Cell Structure
Name the rigid structure found outside the cell membrane in plant cells that helps maintain shape and support.
Cell Wall
What is the primary role of the cell membrane?
To control what enters and leaves the cell
Define a behavioral adaptation and give one simple example (one sentence)
A behavioral adaptation is a change in an organism’s actions or patterns that increases survival or reproductive success. Example: Nocturnal feeding (being active at night to avoid daytime predators)
Hibernating, migration
Define a structural adaptation and give one example for plants or animals
A structural adaptation is a physical feature of an organism that improves survival or reproduction. Example: Webbed feet in aquatic birds for swimming.
Thick fur, hollow bones
Define a physiological adaptation and give a simple example (one sentence).
A physiological adaptation is an internal biological process that increases survival or reproduction. Example: Ability to produce venom for subduing prey.
mammals producing milk
Which organelle contains DNA and is often called the "control center" of the cell?
Nucleus
Which organelle converts chemical energy from food into usable energy (ATP) for the cell?
Mitochondrion (converts chemical energy from food into usable energy, ATP)
How can a behavioral adaptation increase an organism’s chance of surviving long enough to reproduce? Provide a brief explanation.
Behavioral adaptations can reduce predation (e.g., hiding), improve access to resources (e.g., cooperative hunting), or increase mating success (e.g., courtship displays), thereby raising the chances of surviving to reproduce and passing on genes.
How does fur thickness in mammals living in cold climates serve as a structural adaptation?
Thicker fur provides better insulation by trapping air and reducing heat loss, helping mammals maintain body temperature and survive in cold environments—thus increasing chances to survive and reproduce.
How does the ability to produce antifreeze proteins in some fish help them survive in cold water?
Antifreeze proteins prevent ice crystal formation in body fluids at subzero temperatures, allowing fish to survive and function in cold water where others cannot—improving survival and reproductive success.
Which small structures are the sites of protein synthesis in both plant and animal cells
Ribosomes
What is the function of vacuoles in plant cells compared to many animal cells?
Plant cells often have a large central vacuole that stores water, nutrients, and wastes and helps maintain turgor pressure (structural support). Animal cells typically have smaller, multiple vacuoles used mainly for storage and transport.
Give an example of a behavioral adaptation that helps animals avoid predators and explain how it improves survival.
Example: Playing dead (thanatosis) — some animals remain motionless to appear uninteresting to predators. This reduces the chance of being attacked and increases survival.
hunting at night
Describe a structural adaptation in birds that enables flight and explain its contribution to survival or reproduction.
Describe a physiological adaptation that enables some desert animals to conserve water and explain how it increases survival.
Highly concentrated urine and dry feces (e.g., kangaroo rat) reduce water loss. Lowering water loss increases survival in arid environments and allows more energy for reproduction.
What jelly‑like substance fills the cell and holds organelles in place?
Cytoplasm
List two differences between the cell wall and the cell membrane.
Some animals migrate seasonally. Explain how migration as a behavioral adaptation affects reproductive success over generations
Migration can move individuals to areas with more resources or better breeding conditions, increasing survival and reproductive success that season. Over generations, individuals with behavioral tendencies to migrate (or better migration timing) may leave more offspring, increasing the frequency of that behavior in the population.
Cacti have thick, fleshy stems and spines. Explain how these features are structural adaptations that increase survival in desert environments.
Thick, fleshy stems store water for drought periods (water reservoir). Spines reduce water loss by decreasing surface area and provide shade and protection from herbivores. Both increase survival in arid environments
Explain how changes in an organism's metabolic rate in response to seasonal food scarcity can be a physiological adaptation that influences survival and reproduction.
Reducing metabolic rate (torpor or hibernation) lowers energy requirements when food is scarce. This physiological change increases the likelihood of surviving lean periods and reproducing when conditions improve.
Which organelle is found in plants, contains pigments, and is the site of photosynthesis?
Chloroplasts
Describe one way the cell wall and cell membrane work together to help a plant cell maintain homeostasis.
The cell wall provides structural support and resists excessive water uptake; the cell membrane regulates the movement of ions, water, and molecules in and out of the cell. Together they maintain internal conditions (e.g., cell shape, turgor pressure, ion balance) that support homeostasis.
A population of insects begins feeding on a new plant species introduced to their environment. Describe a possible behavioral adaptation and explain how natural selection could increase its frequency in the population over generations.
individuals learn to recognize and feed on the new plant or change egg-laying preferences to the new host. If feeding on the new plant increases survival or offspring success, those individuals produce more offspring. Over generations, natural selection increases the frequency of the behavior (preference for the new plant) in the population.
A fish population living in a lake of clear water shows variation in mouth size. Describe how different mouth sizes could be structural adaptations that lead to niche partitioning and affect long‑term reproductive success.
Different mouth sizes allow individuals to exploit different food resources (e.g., small mouths pick plankton, large mouths capture larger prey). This reduces direct competition (niche partitioning), allowing multiple morphs to coexist. If each mouth type increases access to food and survival in certain conditions, those traits become more frequent over generations via natural selection.
Some bacteria evolve the ability to break down a new chemical pollutant in their environment. Explain how this physiological adaptation can increase their fitness and spread through the population over generations via natural selection.
If some bacteria acquire mutations or genes (e.g., via horizontal gene transfer) that allow them to metabolize a new pollutant as a food source, they gain a fitness advantage in that environment. They reproduce more successfully, increasing the frequency of that physiological trait (ability to degrade the pollutant) in the population over generations.