Intro to Bio & Ecology
A scientist tests how fertilizer amount affects plant height. Identify the independent variable, dependent variable, and a valid control for this experiment.
What is the amount of fertilizer (independent variable), plant height (dependent variable), and plants grown without fertilizer (control)?
Explain the importance of water’s polarity in biochemical reactions in living organisms.
What is that water’s polarity allows it to dissolve substances and participate in chemical reactions?
State the Cell Theory and explain how it supports the idea that cells are the basic unit of life.
What is all living things are made of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from preexisting cells?
Differentiate between autotrophs and heterotrophs and give an example of each.
What is autotrophs make their own food while heterotrophs obtain energy by consuming others?
List the phases of the cell cycle in order and identify where most cell growth occurs.
What is G1, S, G2, and M phase, with most growth in interphase?
Explain how homeostasis supports life by connecting it to at least two characteristics of life.
What is maintaining stable internal conditions and carrying out metabolism and response to stimuli?
Compare dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis by explaining how each would affect a protein molecule during digestion.
What is dehydration synthesis builds proteins by forming peptide bonds, while hydrolysis breaks proteins into amino acids?
Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells by referencing nucleus presence, organelles, and size.
What is prokaryotes lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles while eukaryotes have both?
Explain why only about 10% of energy transfers between trophic levels in an energy pyramid.
What is energy is lost as heat and used for metabolism at each trophic level?
Differentiate between chromatin and chromosomes and explain when each is present.
What is chromatin is uncondensed DNA during interphase and chromosomes are condensed DNA during division?
A population of insects rapidly declines after a drought. Use the scientific method to propose a testable hypothesis explaining this change.
What is: If drought reduces food availability, then insect population size will decrease?
Explain how a change in pH could alter enzyme shape and function at the molecular level.
What is a change in pH alters hydrogen bonding, changing enzyme shape and denaturing the active site?
Explain why cells remain small and how surface-area-to-volume ratio affects transport efficiency.
What is smaller cells have a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, allowing more efficient transport?
Describe how chloroplast structure supports photosynthesis, referencing thylakoids and stroma.
What is thylakoids increase surface area for light reactions and the stroma contains enzymes for the Calvin cycle?
Explain why DNA replication must occur before mitosis and identify the role of DNA polymerase.
What is replication ensures each daughter cell receives identical genetic information, with DNA polymerase adding nucleotides?
Why are viruses often excluded from being considered “alive,” even though they contain genetic material and evolve?
What is that viruses are not made of cells and cannot reproduce independently?
A diet high in saturated fats affects cell membranes. Explain how saturated vs. unsaturated lipids influence membrane fluidity and function.
What is saturated fats reduce membrane fluidity while unsaturated fats increase fluidity?
Compare and contrast endocytosis and exocytosis, and give one cellular situation for each
What is endocytosis cells taking in (engulfing) substances, exocytosis cells excreting/letting out substances, ex: neurotransmitter release, immune cell ingestion?
A plant is moved to low light conditions. Predict how this will affect the light reactions, Calvin cycle, and overall glucose production.
What is reduced light lowers ATP and NADPH production, slowing the Calvin cycle and decreasing glucose output?
Compare the leading strand and lagging strand, including the role of Okazaki fragments and RNA primers.
What is the leading strand is synthesized continuously while the lagging strand forms Okazaki fragments using RNA primers?
Design an experiment to test how temperature affects enzyme activity in an organism. Identify variables, controls, and expected results.
Ex: What is an experiment with temperature as the independent variable, enzyme activity as the dependent variable, a constant pH and enzyme concentration as controls, and increased activity up to an optimum temperature?
Analyze how human activities (burning fossil fuels) disrupt the carbon cycle, and predict two biological consequences for ecosystems.
What is burning fossil fuels increases atmospheric CO₂, enhancing the greenhouse effect and disrupting photosynthesis and ecosystem balance?
A cell with damaged mitochondria is placed in an oxygen-rich environment. Predict the effect on ATP production and explain why the cell may still survive temporarily.
What is aerobic ATP production decreases because the ETC cannot function, but the cell survives short-term using glycolysis?
Compare photosynthesis and cellular respiration by explaining how the products of one are reactants of the other.
What is photosynthesis produces glucose and oxygen used in respiration, while respiration produces CO₂ and water used in photosynthesis?
Predict the consequences of a failure in spindle fiber attachment during metaphase and explain how this could lead to disease.
What is improper chromosome separation leading to aneuploidy, mutations, or cancer?