bio final

Here is a clean, organized, study-ready version of your full Final Exam Review Guide.
I rewrote everything into a usable study guide with clear definitions, explanations, and examples—NOT just the list of terms—so you can actually study from it.


BIOL1113 – General Biology 2

Final Exam Study Guide (Comprehensive + New Material)


I. KINGDOM ANIMALIA (New Material)

General Characteristics

  • Multicellular, eukaryotic, heterotrophic organisms.

  • No cell walls; usually have tissues (except sponges).

  • Most exhibit movement and sexual reproduction.

  • Invertebrates = no backbone.

  • Vertebrates = backbone (subphylum within Chordata).

Origins & Body Plans

  • Multicellularity evolved from colonial protists; closest relatives: choanoflagellates.

  • Body plans:

    • Sac-like: one opening (gastrovascular cavity).

    • Tube-within-a-tube: complete digestive tract.

Germ Layers & Tissue Organization

  • Diploblastic: 2 layers (ectoderm + endoderm). Cnidarians.

  • Triploblastic: 3 layers (add mesoderm). Bilaterians.

Coelom Types (important!!)

  • Acoelomate – no body cavity (flatworms).

  • Pseudocoelomate – cavity not fully lined with mesoderm (roundworms).

  • Eucoelomate – true body cavity fully lined with mesoderm (annelids, molluscs, arthropods, chordates).

  • Importance: space for organs, movement, cushioning.

Symmetry & Cephalization

  • Radial – wheel-like; multiple planes (cnidarians).

  • Bilateral – one plane; correlated with cephalization (head formation).

Digestive Systems

  • Incomplete – one opening.

  • Complete – mouth + anus.

Development

  • Protostomes – spiral cleavage, mouth first (molluscs, annelids, arthropods).

  • Deuterostomes – radial cleavage, anus first (echinoderms, chordates).

Segmentation

  • Repeated body units → improves mobility, specialization (annelids, arthropods, chordates).

Animal Phylogenetic Tree

  • Know major branches: Porifera → Cnidaria/Ctenophora → Lophotrochozoa → Ecdysozoa → Deuterostomes.


II. INVERTEBRATE PHYLA


Porifera (Sponges)

  • Cellular level of organization (no true tissues).

  • Structures:

    • Ostia (incurrent pores), osculum (exit).

    • Spicules (CaCO₃ or silica) + spongin for support.

    • Choanocytes (feeding), archaeocytes (digestion, reproduction).

    • Mesohyl (gel matrix).

  • Sessile filter feeders

  • Reproduction: sexual & asexual; gemmules for dormancy.

  • Canal systems: Asconoid, Syconoid, Leuconoid (most complex).


Cnidaria

  • Radial, diploblastic, true tissues.

  • Body forms: polyp (sessile), medusa (free-swimming).

  • Cnidocytes with nematocysts (stinging organelles).

  • Gastrovascular cavity.

  • Nervous system: nerve net.

  • Planula larva.

Classes

  • Hydrozoa (Obelia):

    • Gastrozooids (feeding), gonozooids (reproduction).

  • Scyphozoa (true jellies):

    • Scyphistoma → strobilation → ephyra.

  • Cubozoa – box jellies; highly venomous.

  • Anthozoa – sea anemones, corals:

    • Septa, siphonoglyph, pedal laceration.

    • Coral symbiosis with zooxanthellae; threatened by ocean acidification.


Ctenophora

  • Comb jellies

  • Ctenes (cilia rows), colloblasts (sticky cells).

  • Possible earliest-diverging animals.


Platyhelminthes (Flatworms)

  • Bilateral, triploblastic, acoelomate.

  • Cephalization, ladder-type nervous system.

  • Excretion: flame cells + tubules.

  • Ocelli, muscular pharynx.

Flukes (Trematodes)

  • Complex life cycles with intermediate hosts.

  • Stages: miracidium → sporocyst → redia → cercaria → metacercaria → adult.

  • Examples: Clonorchis sinensis, Schistosoma.

Tapeworms (Cestodes)

  • No digestive tract.

  • Scolex, neck, proglottids.

  • Life cycle via beef/pork.


Rotifera

  • Corona (cilia), mastax (jaw), trophi (teeth).

  • Parthenogenesis common.


Annelida (Segmented Worms)

  • Lophotrochozoans, eucoelomate, protostomes.

  • Structures: chaetae, parapodia, prostomium, peristomium, nephridia, ventral nerve cord, closed circulation, peristalsis.

  • Reproduction: trochophore, atoke/epitoke (polychaetes).

  • Groups:

    • Polychaetes

    • Oligochaetes (earthworms): clitellum, cocoon, dorsal blood vessel

    • Leeches: hirudin, suckers, 3-part jaws


Mollusca

  • Lophotrochozoan, eucoelomate, protostome.

  • Body plan: head-foot, visceral mass, mantle, mantle cavity.

  • Shell (3 layers), radula, gills, open circulation (except cephalopods).

  • Countercurrent exchange, trochophore larva.

Gastropoda

  • Snails, slugs, nudibranchs; univalve shell.

  • Nudibranch: cerata, conotoxin.

Bivalvia

  • Filter feeders; siphons, byssal threads, adductor muscles, hinge ligament.

  • Larvae: trochophore, veliger.

Cephalopoda

  • Octopus, squid, cuttlefish, nautilus.

  • Chromatophores, ink sac, jet propulsion, pen, cuttlebone, siphuncle.

  • Advanced nervous system, giant axons.


Ecdysozoa

Nematoda

  • Pseudocoelomate, cuticle, hydrostatic skeleton, longitudinal muscles, eutely.

  • Parasites: hookworms, Trichinella, Wuchereria (filarial), Guinea worm.


Arthropoda

  • Exoskeleton, chitin, jointed appendages, hemocoel, molting, metamerism, tagmata, tracheae/spiracles, Malpighian tubules.

Chelicerates

  • Chelicerae, pedipalps, 4 pairs of legs.

  • Horseshoe crabs: carapace, telson, book gills, hemocyanin.

  • Arachnids: fangs, poison glands, book lungs, silk glands.

Crustaceans

  • Biramous appendages, mandibles, maxillae, swimmerets, uropods.

  • Includes barnacles, copepods, crabs, crayfish, lobsters.

Insects

  • 3 pairs of legs, wings, diverse mouthparts.

  • Respiration: tracheal system.

  • Development:

    • Ametabolous (none)

    • Hemimetabolous (nymph)

    • Holometabolous (larva → pupa → adult)


III. DEUTEROSTOMES

Echinodermata

  • Pentamerous radial symmetry (adult).

  • Endoskeleton, water vascular system, tube feet, pedicellariae, dermal branchiae.

  • Digestion: cardiac vs. pyloric stomach, digestive ceca.


Chordata

4 Key Traits

  1. Notochord

  2. Dorsal hollow nerve cord

  3. Pharyngeal pouches/slits

  4. Postanal tail

Also: segmentation, ventral heart.

Subgroups

  • Cephalochordates (lancelets) – retain all features as adults.

  • Urochordates (tunicates) – lose features as adults; tadpole larva, paedomorphosis.

Craniates & Vertebrates

  • Skull, vertebral column replacing notochord (except hagfish).

  • Well-developed senses, closed circulation, kidneys, sexual reproduction.


IV. VERTEBRATE GROUPS

Fishes

  • Aquatic, gill breathing, ectothermic, fins, scales.

Agnathans

  • Lampreys; jawless, no paired fins; parasitic forms.

Gnathostomes

  • Jaw derived from gill arches.

  • Placoderms = extinct armored jawed fishes.

Chondrichthyes

  • Cartilaginous skeleton, placoid scales, oil-filled liver, strong senses, heterocercal tail.

Osteichthyes (Bony Fishes)

  • Ray-finned – operculum, swim bladder, homocercal tail.

  • Lobe-finned – fleshy fins; ancestors of tetrapods.


Tetrapods → Amphibians

  • Require water for reproduction; jelly eggs.

  • Frogs/toads: metamorphosis, 3-chamber heart, lungs, ectothermic.


Reptiles

  • Amniotic egg, internal fertilization, dry scaly skin, uric acid.

  • Includes turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians (4-chambered heart).


Birds (Aves)

  • Hollow bones, feathers, high metabolism, air sacs, 4-chamber heart, endothermic.

  • Altricial vs. precocial young.


Mammals

  • Hair, mammary glands, endothermic, efficient lungs, large brain.

  • Reproduction:

    • Monotremes – egg-laying

    • Marsupials – immature young in pouch

    • Placental mammals – most advanced development


V. REVIEW FROM EXAM 1

Evolution

  • Influenced by: climate, atmosphere, continental drift, volcanoes, meteorites.

  • Mass extinctions (6 major) reset ecosystems.

Evidence for Evolution

  • Fossils, biogeography, homology, embryology, vestigial structures, molecular biology.

Microevolution

  • Hardy-Weinberg conditions (no mutation, migration, drift, selection, random mating).

  • Causes: mutation, gene flow, sexual selection, genetic drift (bottleneck/founder).

Natural Selection Types

  • Directional, stabilizing, disruptive, balancing.

Speciation

  • Allopatric vs. sympatric.

  • Adaptive radiation.

Phylogeny

  • Monophyletic, polyphyletic, paraphyletic groups.


VI. GENERAL DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

  • Bacteria – prokaryotes, cell walls (peptidoglycan).

  • Plants – multicellular autotrophs; cellulose cell walls.

  • Fungi – heterotrophic decomposers; chitin walls.


VII. SPECIAL TOPICS

  • Wall Lizards – adaptation studies.

  • Symbiosis – Bobtail squid & bioluminescent bacteria.

  • Fungi & Climate change – carbon cycling.

  • Aposematism – warning coloration.

  • Leucism – partial pigment loss (white squirrels).


If you'd like, I can also make:
✅ a practice test
✅ a matching/MCQ quiz
✅ flashcards/Quizlet format
✅ a condensed 1-page cram sheet

Just tell me what you want next!