AP Bio Exam

Levels of Organization in the ecosystem

organism, species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy

matter/energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed

Basal Metabolic Rate

metabolic rate at resting conditions

Endotherm

heats the body internally

Exotherm

heats the body externally

Food Chain vs Food Web

a food chain only shows the path of one organism, while a food web shows multiple

10% rule in energy transfer

10% of the energy from an organism passes to the next trophic level, the rest is used as heat

Invasive Species

organisms that become established outside native range, tolerates a wide range of conditions, has few natural predators, produces lots of seeds/eggs

Keystone Species

necessary for the community to maintain homeostasis

Trophic Cascade

one organism will affect all trophic levels below it

Gross vs Net Primary Production

gross is the total amount of energy made by plants, net is the gross minus the energy used by producers for respiration

Nitrogen Cycle

N2 chsanged to ammonium by bacteria, turned into nitrite and nitrate that plants absorb, returns back as N2

Carbon Cycle

CO2 removed from atmosphere by photosynthesis and returned by burning fossil fuels and cellular respiration

Water Cycle

precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, runoff, precipitation

Mutualism

both species benefit from the interaction

Commensalism

one species benefits, while the other is not affected

Parasitism

the parasite derives its nourishment from a second organism, its host, which is harmed

Competition

two or more species compete for a resource that is in short supply

Predation

one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey

Herbivory

an herbivore eats part of a plant or alga

Amensalism

one species is harmed, the other is unaffected

Species Richness

# of different species

Species Abundance

the amount of each species

Simpson’s Diversity Index

Calculates diversity based on species richness and abundance, the closer to 1 the higher the biodiversity

Population Density

number of individuals/area

Population Dispersion

pattern of spacing between individuals (clumped, uniform, random)

Density Independent Factors

population is not a factor (natural disasters, fire, flood, weather)

Density Dependent Factors

population is a factor (predation, disease, competition, territoriality)

Survivorship Curve

represents the number of individuals at each age (1 is long lifespan, 2 is medium, 3 is low)

Primary vs Secondary Succession

plants and animals invade where soil has not yet formed in primary, soil is already there in secondary

Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

absorption of heat the Earth experiences due to certain greenhouse gases, warming of the Earth due to excess CO2

Acid Rain

rain, snow, or fog with a pH less than 5.6, burning of fossil fuels release sulfur/nitrogen oxides that react with water to produce acid

Ozone Depletion

life on Earth is protected from UV by ozone (O3) chlorine-containing compounds erode the ozone layer (ex: aerosol cans)

Eutrophication

excess nitrogen from agriculture enters aquatic ecosystems, algae blooms release oxygen so fish and invertebrates die

Biological Magnification

toxins become more concentrated in successive tropic levels of a food web, toxins can’t be broken down and magnify in concentration up the food chain

Charles Darwin

English naturalist who collected and studied plant and animal species, created the Theory of Evolution

Natural Selection

Individuals with more favorable variations (adaptations) are more likely to survive and reproduce offspring, thereby passing on traits to the next generation

Descent with Modification

All species share common ancestors and gradually change over time

Artificial Selection

“man” decides, selective breeding, inbreeding occurs (ex: dogs)

Sources of Gene Variation

different alleles in parents

Gene Pool

all alleles at all loci in all the members of a population

Gene Flow

population gains/loses alleles due to immigration or emigration

Bottleneck Effect

severe drop in population size, certain alleles may be over/underrepresented

Founders Effect

few individuals become isolated from larger population, certain alleles over/underrepresented

Hardy-Weinberg Equation

p+q=1, p²+2pq+q²=1, p=frequency of A, q=frequency of a

Directional Selection

when individuals that vary in one direction from the mean are favored

Stabilizing Selection

natural selection favors the average characteristic

Disruptive Selection

individuals at opposite extremes are favored

Carolus Linnaeus

founder of taxonomy, binomial nomenclature based on anatomy and morphology

Phylogenetic Trees

branching diagram that shows the evolutionary history of a group of organisms

Cladograms

does not represent time, uses derived characters- shared characteristics between organisms

Speciation

the origin of a species

Biological Species Concept Definition

a group of natural populations whose members can interbreed to produce fertile offspring but are reproductively isolated from other such groups, meaning they don't successfully mate with different species

Mechanical Isolation

differences in the size and shape of reproductive organs prevent fertilization

Temporal Isolation

differences in breeding times (year, day) prevent fertilization

Behavioral Isolation

different mating patterns prevent fertilization (calls, coloration)

Habitat Isolation

two species evolve preferences for living in different habitats, no contact

Gametic Isolation

egg doesn’t release the appropriate chemical, or sperm won’t penetrate

Reduced hybrid viability

hybrid dies early in life

Reduced hybrid fertility

hybrid mutates into an infertile adult (mule)

Hybrid breakdown

hybrid fails to mature normally during development (before birth)

Allopatric Speciation

geographicall isolated populations

Sympatric Speciation

overlapping populations within same geographic area

Gradualism

common ancestor, slow, constant change

Punctuated Equilibrium

Elridge and Gould, long periods of stasis punctuated by sudden change

Early Conditions on Earth

hot lightning, UV rays, no O2, toxic gases

Miller and Urey’s Experiment

recreated the conditions of early earth and found simple sugars, amino acids, and nucleotides

Matter

has mass, affected by gravity, elements and compounds

Energy

moves matter, ability to do work, sound, light, and heat

Element

pure substance, can’t be broken down

Compound

two or more elements combined in a fixed ratio

Atom

smallest unit of matter that retains properties of an element (protons, neutrons, and electrons)

Structure of Water

water is a polar covalent molecule. Because O pulls harder on the electrons, it gets a slightly negative charge and H gets a slightly positive charge

Polarity

Hydrogen bonds form between hydrogen and oxygen

Cohesion

h-bonding between like molecules

Adhesion

bonding between unlike molecules

Expansion Upon Freezing

less dense, floating ice insulates liquid H2O below

Transpiration

evaporation of water from plants after movement of H2O up plants from roots to leaves

High Specific Heat

multiple hydrogen bonds together so raising the temperature of water takes a lot of heat, leads to warmer coastal areas, creates stable marine and land environment

Heat of Vaporization

a lot of heat is required to change water from liquid to gas

Dehydration Synthesis

removes water to combine two macromolecules

Hydrolysis

adds water to split a macromolecule chain

Carbohydrates

fast energy, CHO, ring structure, monosaccharides, 1:2:1 ratio (glucose, sucrose, fructose, galactose are examples)

Lipids

long-term storage and insulation, glycerol group and fatty acid chains, CHO(P) can be saturated or unsaturated (triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol are examples)

Proteins

have many functions including enzymes, muscle action, transport, defense, and hormones, CHON(S), amino acid monomer, Carboxyl Group, Amine Group, Carbon Chain, R group (polypeptides, muscle, keratin, collagen, estrogen, testosterone, insulin are all examples)

Nucleic Acids

carries genetic material, CHONP, nucleotides, 4 bases (adenine, thymine/uracil, guanine, cytosine), nitrogenous base, phosphate, and sugar, DNA and RNA are examples

Prokayrote

DNA is naked and in cytoplasm, no membrane-bound organelles, small

Eukaryote

DNA has histones and in nucleus, membrane-bound organelles, large

Cell Membrane

separates the cell from its environment

Cytoplasm

provides a medium for cellular processes

Cytoskeleton

provides support for cells, determines cell shape

Nucleus

stores genetic material for the cell

Nuclear Membrane

encloses the nucleus

Nucleolus

creates ribosomes

Chromatin

DNA in the nucleus

Mitochondria

harnesses energy from organic molecules for ATP

Rough ER

produces/transports proteins and lipids

Ribosomes

responsible for protein synthesis

Smooth ER

produces and transports proteins and lipids

Golgi Apparatus

modifies and sorts proteins and lipids, carbs are added