Cellular Structure
This organelle is the site of aerobic respiration and produces ATP for the cell.
What is the Mitochondria?
Write the overall purpose of photosynthesis in one sentence.
To convert light energy into chemical energy (sugars) that the plant can use.
Define cellular respiration in one sentence, using the phrase “ATP” and “glucose.”
Cellular respiration is the process by which glucose is broken down to produce ATP for cellular work.
Define homeostasis in one clear sentence.
Homeostasis is the process by which a stable internal environment is maintained despite external changes.
In the muscle fatigue lab, students measured how many times they could squeeze a clamp during repeated 10-second intervals. What is the main independent variable in that experiment?
Independent variable: time / trial number (repeated intervals) or the duration of the exercise; the measured dependent variable is number of squeezes per interval.
Name the organelle that contains chlorophyll and captures sunlight for photosynthesis.
What is the chloroplast?
List three raw materials (reactants) plants take in to carry out photosynthesis.
What are Water (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sunlight?
What are the two main categories of cellular respiration?
Aerobic (requires oxygen) and anaerobic (does not require oxygen).
Name three important internal variables the body regulates as listed in the notes.
Examples: blood sugar, body temperature, blood pressure, pH, fluid balance, oxygen levels.
Explain why muscles produce lactic acid during intense exercise according to the lab.
When oxygen is insufficient, muscles use anaerobic respiration (lactic acid fermentation) to produce ATP quickly, which causes lactic acid buildup and fatigue.
The rigid outer layer found surrounding plant cells that provides structure and support.
What is the Cell Wall?
Identify the specialized pores on leaves that allow gas exchange and explain their role in photosynthesis.
What are Stomata; they allow CO₂ in and O₂ out and regulate gas exchange and transpiration.
List the three stages of aerobic respiration and indicate in which cell compartment each occurs.
Glycolysis — cytoplasm; Krebs cycle — mitochondria; Electron Transport Chain — mitochondria.
Describe the roles of receptor, control center, and effector in a feedback loop.
Receptor detects change (e.g., thermoreceptors detect temperature), control center (brain/spinal cord) evaluates and signals, effector (sweat glands/shivering muscles) causes response.
Give two ways alcoholic fermentation is used in the food or beverage industry.
Bread/beer production (yeast fermentation producing ethanol and CO2CO2); sometimes wine/beer or rising dough.
Small structures where proteins are assembled; they may be free in the cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum.
What are the ribosomes?
Photosynthesis occurs in two main stages. Name both stages using the terms from the slides (brief).
What are Light capture (light-dependent reactions) and producing sugars (Calvin cycle/light-independent reactions)?
How many net ATP are produced in glycolysis alone, and how many total ATP can aerobic respiration produce (approximate total) ?
Glycolysis net = 2 ATP; aerobic respiration total can be approximately 34/36 ATP.
Explain the difference between negative and positive feedback, and give one biological example.
Negative feedback reverses a change (e.g., thermoregulation — sweating when hot); positive feedback amplifies a change until an event occurs (e.g., childbirth contractions, blood clotting).
Suppose a student’s dominant hand total contractions over 10 trials decreased steadily. Give two plausible biological explanations grounded in cellular respiration and muscle physiology.
Possible explanations: (1) Accumulation of lactic acid from anaerobic respiration reduces muscle contractility; (2) depletion of readily available ATP/creatine phosphate or local oxygen supply limits aerobic ATP production; also fatigue could be neural or due to decreased muscle blood flow
This organelle packages and modifies proteins for export from the cell; name it and describe one way it interacts with the endoplasmic reticulum.
What is the Golgi apparatus?
Write the chemical equation for photosynthesis in balanced form.
Carbon dioxide + Water (+ light) → Sugar + Oxygen.
Contrast lactic acid fermentation and alcoholic fermentation: give one organism or context for each and name one product of each process.
Alcoholic fermentation: yeast — produces ethanol and CO2CO2; Lactic acid fermentation: animal muscle cells/bacteria — produces lactic acid.
Describe the afferent and efferent pathways and show how they operate during a temperature change (short scenario).
Afferent pathways carry sensory info from receptors to control center; efferent carry signals from control center to effectors. Example: skin thermoreceptors → afferent nerves → hypothalamus → efferent signals → sweat glands activate.
Design a brief follow-up experimental change to the muscle fatigue lab that could test whether oxygen availability changes the rate of fatigue. Include the independent variable, dependent variable, and one control.
Example design: Independent variable — atmospheric oxygen level during the exercise (normal air vs. reduced oxygen mixture); Dependent variable — number of clamp squeezes per 10-second interval over 100 seconds (and time to subjective fatigue); Control — same subject, same technique, same temperature, same rest beforehand. Prediction: Reduced oxygen will cause earlier reliance on anaerobic respiration, faster decline in squeeze counts, and earlier reported fatigue.