Name:___________

FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE

Honors Biology, Fall Semester 2010, DeRook
Exam will be 150 points, Exam date is January 28
For final exam study guides you can earn 10 points extra credit by writing out all the answers to the
study guide questions (including essays). Your answers to the questions must be your own, including
(ESPECIALLY, in fact!) if you work with a partner.
One of the following four essay questions will be on the exam
1. Write an essay about protists. (1) Describe the three categories of protists we have studied, (2) give characteristics of
each category including how they get their food, their “body plans” (single-celled vs. multicellular), and any other
defining characteristics; and (3) discuss their pathogenicity (disease-causing ability) or toxicity, if applicable. Include
several specific examples in your essay.
2. Write an essay about photosynthesis (PS). Begin by describing the chemical reaction, its reactants and products,
and what kind of chemical reaction it is (energy-released or energy-absorbing) and why. Describe the products and
by-products and why they are labeled as such. Carefully explain where in the cell PS occurs, and provide a thorough
description of the role that pigments play in this process. Be sure to give the names of all the plant pigments we’ve
covered and what each does specifically.
3. Write an essay about osmosis. Imagine you plucked an amoeba (a single-celled protozoan) from its freshwater
environment and dropped it into a very salty solution. What would happen to the amoeba and why? Your one-page
answer should be very detailed and focus on what is happening at the particle level. Be very careful with the
wording you use. Include a diagram along with your essay.
4. Write about the Fluid Mosaic Model. Write a one-page essay that describes the slow development of this model of
cellular membranes. Starting with the 1910’s, explain each new finding, which decade this occurred, what the new
evidence showed, and how this caused the model to change. Explain how bias interfered. Finish your essay with a
brief description of the current Fluid Mosaic Model with all its components and the reason for the model’s name.
5. Create a unique experiment that involves lizards and is conducted in a laboratory. Identify these components in your
experiment: manipulated variable, three treatments including a control, controlled variables, one responding
variable and multiple trials (replicates). Next, explain how you will randomize the experiment. Finally, explain
specifically what you would do to minimize (1) design error, (2) sampling error, and (3) measurement error.

The following questions/topics will be covered on the exam in the form of multiple-choice questions, as will the four
essay topics not selected as essay questions.
1. Explain how energy changes forms during an energy-releasing reaction. Give an example.
2. Explain how energy changes forms during an energy-absorbing reaction. Give an example.
3. What four elements make up more than 95% of an organism?
4. What are the four major types of macromolecules?
5. What are the defining characteristics of carbohydrates? What are the three categories of carbohydrates?
6. What are the defining characteristics of lipids? What are the four major categories?
7. Compare and contrast saturated fats and unsaturated fats.
8. What are the chemical characteristics of phospholipids? Where are these commonly found?
9. What are six different categories of proteins?
10. What type of molecule are enzymes and what is their function? How do they work? What happens to enzymes at
high temperatures and under extreme pH levels?
11. What exactly does it mean when an enzyme “denatures”?
12. Do enzymes that have denatured carry out more chemical reactions or fewer chemical reactions?
13. What happened when catalase was brought to high temperatures or extreme pH levels? How did that effect the “fizz”
and why?
14. What are the eight characteristics of life? What is an example of each?
15. Are viruses considered living organisms? Why or why not?
16. Describe the physical features (parts) of a virus.
17. What is the most common shape of human viruses? Of plant viruses?
18. What type(s) of genetic code do viruses contain?
19. What are the best ways to treat a virus?
20. What are scientists most worried about with the H5N1 (avian flu) virus? (Be specific!)
21. Who was Edward Jenner and what were his accomplishments?
22. How did the word “vaccination” come about? Explain.
23. When did the “Spanish flu” pandemic occur? Roughly how many people did it kill?
24. What are antigens? Explain.
25. What is humoral immunity and what are the key components of humoral immunity?
26. Why can you generally not get the same infectious disease more than once?
27. What is cell-mediated immunity? What are helper T and killer T cells?
28. What are the three domains of life?
29. What are the six kingdoms of life?
30. Which kingdoms contain prokaryotic organisms and which contain eukaryotic?
31. How long do scientists think prokaryotes have been on Earth? How about eukaryotic organisms?
32. Are prokaryotes single-celled or multicellular? How about eukaryotes?
33. Do prokaryotes have membrane-bound organelles? What cell structures do they have?
34. What cell structures do eukaryotes have that prokaryotes don’t? Which do they both have?
35. In the “investigating antibacterial products” experiment, identify the following components: manipulated variable,
responding variable, treatments, experimental control, controlled variables, trials (replicates).
36. What are three ways that plant cells differ from animal cells. Are these cells prokaryotic or eukaryotic?
37. How does one determine total magnification when using a compound microscope?
38. What are the three main shapes of bacteria?
39. List at least six bacterial diseases. How can bacterial diseases/infections be medically treated?
40. What is chemosynthesis and how is it similar and different from photosynthesis? Where do some bacteria who
perform chemosynthesis live?
41. Name at least four ways in which bacteria are helpful or useful.
42. Review the class’ pea experiment and identify the following components: manipulated variable, treatments,
experimental control, responding variable, controlled variables and trials.
43. Why does the protist kingdom sometimes get referred to as the “leftover” or “misfit” kingdom? Explain.
44. Describe Jean van Helmont’s willow experiment. What were his results? What did he conclude? Was he accurate?
Why or why not?
45. Where does the majority of a tree’s mass come from?
46. Explain why leaves turn color (red, yellow, etc.) in the fall.
47. What is the primary pigment in plants and what colors of light does it absorb most efficiently?
48. What are accessory pigments? Give examples. Why are they beneficial to a plant? Explain.
49. List several examples of where cellular membranes are found within a cell.
50. Why is the “Fluid Mosaic Model” called by that name?
51. Name four different macromolecules found in cellular membranes and explain the function of each.
52. Compare and contrast diffusion and osmosis. Explain what drives diffusion and osmosis.
53. Carefully explain what happened in the egg investigation and why. Be thorough.
54. Explain what would happen to a person’s blood cells if s/he received an I.V. of pure water.
55. Explain why plants can take up large amounts of pure water without having their cells explode.
56. Why do we need O2 to live? Explain thoroughly.
57. What is ATP and why do cells need it?

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Bring me your completed essays BEFORE the exam
and I’ll go over them with you!
Also, come by and ask questions any time! 