HP Biology Semester 2 Final

Chapters 11 and 12

  • Know how to solve monohybrid and dihybrid punnett squares. Monohybrid= 1 trait(2x2) dihybrid=2 traits(4x4)

  • Sex determination in humans. Development of phenotypic structures consequent of hormone actions (girl xx; boy xy)

  • Why do pea plants make suitable subjects for the study of genetics? Contain seven distinct traits that can be manipulated easily.

  • Define Progeny. A descendant or the descendants of a person, animal, or plant; offspring

  • What is the “Law of Dominance” Only one form of a trait will appear in offspring and is the dominant gene. Can be double dominant (HH) or heterozygous (Hh)

  • Phenotype: The composite of an organisms observable characteristics or traits (behavior)

  • Genotype: The genetic makeup of a cell and an organism, which determines characteristics.

  • Who is Gregor Mendel?  Austrian scientist, teacher, and Augustinian prelate who lived in the 1800s. He experimented on garden pea hybrids while living at a monastery and is known as the father of modern genetics.

  • Incomplete dominance Punnett squares: A heterozygous (Hh) condition in which both alleles at a gene locus are partially expressed and which produces an intermediate phenotype

  • What are F-1 and F-2 generations? F1= first generations from parental generation (P) (consists of all offspring from parental generation). F2= generation of offspring from the f1 when they are allowed to interbreed

  • What is polygenic inheritance? Examples? Occurs when one characteristic is controlled by two or more genes. Ex. Height, skin color, eye color, and weight

  • Is Huntington’s disease caused by a dominant or recessive trait? Dominant (only one gene needed). Causes nerve cells in brain to break down

  • Can you do a sex-linked Punnett square? Yes (Hemophilia, an X-linked recessive trait, affects blood clotting. A carrier woman and a hemophiliac man have a 50% chance of having a daughter with hemophilia.)

  • What are linked genes? When two genes are located on the same chromosome. They are an exception to Mendel's law of segregation because they are not inherited independently

  • What are inversions, translocations, and point mutations?

Inversion: the breaking of a chromosome in two places and the subsequent reordering re-insertion of the chromosome DNA.


Translocations: it is the exchange of parts between two chromosomes.


Point mutations: a mutation affecting only one or very few nucleotides in a gene sequence.


Chapter 13

  • DNA replication: is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule.

  • What did Griffith study in his transformation experiment: was a British bacteriologist whose focus was the epidemiology and pathology of bacterial pneumonia. In January 1928 he reported what is now known as Griffith's Experiment, the first widely accepted demonstrations of bacterial transformation, whereby a bacterium distinctly changes its form and function.

  • What is Chargaff’s rule? Chargaff's rules states that DNA from any cell of all organisms should have a 1:1 ratio (base Pair Rule) of pyrimidine and purine bases and, more specifically, that the amount of guanine is equal to cytosine and the amount of adenine is equal to thymine. (A:T/U; G:C)

  • What did Avery, McCarty and Macleod study? In 1944, bacteriologists Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty studied the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae to determine the nature of the "transforming principle" that causes bacterial transformation. Their research revealed that DNA, not proteins, is the substance that carries genetic information and transforms the properties of cells. 

  • What did Hershey and Chase study? In 1952, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase conducted a series of experiments to determine if DNA or protein is the genetic material. Their experiments involved tagging the DNA and protein of bacteriophages with radioactive phosphorus (32P) and sulfur (35S) to distinguish between the two. They then observed what material was injected into bacterial cells when the bacteriophages infected them.

  • Who are Watson and Crick? two of the most well-known scientists of the 20th century. In 1953, while working at the University of Cambridge, they discovered the structure of DNA, which is the molecule that contains cells' hereditary information.

  • What enzymes direct DNA synthesis and what do they do? ( helicase, DNA polymerase I, DNA polymerase II, single-stranded binding protein, ligase ).

Helicase-an enzyme that unwinds DNA strands


DNA Polymerase I-changes the uracil into thymine


DNA Polymerase II- proofreads it for any mistakes

DNA polymerase III- adds more complementary bases, 3' to 5'.


Single-stranded binding protein- single-strand binding proteins bind to each single stranded DNA strand and prevent the two strands from reattaching to each other


ligase-enzyme that repairs irregularities or breaks in the backbone of double-stranded DNA molecules

  • What are Okazaki Fragments? small sections of DNA that are formed during discontinuous synthesis of the lagging strand during DNA replication.


Chapter 14

  • Transcription is Protein synthesis or DNA synthesis? RNA synthesis

  • Translation is Protein synthesis or DNA synthesis? protein synthesis

  • Know how to read a table of codons:  first locate the first nucleotide in the codon, then the second, and then the third. 

  • Introns vs. exons. Which ones are cut out of the DNA Strand? Which ones remain?

Introns: a segment of a DNA or RNA molecule which does not code for proteins and interrupts the sequence of genes


Exons: a segment of a DNA or RNA molecule containing information coding for a protein or peptide sequence


Introns cut out, exons remain

  • Know the steps of RNA processing (adding cap and tail)

Messenger RNAs undergo 5' capping, splicing, 3'-end processing, and export before translation in the cytoplasm. It has become clear that these mRNA processing events are tightly coupled and have a profound effect on the fate of the resulting transcript.


Chapter 17 and 24

  • Why are viruses referred to as obligate parasites? is that they cannot reproduce outside their host.

  • What are the parts of a virus? What are the parts to a retrovirus? 

Virus: 1) a nucleic acid genome and 2) a protein capsid that covers the genome. Together this is called the nucleocapsid.

Retrovirus: envelope, capsid, and a single-stranded RNA genome. 

  • What compound is found in gram-positive bacteria? the presence of teichoic acids in the cell wall. Some of these are lipoteichoic acids, which have a lipid component in the cell membrane that can assist in anchoring the peptidoglycan.

  • What are conjugation, transformation and transduction? 

conjugation- the donor bacterium transfers DNA to the recipient by mating.


transformation- the recipient bacterium takes up extracellular donor DNA.


transduction- donor DNA packaged in a bacteriophage infects the recipient bacterium


Animal chapters (Chapter 27)

  • What is cephalization? cephalization is the development of a control center or brain

  • What is an acoelomate, coelomate, pseudocoelomate?

Acoelomate- an invertebrate lacking a coelom; especially : one belonging to the group comprising the flatworms and nemerteans


Coelomate- have a body cavity called a coelom with a complete lining called peritoneum derived from mesoderm


pseudacoelomate- any of a group of invertebrates with a three-layered body that has a fluid-filled body cavity (pseudocoelom) between the endoderm and the mesoderm


  • Do sponges have organ systems? Sponges don't have internal organs. They don't have muscles, a nervous system, or a circulatory system.

  • What is an osculum? the top of the sponge 

  • What phylums of animals have radial symmetry? Cnidaria and Echinodermata

  • What is an amniotic egg? a terrestrially adapted egg, characterized by a shell and extra-embryonic membranes.

  • Know the general characteristics and EXAMPLES of the following phylums and classes:

    • Cnidarians: corals, hydras, jellyfish, Portuguese men-of-war, sea anemones, sea pens, sea whips, and sea fans

    • Platyhelminthes ( mostly parasitic or nonparasitic): Turbellaria, Trematoda, Cestoda, and Monogenea

    • Nematodes: whipworms, Ascaris, threadworm, heartworm, pinworms, and trichinella, hookworms

    • Annelids:  earthworms, sandworms, ragworms, bristle worms, and leeches

    • Mollusca (bivalvia, gastropods, cephalopods): bivalves such as clams, oysters and scallops; gastropods such as slugs, snails, limpets, nudibranchs and sea hares; and cephalopods such as squid, cuttlefish, nautiluses and octopuses.

    • Arthropods: insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and millipedes on land; crabs, crayfish, shrimp, lobsters, and barnacles in water 

    • Echinodermata:  sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and crinoids

    • Chordate  (agnatha, chondrichthyes, osteicthyes, amphibians, reptiles, aves, mammals) fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals

  • What is the difference between complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis:

Complete metamorphosis has 4 distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.


Incomplete metamorphosis has 3 distinct stages: egg, nymph, and adult.


Both complete and incomplete have egg and adult.


  • What is a trochophore? the planktonic larva of certain invertebrates, including some mollusks and polychaete worms, having a roughly spherical body, a band of cilia, and a spinning motion.

  • What do radula, tympanum and umbo do?

Radula: the organ for mechanical food processing

Tympanum:  separates the outer ear from the middle ear.

Umbo: vibrates as a stiff cone, bending inward and outward.

  • What form does a polyp have? What about a medusa? 

Polyp: mouth faces upwards

Medusa: mouth faces downwards

  • Know the function of the water vascular system:  hydraulic system used by echinoderms, such as sea stars and sea urchins, for locomotion, food and waste transportation, and respiration. The system is composed of canals connecting numerous tube feet

  • What are the characteristics that all chordates share in common? a notochord, a dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail.




Chapter 7 and 8:  Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration


  • Where do the light reactions occur? in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts in plants.

  • What are thylakoids?  What is the stroma?

    • Thylakoid:  membrane-bound compartments inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. 

    • Stroma:  colorless fluid surrounding the grana within the chloroplast.


  • What products are produced in the light reactions? ATP, NADPH, and O2.

  • What are the steps of Cellular respiration?  Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, Electron Transport chain

  • What is the difference between anaerobic respiration and Aerobic respiration? Aerobic respiration occurs with oxygen and releases more energy but more slowly. Anaerobic respiration occurs without oxygen and releases less energy but more quickly.

  • In what organelle does photosynthesis take place in? The chloroplast 

  • What organelle does cellular respiration take place in? The mitochondria

  • What is lactic acid? The end product of animal fermentation.

  • What is an autotroph? What is a heterotroph? Autotrophs organisms that can make their own food, while heterotrophs, also known as consumers, must consume other organisms for food.

  • Xylem is used for what?  Transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients.

  • Phloem is used to do what?  Transports nutrients, sugars, and signaling molecules between the roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits. 

  • What is the epidermis of a leaf?  The outermost layer of a plant's leaves, flowers, roots, and stems.

  • What is the stomata of a leaf used for? Help plants exchange gases with the environment. Stomata regulate gas exchange between the plant and environment and control of water loss by changing the size of the stomatal pore.

  • What color is Chlorophyll pigment? A green pigment that gives plants their green color by absorbing red and blue wavelengths of light and reflecting green light.

  • What color is carotene pigment? Orange, yellow, and red pigments found largely in fruit, vegetables and dark green leafy vegetables. 

  • What is PEP Carboxylase?  Important ubiquitous cytosol enzyme that fixes HCO3 together with phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and yields oxaloacetate that can be converted to intermediates of the citric acid cycle.

  • What is Rubisco? The most abundant protein in the biosphere. It catalyzes the first step of carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle during photosynthesis. It is the common pathway of carbon fixation in all plants, i.e. C3, C4 and CAM plants.