Plant Organs and Tissues
What plant organ is responsible for absorbing water and minerals from the soil?
Roots
Which process (mitosis or meiosis) does your body use when you become injured?
mitosis
Describe what the cell cycle is and state its main purpose.
The cell cycle is the series of stages a cell goes through to grow, copy its DNA, and divide into two new cells. Its main purpose is to allow growth, repair, and replacement of cells.
Explain why classification systems have changed over time.
Classification systems change as new evidence becomes available, such as genetic data or fossil discoveries, which provide better information about evolutionary relationships
What is the main function of the human immune system?
The main function of the immune system is to protect the body from disease by identifying and destroying pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
Which type of tissue is responsible for transporting water from the roots to the rest of the plant?
Xylem
Explain the main purpose of mitosis and the main purpose of meiosis in living organisms.
Mitosis is used for growth, repair, and replacement of cells in organisms.
Meiosis is used to produce gametes for sexual reproduction and to increase genetic variation.
Define a mutation and explain how mutations can occur.
A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence. Mutations can occur due to errors during DNA replication or exposure to environmental factors such as radiation or chemicals.
What type of relationships does modern classification try to represent?
Modern classification is based on evolutionary relationships, showing how organisms are related through common ancestry.
Give one example of a nonspecific and a specific immune defense.
Nonspecific - skin, mucous membranes, stomach acid, neutrophils, macrophages
Specific - B cells that make antibodies, cytotoxic and helper T cells
The tissue that transports sugars produced during photosynthesis is called ________.
phloem
Compare how chromosome number changes during mitosis versus meiosis
Mitosis supports growth and repair by producing identical body cells.
Meiosis supports reproduction by producing genetically unique gametes needed for sexual reproduction.
Explain why cells spend most of their time in interphase rather than mitosis.
Cells spend most of their time in interphase because this is when they grow, carry out normal functions, and copy their DNA. Mitosis is a much shorter part of the cell cycle.
Explain why scientific classification should remain open to change.
Scientific classification must remain open to change because science is based on new evidence. As new data from genetics, fossils, or technology becomes available, classification systems are revised to better represent evolutionary relationships.
Explain how vaccines help protect individuals from disease.
Vaccines expose the immune system to weakened or inactive pathogens, allowing the body to build immune memory without causing illness.
What structure is most directly responsible for transpiration in plants?
guard cells
Describe the role of crossing over and explain why it occurs in meiosis but not in mitosis.
Crossing over occurs in meiosis when homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material. It increases genetic variation in organisms.
This does not occur in mitosis because mitosis produces identical cells and does not involve homologous chromosome pairing.
Describe how cancer cells differ from normal cells in terms of the cell cycle.
Cancer cells do not respond properly to cell cycle checkpoints and continue dividing even when DNA is damaged. Normal cells stop dividing or undergo repair or apoptosis.
Name one type of evidence scientists use to classify organisms and briefly describe it.
Scientists use molecular data such as DNA sequences to compare organisms. Similar DNA suggests organisms share a more recent common ancestor.
Explain how both genetic factors and environmental factors can affect the immune system.
Genetic factors can influence immune strength, while environmental factors such as nutrition, exposure to pathogens, and vaccination history affect how well the immune system functions. [biology4me...weebly.com], [floridastudents.org]
Which tissue type is found in growing regions of a plant such as root and shoot tips?
Meristematic tissue
A species that reproduces sexually must use meiosis instead of mitosis to produce gametes.
Explain why meiosis is necessary and what would happen if mitosis were used instead.
Meiosis is necessary because it produces haploid gametes with half the chromosome number.
If mitosis were used instead, offspring would have double the normal number of chromosomes, causing serious genetic problems.
Explain how a failure of apoptosis can contribute to cancer development.
Apoptosis removes damaged or abnormal cells. If apoptosis fails due to mutation, damaged cells survive and continue dividing, increasing the chance of cancer.
Explain why organisms that live in similar environments are not always closely related.
Organisms in similar environments may develop similar traits due to convergent evolution, not because they share a recent common ancestor. Genetic and fossil evidence helps clarify true relationships.
Explain why overusing antibiotics can be harmful to public health.
Overusing antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, allowing bacteria to survive treatment and making infections harder to control.