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Test Final Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are the key characteristics shared by all living organisms?

A
  • Order
  • Sensitivity or response to the environment
  • Reproduction
  • Growth and development
  • Evolution
  • Homeostasis
  • Energy processing

These characteristics define life and are essential for survival and functionality.

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2
Q

Are viruses considered true living organisms? Why or why not?

A

No, because:
* They aren’t made out of cells
* They can’t make their own energy
* They rely on host cells for reproduction

Viruses possess genetic material and can replicate and evolve, but they lack cellular structure and metabolic processes.

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3
Q

What did the Miller-Urey experiment demonstrate?

A

It showed that organic molecules, a first step in the origin of life, may have been synthesized abiotically on early Earth.

Miller identified a variety of organic molecules, including amino acids and hydrocarbons, that are common in living organisms.

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4
Q

What is the ‘reducing atmosphere’ hypothesis about the origin of life?

A

It suggests that the early Earth had an oxygen-poor atmosphere where molecules tend to donate electrons, facilitating the formation of organic compounds.

This idea was proposed by scientists Oparin and Haldane.

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5
Q

What is the significance of oxygen producing photosynthesis in evolution?

A

It allowed life to generate energy from sunlight and water, leading to the rise of oxygen, which altered Earth’s atmosphere and enabled aerobic respiration.

This process was crucial for the evolution of complex multicellular organisms.

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6
Q

What does the Endosymbiotic Theory explain?

A

It explains how eukaryotic cells evolved from prokaryotic cells through symbiotic relationships, particularly the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts.

Mitochondria originated from aerobic bacteria, and chloroplasts from photosynthetic bacteria.

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7
Q

What are the two laws of thermodynamics?

A
  • First Law: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
  • Second Law: Energy transformations increase the universe’s entropy.

These laws govern all biological and physical processes involving energy.

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8
Q

What is the difference between anabolism and catabolism?

A
  • Anabolism: Pathways that synthesize complex molecules from simple substrates.
  • Catabolism: Pathways that break down larger molecules into smaller ones.

Both processes are essential parts of cellular metabolism.

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9
Q

What is Gibbs free energy (G)?

A

It is the amount of a system’s energy that can perform work under uniform temperature and pressure.

The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) indicates the maximum amount of free energy available for doing work during a chemical reaction.

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10
Q

What role do enzymes play in biochemical reactions?

A

Enzymes lower the activation energy required for reactions, speeding up the rate at which equilibrium is reached.

They are specific to substrates, binding at an active site to facilitate reactions.

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11
Q

What is ATP and its function in cells?

A

ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) is the energy currency of the cell, storing and transferring energy for various cellular processes.

ATP is produced through processes like substrate-level phosphorylation and chemiosmosis.

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12
Q

Fill in the blank: The process by which ATP is synthesized during electron transfer is called _______.

A

[Oxidative Phosphorylation]

This process is crucial for energy production in aerobic respiration.

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13
Q

What are redox reactions?

A

Redox reactions are chemical processes involving the transfer of electrons where oxidation (loss of electrons) occurs alongside reduction (gain of electrons).

These reactions are fundamental in energy transfer within cells.

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14
Q

What is the historical significance of Mendelian genetics?

A

It established the principles of heredity and variation in inherited characteristics, foundational for modern genetics.

Mendelian genetics emerged from early theories of inheritance and has shaped our understanding of genetic transmission.

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15
Q

What is the significance of electron carriers in cellular respiration?

A

Electron carriers facilitate the transfer of electrons during redox reactions, crucial for energy production in cellular respiration and photosynthesis.

Common electron carriers include NAD+, NADP+, and FAD.

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16
Q

What is the basic unit of matter?

A

Atom

All matter is composed of small invisible units called atoms.

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17
Q

What does the germ (cell) theory state?

A

All organisms are composed of basic visible units called cells derived from similar preexisting structures.

Proposed by Louis Pasteur.

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18
Q

What is the fixity of species theory?

A

Members of a species can give rise only to other members of the species, implying all species are independently created.

Introduced by Carolyn Linnaeus.

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19
Q

What is the old theory of inheritance of acquired characters?

A

Nature produced all forms of life on earth, and environmentally induced behavioral changes lead species to change.

Proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

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20
Q

What is the theory of the origin of species?

A

Species arose by descent with modification from other ancestral species.

Formulated by Charles Darwin.

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21
Q

What is the blending theory of inheritance?

A

The genetic materials contributed by male and female parents mix to form the offspring, inheriting characteristics as averages of parents’ values.

This theory was widely accepted before Mendel’s work.

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22
Q

Who first demonstrated the principles of inheritance?

A

Gregor Johann Mendel

He conducted experiments with pea plants.

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23
Q

What plant did Mendel use for his experiments?

A

Garden pea (Pisum sativum)

Chosen for its distinguishable heritable features.

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24
Q

Define phenotype.

A

The physical appearance of an organism; observable traits including appearance, development, and behavior.

Reflects the expression of an organism’s genotype.

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25
Q

Define genotype.

A

The genetic makeup of an organism, specifically alleles or variants of a gene carried by the organism.

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26
Q

What are single trait crosses?

A

Experiments to determine the inheritance pattern of single traits, known as monohybrid crosses.

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27
Q

What is a hybrid?

A

The offspring of parents of two different varieties or species.

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28
Q

What is the F1 generation?

A

The first generation resulting from a cross between two parent organisms.

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29
Q

What is the F2 generation?

A

The next generation produced by self-fertilization of the F1 offspring.

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30
Q

What occurs in Mendel’s F1 generation for flower color?

A

All progeny produced plants with purple flowers regardless of the parent.

Indicates dominance of the purple trait.

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31
Q

What is the ratio of purple to white flowers in Mendel’s F2 generation?

A

3:1

705 purple flowers to 224 white flowers.

32
Q

What is Mendel’s first law?

A

The Law of Segregation: Alleles of a gene pair separate during gamete formation.

33
Q

What is a testcross?

A

Breeding an individual of unknown genotype with a homozygous recessive individual for a particular characteristic.

34
Q

Define homozygous.

A

Organisms having two identical alleles for a given characteristic.

35
Q

Define heterozygous.

A

Organisms having two different alleles for a given characteristic.

36
Q

What is a dominant allele?

A

An allele that is always expressed when present, regardless of being homozygous or heterozygous.

37
Q

What is a recessive allele?

A

An allele that is not expressed in the heterozygous state.

38
Q

What does a Punnett square illustrate?

A

It explains Mendel’s hypothesis at the genotype layer.

39
Q

What is Mendel’s second law?

A

The Law of Independent Assortment: Alleles of different genes are sorted into gametes independently.

40
Q

What is incomplete dominance?

A

A type of inheritance where one allele is not completely expressed over its paired allele, resulting in a third phenotype. The dominant allele doesn’t totally overtake the recessive allele, and instead they blend together (red dominant mix with white recessive for pink flowers)

41
Q

What is codominance?

A

A cross between organisms with two different phenotypes producing offspring where both parental traits appear together. (The dominant allele doesn’t totally overtake the recessive one, and they both appear (red and white flowers crossing, to produce a flower with both white and red petals)

42
Q

Define pleiotropy.

A

The phenomenon in which a single locus affects two or more apparently unrelated phenotypic traits.

43
Q

What is epistasis?

A

When an unrelated gene modifies the phenotypic expression of another, possibly unrelated gene, suppressing it.

44
Q

What is polygenic inheritance?

A

The additive effect of two or more gene loci in a single phenotypic characteristic.

45
Q

What is a linkage map?

A

A map showing the relative location of genetic markers reflecting sites of genomic variants.

46
Q

What determines the sex of an organism in humans?

A

The sex chromosomes: females have XX and males have XY.

47
Q

How is the sex of an organism determined in humans?

A

By sex chromosomes: females have XX and males have XY.

48
Q

What is the sex chromosome configuration in grasshoppers?

A

Females have XX and males have XO (one X).

49
Q

In birds and fishes, what are the sex chromosome designations for males and females?

A

Males are XX (ZZ) and females are (XY) ZW.

50
Q

How do ants and bees determine sex?

A

By chromosome numbers; females develop from fertilized eggs (diploid) and males from unfertilized eggs (haploid).

51
Q

What is Turner Syndrome?

A

A condition where an individual only has one X chromosome, and no other sex chromosome.

52
Q

What characterizes Klinefelter syndrome?

A

XXY individuals are males who are physically normal but always sterile.

53
Q

What is Jacob’s syndrome?

A

XYY individuals show normal clinical phenotype and normal fertility.

54
Q

What are some examples of X-linked recessive diseases?

A
  • Muscular dystrophy
  • Color blindness
  • Hemophilia
55
Q

What is extranuclear inheritance?

A

the genetic transmission through cytoplasmic organelles like mitochondria

56
Q

What are mitochondria?

A

Energy converting organelles in eukaryotes that evolved from prokaryotes.

57
Q

What is the typical number of genes in land plant chloroplast genomes?

A

Around 110-120 unique genes.

58
Q

Who rediscovered Mendel’s work and discovered cytoplasmic inheritance?

A

Carl Erich Correns.

59
Q

What is the TI plasmid?

A

Tumor-inducing plasmid that inserts DNA into host genes to cause tumor growth.

60
Q

What are the characteristics of genetic materials?

A
  • Replication
  • Storage of information
  • Expression of information
  • Variation
61
Q

What did Frederick Griffith’s experiment demonstrate?

A

Genetic material can be transferred between bacteria, converting non-virulent strains to virulent.

62
Q

What did the Hershey-Chase experiments show?

A

DNA, not proteins, is the hereditary material in viruses.

63
Q

What are the three essential components of a nucleotide?

A
  • Nitrogenous base
  • Pentose sugar
  • Phosphate group
64
Q

What is Chargaff’s rule?

A

A=T and G=C in DNA.

65
Q

What structural form does DNA take?

A

Double-stranded helix.

66
Q

What are the three major types of RNA?

A
  • Messenger RNA (mRNA)
  • Transfer RNA (tRNA)
  • Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
67
Q

What is the central dogma of molecular biology?

A

DNA → RNA → Protein.

68
Q

What is the semiconservative mechanism of DNA replication?

A

Each new DNA molecule consists of one parental strand and one newly synthesized strand.

69
Q

What is the role of DNA polymerase in DNA replication?

A

Links free nucleotides to form a new DNA strand. Like building the other parts of the DNA on the template with the nucleotides as the building blocks.

70
Q

What is the function of helicase in DNA replication?

A

Unwinds the DNA helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds

71
Q

What is the purpose of the sliding clamp in DNA replication?

A

Tethers DNA polymerase III to the DNA template for efficient replication.

72
Q

What is the process of transcription?

A

The synthesis of RNA from a DNA template.

73
Q

What is the process of translation?

A

The synthesis of polypeptides from mRNA information.

74
Q

Where does transcription and translation occur in prokaryotes?

A

Both occur in the cytoplasm due to the lack of nucleus.

75
Q

Where does translation and transcription occur in a Eukaryotic cell.

A
  • Transcription occurs in the nucleus
  • Translation occurs in the ribosomes on the rough endoplasmic membrane
76
Q

What is oxidative phosphorylation?

A

The process by which ATP is synthesized during electron transfer.

Bio (6 decks)

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