Biology Regents Review Practice Flashcards

Biology Regents Review Preparation and Vocabulary

• Examination Essentials: When attending the Biology Regents Review, students must bring a pen, pencil, highlighter, and a four-function or scientific calculator.
• Tier 2 Supporting Vocabulary:     - Abnormal: Unusual or not normal.     - Activate: To turn something on.     - Adverse: Harmful or negative.     - Advantageous: Helpful or giving a benefit.     - Beneficial: Good or helpful.     - Breeding: When animals reproduce and have offspring.     - Capture: To take or collect something.     - Circulate: To move around in a loop or path.     - Consistent: Staying the same over time; reliable.     - Conserve: To use something carefully so it is not wasted.     - Convert: To change something into a different form.     - Disproportionately: Too much or too little compared to something else.     - Dormant: Not active for a period of time but able to become active again.     - Efficient: Getting things done well without wasting time or energy.     - Emit: To release or send out (such as light, gas, or sound).     - Erosion: When wind, water, or ice wears away land.     - Excessive: Too much of something.     - Extract: To remove something.     - Facilitate: To make something easier.     - Fluctuate: To go up and down or change often.     - Forage: To search for food.     - Implement: To start using a plan or rule.     - Influx: A large arrival of something, usually all at once.     - Infestation: When too many pests or harmful organisms invade an area.     - Interfere: To get in the way of something or disturb it.     - Invasive: A species that spreads quickly and causes harm to the environment.     - Migrate: To move from one place to another, often seasonally.     - Optimal: The best or most ideal condition.     - Penetrate: To break through or go into something.     - Preserve: To protect something so it stays the same over time.     - Reduce: To make something smaller or use less of it.     - Regulate: To control or manage how something works.     - Spawn: When fish or aquatic animals lay eggs.     - Sprout: When a plant begins to grow from a seed.     - Stimulate: To encourage something to grow, develop, or become active.

Structure and Function of Multicellular Organisms (HS-LS1-2)

• Hierarchical Organization: Multicellular organisms possess a hierarchical structural organization that allows them to perform essential life functions.
• Human Body Systems and Function:     - Circulatory System: Moves blood, nutrients, and oxygen through the body.     - Digestive System: Breaks down food into nutrients for growth and energy.     - Endocrine System: Regulates body functions via hormones.     - Excretory System: Removes metabolic waste from the body.     - Immune System: Protects the body against pathogens.     - Muscular System: Facilitates movement and posture.     - Nervous System: Sends signals between the brain and the body.     - Reproductive System: Ensures the survival of the species by producing offspring.     - Respiratory System: Exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide.     - Skeletal System: Provides structural support and protection.
• Interaction of Systems: It is critical to understand how two or more systems interact to maintain life. For example, the respiratory and circulatory systems work together to deliver oxygen to cells and remove carbon dioxide.

Plant Systems (Root and Shoot Interdependency)

• Root System:     - Functions: Anchors the tree, absorbs water and minerals from the soil.
• Shoot System:     - Comprised of: Stem/trunk, branches, and leaves.     - Functions: Connects roots to branches, transports materials, performs photosynthesis, and contains reproductive structures.     - Interaction: The two systems interact through the transpiration of water from the leaf surface, which drives the absorption of water by roots to move it throughout the plant.

Homeostasis and the Immune Response

• Homeostasis: The maintenance of a living system’s internal conditions within certain limits, allowing it to remain functional despite external changes.
• Disease: Defined as a failure of homeostasis.
• Immune Response Mechanisms:     - White Blood Cells: Produce specific proteins called antibodies.     - Antibodies: Specifically shaped proteins that bind to antigens on the cell membranes of foreign cells.     - Memory Cells: Allow the immune system to "remember" specific pathogens (germs, microbes) for long-term protection.
• Technological Advances in Medicine:     - Vaccines: Contain dead or weakened pathogens, or parts of a pathogen (antigens or mRNA), used to stimulate antibody production.     - Herd Immunity: Achieved when adequate vaccination rates within a population prevent the spread of disease to those not immune.     - Antibiotics: Medicines specifically used to treat bacterial infections.

Feedback Mechanisms (HS-LS1-3)

• Feedback Loops: Mediate behaviors and maintain internal limits.
• Positive Feedback: Encourages or amplifies the current internal process.     - Examples: Root development in response to water levels, blood clotting, and childbirth.
• Negative Feedback: Discourages or reverses the current process to return the system to a "normal" or set point.     - Examples: Heart rate response to exercise (to transport $O_2$ and $CO_2$), stomate response to moisture and temperature, regulation of body temperature, and blood glucose levels.
• Key Terms:     - Stimulus: Any external or internal factor causing a response.     - Response: The reaction to a stimulus.     - Set Point: The target value or range a system aims to maintain (e.g., target blood glucose levels).

Scientific Investigation and Laboratory Vocabulary

• Prediction: A statement about future outcomes based on current evidence.
• Independent Variable: The factor that is tested, changed, or controlled by the experimenter (the "I test" variable).
• Dependent Variable: The data collected; the factor that changes in response to the independent variable.
• Constants: Factors kept the same throughout the experiment to ensure validity.
• Constraints: Limitations or restrictions in designing solutions (e.g., cost, materials, time, environmental impact, societal needs).
• Criteria: Specific requirements a solution must meet to be successful.
• Measurement Quality:     - Precision: How close a series of measurements are to one another (reproducibility).     - Accuracy: How close a measurement is to the correct or accepted value.
• Data Types:     - Qualitative: Descriptions or observations not involving numerical measurements.     - Quantitative: Data or observations that involve numerical measurements.

Matter and Energy in Organisms (HS-LS1-5, HS-LS1-6, HS-LS1-7)

• Elemental Composition: The primary elements of life are Hydrogen ($H$), Oxygen ($O$), Nitrogen ($N$), and Carbon ($C$).
• Molecular Recombination: Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules (glucose: $C_6H_{12}O_6$) combine with elements like Nitrogen, Sulfur, and Phosphorus to form amino acids and other carbon-based molecules like DNA and proteins.
• Photosynthesis:     - Process: Captures light energy and converts it to stored chemical energy (sugar).     - Equation: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$     - Location: Occurs only in the chloroplasts of producers (autotrophs).
• Aerobic Cellular Respiration:     - Process: Bonds of food (glucose) and oxygen are broken to form new compounds, resulting in a net transfer of energy to ATP.     - Equation: $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{ATP}$     - Location: Occurs in the mitochondria of ALL organisms (plants and animals).     - ATP: The usable form of chemical energy for life processes.

Ecosystem Dynamics and Carbon Cycling (HS-LS2-3, HS-LS2-5, HS-ESS2-6)

• Carbon Cycling: Carbon moves among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
• Carbon Sequestration: The process of removing $CO_2$ from the atmosphere and storing it in carbon pools.     - Pools include: Plants/trees (via photosynthesis), soil, the ocean, and underground fossil fuels.
• Energy Flow:     - Energy flows in one direction; ecosystems require a continuous input of solar energy.     - 10% Rule: Only about $10\%$ of energy consumed at one trophic level is transferred to the next. The remaining $90\%$ is lost as thermal energy (heat), used for metabolic processes (respiration), or lost as waste (feces).     - Energy pyramids generally have fewer organisms at higher levels due to this inefficiency.
• Biomass: The total mass of organisms living at each trophic level. For stability, there must be more biomass at the producer level than at the consumer level.
• Conservation of Matter: Chemical elements (CHON) are cycled through food webs and the environment; matter is neither created nor destroyed but combined and recombined.

Interdependent Relationships and Biodiversity (HS-LS2-1, HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-6)

• Carrying Capacity: The maximum number of individuals of a population that an ecosystem can support. It is determined by limiting factors.     - Abiotic Limiting Factors: Boundaries, climate, water.     - Biotic Limiting Factors: Food, competition, predation, disease.     - Example: If a forest supports $500$ deer but a drought reduces vegetation by $40\%$, the carrying capacity drops to $300$. Overpopulation (e.g., $600$ deer) lead to overgrazing and increased mortality.
• Biodiversity: The variety of different organisms in an area. High biodiversity increases ecosystem stability.     - Local vs. Global Scale: Local impacts include cutting down trees in a town; global impacts include climate change altering migration routes.
• Keystone Species: A species with a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem (e.g., bees are vital for pollination; their loss collapses the food web).
• Trophic Cascade: A chain reaction in a food web triggered by changes at the top (e.g., removing predators) that affects all lower levels.
• Ecological Succession: The process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.     - Primary/Secondary Succession Stages: Grass stage $\rightarrow$ Shrub stage $\rightarrow$ Pine forest stage $\rightarrow$ Hardwood forest (climax community).     - Desertification: A shift from grassland to desert due to environmental stress (e.g., overgrazing and drought in the Sahel region).

Human Impact and Environmental Solutions (HS-LS2-7, HS-ETS1-1)

• Anthropogenic (Human-Induced) Changes:     - Urbanization: Causes habitat destruction and fragmentation. Solutions include creating urban parks and enforcing emissions standards.     - Dams: Alter river ecosystems and block fish migration. Solutions include fish ladders and eco-friendly dam designs that mimic natural flow.     - Invasive Species: Outcompete native species. Solutions include biological control (introducing natural predators with caution) and monitoring ballast water.     - Climate Change: Causes shifts in species range and ocean acidification. Solutions include renewable energy, reforestation, and drought-tolerant crops.
• Habitat Fragmentation: The transformation of habitat into smaller, isolated patches. This leads to the collapse of food webs and loss of biodiversity.

Behavioral Ecology (HS-LS2-8)

• Group Behavior: Behaviors like flocking, schooling, herding, hunting, and migrating increase the chances of survival and reproduction.
• Fish Schooling: Reduces predation rates by $50\%$ and increases food detection by $30$ to $40\%$.
• Elephant Herding: Protects the young and facilitates the sharing of knowledge about resources. Herds led by older females show higher survival rates for calves.

Inheritance and Variation of Traits (HS-LS1-1, HS-LS3-1)

• DNA and Genes: DNA contains the instructions for life. Genes are specific regions of DNA that code for proteins.
• Central Dogma of Molecular Biology: DNA base sequence $\rightarrow$ Amino acid sequence $\rightarrow$ Protein structure $\rightarrow$ Protein function $\rightarrow$ Trait.
• Protein Synthesis:     - Transcription: The DNA sequence ($A, T, C, G$) is copied into mRNA in the nucleus.     - Translation: mRNA is read by ribosomes to assemble amino acids into a protein.
• Types of Proteins:     - Enzymes: Such as Lactase, speed up chemical reactions.     - Cell Receptors: Receive chemical messengers like hormones.     - Hormones: Chemical messengers like insulin, estrogen, or testosterone.     - Antibodies: Specialized proteins for the immune response.
• DNA Variation:     - Allele: A version of a gene (Dominant represented by capital letters, Recessive by lowercase).     - Coding vs. Non-coding DNA: Coding DNA produces proteins; non-coding (regulatory) DNA regulates gene expression.     - Epigenetics (Methylation): Methylated DNA prevents transcription, while unmethylated DNA allows it.

Cellular Division and Differentiation (HS-LS1-4)

• Mitosis: Cell division resulting in TWO genetically identical daughter cells. It is responsible for growth and repair.
• Differentiation: The process where cells become specialized. Although all cells in an organism have the same DNA, different genes are "turned on" or expressed.
• Cancer: Uncontrolled cell division that disrupts homeostasis and can lead to tumors.
• Stem Cells: Undifferentiated cells that have the potential to become any cell type (e.g., muscle, liver, blood).

Genetic Variation and Engineering (HS-LS3-2)

• Meiosis: Cell division that produces gametes (sex cells) with half the normal number of chromosomes ($n$). This creates four unique gametes.     - Crossing Over: During meiosis, chromosomes swap sections, increasing genetic variation.
• Mutations: Errors in DNA replication or caused by environmental factors (UV, toxins, smoking).     - Inheritance Note: ONLY mutations in sex cells (gametes) can be passed to offspring.     - Types: Deletion, Insertion, Substitution.
• Genetic Engineering: Advances like CRISPR allow specific DNA modification, such as inserting a resistance gene into bacteria.

Human Reproduction and Development (HS-LS1-8)

• Female Reproductive System:     - Ovary: Production of gametes (eggs).     - Fallopian Tube: Site of internal fertilization.     - Uterus: Site of internal development of the embryo/fetus.
• Male Reproductive System:     - Testis: Production of gametes (sperm).     - Vas Deferens: Transports sperm from testis to urethra.     - Penis: Transports sperm into the female for internal fertilization.
• The Menstrual Cycle: Regulated by hormones such as Estrogen and Progesterone over a $28$-day cycle.
• Embryonic Development:     - Zygote: Formed by the meeting of a haploid sperm ($n$) and haploid egg ($n$).     - Placenta: Allows for the diffusion of oxygen, nutrients, and waste between the mother and fetus without the blood mixing.     - Differentiation: Occurs during embryo development when specific genes are activated.
• Environmental Factors: Development can be adversely affected by alcohol, smoking, poor diet, toxins, and certain medicines.

Evolution and Common Ancestry (HS-LS4-1, HS-LS4-2, HS-LS4-4)

• Evidence for Evolution:     - DNA Sequences: Similarities in DNA and amino acid sequences indicate common ancestry.     - Anatomical Structures: Shared physical traits (e.g., similar bone structures in animal forelimbs).     - Embryology: Similarities in early developmental stages.
• Four Factors of Evolution:     1. Potential for a species to increase in number.     2. Heritable genetic variation (mutations and meiosis).     3. Competition for limited resources.     4. Proliferation of organisms better able to survive and reproduce.
• Natural Selection: Organisms with advantageous traits (adaptations) survive and pass those traits to the next generation.
• Antibiotic Resistance: A direct example of natural selection where resistant bacteria survive exposure to antibiotics and multiply.
• Extinction: Occurs when a species cannot adjust to environmental changes that happen too quickly.

Co-Evolution of Earth and Life (HS-ESS2-7)

• Photosynthetic Life: Early cyanobacteria released oxygen, causing rock weathering and allowing aerobic life to evolve.
• Microbes and Soil: Early land microbes broke down rock to form soil, enabling land plant expansion.
• Coral Reefs: Corals changed coastlines via reef building, creating new habitats and affecting erosion/deposition.
• Planetary Cooling: Land plants removed $CO_2$ and produced oxygen, cooling the climate and supporting the rise of large land animals.