Biology Study Guide

What is the goal of a scientist? How do they accomplish this?

Scientists make discoveries and look for explanations byperforming laboratory and field studies. Science is the use of evidence to form testable explanations and predictions of natural occurrences. Science also includes theknowledge generated through this process

A hypothesis has to be in order to have value.

testable

What are observations?

Observation is a direct method of gathering information in an orderly way. It ofteninvolves recording information.

What is the difference between a manipulated (independent) variable, responding (dependent) variable and control variable?(Make sure your answer is complete)

Independent variable is the variable the scientist changes to cause a response.Dependent variable is the measured response and is caused by the independent variable.Control group is the standard to which the results (dependent variable) is measured.Controlled variables are everything else in the experiment to ensure that the results being measured are only due to the independent variable.

How is science different from other disciplines of study?

Science can only answer questions that are able to be testedusing scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is rooted in unbiasedobservations and investigation.

What do you call the information one gathers during an experiment?

Data or evidence

How many variables are tested in a controlled experiment?

Only ONE

Why do scientists publish details of their experiments?

So it can constantly be reevaluated for new information or research.So it can be peer-reviewed.

What can happen to a theory?

A theory can still be disproven; new evidence or research can provide support for a different possibility.

What is a theory?

A theory is an explanation of a natural phenomenon supported by many observations and experiments over time. It usually explains the "why" of something.

What is Biology?

The study of life

What are the characteristics of living things?

-Made of one or more cells (unicellular or multicellular organism)-Displays organization (cell → tissue → organ → organ system → organism)-Grows and develops (embryo → fetus → infant)-Reproduces (asexuall or sexually)-Responds to stimuli (flowers turning towards sun, bacteria escaping white blood cell)-Requires energy (plants get energy from sun, we get energy from plants)-Maintains homeostasis (maintains temperature, hydration, waste excretion, etc.)-Has adaptations that evolve over time (dinosaurs and evolution, tuberculosis)

What is homeostasis?

Homeostasis is the regulation of an organism's internal conditions to maintain life.

Differentiate between Quantitative data and Qualitative data. How are each type gathered?

Quantitative = "quantity" of something; something that can be measured numerically; usually gathered using scientific tools.Qualitative = "quality" of something; observed through our 5 senses

Whats the basic unit of length, volume and mass in the metric system?

meters, liters, grams

The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment is called

ecology

The part of Earth in which all living things exist is called the __

biosphere

All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a(an)

population

What are the 3 methods used by ecologists to study the living world?

OBSERVING, EXPERIMENTING, MODELING

What is a producer/autotroph?

AN ORGANISM THAT PRODUCES ITS OWN FOOD SUPPLY FROM INORGANIC MOLECULES

What is the original source of almost all the energy in most ecosystems?

Sun

An organism that produces its own food supply from inorganic compounds is called a

PRODUCER/AUTOTROPH

There are two words that can be used for an organism that cannot make its own food they are

CONSUMER/HETEROTROPH

What is an organism that feeds only on plants called?

Herbivore

Define Food web and food Chain

FOOD CHAIN - A SIMPLE MODEL THAT SHOWS HOW ENERGY FLOWS THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM. FOOD WEB - A MODEL THAT SHOWS ALL THE POSSIBLE FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS IN AN ECOSYSTEM

What animals eat both producers and consumers?

Omnivore

Show a food chain (typed out) that include a decomposer, producer, first-level carnivore, herbivore, and top-level carnivore.

GRASS (PRODUCER) - RABBITS (HERBIVORE) - SNAKE (1ST LEVEL CARNIVORE) - HAWK (TOPLEVEL CARNIVORE) - FUNGI (DECOMPOSER)

The repeated movement (cycle) of water between Earth's surface and the atmosphere is called the

Water Cycle

What are the four cycles that we discussed in the notes? What is not recycled through any of them?

WATER CYCLE, CARBON CYCLE, NITROGEN CYCLE, PHOSPHORUS CYCLE. NOT RECYCLED - ENERGY

Define trophic level

A TROPHIC LEVEL IS A STEP IN THE FOOD CHAIN OR FOOD WEB

Define Biomass

TOTAL MASS OF LIVING MATTER AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL.

Define biogeochemical cycle

PROCESS IN WHICH ELEMENTS, CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, AND OTHER FORMS OF MATTER ARE PASSED FROM ONE ORGANISM TO ANOTHER AND FROM ONE PART OF THE BIOSPHERE TO ANOTHERTO DESCRIBE THE COMBINATION OF PROCESSES THAT EXCHANGE MATTER THROUGH THE BIOSPHERE

Nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by

Bacteria

Where is carbon found in the atmosphere?

Carbon Dioxide

What is the key ingredient in all living organisms?

Carbon

How are you able to get carbon and nitrogen into your body system?

You have to eat it

Give an example of what "human activity" is in the Carbon cycle

Combustion (burning)

Define Community

a group of interacting populations that occupy the same area at the same time

Define ecological succession

The change in an ecosystem that happens when one community replaces another as a result of changing abiotic and biotic factors

What are the 2 types of ecological succession?

Primary succession - the establishment of a community in an area of exposed rock that does not have any topsoilSecondary succession - the orderly and predictable change that takes place after a community of organisms has been removed but the soil has remained intact

Abiotic

the nonliving part of an organism's environment

Biotic

the living part of an organisms environment

Define climax community

the stable, mature community that results when there is little change in species composition

What would cause a Biome to not return to it's original climax community?

Another disaster

What is a pioneer species?

An organism that is the first species to be found - usually lichen since it is able to make its home on bare rock. When it dies it becomes part of the soil.

What are some benefits to ecosystems having a fire?

Fire is part of the natural life cycle; it breaks down nutrients that would have normally taken years or decades to return to the soil, Some plants need the heat and fire to survive (giant sequoia), can clear out invasive species, opens up the canopy to let more light come in to the bottom of the forest floor.

What is a whale fall community and how does it help the community?

Where a whale dies and drops to the ocean floor providing food for the scavengers and decomposers.

What are factors that contribute to the Earth's climate?

An area's latitude has a large effect on its climate including elevation, continental landmasses, proximity to the mountains, and ocean currents.

What is a biome?

A large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of plant communities

How are weather and climate different?

Weather is the day to day conditions where climate is the average weather conditions

What does not fit into the definition of a biome and why?

Mountains since their climate characteristics, plant and animal life vary depending on elevation.Polar regions - they are ice masses and not true land areas with soil.

Climate areas are the __________ conditions.

Average weather

An organisms role in an ecosystem is know as a

niche

The _______ is where an organism lives

habitat

Factors of population growth rate

Death, birth, emigration, immigration, diseases

What are the 4 characteristics of a population?

Geographical distribution, density and growth rate (4th - population's age structure)

Define population density

The number of organisms per unit area

Define emigration

\# of individuals moving away from a population

Define immigration

\# of individuals moving into a population

Geographical distribution is

the natural arrangement of animals and plants in particular regions

What is carrying capacity?

The maximum number of individuals in a species hat an environment can support for long term

What happens when a population has passed carrying capacity?

Resources become limited, more deaths than births bringing the population size back down due to the lack of resources.

What is a limiting factor?

A factor that causes population growth to decrease

What are some examples of density - independent factors

weather events, fire, human alterations of the landscape, air, land and water pollution. Different events can cause animals to either leave an area or they will perish. As humans build homes animals must find a different area to live. If they are unable to live in an area due to weather conditions they could die if they do not adapt.

What are some examples of density - dependent factors

Predation, disease, competition & parasites. These can kill a species or they will need to leave the area to find less predation and less competition to survive.

Define demography

The study of human population size, density, distribution, movement, and birth and death rates

What happened to the worlds population 500 years ago?

Industrial Revolution

Define intraspecific

competition between the same species

Define interspecific

competition between different species

State the three subatomic particles. State their location, mass, and charge.

Protons - positive - nucleus; Neutrons - neutral - nucleus; Electrons - negative - outside nucleus

What does the atomic number represent?

number of protons

How do you know the number of protons an atom has?

It is the same as the atomic number

How do you know the number of electrons an atom has?

If there is no charge to the atom it will be the same as the number of protons. Protons are positive and electrons are negative. So if they have the same number there would be no charge to the atom.

How do you know the number of neutrons an atom has?

Usually the number of neutrons is the same as the number of protons, but if it is written like Carbon - 14, Carbon has 6 protons, protons + neutrons = atomic mass. 6 + ? = 14 Neutrons would be 8.

What are isotopes? How are they different

Atoms of the same element but have different numbers of neutrons. Ex. Carbon 12, Carbon 13, Carbon 14

How are Covalent and Ionic bonds different?

Ionic bonds do not share electrons, covalent bonds do share electrons. Ionic bonds transfer 1 or more electrons from one atom to another. Covalent bonds share the electrons between the atoms

Define Polarity and give an example

is the property of having two opposite poles, or ends. Water molecule, the oxygen is slightly negative due to the fact the electrons spend more time around that element then the hydrogens which would make the hydrogens slightly positive

Describe the polarity of water, be sure to use hydrogen bonds when describing this

When two water molecules are attracted to each other it is due to the slightly negative charge on the oxygen and the slightly positive charge on the hydrogen causing a weak hydrogen bond to be formed.

What is the charge of an ion when an atom loses/gains an electron?

Electrons are negative so if you lose one you become more positive. If you gain an electron you become more negative

What are solvents and solutes in a solution?

Water is the universal solvent, more things can be dissolved in water than any other solvent, the solute is what is disappearing or being dissolved into the solvent. Water and sugar. Water is the solvent, sugar is the solute.

What does pH measure?

the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution

What are acids? What do they release? Give an example of an acid

These substances release H+, hydrogen ions when dissolved in water, acids are below 7 on the pH scale, Coke

What are bases? What do they release? Give an example of a base

These substances release hydroxide ions, OH- when dissolved in water. Laundry detergents, cleaning items. They are higher then 7 on the pH scale.

What is a buffer? Give an example.

Mixtures that can react with an acid or base to keep the pH within a particular range, Rolaids, Tums Baking soda

Define cohesion and give an example

attraction between molecules of the same substance - water droplet forming beads, water molecules attracted to other molecules allow bugs to walk on water. (surface tension)

Define adhesion and give example

attraction between molecules of a different substances. Glass and water giving it a curved look (think of a bandaid the sticky stuff is adhesive and it sticks to skin, two different substances/molecules)

Organic compounds all contain which element?

Carbon

What are the 4 macromolecules/polymers and what are the monomers that make up the polymers/macromolecules?

Carbohydrates - simple sugarsLipids - (really do not have monomers but glycerol and fatty acids make them up)Proteins - amino acidsNucleic acids - nucleotides

What happens to atoms in a chemical reaction?

They are never lost or gained, just rearranged.

Define Chemical Reaction

Process by which atoms or groups of atoms in substances are reorganized into different substances

Define activation energy

The minimum amount of energy needed for reactants to form products, or needed to get a reaction started

Define enzymes.

Biological catalysts that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in biological processes.

Are enzymes proteins?

all of them are, but not all proteins are enzymes

An enzyme usually ends in

ase

Define catalyst

A substance that lowers the activation energy needed to start a chemical reaction.

What are factors that can affect enzyme activity?

pH, temperature, inhibitors, concentration of enzymes, specific substrates

Define condensation

The change of state from a gas to a liquid

Define hydrolysis

the chemical breakdown of a compound due to reaction with water.

Cell wall

A rigid structure that surrounds the cell membrane and provides support to the cell

Cell Membrane

thin, flexible barrier around a cell; regulates what enters and leaves the cell