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Honors Biology Midterm Study Guide

The following questions should be used to help direct your studying for the
Honors Biology Midterm Exam. It would be in your best
interest to answer each of these questions completely, review your class
lecture notes, reread the chapter summaries and complete any
workbook worksheets given to you.

The Honors Biology Midterm Exam will be 100 multiple choice questions.

1. What are the goals of science?

– Investigate & understand the natural world.
– Explain events in the natural world.
– Use explanations to make useful predictions.
2. What are the steps of the scientific method? What does the work of
scientists usually begin with?
1. Ask a Question (hypothesis)
2. Do Background Research
3. Construct a Hypothesis
4. Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
5. Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
6. Communicate Your Results
3. When is a hypothesis useful?
A hypothesis is the building block of science. You first ask a
question, then you build (or form) a hypothesis, and then you test
your hypothesis to see if you are correct.
4.Describe Redi’s experiment. What are variables and the control in the
experiment?
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5. Biology is the study of…

The scientific study of all forms of life, or all types of organisms.
6. What are the characteristics of living things?
1. Living things are made up of units called CELLS.
2. Living things reproduce.
3. Living things are based on a universal genetic code (DNA).
4. Living things grow & develop.
5. Living things obtain and use materials and energy.
6. Living things respond to their environment.
7. Living things maintain a stable internal environment
(homeostasis).
8. Taken as a group, living things change over time (evolve and
adapt).
7. List the levels of organization of all living things on Earth.
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8. What is the term for a group of organisms of one type living in the
same place?
Population
9. Describe each of the three microscopes. Which microscope can you
observe living things?
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Compound Light Electron Microscopes:

Microscopes • Uses beams of electrons to produce images.
• Produce magnified • Can produce images 1000 X more detailed than a
images by focusing light microscope.
visible light rays. • Samples must be placed in a vacuum to operate.
• Allows light to • 2 different kinds:
pass through the TEM (Transmission SEM (Scanning
specimen and uses Electron Microscope) Electron
two lenses to form shines a beam of electrons Microscope)
an image. through a thin specimen – scan a narrow beam
• Most common. of
• Magnification of Electrons back and
about 1000 times. forth across the
surface of
a specimen
CAN SEE LIVING
THINGS
10. Define cell culture:
A single cell is placed into a dish containing a nutrient solution and
is able to reproduce to create a group of cells (called a culture).
11. Define cell fractionation:
Used to study one part of a cell.
12. What is a glucose molecule a monomer of? What is an amino acid a
monomer of? What is a nucleotide a monomer of?
Glucose = Carbohydrates
Amino acid = Proteins
Nucleotide = Nucleic Acids
13. What are the functions of proteins?
1. Controls the rate of reactions
2. Regulates cell processes
3. Used to form bones and muscles
4. Transports substances in & out of cells
5. Helps fight diseases

14. What is the term used to describe the energy needed to get a reaction
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started?
Activation Energy – Energy that is needed to start or “activate” a
chemical reaction.
15. What is an enzyme?
Proteins that act as biological catalyst.
16. What is a catalyst?
Catalyst speed up chemical reactions
17. What is the branch of biology dealing with the interactions among
organisms and between organisms and their environment?
Ecology – study of interactions among organisms & their
environment
18. What are the combined portions of Earth in which all living things
exist?
Biosphere – contains all areas where life exists.
19. What is the difference between producers and consumers?
Producers- Use energy from sunlight / chemicals to produce food.
Consumers- organisms that rely on other organisms for their
energy.
20. What is the original source of almost all of the energy in most
ecosystems?
The sun
21. What is the difference between a heterotroph and an autotrophy?
- Autotrophs (primary producers) – Use energy from sunlight /
chemicals to produce food.
- Heterotrophs (primary consumers) – organisms that rely on other
organisms for their energy.
22. Describe the role between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and the roots of
legumes.
The bacteria live in the plants cells, located on the root, and form
nodules. These nodules convert nitrogen gas in the soil to usable
energy for the plant. In return the bacteria have a safe place to live
and reproduce.
23. What is the difference between a food web and a food chain?
Food Chain – Series of steps in which organisms transfer energy.
Food Web – Feeding relationship among many organisms in an
ecosystem, it’s a complex interaction.
24. What is biomass?
The amount of living matter at each tropic level
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25. What is a trophic level?

Trophic Levels – each step in a food
chain or food web.

26. Know the difference between a first-level producer, second-level

producer, first-level consumer and third level consumer.
Primary Consumers:
• Herbivores – Obtain energy by eating only plants
Secondary Consumers:
• Carnivores – Obtain energy by eating other animals.
• Omnivores – Eats both plants and animals.
• Detritivores – Feeds on dead matter, plant and animals.
• Decomposers – breaks down organic matter (bacteria
/fungi).
27. What happens to energy not passed to the next trophic level?
Released as heat
28. Why can matter be recycled through the biosphere?
Matter can cycle through the biosphere because biological systems
do not use up matter, they transform it.
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29. What is the water cycle?

30. What cannot be recycled in the biosphere?

Energy is not necessarily recycled. Energy is recycled in many local
senses through transformations from light energy to chemical
energy to kinetic energy. However, in terms of the entire biosphere,
energy is constantly escaping the atmosphere. This is why life on
Earth is so dependent on the sun. Without this continuous supply of
energy in the form of light and heat, living systems would not have
enough energy to survive.
31. What is the difference between nitrogen fixation and denitrification?
– Nitrogen-fixation – N2 fixing bacteria, found in soil, are capable of
converting elemental N2 in the air into forms used by plants.
– Denitrification – Denitrifying bacteria break down N in the soil and
release N2 into the atmosphere
32. How is carbon stored in the biosphere?
Carbon is found in the atmosphere, many minerals/rocks, fossil fuels
and in the organic materials that make soil and aquatic sediments.
33. What is the difference between weather and climate?
• Weather – day-to-day condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a
particular time and place.
• Climate – the average, year after- year conditions of temperature
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and precipitation in a particular region.

34. Greenhouse effect is:
The Greenhouse Effect – The natural situation in which heat is
retained by a layer of greenhouse gases

35. Describe the difference between abiotic and biotic factors:

Biotic Factors – The biological (living) influences on organisms within
an ecosystem.
Abiotic Factors – The physical or NONLIVING factors that shape
ecosystems.
36. What is niche?
Niche - the full range of physical Niche May include:
and biological conditions in which –Its place in the food web
an organism lives and the way in –Physical conditions the organism
which the organism uses those needs
conditions. to survive
–Type of food the organism eats
–How it obtains its food
–Which other species use the
organism
as food.
–How and when it reproduces
37. Describe the predator-prey relationship.
• Predation – Interaction in which one organism captures and feeds
on another organism.
– The organism that does the killing and eating is called the
PREDATOR.
– The organism that is the food is the PREY.
• This interaction helps regulate the population within an
ecosystem, causing it to become stable.
38. Why can’t two species occupy the same niche in the same habitat at
the same time?
because they compete for the same resources and eventually one
will overpower the other
39. List the symbiotic relationships we discussed in class. Which one
benefits both species?
Symbiosis “living together”– Any • Mutualism – Both species benefit
relationship in which two species from the
live closely together Relationship.
There are 3 types of Symbiosis: •One of the most commonly
1. Mutualism observed mutualism is the
2. Commensalism pollination of flowering plants by an
3. Parasitism insect or humming bird.
•The pollinator benefits from the
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interaction by receiving nectar.

•The plant gets its pollen
transferred
40. How can a predator increase the number of certain species in it
habitat?
By killing the competitors of the other species, the other species has
more food available, and can therefore grow in population.
41. What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
Primary Succession- Secondary Succession-
Begins in a place without any Begins in a place that already
soil has soil and was once the
home of living organisms
42. Which biome is characterized by very low temperatures and
permafrost?
Tundra
43. What are the factors that play a role in population growth?
3 Factors can affect population size:
1. Number of births
2. Number of deaths
3. Number of individuals that enter or leave the population
44. What is the main characteristic of a population?
• Important characteristics of a population are:
1. Geographic Distribution
2. Density
3. Growth rate
4. Population’s age structure
45. What does the range of a population tell you that density does not?
Range – describes the area Density – the number of individuals
inhabited by a population. per unit area.
46. Describe the difference between immigration and emigration.
• Immigration – movement of • Emigration – movement of
individuals INTO an area individuals OUT OF an area
– Will cause a population to – Will cause a population
grow.
47. What must occur for a population to grow?
Populations will grow when its birthrate is greater than its death
rate.
48. How can a population decrease in size?
Populations will shrink when its death rate is greater than its
birthrate.
49. Define exponential growth and logistic growth curve.
Exponential Growth – Occurs when Logistic Growth – occurs when a
the individuals in a population population’s growth slows or stops
reproduce at a constant rate. following a period of exponential
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growth.
50. What factors reduce competition within a species’ population?
An Abundance of resources, few animals
51. What will happen if a population grows larger than the carrying
capacity of the environment?
Population growth will slow down because the birthrate decreases,
the death rate increases, the rate of emigration increases or when
the rate of immigration decreases.
52. List the density-dependent limiting factors.
There are 4 Density-Dependent Limiting Factors:
– Competition
– Predation
– Parasitism
– Disease
53. What type of population do density-dependent limiting factors affect?
Large populations

54. List some density-independent limiting factors.

Examples include:
•Weather
• Natural Disasters
• Seasonal Cycles
• Human Activities
55. Define demography:
Demography – scientific study of human populations
56. Define demographic transition:
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57. What is the anticipated human population in the year 2050?

9 billion

58. How can a diagram of a population’s age structure predict how it can
grow?
They show the population of a country down by gender and age
group.
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59. What has become the most important source of environmental

change on Earth?
human activity
60. Why is land a resource?
provides space for human communities and raw materials for
industry
61. Is an old-growth forest a renewable resource or a nonrenewable
resource?
Nonrenewable Resource
62. Define sustainable development:
Sustainable Development – a way of using natural resources without
depleting them and of providing for human needs without causing
long term environmental harm.
63. How is acid rain made?
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64. What is the difference between desertification and deforestation?

Deforestation – Loss of Desertification – Dry climates, with
forests a combination of farming and over
grazing, and drought has turned
once productive areas into deserts.
65. What is soil erosion?
Soil Erosion – wearing a way of surface soil by water and wind.
66. Why is biodiversity important to human society?
• Different species have provided us with:
– Foods
– Industrial products
– Medicines (painkillers, antibiotics, heart drugs,
antidepressants, anticancer drugs)
67. How are species diversity and genetic diversity different?
Species Diversity – the number of •Genetic Diversity – the sum total
different species in the biosphere. of all the different forms of genetic
information carried by all organisms
68. What is an endangered species?
Endangered Species – species whose population size is declining in
a way that places it in danger of extinction
69. What was DDT used for?
A widely used pesticide is one of the most serious toxic compounds
that accumulate in organisms.
70. What are some threats to biodiversity?
Human activity can reduce biodiversity by:
1. Altering habitats
2. Hunting species to extinction
3. Introducing toxic compounds into food webs
4. Introducing foreign species to new environments
71. What are the goals of conservation biology?
Goals of alleviating the extinction crisis and fostering biological
diversity.
72. What are the effects of global warming?
The effects of global warming include:
– Rising sea levels, which could affect coastal ecosystems
– Changes in climate could affect the geographical distribution
of species
73. What are the principles of the cell theory?
The Cell Theory states:
All living things are composed of cells.
Cells are the basic unit of life.
New cells are produced from existing cells.
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74. How can you tell the difference between a prokaryotic cell and a
eukaryotic cell?
Prokaryotic Cells Eukaryotic Cells
• Do not have a true nucleus • Do have a true nucleus
• DNA is not completely • DNA is located in the nucleus
separated from the rest of the • DNA is arranged as strands
cell by a nuclear membrane called chromosomes
• DNA is not arranged in • Contains organelles
strands called chromosomes • Contains ribosomes
• Lack organelles • Has a cell membrane
• Contains ribosomes • Can be unicellular or
• Has a cell membrane mulicellular
• Unicellular organisms, all
bacteria!
75. What are the characteristics of eukaryotic cells?
• Do have a true nucleus
• DNA is located in the nucleus
• DNA is arranged as strands called chromosomes
• Contains organelles
• Contains ribosomes
• Has a cell membrane
• Can be unicellular or mulicellular
76. What is the function of the nucleus?
– The nucleus has 2 functions:
• Protect DNA
• Have DNA available to use at proper times
77. What is the function of ribosomes?
Protein synthesis
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78. Which organelles are found in plant cells, but not animal cells?

79. What are the functions of the cytoskeleton?

Network of proteins that gives the cell its shape and internal
organization.
– Involved in shape and movement!
80. What is the cell membrane’s function?
2 functions:
– Regulates what enters and leaves the cell
– Provides the cell with protection and support.
81. What is diffusion?
Diffusion – Particles move from an area of high concentration to an
area of low concentration.

82. Describe the difference between active transport and passive

transport.
Passive Transport – Does NOT Active Transport – Requires energy
require to
energy to pass through the pass through the membrane.
membrane
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83. What is osmosis?

Osmosis – the diffusion of water through a selectively permeable
membrane.
84. What will happen if a cell is surrounded by freshwater?
Isotonic- the solution in the same outside the cell as inside the cell
85. What will happen if a cell is surrounded by salt water?
Hypertonic- the solution has a higher concentration outside the cell
86. Define cell specialization:
Cell Specialization – cells can develop in different ways to perform
different tasks.
87. What is an organ system?

88. List the levels of organization in a multicellular organism from

simplest to most complex.
• Cell – Basic unit of all life
• Tissue – group of similar cells that perform a particular function.
(epithelial, connective, nervous, muscle)
• Organ – group of tissues working together.
• Organ System – group of organs that work together to perform a
specific function.