1. Biology Midterm Review
• levels of biology: biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, organism/species, groups of tissues, cellular, molecular/genetic
• levels of organisms: cellstissuesorgansorgan systemsorganism
• binomial nomenclature
• domains of life and kingdoms
• 8 main characteristics of living things and examples
• scientific method: observation vs. inference, hypothesis, conclusion, theory, law, independent vs dependent variables; constant variables
and the control of the experiment
• controlled experiments
• what is biology and the various branches of biology
• most important elements in living things
• trace elements
• differentiate between atom, molecules, compound
• chemical reactions: products and reactants
• law of conservation of matter
• subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, electrons; valence elctrons ; nucleus ; electron cloud
• atomic mass number vs atomic number
• isotopes and their importance in biology (radioactive isotopes)
• ionic vs. covalent compounds
• cations vs. anions
• types of bonds: ionic, covalent, hydrogen bonds, van der waals forces
• polar molecules vs. non-polar molecules
• properties of water: density, temperature moderation, high specific heat, adhesion, cohesion
• acids, bases, pH scale, buffers
• pH of in biological systems and their significance: acid rain, stomach, lakes and streams, etc
• properties of carbon: valance electrons, carbon skeletons, hydrocarbons, chains, rings
• differentiate between types of macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids/fats/steroids
• monomers and polymers of each of the above macromolecules (specific names)
• differentiate between: glucose, glycogen, starch, cellulose
• cholesterol and its importance in living things
• steroids: structure and importance
• hydrolysis vs dehydration reactions
• proteins: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure; various functions; how they are made
• amino acids: basic structure and importance; differences between the 20 diff. aa in living things
• structure of fats: glycerol and fatty acid chains
• saturated vs unsaturated fats and the importance of this difference
• denaturation and effects denaturation can have
• enzymes: structure, function, lock and key model, diagram how they work, how do they effect rate of reaction
• endothermic vs exothermic reaction; activation energy
• catalysts and how they effect the rate of reactions
• cellular respiration and photosynthesis: equations, molecules, types of reactions, organisms that use it
• nucleic acids: structure, function,
• RNA vs DNA: similarities and differences
• Central dogma of biology: DNAmRNAproteins
• Climate vs weather; climate zones and biomes
• Types of biomes and characteristics of each
• Abiotic vs. biotic factors…give exam-ples of each
• Aquatic ecosystems
• Marine ecosystems: various ways to classify
• Population ecology: 3 characteristics of populations and 3 things that affect population growth
• Population density (how to calculate)
• Population growth; logistic vs exponential growth, carrying capacity
• Density dependent vs density independent factors
• Niche and the competitive exclusion principle
• Community relationships: competition, predation, symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism)
• Conservation biology, biodiversity: pollution, acid rain, ozone depletion, biological magnification, global warming and greenhouse effect,
Eutrophication
• Habitat destruction threatening biodiversity; hotspots, sustainable development
• Biogeochemical cycles: Nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus and water cycles
• Succession: primary, secondary, and whale fall communities
• Human population ( 6 billion in year 2000)
• Food chain vs food web (trophic levels, primary, secondary, tertiary)
• Pyramids of energy, biomass pyramid, pyramid of numbers
• Types of consumers

2. • Heterotrophs vs. autotrophs
• Chemosynthesis and photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems