1.What organelles/parts do prokaryotes have? Ribosomes,Flagella, genome(DNA), cell membrane, cell wall, cytoplasm

2. How are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells different? Size,Complexity(organelles), nucleus or not, type of cell division

3. Describe the function of each of the following, and if they can be found in plant, animal, or both.

Cell membrane – phospholipid bilayer with embedded proteinsThat determines what enters or exits the cell

Cytoplasm- the oozing watery fluid that fills the cell…it also Contains much of the building blocks for cellular processes

Nucleus – compartment which contains the master set of DNA Instructions. The nuclear membrane has pores that allow mRNATo copy this DNA

Nucleolus- granular region inside the nucleus where parts of ribosomes are made…in particular, the rRNA

DNA/chromatin- DNA is the code of life expressed in nucleicAcids of Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine (ACTG) and Exists as chromatin(pile of spaghetti)most of time.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum - part of ER that is freckled with Ribosomes and deals mostly with protein export

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum – ER that does not have ribosomes and deals mostly with toxin removal and hormone regulation.

Mitochondria- the endosymbiotic organelle of the cell that is responsible for cellular respiration that makes ATP. ATP is the energy source that cells use.

Chloroplasts- (plants only) the endosymbiotic organelle of the cell that is Responsible for photosynthesis

Ribosomes- the part of the cell where proteins are made

Golgi Apparatus- looks like a series of flattened sacs and is Responsible for the packaging and transport of cellular products and byproducts.

Cell Wall- found only in plants and bacteria. This rigid enclosure consisting of fibrous carbohydrates give structure and strength to plant cells with the aide of turgor pressure.

Cilia – numerous, short, hair-like structures that provide coordinated movement to unicellular organisms and move fluids in multicellular organisms

Flagella- long less numerous hair-like structures that provide less coordinated movement in cells.

Vacuoles- (plants only)the large central vacuole is only found in plant cells, and stores water nutrients and waste products.

Cytoskeleton- network of thin fibers(microfilaments) that provide structure to the eukaryotic cell

Lysosome- (animal only) packet of digestive enzymes

4. Draw a cell membrane. Label hydrophilic phosphate heads, hydrophobic tails, membrane proteins .

5. Define each, stating whether each takes cellular energy or not,and whether things are being moved with or against their concentration gradient:

Diffusion- when a solute disperses through a solvent until it reachesEquilibrium…this would be like adding a drop of food dye(solute) to A beaker of water(solvent) and waiting for the dye to distribute Throughout the water. There is no gradient here nor energy used.

Osmosis – usually this is when water crosses a permeableMembrane to a higher concentration of solutes(usually salts). This is like when you take a bath and the water in the tub creeps Into your cells. Remember osmosis can occur in the other Direction if you were soaking an injured ankle in epsom salts. FlowsWith concentration gradient with no energy used.

Facilitated diffusion -when a cell’s membrane protein escorts Certain molecules into or out of the cell…the important thing is thatNO NET ENERGY is required for this to happen and it flows withThe concentration gradient.

Active transport – when the membrane proteins USE ENERGY To force molecules against the concentration gradient(natural Tendency to flow) This would be like when the proton pumps on a thylakoid force H+ protons into the thylakoid.

Concentration Gradients exist where a membrane divides two solutions. Without energy input, there is a natural flow toward equilibrium that the solutions will make that is based on the concentrations of solutes in the solvent. To create a gradient it is necessary for the membrane between areas to be semi-permeable(let the solvent pass through, but NOT the solute) for more understanding on this topic, look at the isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic relationships of question # 6

Endocytosis – when a cell wraps itself around an external particleand engulfs it into the cell.

Exocytosis – when a cell releases a vesicle(internal packet) into its surrounding environment

Concentration Gradients aren’t really a direct factor to consider In endocytosis or exocytosis.

6. Draw pictures of isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic. For eachOf these situations you must consider two environments that areEncountering each other. Of the two, the hypertonic solution will be the one With more stuff(solute) dissolved in it and the hypotonic solution will be the oneWith less stuff(solute) dissolved in it. Water is usually the solvent in these Situations and will pass through the membrane until it reaches equilibrium, whichIs when the RATIO of solute(salts) to solvent(water) is equal on both sides. WhenEquilibrium is reached, the two sides of the membrane have become isotonic.

isotonic hypertonic/hypotonic

In our bath tub/ epsom salt example…When you are in the bath, the solution inside your body is hypertonic to the Bath water and the bath water is hypotonic to your body. When you stick yourFoot in epsom salts, the internal solution of your foot is hypotonic to the epsomSalt bath and the epsom salt bath is hypertonic to your foot. If a single blood Cell was placed in a bath like you, it would rupture. The cell could not control The amount of water rushing into it by way of osmosis.

hypotonichy

pert

onic

hypotonic

hypertonic

Regular bath

Epsom Salt Bath

7. Draw a chloroplast and label thylakoids and grana/granum. Draw a mitochondrion and label inner membrane.

Chloroplast

Mitochondrion

stroma

8. Where do the light/calvin(light independent) reactions occur? The light reactions happen in the thylakoid itself while the Calvin reactions occur outside the thylakoid yet still inside the Chloroplast in a space known as the stroma.

Where do the three steps of respiration take place? There are threeparts of respiration: 1)glycolysis, 2)Kreb’s cycle, and 3)electron transport (in order)glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasmKreb’s cycle and electron transport happen in the mitochondria on membranes known as cristae.

Rearrangement/shuffling of Carbons to yield/create :Glycolysis, Kreb’s cycle (ATP), and Calvin Cycle(carbs)

Hopping of high energy electrons hot potato style along membrane proteins to Yield ATP: Light reactions and electron transport

9. What are the reactants and products of photosynthesis and respiration? How are they related?

Photosynthesis:

6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2 light

reactants products

Cellular Respiration:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

reactants products

The relationship between photosynthesis and respiration is old and absolutely dependent(symbiotic). The products from one Become the reactants for the other and vice versa. It could be Argued that it is the most important cycle for life.

10.What is a controlled experiment? Explain what makes an experiment “controlled”.

A controlled experiment has two groups: control and experimental

The control group does not have any experimental variables Applied to it…in other words, it tries to set a baseline of resultsTo which the experiment can be compared. This is the essenceOf being a “controlled” experiment.

The experimental group is just like the control group except for ONE thing…a variable. Usually this variable is directly related toAn hypothesis. Remember, an hypothesis is an untested but Testable idea regarding an exploration into some unknown idea,Property, behavior, etc..

For example, let’s say you hypothesize that Dr. Pepper will make plants grow faster than water. Everything about your two groups would be the same, from sunlight to soil to the amount of fluid poured on the plants AND the species of plant themselves. The big difference would be that your control group would use water as the fluid, and the experimental group would use the Dr. Pepper.

11.When you design an experiment, how many factors are tested in one experiment? Why is that important?

A well designed experiment will only test one factor at a time. ToDo otherwise would make it very difficult if not impossible to Determine which factor was the one that was responsible for theResult of the experiment.

Continuing with the Dr. Pepper example…if you also had an Hypothesis that florescent bulbs provided better light for plantsThan sunlight. It would not be a good idea to test both of theseFactors at once because you would not be able to tell whetherIt was the Dr. Pepper or the florescent bulb OR a combinationOf the two that was causing the result…This is why I always laugh when contradictory nutritional studiesAppear in the news every other night…like drinking wine is goodFor your heart—wait a minute, no its actually bad for your heartAnd back and forth and back and forth.

12.Describe the difference between the experimental manipulated (independent) and responding (dependent) variables.

The experimental or manipulated or independent(they are all words for the same thing by the way) variable IS the experiment.The responding or dependent variable(s) is the result of the Experimental/manipulated/independent variable.

For our Dr. Pepper example, the watering with Dr. Pepper is the independent variable.

Now…let’s say you run the experiment with the Dr. Pepper for two weeks. Over Those two weeks you notice that the plant starts to wither and eventually you See a fuzzy growth coming out around the base of the plant where it is in Contact with the soil. Upon closer examination you realize that it is a fungus That is damaging and consuming your plant.

The dependent variable in this scenario is what has happened to the plant…Mainly the growth of a fungus and the subsequent wilting and death of it.

13.When an experimental hypothesis has been supported by many different tests, it becomes a scientific __________.

THEORY

Most people use the word theory to describe an idea someoneHas come up with to describe a particular phenomenon. SomePeople are logical about how they do this…some are magicalOr superstitious And some just make it up.

THIS IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC THEORY…SCIENTISTS HATEIT WHEN SOMEONE TALKS SMACK ABOUT A SCIENTIFICIDEA AND TRY TO MAKE IT SOUND ILLEGITIMATE BY SAYING THAT IT IS JUST A THEORY!!!!!!!!!

For example, evolutionary theory probably gets this treatment the most. Scientists didn’t just arbitrarily pull this theory out of thin air. Many differentfields of science: immunology, cellular biology, geology, genetics, medicine, plateTectonics, microbiology, and others all independently arrived at the conclusion that life evolves. The theory of evolution is literally used to save lives on a dailyBasis. In fact, evolution is what science calls a unifying theory since it explains Many phenomena from a variety of different fields.

14.List the prefixes, from largest to smallest (kilo to milli) , and explain the process for converting from one to any other Give three examples of this type of conversion.

Kilo- hecto- deca- base deci- centi- milli-

Decimal moves One space to the…

351g.351kg3 to the left

23daL 230,000mL4 to the right

67.3cm.000673km5 to the left

15.List and describe from largest to smallest, the ecological levels of organization.

Biosphere – Layer around the Earth(15km or so) where all lifeExists

Ecosystem – An environment with specific group of biotic and Abiotic factors.

biotic – living things and their influencesabiotic – non-living things and their influences

Community – In this level the focus is turned toward the living Things in the environment and their specific relationships with Each other. Food webs are a major focus.

Population - the study of groups of organisms that are of the sameSpecies. Scientists who study at this level have particular interestIn year to year fluctuations in population sizes due to disease,Predation, or other factors. Evolution and genetics can also be studied here.

Organism – at this level, an individual creature is the focus. One lifetimeAnd one small but still significant existence

16.At which level does a food web operate? Explain your reasoning.

A food web operates at the community level. Since we are simplyObserving the interactions, in this case energy transfer, betweenLiving creatures, it is definitely not at the ecosystems level…afterAll, there is no need to consider the non-living environment. It canAlso not be at the population level since we need to considerMore than just one species of creature.

17.At which level does a nutrient like carbon operate? Again explain your answer.

Carbon works at the ecosystem and biospere levels. Since we are examining a non-living part of the environment, we cannot stay at the Community level or lower since those levels only deal with the living. Ecosystem attention to carbon would be on a Smaller scale, like experimenting with carbon cycling in a certainSpecies of plant. Biosphere Carbon study would be on a globalScale like the greenhouse effect and global warming

18.What is a trophic level in an ecosystem/food web. How do you determine what trophic level a particular organism would be classified in?

Trophic levels are essentially levels at which an organism feeds. To determine what level an organism is feeding at, all one has to do is consider the level of the food that that creature is eating and how far it is from the initial source of energy. The initial source of energy is the sun and it is first accessible to life in the primary producers who exist in the first trophic level.

1st Trophic Level

2nd Trophic Level

3rd Trophic Level

4th Trophic Level

5th Trophic Level

19.As you move up from one trophic level to the next, how much energy from the lower level is available to the level above it?

20.Why/how does this happen? What happens to the rest of the energy not passed on and up?

100%

10%

1%

.1%

.01%

As one progresses through the trophic levelsOnly 10% of the energy from the previous level reaches the next level.Although some of this energy is used for life processes of organisms, the majority of it is lost as heat. One way to think of this is to consider how much energy it takes to maintain body temperature in mammals.

21.Explain the differences between energy flow and nutrient flow in an ecosystem/food web.

As was already stated, energy enters an environment through its plants by photosynthesis. When plants are eaten by herbivores, only ten percent of the original energy in the plants ends up in the herbivores. When the herbivore is eaten by a predator, only ten percent of its energy gets to the predator. As you can see, energy slowly dissipates from the system as feeding levels get higher and higher.

Nutrients, on the other hand, do not dissipate. Instead, they CYCLE from one thing to another. For example, Carbon ping pongs back and forth between photosynthesis in chloroplasts to cellular respiration in mitochondria. Nitrogen can be in an animal one moment…that animal dies and is decomposed by bacteria which deposit the Nitrogen in the soil…then a plant grows and sucks the nitrogen out of the ground into its leaves…then an animal eats the plant and its nitrogen…

22.What is a limiting nutrient? Give an example and explain what it limits and how it limits.

A limiting nutrient is usually a density dependent factor that has the potential to limit, stall, or sometimes decrease the size of a population of organisms.

A good example can be found in most people’s front yards. A nice plush lawn is prized by many homeowners. Lush and thick grass lawns require ample supplies of nitrogen for vegetativegrowth. New Mexico’s soil and climate does not lend to very high concentrations of available nitrogen, so a gardener must fertilize(add nitrogen) to artificially overturn the limiting factor/nutrient that is caused by insufficient available nitrogen. Incidentally, this is why native grasses are typically sparse and grow in little clumps rather than a uniform lawn. On top of this, our soil is also limited in phosphorous and potassium as well…when you buy fertilizer, there are three numbers 20-10-20(example) that refer to the respective concentrations of these nutrients. Water is also a limiting nutrient for many living things in New Mexico…that’s why they have evolved lifestyles that are stingy with water.

23.Define density dependent factor and density independent factor and give examples of each.

A density dependent factor affects a population in such a way that there is a direct link to the population density of that species of creature. In other words, these factors have a greater or lesser affect depending on whether there are more or less members of the population. Typically they are of biotic origin. Examples: birds fighting for nesting sites, limited food sources, disease travelling through a population

A density independent factor affects a population in the same way whether there are millions of individuals in the population or just one. Typically they are of abiotic origin. Examples: a comet hits the Earth, Floods, drought

24. Specifically, how do predators limit prey populations?

By eating them!!! More predators mean more hungry mouths to feed. More hungry mouths leads to less prey(things to eat).

Eventually the prey population will decline as a result of this.

The whole thing is really a cycle because without enough food to eat, the predators will then start to see a decline in their numbers. After this happens for a while, the prey population will start to rebound and grow in size.

25.Define exponential and logistic growth. Make a simple graph of each and explain the differences.

Exponential – never ending growth of a population that accelerates without boundaries…only occurs for short time periods in nature.

Logistic – growth that may start out looking like it will be exponential, but a limiting factor slows down the population and growth slows or stops. This is the way that all natural populations react in ecosystems.

exponential

logistic

26.Describe the “Greenhouse Effect” and explain how it is necessary for life to exist on Earth.

Our atmosphere contains gases that trap solar energy, especiallyInfrared and visible light wavelengths…this is the greenhouse effect. It allows the Earth to be warmer than it would otherwise be without an atmosphere. This is the biggest problem with Mars supporting life like that found on Earth since it doesn’t have an atmosphere.

Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be much colder and would experience very large fluctuations in temperature on a daily basis. Some life forms, like bacteria, could probably deal with this, but most life relies on consistent temperatures to survive.

27.What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem? Give three examples of each.

Biotic factors- living parts of the environment(plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and how they affect everything else in the environment)

Abiotic factors – non-living parts of the environment(soil, water, sun, wind, chemistry of each of these, temperature, and how they affect everything else in the environment.)

28. Define ecological succession. 29.What is primary succession, and how does it differ from secondary succession?. Give an example of when or under what circumstances this occurs.

Succession is the dynamic series of events that occur as an ecosystem forms and changes over time. An ecosystem is different when it is 10 years old vs. 100 years old vs. 1,000 yrs old and those changes are what succession attempts to define.

Primary – when an ecosystem develops where there was nothing there before it. Receding glaciers, volcanic islands or lava flows, the greatest example occurred when the Earth cooled after forming.

Secondary- when an ecosystem is destroyed or severely damaged and then grows back. Forest fires, floods, human activities like: logging, construction, engineering cause this to happen.

30.Describe, explain in what ways plants are involved in the water cycle.

Plants are involved in the water cycle in two related ways:

Water uptake- the act of pulling water out of the ground begins a sub-cycle of the water cycle that involves plants

Transpiration- the evaporation of water through the leaves of plants…interestingly, this is what allows them to draw water out of the ground in the first place. It increases the humidity of the surrounding air and in some cases(rain forests) it can cause precipitation.

31. Make a table summarizing the following information: a.       the name of the three most well-known subatomic

particles, b.      the charge for each of these particles,

c.       where in the atom each of these particles is located.32.Draw a simple diagram of an atom, showing the location of each of the three particles from above.

NucleusProtons/neutrons

electron

33. Draw and label a simple atomic model for a water molecule. 34.What is polarity in a molecule? Explain why water is a polar molecule.

oxygen

hydrogen hydrogen

Negative charge

Positive charge

Polarity in a molecule simply means that it has a positive and a negatively charged region.Oxygen has 8 electrons and each hydrogen has 2. When they form a covalent bond, the 2 electrons from the hydrogen are unevenly shared with the oxygen holding on to them more. Since electrons are negatively charged, this makes the oxygen end of water take on a negative charge. The end with the hydrogens take on a positive charge since they have the electrons less often.

35.Define cohesion and adhesion.

As a result of its polar nature, water is a pretty sticky molecule, like a magnet. When water molecules stick to other water molecules it is called cohesion. This allows water to create surface tension. This also helps water resist evaporation.

When water molecules stick to other molecules…say a piece of glassware like a graduated cylinder, it is called adhesion. This property creates the meniscus(curved line) that you must know how to read when using a graduated cylinder.

36.What is a solution. Explain what part of a solution is the solvent, and what part is the solute. Give an example.

37.Why is water such a good solvent?Salt water is a solution most people are familiar with. It has definite proportions of sodium chloride(NaCl) and water(H20). The solvent in the solution is water and the solute is the NaCl.

The reason water is such a good solvent is that it is polar. The negative(oxygen) end of water tends to attract positive molecules and the positive(hydrogen) end of water tends to attract negative molecules. In the case of a salt like NaCl that has a weaker ionic bond(electrons aren’t really shared), the water molecules literally rip apart the bond that holds the sodium(Na+) from the chlorine(Cl-). This effectively dissolves the solute in the solvent. The process can be reversed by evaporating the water…this decreases the number of water molecules that can effectively hold apart the Na+ and Cl- atoms which then reunite in NaCl.

38. What is the definition of an acid?39. What is the definition of a base?

An acid or acidic substance is a solution that contains a higher concentration of H+ ions(sometimes called hydronium) than OH- ions.

A base or alkaline substane is a solution that contains a higher concentration of OH-(hydroxide) ions than H+ ions.

You should note that if there are equal amounts of H+ ions and OH- ions, you would have plain water…which is neutral…neither a base nor an acid.

40.What is the pH scale? What does it measure, what is the range of values for acids and bases, and what is the relative strength when comparing one number to another?

The numbering system for the ph scale is logarithmic. This means that every integer/number actually represents 10x the preceding number.

For example, battery acid is ten times more acidic than lemon juice AND 100 times more acidic than vinegar.

All are referenced to a neutral pH of 7 which is the ph of plain water.

41.What is a carbohydrate? How are carbohydrates used by living organisms?

Carbohydrates are 6 carbon molecules shaped in a hexagon that are a combination of CO2(carbon dioxide) and H20(water).

Carbohydrates are the storage form for energy captured during photosynthesis. This is then passed on through food webs to all the living things on the planet.

42.What is a protein? How are proteins used by living organisms?

Proteins are chains of molecules called amino acids. They are very complex molecules that can take on an almost infinite number of shapes. These shapes allow them to function as catalysts for chemical reactions. The chemistry of life is driven by protein catalysts called enzymes.

some amino acids…

43. What is a lipid? How are lipids used by living organisms? 

Lipids, also known as fats, are excellent storage molecules for energy. Most animals have a certain amount of their body that consists of fat/lipids. It is excellent at this because it stores more energy in less mass than any of the other organic molecules…basically they are energy dense. In fact, gram for gram, they contain more than twice the energy than carbohydrates or proteins.

Phospholipids are a special class of lipid that make up the cell membranes every life form. They are special because they have a hydrophilic and hydrophobic end. This allows them to form a bilayer membrane that can easily interact with water environments, be semi-permeable, yet strong.