Key Concepts of Biology (Fall Final)

Fundamental Properties of Life and Biological Organization

Life is characterized by several properties including growth, reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, and response to stimuli.
Organisms maintain homeostasis to regulate their internal environment despite external changes, crucial for survival.
Energy is essential for life processes; the ultimate source is the sun, which drives photosynthesis in plants.
Structure dictates function, meaning the physical structure of biological components determines their role in the organism.
Evolution explains the unity and diversity of life, indicating that all organisms share a common ancestor but have diverged over time.

The basic unit of life is the cell, as it is the smallest structure capable of performing all life processes.
The basic unit of matter is the atom, which combines to form molecules, the building blocks of cells.
Cell theory states that all living organisms are composed of cells, and all cells arise from pre-existing cells.

The correct order of biological organization is: Atom → Molecule → Cell → Tissue → Organ → Organ System → Organism → Population → Community → Ecosystem → Biosphere.
Each level of organization builds upon the previous one, with emergent properties arising at higher levels.

A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area; population ecology studies their dynamics.
Population growth is measured by the change in population size over time, often expressed as a growth rate (r).

The exponential growth model describes unrestricted population growth, resulting in a J-shaped curve on a graph.
The logistic growth model accounts for environmental limits, leading to an S-shaped curve, where growth slows as it approaches carrying capacity (K).

Life tables provide data on the survival and reproductive rates of individuals at different ages, used to predict population trends.
Survivorship curves illustrate the number of individuals surviving at each age; Type I (high survival), Type II (constant survival), Type III (low survival).

A community consists of multiple populations interacting in a shared environment, while an ecosystem includes both biotic and abiotic factors.
Think of a community as a neighborhood where different groups of people live and interact with each other. An ecosystem is like the entire city, which includes not just the people (biotic factors) but also the buildings, parks, and weather (abiotic factors) that shape how those groups live and interact.
Protective adaptations in organisms, such as camouflage and mimicry, enhance survival against predators.

Natural selection is the primary mechanism of adaptive evolution, favoring traits that enhance survival and reproduction.
Genetic variation arises from mutations and sexual reproduction, with natural selection acting on this variation to shape populations.

Stabilizing selection favors intermediate phenotypes, disruptive selection favors extreme phenotypes, and directional selection favors one extreme.
Intrasexual selection involves competition among individuals of the same sex for mates, influencing reproductive success.

Cross-breeding and hybridization involve mating different varieties to produce offspring, while true-breeding refers to organisms that produce offspring identical to themselves.
A Punnett square is a tool used to predict the genotypes of offspring from parental genotypes, illustrating the principles of heredity.

Mendel's experiments with pea plants established the laws of inheritance, including the law of segregation, which states that allele pairs separate during gamete formation.
Alleles are different forms of a gene, and dominance indicates which allele is expressed in the phenotype.

Homologous chromosomes are pairs of chromosomes containing the same genes but possibly different alleles; loci are specific locations on these chromosomes.
DNA is the hereditary material that carries genetic information, directing the development and functioning of living organisms.

80 Multiple choice questions,

What is genetic drift
Founder’s effect, Natural Selection
Know what a the parts of the biosphere
What ecology is
Niche
Know what hybrization is (cross breeding0
Know what population density is
Know what population dispersion is and the different forms
Several graphs (carrying capacity, exponentials, linear, s and r curves, r- selected, and k- selected
Know what density dependent factors are and non density dependent factions
What type of directions
Know what the 3 different types of stabilizing are
Know what the ultimate source of energy is
Know the Moluce, atom etc.
Know about antibiotic resistance
Know what cell theory is
Homology
Punnet square, and what its tells us
Know what r- selected and k- selected species are
Interspecies and intra specific selection
Know how energy flows in an eco system
Know what contributes to diversity of organisms
Know what the basic unit of heredity is
Know what relative fitness is
Know what Darwin’s theory of natural selection told us
How are allele/ traits represented (how to I know if it is recessive vs dominant
Hiarchy of
Genetics vs heredity
Know what co-evolution is
Know were allel’’s are found on chromosomes\
Logistic and expotential growth
What happens when a species reache’’ it’s carrying capacity

Know what an age structure is
know what a predator and prey relation ship
Boom and Bust Cycles
What is natural selection
Understand the connection between form and functions
Know what a trait is
Know the different symbotic relationships, know what mutalism commensalism herbivory an
Know what the characteristic of life are (know, and explains
Know what a limiting factor is
Know what crossing over is
Know what a contro group is \
Know what a jhuposthesis is
Know the difference between a genotype, and phenotype
Know what evolution is (in a biological sensec
What a producer s
Know what a f! and F2 generations are
Know what interspeciic competition is
KnowWhat the causes of evolutionary change are
Knw what an invasive species is
Know what emergent pro[erties are
Know what the nucleaic acid is (DNA)

Know what artificial selection is