community of organisms (BIOTIC factors) together with their physical environments (ABIOTIC factors)

What are biotic factors?

Living organism that shapes its environment

What are abiotic factors?

Physical environments

Wind, water, climate, soil, nutrients, fire

What is a community?

Many populations of different species

What is a population?

Members of one species living in the same area

What is an ecological niche?

Represents the lifestyle of a species in a particular habitat + roles of species in the ecosystem

What are factors of the ecological niche?

A) Physical factors (climate, elevation, topography)

B) Resource availability (seasonal, quality, type)

C) Interactions between species (Competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis)

D) History (Immigration/emigration, disasters, human interference)

What is mullerian mimicry?

Noxious potential preys exhibit the same warning colorations as other species

Ex. bees + wasps

What is batesian mimicry?

Preys mimic harmful species to frighten predators away

What is camouflage?

Preys and predators show cryptic colorations to blend in with their surroundings

What are decomposers also called?

Saprobes

Saprotrophs

What are detrivores?

Organisms (usually animals) which feed on dead/decaying organic matter

What are trophic levels?

Hierarchy based on who eats who

Why isn’t all of the energy in one trophic level stored in the next?

Some of the organic material (stores the energy) is consumed in respiration, released as heat or eliminated as unused material in feces

Describe the Arctic food web

How are H bonds formed?

Interaction between partial - (O) and partial + (H) particles

What is cohesion?

Water molecules bind to each other

What explains surface tension?

Cohesion

What is adhesion?

Water molecules exhibit adhesion to polar surfaces

Polar = hydrophilic

Non-polar = hydrophobic

What is surface tension?

Crowding of water molecules to form the smallest surface possible

What is capillary action?

Ability of water to rise in a water column defying gravity (cohesion + adhesion)

* Hydrophilic cell wall vessel
* Water moving up the stem of a plant

How is a spider able to walk on water?

Cohesion + surface tension

What is moderation of temperature in water?

Large bodies of water can maintain lower temperatures than the atmosphere because of the **high specific heat** of liquid water.

Takes a lot of E to bring the temperature of water up

How is ice formed from liquid?

Water makes 4 H bonds

What is evaporative cooling/sweating?

Evaporation of water molecules cools the surface of the liquid.

As you sweat the heat disappears too

What are examples of moderation of temperature?

* Winters and summers are mild next to the coast
* A well hydrated organism doesn’t readily overheat

What happens to water as it freezes?

It expands

Lakes freeze from top down => aquatic organisms can survive in the winter

Why is water a versatile solvent?

Polar solvent => most organic molecules + ions soluble in water

Forms a hydration shell around the particles

What reactions does water participate in?

Hydrolysis: water as a reactant breaks bonds

Condensation/dehydration synthesis: water as a product is released when a bond forms

What are organic compounds?

One or more NOPS covalently bonded to C

Is CO2 a organic carbon compound?

No, it’s inorganic

What are large organic compounds called?

Macromolecules/polymers

What are monomers?

Building blocks/small pools of organic compounds

What is metabolism?

The sum total of the chemical reactions that occur in the cell + organism

Describes the transformation of substances into energy/materials that the cell can use or store

What is anabolism?

Synthesis reactions

Ex.: dehydration synthesis/condensation (water as a product is released)

What is catabolism?

Breakdown reactions

Ex.: Macromolecules are broken down (digested) to their component monomers by hydrolysis (water is used as reactant)

What type of reaction is this?

Anabolic

Dehydration synthesis of polymer

What type of reaction is this?

Catabolic

Hydrolysis of polymer

What are the most abundant macromolecules?

Carbohydrates

What is the composition of carbohydrates?

CHO + N in chitin

What are the monomers in carbohydrates?

Monosaccharides

Alpha glucose => starch

Beta glucose => cellulose

What is this?

Alpha glucose

Monomer

What is this?

Beta glucose

Monomer

What are types of monosaccharides?

Glucose

Fructose

Galactose

Glucosamine

What are types of disaccharides?

Maltose (beer)

Sucrose (table sugar)

Lactose (milk)

What do disaccharides do?

Store energy

What are complex carbohydrates called?

Polysaccharides (polymers)

What is alpha glucose’s usage?

Energy and chemical storage

What are examples of alpha glucose?

Glycogen (animals; liver)

Starch (plants)

What is beta glucose’s usage?

Structural