Honors Biology
2nd Semester Exam Study Guide
Mrs. Schwartz – June 2011
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Study your outline sheets. The learning targets should be your starting point for studying for the exam. All
outline sheets can be found in PDF form on my webpage.
Study your notes. All PowerPoint lectures can be found in PDF form on my webpage.
You need to be familiar with all vocabulary words. Knowing the definitions is a good starting point, but
ultimately, you must make connections between words. How do words relate to each other?
Main Concepts
Cell Structures
and Functions
Transport
Systems
The Cell Cycle
Who discovered cells? How did Schleiden, Schwann, and Virchow contribute to the cell theory?
All cells have what four structures?
Compare compound light, electron, and scanning tunneling microscopes.
Identify characteristics of prokaryotes.
Be familiar with the following cell organelles: cytoskeleton, nucleus, ribosomes, endoplasmic
reticulum, golgi apparatus, lysosomes, mitochondria, cell wall, chloroplasts, central vacuole
Identify a cell as being prokaryotic, plant, or animal.
Why is the relationship between plant roots and mycorrhizae symbiotic?
State why the following are land adaptations: roots, shoots, stomata, lignin, xylem, phloem.
Which types of cells help to conduct water in xylem tissue?
Describe the cohesion-tension hypothesis for water transport in plants.
Describe how stomata regulate water loss in plants.
Describe the pressure-flow hypothesis for sugar transport in plants.
Which cell—xylem or phloem—has two way flow?
Which cells are wider and can manage a greater volume of material—xylem or phloem?
Compare macronutrients and micronutrients. List several common examples for each.
Compare parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma cells in plants.
Compare dermal, vascular and ground tissue in plant cells.
Compare 2, 3 and 4 chambered hearts. List advantages and disadvantages for each.
Know the difference between diastole and systole.
Compare and contrast arteries and veins in the circulatory system.
How is blood pressure measured? What is considered “normal” blood pressure?
Know the common name, the scientific name and the function of the three blood cells.
How does the circulatory system maintain homeostasis for the body?
The leading cause of death in the US is _____.
Describe atherosclerosis.
Be familiar with sickle-cell disease, hemophilia, and leukemia.
Identify three ways you can decrease your risk of heart disease.
Be familiar with the sheep heart dissection lab. Identify the following on a diagram: left and right
atrium, left and right ventricle, septum, aorta, vena cava, tricuspid and bicuspid valve.
Why do cells have to reproduce and divide?
Compare sexual and asexual reproduction.
Describe prokaryotic cell reproduction.
How are the nucleus, chromosome and gene related?
What does DNA stand for? Who discovered DNA?
DNA is made of nucleotides. Be able to label a nucleotide on a diagram.
Classify nitrogen bases as a purine or pyrimidine.
State Chargaff’s rule about nitrogen base pairing.
Why is it important that strands of DNA be complementary?
Know the steps of DNA replication. Understand the importance of helicase and polymerase in the
process.
Expressing
Genetic
Information
Reproduction
Patterns of
Inheritance
Population
Genetics
Ecology
What is the function of polymerase after replication is finished?
Be familiar with chromosome characteristics: size, length, location of centromere, chromatid, and
homologous chromosomes.
Compare somatic cells and gametes.
If an egg and sperm fuse, how many chromosomes are in the initial zygote?
Be familiar with the stages of mitosis. Be able to identify diagrams for each stage too.
What does your body use to express inherited traits?
DNA  _____________________ RNA  _____________________  Protein
Describe where each of the blank lines above takes place in the cell.
Know the steps of transcription. What is produced in the final step?
Why do we call it messenger RNA (mRNA)?
What is a codon? Be able to use the genetic code chart to identify amino acids.
What are start and stop codons? What purpose to they serve?
How many amino acids exist? How many codons are in the genetic code table?
Where does the mRNA travel to in the cell?
Why do we call it transfer RNA (tRNA)?
What is an anticodon? Where is it found on the tRNA molecule?
Know the steps of translation. What is produced in the final step?
Be able to label the following on a diagram: E site, A site, P site, ribosome, mRNA, tRNA, codon,
anticodon, polypeptide.
Be familiar with mutations discussed in class. There was a practice worksheet given out.
Be familiar with characteristics of viruses.
Be able to label a diagram of a typical virus.
Be familiar with the lytic and lysogenic replication cycles of viruses.
State reasons for and against the vaccination of humans.
Compare the different examples of asexual reproduction: binary fission, fragmentation,
regeneration, and budding.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction?
What is a karyotype and why is it useful?
Compare diploid and haploid.
Why does meiosis need to consecutive divisions to create 4 haploid cells?
When does crossing over take place and why is it important?
What is conjugation?
Why is it important for plants to alternate between using gametes and spores for reproduction
(alternation of generations)?
Be familiar with flower structure and function. Be able to label the following on a diagram: sepals,
petals, stamen, anther, filament, carpel, stigma, style, ovary, ovule
Explain how organisms are products of their heredity and their environment.
Why did Mendel use pea plants in his genetic studies?
Describe how alleles for a trait are related on homologous chromosomes.
Be able to predict probabilities for monohybrid and dihybrid crosses.
Give an example of incomplete dominance.
Solve genetics problems related to blood types.
Solve genetics problems related to sex-linkage.
Be able to interpret a pedigree.
Describe polygenic inheritance and give examples of this type of inheritance.