AP BIO Midyear

What are emergent properties in biology?

New properties that arise with each step upward in the hierarchy of life due to the arrangement and interactions of parts as complexity increases.

What is the basic unit of life?

The cell.

What are catabolism and anabolism?

Catabolism is the breakdown of molecules while anabolism is the building of molecules.

What is metabolism?

The sum of all chemical reactions that occur in an organism.

What is nutrition?

The process by which organisms obtain energy and raw materials from their environment.

Define transport in the context of life processes.

The movement of material within the organism.

How do cells obtain energy?

Through cellular respiration from nutrients.

What is excretion?

The removal of wastes from the body resulting from metabolic reactions.

What does homeostasis refer to?

The maintenance of a stable internal environment in an organism.

What process involves an organism making more of its own kind?

Reproduction.

How does evolution occur over time?

Through changes in a population of organisms across many generations.

What constitutes the biosphere?

All life on Earth and its locations.

What is an ecosystem?

All life in a particular area, including the non-living components.

What defines a community in ecological terms?

An array of organisms in an ecosystem.

What is a population?

All organisms of a species living in a specific area.

What is the significance of negative feedback in regulation?

It reduces the initial stimulus, helping to maintain homeostasis.

Give an example of positive feedback.

Childbirth, where contractions increase to facilitate delivery.

What are the three domains of life?

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Define inquiry in scientific terms.

A search for information and explanations of natural phenomena.

What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

Quantitative data is numerical, while qualitative data is descriptive.

What is a hypothesis?

A testable explanation for a set of observations.

Differentiate between independent and dependent variables in an experiment.

The independent variable is manipulated, while the dependent variable is measured.

What is genetic drift?

The process where chance events cause unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies.

What is speciation?

An evolutionary process where one species splits into two or more species.

What is a phylogenetic tree?

A branching diagram representing the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

Define 'homology' in the context of evolutionary biology.

Similarity in characteristics resulting from shared ancestry.

What are homologous structures?

Structures in different species that are similar due to common ancestry.

Explain the significance of vestigial structures.

They are remnants of structures that served a function in an organism’s ancestors.

What is natural selection?

A process where individuals with certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates.

What is the relationship between mutation and variation?

Mutations create new variations in DNA that can be favorable or unfavorable.

Describe the concept of adaptation.

A favorable characteristic or trait that improves an organism's survival or reproductive success.

What is 'fitness' in evolutionary terms?

The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce.

Define a cladogram.

A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among different species.

What is the significance of molecular clocks?

They measure the absolute time of evolutionary change based on DNA mutation rates.

How do chaperone proteins assist in biology?

They help in the proper folding of proteins.

What distinguishes saturated from unsaturated fatty acids?

Saturated fatty acids have no double bonds, while unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double bonds.

What are the four levels of protein structure?

Primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures.

What is denaturation?

The process where a protein loses its native shape and biological activity due to disrupted interactions.

Explain the role of enzymes in biological reactions.

Enzymes accelerate chemical reactions selectively.

What are macromolecules?

Giant molecules formed by the joining of smaller molecules; polymers.

Define dehydration synthesis.

A process where monomers bond together while losing water molecules.

What is hydrolysis?

The breaking down of polymers by the addition of water.

What role do carbohydrates play in living organisms?

They are primarily used for energy storage and structural support.

What is the primary function of nucleic acids?

Information storage and transmissionin cells, involved in protein synthesis.

What are isomers?

Compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structures.

Name the two types of nucleotide bases.

Pyrimidines (C, T, U) and purines (A, G).

What is inclusive fitness?

The total effect an individual has on proliferating its genes, including aiding close relatives.

State Hamilton’s Rule.

Natural selection favors altruism when the benefit to the recipient multiplied by their relatedness is greater than the cost to the altruist.

What is animal behavior?

The response of the nervous system to stimuli, carried out by muscles or hormones.

What does proximate causation refer to?

The 'how' explanations of behavior, focusing on immediate mechanisms.

What is ultimate causation in behavior study?

The 'why' explanations of behavior, focusing on evolutionary significance.

What are fixed action patterns?

Sequence of unlearned, innate behaviors that are unchangeable and triggered by a sign stimulus.

Describe the role of pheromones in animal behavior.

Chemical substances that enable communication through odor or taste.

What does spatial learning in animals involve?

Establishing a memory that reflects the environment’s structure.

Define habituation.

A simple form of learning where an animal becomes less responsive to a stimulus.

What is the difference between intersexual and intrasexual selection?

Intersexual selection involves one sex choosing mates, while intrasexual selection involves competition within one sex for mates.

What is meant by the term ‘altruism’ in behavioral ecology?

Behavior that reduces an individual's fitness but increases the fitness of others within the population.

What is a monogamous mating system?

One male mates with one female.

What is a polysaccharide?

A polymer made up of many monosaccharides, linked by glycosidic bonds.

Define the Fluid Mosaic Model.

It describes the structure of cell membranes as a mosaic of various proteins floating in a fluid lipid bilayer.

What is the pH range that enzymes typically function in?

Most enzymes function optimally at a specific pH, generally around neutral (pH 7), but this can vary.

How does negative control differ from positive control in experiments?

Negative control has no expected response, while positive control expects a known positive response.

What does standard deviation represent in statistics?

The average distance of each data point from the mean, indicating data variability.

What is hypothesis testing in the context of statistical analysis?

The process of determining if there is enough evidence to reject a null hypothesis.

What does the chi-square test evaluate?

It assesses whether there is a significant difference between observed and expected data.

Name a method to visualize data in experiments.

Using graphs, such as line graphs for trends or bar graphs for comparisons.

What does variance indicate in a data set?

It measures the spread of data points in a sample.

How do you determine the mean of a data set?

By summing all values and dividing by the number of values.

What does an error bar indicate in data representation?

The variability of data; non-overlapping error bars suggest significant differences.

What is the difference between primary and secondary protein structure?

Primary structure is the sequence of amino acids, while secondary structure involves folding patterns like alpha helices and beta sheets.

What are trans fats?

Unsaturated fats that contain one or more trans double bonds, considered harmful.

What are the three parts of a nucleotide?

A five-carbon sugar, a nitrogenous base, and one or more phosphate groups.

Define ecological isolation mechanisms.

Factors that prevent mating and fertilization between different species, such as temporal or behavioral isolation.

What is genetic recombination?

The re-assortment of genes during sexual reproduction, contributing to genetic diversity.

What is an atomic structure composed of?

Atoms, which are the smallest units of ordinary matter.

What is an organelle?

Cell components that perform specific functions within the cell.

Explain the significance of a scientific model.

It represents a simplified version of reality, used to understand complex systems.

What term describes the diversity of life on Earth?

Biodiversity.