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Chapter 1: Overview of Biology & The Process of Science
- biology: bio + logy = study of life
- properties of life:
- cells / organization
- response to stimuli
- growth & development
- reproduction (sexual or asexual)
- adaptation / evolution
- homeostasis
- metabolism
- the levels of the biosphere:
- biosphere: all life & habitats on Earth
- biome: group of similar ecosystems located near one another
- ecosystem: all living & nonliving things in an area
- community: all living components of an ecosystem
- population: all members of 1 species in an area
- organism: 1 member of 1 species
- the levels of an organism:
- organism: 1 member of 1 species
- organ system: system of organs working as one
- organ: set of tissues that work towards a task
- tissue: group of cells with specialized purpose
- cell: smallest unit that can display all properties of life
- organelle: functional component of cell
- molecules & atoms: make up structure of organelles
- in an ecosystem, where do nutrients go: they are recycled
- in an ecosystem, where does energy go: it flows in (e
...
: sunlight) and out (e
...
: heat)
- levels of classification life: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
- what are the 3 domains of life: archaebacteria, bacteria, and eukaria
- kingdoms of eukaria: protista (protists), fungi, plantae (plants), and animalia (animals)
- prokaryote (domains archaebacteria and bacteria): no nucleus or organelles; small; simple;
developed earlier
- eukaryote (domain eukaria): nucleus and organelles; big; complex; developed later
- scientific method:
- observation / question
- background research & form a hypothesis
- design a procedure
- conduct experiment and collect data
- analyze results
- draw conclusions
- share results
- hypothesis: tentative answer to the question at hand, usually in “if __ , then __” form
- manipulated / independent variable: you actively change this variable to see what will happen
- responding / dependent variable: you do not actively change this variable, but it changes in
response to the change in the manipulated / independent variable
- control group: all the same factors as your other testing groups, but either with a constant
(i
...
: unchanging) manipulated / independent variable or without one entirely
- hypothesis vs theory: theories are broad, and supported by much evidence
...


- science is inquiry based on:
- repeatable experiments
- verifiable data (observations, measurements)
Chapter 2: Essential Chemistry for Biology
- matter: anything that has mass and occupies space
- element: cannot be chemically broken down into another substance
- how many elements naturally occur: 92
- trace elements: 14 trace elements make up
...
g
...
For example, singleatom molecules, diatomic molecules, or molecules composed only of 1 element are not
compounds
...
e
...
Valence electrons determine the reactivity of the atom, because they are the
electrons which exchange with other atoms
...
They hold together molecules, and their
atoms share electrons
...

- ionic bonds: These are the mid-strength bonds
...
One atom in an ionic bond gives its electrons to the other, so
the “giver” atom has fewer electrons (and thus it is not neutrally charged) and the “receiver”
atom obtains a complete shell of valence electrons
- hydrogen bonds: These are the weakest bonds
...
(Water
molecules are a good example
...
)
- chemical reactions: Rearrange the reactant matter into the product matter, breaking apart and
then rejoining atoms
...

- heat: the amount of energy from molecular movement which arises in a body of matter
- temperature: the average speed of particles in a body of matter (i
...
: the intensity of the heat)
- evaporation and boiling as cooling processes: only the “hottest” atoms (i
...
: those with the
most energy) have enough energy to escape the liquid, so only the “less hot” atoms are left
behind

- polar vs non-polar compounds: Polar compounds have a positive side and a negative side,

-

because some atoms “pull” the negatively charged electrons to one side of the molecule
more strongly than other
...
) For example,
the oxygen in water molecules is more electronegative than the hydrogen, so the oxygen side
is negative and the hydrogen side is positive
...
g
...
Polar (aka hydrophilic) molecules and non-polar
(aka hydrophobic) molecules do not mix
...
All organism fluids (e
...
: blood, sap, fluid around cells…) are aqueous solutions
...
Thus, pH equals the negative logarithm of the
hydrogen ion concentration in a fluid
...


Chapter 3: The Molecules of Life
- enzyme: a protein molecule that acts as a catalyst for chemical reactions
- organic compounds: all carbon-based compounds except for CO2
- inorganic compounds: all non-carbon-based compounds, as well as CO2
- functional groups: groups of organic compound directly involved in chemical reaction (e
...
:
hydroxyl groups, which are OH, or carboxyl groups, which are COOH)
- macromolecules: large molecules which often consist of hundreds of atoms
- polymer: molecule which is made up of a string of monomers
- monomers: single tileable molecules which can be strung together
NOTE: My teacher analogized that polymers are like pearl necklaces, while monomers are like
individual pearls
...
Thus, a dehydration reaction is just the reverse of
hydrolysis
...
These are the
monomers of polysaccharides, and they are the smallest possible carbohydrates
...

isomers: same chemical formula, but different structures and thus different properties
disaccharides: 2 monosaccharides joined together (e
...
: lactose)
polysaccharides: long chains of monosaccharides (e
...
: starch, glycogen, cellulose)
cellulose: a polysaccharide made up of only glycogen, which makes up the cell walls of plants

NOTE: I suggest a thorough review of the most common monosaccharides, disaccharides, and
polysaccharides if you are studying for the Biology M SAT II
...

- are lipids hydrophilic or hydrophobic: hydrophobic (aka non-polar)
- triglycerides: Type of lipid which consists of a glycerol molecule joined with 3 fatty acids via
dehydration reaction
...

- fatty acid: polymer made up of hydrocarbon monomers, with hydrogen atoms on each end
- hydrocarbon molecule: one carbon atom flanked by 2 hydrogen atoms
- saturated fat: A fat in which the hydrocarbon chains have only single bonds, and thus carry
the maximal amount of hydrogen atoms
...

- unsaturated fat: A fat in which the hydrocarbon chains have at least one double or triple bond,
and thus do not carry the maximal amount of hydrogen bonds
...

- atherosclerosis: fatty buildup in arteries, which may lead to heart attack / stroke
- hydrogenation: add hydrogen to change unsaturated fats into saturated fats, which are then
called trans fats
- steroids: type of lipid made from 4 fused carbon rings
- cholesterol: The most basic steroid, often called the “base steroid
...

- protein: macromolecule polymer of amino acids
- amino acids: monomer which makes up proteins
- how many amino acids exist: 20
- structure of 1 amino acid: To join together, one H from the amino group (on the left) joins one
OH from the carboxyl group (on the right), thus linking the two amino acids and producing 1
extra water molecule via a dehydration reaction
...
It is this side chain which makes the 20 amino acids different from one another
...
It all depends on that R group
...
For the purposes of your important tests, you can usually regard
them as the same thing (as long as you’re not blatantly writing “Proteins are polypeptides,
period
...
This is
why high fevers are so dangerous — they can actually denature your proteins make them
stop working!
nucleic acids: macromolecule polymers of nucleotide monomers
nucleotide: monomer of nucleic acid polymer
structure of a nucleotide: phosphate group bound to sugar bound to nitrogenous base
nitrogenous bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine, or uracil
gene: specific stretch of DNA that programs the primary structure of a polypeptide
types of nucleic acids: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) & RNA (ribonucleic acid)
DNA vs RNA:
- DNA: The base sugar is deoxyribose
...
Adenine
binds to thymine in DNA
...
It goes into the cell cytoplasm and codes for proteins
...

how many chromosomes do humans have: 46, coming in 23 pairs which each have 1 from
each parent

Chapter 4: Cell Structure
- cell theory:
- all living things are composed of cells
- all cells come from others cells
- cytosol: jellylike substance inside a cell, in which the organelles are located
- cytoplasm: cytosol + organelles, except for the cell nucleus
- cell membrane (aka plasma membrane): Flexible barrier which regulates molecules between
cells
...
The phospholipids and proteins in the cell membrane make up a “fluid
mosaic,” which means they can drift past one another while they stay oriented (much like ice
sheets in water)
...
They can freely float in the cytoplasm,
or attach to the endoplasmic reticulum
...
mRNA exits through pores in the nuclear membrane and
goes to a ribosome
...


- endomembrane system:
- rough endoplasmic reticulum:
- attached to nuclear envelope
- studded in ribosomes (ergo, the “rough” part)
- transport vesicles bud off to take the proteins (produced by the attached ribosomes) to
other organelles

- smooth endoplasmic reticulum:
- no ribosomes attached (ergo, the “smooth” part)
- make lipids, such as steroids
- filter the cell’s contents
- Golgi apparatus: Takes in transport vesicles, modifies the proteins inside, and then sends
-

-

them via transport vesicles to other parts of the cell, or out of the cell through the plasma
membrane via exocytosis
...

lysosomes: Vesicles which bud off the Golgi body, full of digestive enzymes
...

vacuoles:
- contractile vacuole: pump out excess water in protists
- central vacuole: Store water, nutrients, pigment, etc
...
Largest organelle
...
This proves that they used to be free-living prokaryotes, before
eventually becoming part of eukaryotic cells
...
g
...
g
...
g
...
Any time energy converts from one kind
to another, heat is generated and entropy increases
...
Then
chemical energy from food is used to rejoin ADP and a phosphate group back into ATP, so
that the cycle can restart
...
e
...
e
...
(Think of a hand catching a
baseball, then wrapping its fingers around the baseball to hold on more tightly
...

- Some inhibitors bind to enzymes in a place different from the active site, but by doing so,
they cause the enzyme to change the shape of the active site
...

diffusion: process whereby liquid or gas molecules spread to areas of lesser density
concentration gradient: high = dense, and low = not dense
transport proteins: proteins that help move substances across cell membranes
passive transport: the passage of substances through cell membranes solely due to the force
of diffusion
what substances can undergo passive transport: Due to the fact that the outside of cell
membranes is hydrophilic, only hydrophilic (aka polar) substances can diffuse through via
passive transport
...

osmosis: diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane via passive transport
solvent: the substance in which another substance is dissolved
solute: the substance dissolved into a solvent
hypertonic: the solution which has a higher solute density than another solution (“Solution A is
hypertonic to solution B” means that solution A has a higher solute density than solution B
...
)
osmoregulation: the cell’s control of water balance to survive in hypertonic / hypotonic
environments
active transport: The process by which a cell expends ATP to pump a protein in or out,
against the concentration gradient
...
It would take a lot of effort, because they would all want to come rushing out,
down the concentration gradient
...
g
...
g
...
This process takes place in the cytoplasm
...

- PDC (pyruvate dehydrogenase complex): Change the 2 pyruvic acid molecules into 2
acetyl Co-A molecules, and produce 2 more NADH molecules
...

- Krebs cycle (aka pyruvic acid cycle): The Krebs cycle occurs twice per glucose molecule
...
CO2 is removed

and rearranged to form oxaloacetic acid again, so the cycle can go ‘round again
...
After two spins, we’re left with 2 ATP, 6 NADH, and 2 FADH2
...
They
oxidize, releasing their electrons into a series of enzymes in the membrane of the
mitochondria
...
While the electrons are “falling” down this chain of enzymes, the energy
they produce is used to pump hydrogen ions against the concentration gradient from the
matrix into the space between the 2 mitochondrial membranes, where there are a lot of
hydrogen ions
...
While falling through this
enzyme, the hydrogen generate enough energy to join an ADP molecule with a spare
phosphate group, thus generating new ATP to be used by the cell
...
I strongly
suggest committing this stuff to memory
...

- The NADH dispose of their electrons & hydrogen by giving them to pyruvic acid, which
becomes something else, depending on the organism in which the fermentation is taking
place
...

For yeast, the pyruvic acid turns into ethanol and CO2 is released as waste
...
)
NOTE: While fermentation may provide enough ATP to keep a unicellular organism going, it can
only power human muscle cells for a short time
...

Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
NOTE: If you are studying for the Biology M SAT II, and you are unsure if photosynthesis will be
covered on the test (due to its absence in a number of test-prep guides) then it’s still a good
idea to study this chapter
...
I do recall some questions which were doable without an
understanding of photosynthesis, but which also would’ve been much easier had I studied a
little more for it
...
Photosystem 2 replaces those electrons
by taking them from water molecules, thus producing oxygen as waste
...
Hydrogen falls back into the stroma via an ATP synthase,
producing ATP, and the electrons from the transport chain fill empty NADP+ acceptors to
turn them into NADPH
...

- Calvin cycle: First, CO2 gets added to a 5-carbon sugar, which is then broken into two 3carbon sugars
...
For every three CO2, we thus get 1 G3P
...
The Calvin cycle occurs in the stroma
...


Chapter 8: Cellular Reproduction
- cell division: cell divides into 2 genetically identical daughter cells
- chromosome: Chromosomes are structures that contain most of the cell’s DNA
...
The word “chromosome” applies to both structures in this diagram

- chromatids: The chromosome shown at left consists of only one chromatid
...
While they do not contain
the same alleles, each chromatid does contain the same genes in the same order as its
sister
...
This occupies only about 10% of the cell’s cell
cycle
...
The nucleus breaks
apart
...


- metaphase (meet in the middle): Each centrosome attaches to each chromatid by the
mitotic spindle
...

- anaphase (apart): The centrosomes pull apart each chromosome into 2 sister chromatids
...

- telophase (the end / ta-da): Chromosomes turn back into chromatin
...
The
mitotic spindle disappears
...
Each daughter cell has one nucleus and half the parent cell’s
organelles
...
Each daughter cell has one nucleus and half the parent
cell’s organelles
...
Homologous chromosomes
always match in size
...
For human females, there are 23
homologous pairs, and for human males there are 22 homologous pairs plus a pair where
one is X and one is Y
...
All somatic
cells are diploid
...
All gametes are haploid
...
g
...

- In meiosis 2, that means that the sister chromatids remain together, resulting in 1 cell of n
+1 chromosomes, 1 cell of n-1 chromosomes, and 2 cells of n chromosomes

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