Wolf tracks in the snow, Yellowstone National Park
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Tiniest tetrapod found in New Guinea
National Geographic has a story on their website about the discovery of two species of frogs that are smaller than M and Ms.
Amphibians world wide have been in a steep decline lately so it is exciting to hear of a new discovery.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Biome and Climate Change Review
Biome Review
1. What are two important factors in determining what type of Biome one will find in a given area?
2. What causes the seasons here in North America?
3. What are three strategies plants have developed to survive in the cold dry,and sometimes dark conditions of the Tundra?
4. What kind of adaptations have animals developed to survive in:
A. The tundra
B. The deserts
5. What is a rain shadow, and how does it account for different plant communities occurring at the same latitude, but on opposites sides of a mountain range?
6. In what biomes does fire play an important role, and what is this role?
7. How are coniferous forests different from deciduous forests?
Climate Change
1. What types of gases trap heat in the atmosphere?
2. What are the sources of these gases?
3. What are some consequences of global warming?
Genetics Review
Hello Biology Students.
Here are some review questions (and practice questions) for our last topic of this short summer session.
1. Which of Mendel's laws addresses homologous chromosomes separating from each other during meiosis?
2. What word (or phrase) describes each of the following genotypes? TT Tt tt
3. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
4. Two normal parents have a child with a recessive disorder. What are the genotypes of each parent?
5. Dad has AB blood, and mom has O blood. What are the possible blood types of their children?
6. In pea plants purple flower color (P) is dominant to white (p). If a plant heterozygous for purple flowers is crossed with a plant with white flowers, what proportion of the offspring will have white flowers?
7. Colorblindness is an X linked recessive trait. Susan carries the gene for colorblindness, and her husband is not colorblind. What is the chance they will have a colorblind son? What is the chance they will have a daughter who is colorblind?
8. In one species of flowering plants there is some diversity in flower color. Some plants have blue flowers, some have red, and others have purple flowers. What type of inheritance do you suspect controls this trait, and why?
9. Huntington's Disease is caused by a dominant allele (H). Mark's mother is heterozygous for the allele, but his father has no evidence of the disease in his family. What is the chance that Mark has the allele for Huntington's Disease?
10. The disease sickle cell anemia is caused by a recessive allele. Two parents who are heterozygous for the allele have a child. What is the chance this child has the disease?
11. What does Mendel's law of independent assortment describe?
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Incredible Visibility Today!
I take my Botany and Bio 200 students a little way up into the hills above Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon, but today I walked up to an elevation 3,800 feet on the Harding Truck Trail, and could see Catalina Island, San Clemente Island, and San Nicholas. I could also see islands south of San Clemente. What a great day for a hike.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Octopus explores land on way to a different tide pool
Octopuses are most likely the most intelligent invertebrate animal, and notoriously hard to keep in aquarium tanks. With their soft bodies they can squeeze through openings as small as their hardest part, which is their modified radula (called a beak) with which they feed.
This video shows how dexterous they can be on land.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Hagfish: Primitive Chordates
Last week in lab we looked at hagfish as an example of a primitive chordate.
New Scientist has an article with a great photo of the hagfish and a video of them repelling other fish. Another common name for the hagfish is "slime eel". Watch what happens when fish come up and bite the hagfish.
Bio 120 Evolution and Population Ecology Review
Evolution Review
1. How do biologists define evolution?
2. What is a population?
3. What islands were important to Charles Darwin's thinking on evolution?
4. Biogeography is how living things are distributed around the world. How was Darwin surprised by the the biogeography he observed on his trip around the world?
5. While fossils support the theory of evolution, we can't rely on the fossil record ever being complete. Why?
6. How does the existence of fossils support the theory of evolution?
7. How did LaMarck explain inheritance?
8. What was the hypothesis of catastrophism?
9. While the theory of evolution does not indicate humans came from chimps, it does indicate a _________________________ between chimps and humans.
10. Upon what observations did Darwin base his theory of evolution by natural selection?
11. How can speciation happen?
12. What mechanisms drive evolution?
Population Ecology and Interactions
1. Define resource partitioning and give an example of it.
2. How is a parasite different from a parasitoid?
3. How is a parasite different from a predator?
4. How are density dependent limiting factors different from density independent limiting factors? Give examples of each.
5. Coevolution happens also between parasites and their hosts. Why is this not surprising?
6. Define and give examples of the following: Mutualism, Commensalism, social parasite.
7. What are common strategies predators use to capture prey, and common defenses found in prey?
8. Draw a food web that could occur in your backyard or here at Cerritos. Include all the trophic levels we discussed in class.
9. Why are there fewer members of the upper trophic levels as compared with primary consumers or the producers?
10. What is carrying capacity?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Weeding and planting wildflower seeds on campus
Thanks to my Bio 200 students for helping to weed and then plant wildflower seeds Friday afternoon after class. Watch for new growth and blooms early in the next semester.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Review for Exam 3 Bio 120
Review Questions about Plants:
1. Compare and contrast the movement of water and food in plants. Include in your answer what kinds of tissues and processes are involved in both.
2. Xylem is functional when dead at maturity while phloem is functional only when alive. Why?
3. In phloem, what is the role of the companion cell?
4. What is the difference between xylem in flowering plants and the xylem found in gymnosperms?
5. What is cohesion of water, and how is this different from adhesion?
6. What part of the root absorbs water?
7. What is the function of the anther in the flower?
8. Which of the following is where one would find ovules?
A. in an anther
B. in the ovary
C. in the stigma
D. in the style
9. Ovules are
A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains
10. In double fertilization the first sperm fertilizes the egg and the second
A. dies
B. is only used if the first sperm cell dies
C. fertilizes another egg
D. fertilizes a haploid endosperm mother cell to make diploid endosperm
E. fertilizes a diploid ( n+n) endosperm mother cell to make triploid endosperm
11. What is the function of fruit?
12. Microspores become
A. the embryo sac
B. the mature male gametophyte
C. pollen grains
D. all of the above
E. only B and C above
Here's some questions to make those brain cells churn out the ATP!
1. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and which is more efficient?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. Yeasts do a kind of anaerobic respiration called ____________, and produce ___________ and _________ along with 2 ATP
10. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
1. Compare and contrast the movement of water and food in plants. Include in your answer what kinds of tissues and processes are involved in both.
2. Xylem is functional when dead at maturity while phloem is functional only when alive. Why?
3. In phloem, what is the role of the companion cell?
4. What is the difference between xylem in flowering plants and the xylem found in gymnosperms?
5. What is cohesion of water, and how is this different from adhesion?
6. What part of the root absorbs water?
7. What is the function of the anther in the flower?
8. Which of the following is where one would find ovules?
A. in an anther
B. in the ovary
C. in the stigma
D. in the style
9. Ovules are
A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains
10. In double fertilization the first sperm fertilizes the egg and the second
A. dies
B. is only used if the first sperm cell dies
C. fertilizes another egg
D. fertilizes a haploid endosperm mother cell to make diploid endosperm
E. fertilizes a diploid ( n+n) endosperm mother cell to make triploid endosperm
11. What is the function of fruit?
12. Microspores become
A. the embryo sac
B. the mature male gametophyte
C. pollen grains
D. all of the above
E. only B and C above
Here's some questions to make those brain cells churn out the ATP!
1. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and which is more efficient?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. Yeasts do a kind of anaerobic respiration called ____________, and produce ___________ and _________ along with 2 ATP
10. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
JTNP snake class
Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
Last weekend I went out to Joshua Tree National Park for a class on snakes and venom. We did see a speckled rattlesnake in the hills above one of the campgrounds, and the instructor brought some snakes as well.
Speckled Rattlesnake. His eyes are milky looking because he is getting ready to shed his skin. The heads of vipers like rattlesnakes are triangular in shape to accommodate their venom glands. This is one way to tell if the snake you are looking at is a rattlesnake or not.
Of course the other way is to look at the tail...
This is a sidewinder rattlesnake. Notice the little "horns" above the eyes. These probably serve to shade the eyes from the sun and may offer protection as the animal moves through sand as well. Vipers like the rattlesnakes bite their prey, then usually let it go. They can track the movement of their prey, and then can catch up to it once it is dead and safe to eat. Vipers have pits that allow them to sense heat from their prey, and visualize prey based on the heat given off from the body. You can see the pits on the head of this snake below the eye.
After the class I went into the park to photograph the landscape. Lucky for me the moon was up and just about full.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Bolsa Chica Wins!! Coastal Commission denies permit for 111 houses
Today the California Coastal Commission denied the Coastal Development Permit (CDP) that would have allowed Shea Homes to put 111 houses on the Upper Bolsa Chica Wetlands. This denial means that if the Shea Company wants to build houses on this site they have to go back to the drawing boards.
Thanks so much to all the Bolsa Chica Land Trust members, friends and supporters who showed up at the hearing. Your presence made a difference for our beloved Bolsa Chica!!
In denying the CDP for this project, commissioners mentioned that this land was part of a larger ecosystem, something the Land Trust has argued since this project was first proposed about 10 years ago. Other commissioners mentioned the lack of enforcement regarding the unpermitted fill on the property. This is another issue the Land Trust has raised for years.This fill, the BCLT believes, covered then existing wetlands.
When I was on the City Council in 2002 this project came before us, and one of the representatives of the Shea Company asked me why I thought this land was part of Bolsa Chica. They have not gotten this from the beginning, but today the California Coastal Commission did get it. The proposed project on this land violates the Coastal Act, plain and simple.
It is a very happy day for all of us who value all of Bolsa Chica!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
DNA, Mitosis and Meiosis Review Quetions
DNA Review Questions
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complementary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon, and what happens when one is read in the ribosome?
Genetic Engineering
1. What are restriction enzymes?
2. What kind of cells have restriction enzymes, and what is the purpose of these enzymes in the cell?
3. What is a plasmid?
4. How are plasmids used in genetic engineering?
5. Why does human DNA work in a bacterial cell?
6. What is gene therapy?
7. How are small fragments of DNA separated during the DNA fingerprinting process?
8. What benefits are there to inserting a human gene into a bacterium? What possible problems could arise from genetically engineered organisms being released into the wild?
Mitosis and Meiosis Review
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complementary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon, and what happens when one is read in the ribosome?
Genetic Engineering
1. What are restriction enzymes?
2. What kind of cells have restriction enzymes, and what is the purpose of these enzymes in the cell?
3. What is a plasmid?
4. How are plasmids used in genetic engineering?
5. Why does human DNA work in a bacterial cell?
6. What is gene therapy?
7. How are small fragments of DNA separated during the DNA fingerprinting process?
8. What benefits are there to inserting a human gene into a bacterium? What possible problems could arise from genetically engineered organisms being released into the wild?
Mitosis and Meiosis Review
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Joshua Tree National Park
Over the weekend I took a class on the insects and other arthropods of the Morongo Basin. Much of the class was held at Joshua Tree National Park, but we also visited the Morongo Preserve and the Coachella Valley Preserve.
There they are, way up on the rocks high above the dam. We ended up seeing two ewes and a ram .
This is a gall. Small insects, usually small wasps lay an egg on the tree, and inject chemicals as well that cause the plant to create a gall. The gall provides a house for the larval insect and some food as the larva develops.
This is a gall on a creosote shrub. Many plants make galls in response to insects laying eggs on their stems or leaves.
These dark lines along the stems often appear on more mature creosote shrubs. They are made by a type of scale insect. Native Americans would scrape the sticky secretion and use it as a glue.
This beautiful wasp (Scolia dubia) was getting nectar from the flowers.
This is a Mormon metal mark butterfly on a California buckwheat which is the food plant for its larva .
Dragonflies often land on shiny car parts. Why? Maybe they see the silver shiny surfaces as looking like water.
Along the trail to Barker Dam we came across fresh bighorn sheep scat and tracks, but where are the sheep?
There they are, way up on the rocks high above the dam. We ended up seeing two ewes and a ram .
These acorns are the fruit of the scrub oak trees we saw along the trail.
If the acorns are the fruit then what is this?
This is a gall on a creosote shrub. Many plants make galls in response to insects laying eggs on their stems or leaves.
These dark lines along the stems often appear on more mature creosote shrubs. They are made by a type of scale insect. Native Americans would scrape the sticky secretion and use it as a glue.
This beautiful wasp (Scolia dubia) was getting nectar from the flowers. 
This is a Mormon metal mark butterfly on a California buckwheat which is the food plant for its larva . 
Dragonflies often land on shiny car parts. Why? Maybe they see the silver shiny surfaces as looking like water.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Bio 120 Questions for Review- Exam 1 Chapters 1-5
Here are some review questions for you. Some may be similar to the daily review questions, but all will help you while you prepare for the exam.
Chapters 1 and 2
1.How is a hypothesis different from a theory?
2.What are five characteristics of living things?
3. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
4. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy level. Will this atom react?
5. How are ions formed?
6. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
7. What determines if an atom with react with another?
8. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
9. How is the polar nature of water related to:
a. its high boiling point
b. surface tension
c. the solid form being less dense than the liquid form
Chapter 3
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. At what level of complexity do proteins usually become functional?
5. What makes up a nucleotide?
6. What bond forms between amino acids as they react to form proteins?
7. How is the function of carbohydrates different in plants and animals?
8. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
9. What is the most common steroid in the body?
Chapter 4
1. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
2. Why do we think the mitochondria was once an independent organism?
3. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
4. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
5. How are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
6.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
7.How are archeae different from the bacteria living on your skin?
8.Describe briefly what organelles would be involved in making a protein and exporting it from the cell.
9.Give an example of two cell organelles working together to accomplish a task.
10.What organelle is found on the ER?
11.What is the function of lysosomes?
12.Where is the nucleolus, and what is its function?
13.What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
Chapter 5
1. A plant cell in a hypertonic solution will under go _____________
2. An animal cell in a hypotonic solution may undergo _____________
3. A cell must maintain an imbalance of sodium ions on either side of the membrane for it to function. What process would it most likely use of the ones we discussed in class?
4. How is active transport different from diffusion and osmosis?
5. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
6. What affect would a hypertonic solution have on a cell?
7. In a hypotonic solution water would move ________ a cell.
8. If a .9% salt solution is isotonic to a red blood cell, a 2% salt solution would be _____.
Chapters 1 and 2
1.How is a hypothesis different from a theory?
2.What are five characteristics of living things?
3. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
4. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy level. Will this atom react?
5. How are ions formed?
6. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
7. What determines if an atom with react with another?
8. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
9. How is the polar nature of water related to:
a. its high boiling point
b. surface tension
c. the solid form being less dense than the liquid form
Chapter 3
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. At what level of complexity do proteins usually become functional?
5. What makes up a nucleotide?
6. What bond forms between amino acids as they react to form proteins?
7. How is the function of carbohydrates different in plants and animals?
8. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
9. What is the most common steroid in the body?
Chapter 4
1. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
2. Why do we think the mitochondria was once an independent organism?
3. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
4. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
5. How are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
6.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
7.How are archeae different from the bacteria living on your skin?
8.Describe briefly what organelles would be involved in making a protein and exporting it from the cell.
9.Give an example of two cell organelles working together to accomplish a task.
10.What organelle is found on the ER?
11.What is the function of lysosomes?
12.Where is the nucleolus, and what is its function?
13.What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
Chapter 5
1. A plant cell in a hypertonic solution will under go _____________
2. An animal cell in a hypotonic solution may undergo _____________
3. A cell must maintain an imbalance of sodium ions on either side of the membrane for it to function. What process would it most likely use of the ones we discussed in class?
4. How is active transport different from diffusion and osmosis?
5. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
6. What affect would a hypertonic solution have on a cell?
7. In a hypotonic solution water would move ________ a cell.
8. If a .9% salt solution is isotonic to a red blood cell, a 2% salt solution would be _____.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Pre Med Conference at UC Davis Oct. 8 and 9
Some of you may be interested in pursuing a medical career. This is a great inexpensive conference to attend that will help you in pursuing this path. There are buses leaving from local colleges and universities, free housing options, and meal plans. The registration is between $40-45.00 if you sign up soon. Get more information here
Malaria and Algae
NPR had a story this morning about an organelle found in the malaria parasite that is now believed to have come from algae. Bio 120 students are learning about malaria in lab this week along with algae, so this story comes along at just the right time. Bio 200 students, we will be discussing malaria on Friday, so take a listen to the story here
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Planning to Transfer to a Four Year School?
Everyone at the college wants you to be able to successfully transfer to the school of your choice. If you are planning to attend a four year school next fall, then you will need to apply this fall. Our transfer center can help you! Check out their website here
There are workshops to help you, and there are counselors available to advise you who specialize in transfer students. They are very happy to help and answer questions for you. If you think you can't transfer due to financial reasons, academic reasons, you need to check with the counselors! They can help.
There are workshops to help you, and there are counselors available to advise you who specialize in transfer students. They are very happy to help and answer questions for you. If you think you can't transfer due to financial reasons, academic reasons, you need to check with the counselors! They can help.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tentacles at the Aquarium of the Pacific
All of these photographs are of animals from Phylum Cnidaria. They all can capture prey using stinging cells that paralyze the prey. However most also are algae farmers. Algae live in the animal's cells and to photosynthesis to make carbohydrates. Some coral animals get 90% of their food this way and die without their algae partners.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Some review questions for final- summer 2011
Biome Review
1. What are two important factors in determining what type of Biome one will find in a given area?
2. What causes the seasons here in North America?
3. What are three strategies plants have developed to survive in the cold dry,and sometimes dark conditions of the Tundra?
4. What kind of adaptations have animals developed to survive in:
A. The tundra
B. The deserts
C. Coniferous forests
5. What is a rain shadow, and how does it account for different plant communities occurring at the same latitude, but on opposites sides of a mountain range?
6. In what biomes does fire play an important role, and what is this role?
7. To what kind of environmental stresses are the plants and animals in the chaparral adapted?
8. How is a deciduous forest different from a coniferous forest, other than the types of trees found in each?
Population Ecology and Interactions
1. Define resource partitioning and give an example of it.
2. How is a parasite different from a parasitoid?
3. How is a parasite different from a predator?
4. How are density dependent limiting factors different from density independent limiting factors? Give examples of each.
5. Coevolution happens also between parasites and their hosts. Why is this not surprising?
6. Define and give examples of the following: Mutualism, Commensalism, social parasite.
7. What are common strategies predators use to capture prey, and common defenses found in prey?
8. Draw a food web that could occur in your backyard or here at Cerritos. Include all the trophic levels we discussed in class.
9. Why are there fewer members of the upper trophic levels as compared with primary consumers or the producers?
10. What is carrying capacity?
Genetics
1. How is a genotype different from a phenotype?
2. What name is given to each of the following genotypes: TT Tt tt
3. Which of Mendel's laws discusses the separation of alleles in meiosis?
4. Which of his laws would describe the behavior of human chromosome 2 and 13 during meiosis?
5. In peas, tall is dominant over short. If two plants tall heterozygous plants were crossed, what proportion of the offspring would you expect to be short?
6. In one breed of chickens feather color is black, blue-gray, or white. How is feather color inherited and why do you think so?
7. If mom has 0 blood, and dad has AB blood, what proportion of the children will have B blood?
1. What are two important factors in determining what type of Biome one will find in a given area?
2. What causes the seasons here in North America?
3. What are three strategies plants have developed to survive in the cold dry,and sometimes dark conditions of the Tundra?
4. What kind of adaptations have animals developed to survive in:
A. The tundra
B. The deserts
C. Coniferous forests
5. What is a rain shadow, and how does it account for different plant communities occurring at the same latitude, but on opposites sides of a mountain range?
6. In what biomes does fire play an important role, and what is this role?
7. To what kind of environmental stresses are the plants and animals in the chaparral adapted?
8. How is a deciduous forest different from a coniferous forest, other than the types of trees found in each?
Population Ecology and Interactions
1. Define resource partitioning and give an example of it.
2. How is a parasite different from a parasitoid?
3. How is a parasite different from a predator?
4. How are density dependent limiting factors different from density independent limiting factors? Give examples of each.
5. Coevolution happens also between parasites and their hosts. Why is this not surprising?
6. Define and give examples of the following: Mutualism, Commensalism, social parasite.
7. What are common strategies predators use to capture prey, and common defenses found in prey?
8. Draw a food web that could occur in your backyard or here at Cerritos. Include all the trophic levels we discussed in class.
9. Why are there fewer members of the upper trophic levels as compared with primary consumers or the producers?
10. What is carrying capacity?
Genetics
1. How is a genotype different from a phenotype?
2. What name is given to each of the following genotypes: TT Tt tt
3. Which of Mendel's laws discusses the separation of alleles in meiosis?
4. Which of his laws would describe the behavior of human chromosome 2 and 13 during meiosis?
5. In peas, tall is dominant over short. If two plants tall heterozygous plants were crossed, what proportion of the offspring would you expect to be short?
6. In one breed of chickens feather color is black, blue-gray, or white. How is feather color inherited and why do you think so?
7. If mom has 0 blood, and dad has AB blood, what proportion of the children will have B blood?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Plant Review Questions
Review Questions about Plants:
1. Compare and contrast the movement of water and food in plants. Include in your answer what kinds of tissues and processes are involved in both.
2. Xylem is functional when dead at maturity while phloem is functional only when alive. Why?
3. In phloem, what is the role of the companion cell?
4. What is the difference between xylem in flowering plants and the xylem found in gymnosperms?
5. What is cohesion of water, and how is this different from adhesion?
6. What part of the root absorbs water?
7. What is the function of the anther in the flower?
8. Which of the following is where one would find ovules?
A. in an anther
B. in the ovary
C. in the stigma
D. in the style
9. Ovules are
A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains
10. In double fertilization the first sperm fertilizes the egg and the second
A. dies
B. is only used if the first sperm cell dies
C. fertilizes another egg
D. fertilizes a haploid endosperm mother cell to make diploid endosperm
E. fertilizes a diploid ( n+n) endosperm mother cell to make triploid endosperm
11. What is the function of fruit?
12. Microspores become
A. the embryo sac
B. the mature male gametophyte
C. pollen grains
D. all of the above
E. only B and C above
1. Compare and contrast the movement of water and food in plants. Include in your answer what kinds of tissues and processes are involved in both.
2. Xylem is functional when dead at maturity while phloem is functional only when alive. Why?
3. In phloem, what is the role of the companion cell?
4. What is the difference between xylem in flowering plants and the xylem found in gymnosperms?
5. What is cohesion of water, and how is this different from adhesion?
6. What part of the root absorbs water?
7. What is the function of the anther in the flower?
8. Which of the following is where one would find ovules?
A. in an anther
B. in the ovary
C. in the stigma
D. in the style
9. Ovules are
A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains
10. In double fertilization the first sperm fertilizes the egg and the second
A. dies
B. is only used if the first sperm cell dies
C. fertilizes another egg
D. fertilizes a haploid endosperm mother cell to make diploid endosperm
E. fertilizes a diploid ( n+n) endosperm mother cell to make triploid endosperm
11. What is the function of fruit?
12. Microspores become
A. the embryo sac
B. the mature male gametophyte
C. pollen grains
D. all of the above
E. only B and C above
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Review for lecture exam 2
Here's some questions to make those brain cells churn out the ATP!
1. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and which is more efficient?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. Yeasts do a kind of anaerobic respiration called ____________, and produce ___________ and _________ along with 2 ATP
10. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
1. How do biologists define evolution?
2. What is a population?
3. What islands were important to Charles Darwin's thinking on evolution?
4. Biogeography is how living things are distributed around the world. How was Darwin surprised by the the biogeography he observed on his trip around the world?
5. While fossils support the theory of evolution, we can't rely on the fossil record ever being complete. Why?
6. How does the existence of fossils support the theory of evolution?
7. How did LaMarck explain inheritance?
8. What was the hypothesis of catastrophism?
9. While the theory of evolution does not indicate humans came from chimps, it does indicate a _________________________ between chimps and humans.
10. Upon what observations did Darwin base his theory of evolution by natural selection?
11. How can speciation happen?
12. What mechanisms drive evolution?
Genetic Engineering
1. What are restriction enzymes?
2. What kind of cells have restriction enzymes, and what is the purpose of these enzymes in the cell?
3. What is a plasmid?
4. How are plasmids used in genetic engineering?
5. Why does human DNA work in a bacterial cell?
6. What is gene therapy?
1. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and which is more efficient?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. Yeasts do a kind of anaerobic respiration called ____________, and produce ___________ and _________ along with 2 ATP
10. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
1. How do biologists define evolution?
2. What is a population?
3. What islands were important to Charles Darwin's thinking on evolution?
4. Biogeography is how living things are distributed around the world. How was Darwin surprised by the the biogeography he observed on his trip around the world?
5. While fossils support the theory of evolution, we can't rely on the fossil record ever being complete. Why?
6. How does the existence of fossils support the theory of evolution?
7. How did LaMarck explain inheritance?
8. What was the hypothesis of catastrophism?
9. While the theory of evolution does not indicate humans came from chimps, it does indicate a _________________________ between chimps and humans.
10. Upon what observations did Darwin base his theory of evolution by natural selection?
11. How can speciation happen?
12. What mechanisms drive evolution?
Genetic Engineering
1. What are restriction enzymes?
2. What kind of cells have restriction enzymes, and what is the purpose of these enzymes in the cell?
3. What is a plasmid?
4. How are plasmids used in genetic engineering?
5. Why does human DNA work in a bacterial cell?
6. What is gene therapy?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
DNA, Mitosis and Meiosis Review Quetions
Mitosis and Meiosis Review
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
DNA Review Questions
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complemetary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon?
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
DNA Review Questions
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complemetary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon?
Summer 2011 review exam 1
Here are some review questions for you. Some may be similar to the daily review questions, but all will help you while you prepare for the exam.
1. A cell must maintain an imbalance of sodium ions on either side of the membrane for it to function. What process would it most likely use of the ones we discussed in class?
2. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
3. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
4. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy leve. Will this atom react?
5. How are ions formed?
6. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
7. What determines if an atom with react with another?
8. A plant cell in a hypertonic solution will under go _____________
9. An animal cell in a hypotonic solution may undergo _____________
10. A Paramecium can survive in fresh water without bursting. Why?
11. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
12. Why do we think the mitochondria was once an independent organism?
13. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
14. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
15. How is active transport different from diffusion and osmosis?
16. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
17. What affect would a hypertonic solution have on a cell?
18.How is a hypothesis different from a theory?
19.What are five characteristics of living things?
20.How are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
21.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
22.How are archeae different from the bacteria living on your skin?
23.Describe briefly what organelles would be involved in making a protein and exporting it from the cell.
24.Give an example of two cell organelles working together to accomplish a task.
25.What organelle is found on the ER?
26.What is the function of lysosomes?
27.Where is the nucleolus, and what is its function?
28.What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
Chapter 3
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. At what level of complexity do proteins usually become functional?
5. What makes up a nucleotide?
6. What bond forms between amino acids as they react to form proteins?
7. How is the function of carbohydrates different in plants and animals?
8. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
9. What is the most common steroid in the body?
1. A cell must maintain an imbalance of sodium ions on either side of the membrane for it to function. What process would it most likely use of the ones we discussed in class?
2. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
3. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
4. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy leve. Will this atom react?
5. How are ions formed?
6. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
7. What determines if an atom with react with another?
8. A plant cell in a hypertonic solution will under go _____________
9. An animal cell in a hypotonic solution may undergo _____________
10. A Paramecium can survive in fresh water without bursting. Why?
11. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
12. Why do we think the mitochondria was once an independent organism?
13. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
14. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
15. How is active transport different from diffusion and osmosis?
16. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
17. What affect would a hypertonic solution have on a cell?
18.How is a hypothesis different from a theory?
19.What are five characteristics of living things?
20.How are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
21.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
22.How are archeae different from the bacteria living on your skin?
23.Describe briefly what organelles would be involved in making a protein and exporting it from the cell.
24.Give an example of two cell organelles working together to accomplish a task.
25.What organelle is found on the ER?
26.What is the function of lysosomes?
27.Where is the nucleolus, and what is its function?
28.What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
Chapter 3
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. At what level of complexity do proteins usually become functional?
5. What makes up a nucleotide?
6. What bond forms between amino acids as they react to form proteins?
7. How is the function of carbohydrates different in plants and animals?
8. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
9. What is the most common steroid in the body?
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Green Sea Turtles
I've just come back from Maui where I had the chance to snorkel with and photograph green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). They are called green turtles because a layer of fat just under their shell is green.
They nest on sandy beaches and may feed miles and miles away from the nesting areas. These turtles are endangered in part due to loss of their nesting areas to coastal development. Turtles are also caught in fishing nets and drowned. While they can hold their breath for long periods of time, as reptiles they do need to breathe air.
These turtles as adults eat algae and sea grasses. Adult turtles are preyed upon in Hawaii most commonly by the tiger sharks. I did see a turtle with what looked like teeth marks on the back of its shell.
After feeding the turtles often found a place under rocks or coral to rest.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Botany Review for the final exam
Here's some questions to make those brain cells churn out the ATP!
1. What occurs during glycolysis?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
Plant Growth
1. Growth toward the light is called a positive ________
2. What are some common environmental cues to which plants respond?
3. Which hormome is involved in plants dropping leaves and ripening of fruit?
4. Which hormone can cause "foolish seedling disease"?
5. What function do the cytokinins play in plant development?
6. What is apical dominance and what hormone causes this?
7. Shoots grow up, and roots tend to grow down even in the dark. What kind of tropism is at work here?
Genetics
1. Which of Mendel's laws addresses homologous chromosomes separating from each other during meiosis?
2. What word (or phrase) describes each of the following genotypes? TT Tt tt
3. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
4. In pea plants purple flower color (P) is dominant to white (p). If a plant heterozygous for purple flowers is crossed with a plant with white flowers, what proportion of the offspring will have white flowers?
5. In one species of flowering plants there is some diversity in flower color. Some plants have blue flowers, some have red, and others have purple flowers. What type of inheritance do you suspect controls this trait, and why?
6. Describe Mendel's law of independent assortment.
7. Allele pairs are found on ___________________ chromosomes.
8. In peas, tall plants (T) are dominant to short plants (t), and yellow seeds(Y) are dominant to green (y) seeds. Two plants heterozygous for both traits are crossed. What proportion should be tall plants with green seeds?
9. In one species of plant The flowers can be blue or red. When two blue flowering plants are crossed, the offspring are always blue. When a red and blue flowering plant are crossed, sometimes all red are produced, and other times both red and blue flowering plants are produced. When two red flowering plants are crossed, sometimes the offspring are all red, and other times both red flower and blue flowering plants are made. Which color is dominant?
1. What occurs during glycolysis?
2. What are NAD+ and FAD used for?
3. What are the three steps in aerobic respiration, and where does each occur?
4. During which step of cellular respiration is the most ATP made?
5. During aerobic respiration, how many ATPs are made from one molecule of glucose in most cells?
6. What is the role of oxygen in aerobic respiration?
7. Describe how the ATP is made during chemiosmosis
8. What is produced by your muscle cells if there is not enough oxygen available at the end of glycolysis for aerobic respiration to continue?
9. What are the important end products of the Citric Acid Cycle, and what happens to each of these products?
Here are the photosynthesis questions for review:
1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?
2. How is oxygen released during photosynthesis?
3. Why is water needed in photosynthesis?
4. What are the products of the light dependent reactions?
5. What is made in the light independent reactions?
6. What is the role of RUBP in photosynthesis?
7. What kind of plants use PEP and what advantage does it give them?
8. How are CAM plants different from others in the way they do photosynthesis?
9. What kind of organisms can do photosynthesis?
10. Where inside the chloroplast do the light dependent reactions happen?
Plant Growth
1. Growth toward the light is called a positive ________
2. What are some common environmental cues to which plants respond?
3. Which hormome is involved in plants dropping leaves and ripening of fruit?
4. Which hormone can cause "foolish seedling disease"?
5. What function do the cytokinins play in plant development?
6. What is apical dominance and what hormone causes this?
7. Shoots grow up, and roots tend to grow down even in the dark. What kind of tropism is at work here?
Genetics
1. Which of Mendel's laws addresses homologous chromosomes separating from each other during meiosis?
2. What word (or phrase) describes each of the following genotypes? TT Tt tt
3. What is the difference between genotype and phenotype?
4. In pea plants purple flower color (P) is dominant to white (p). If a plant heterozygous for purple flowers is crossed with a plant with white flowers, what proportion of the offspring will have white flowers?
5. In one species of flowering plants there is some diversity in flower color. Some plants have blue flowers, some have red, and others have purple flowers. What type of inheritance do you suspect controls this trait, and why?
6. Describe Mendel's law of independent assortment.
7. Allele pairs are found on ___________________ chromosomes.
8. In peas, tall plants (T) are dominant to short plants (t), and yellow seeds(Y) are dominant to green (y) seeds. Two plants heterozygous for both traits are crossed. What proportion should be tall plants with green seeds?
9. In one species of plant The flowers can be blue or red. When two blue flowering plants are crossed, the offspring are always blue. When a red and blue flowering plant are crossed, sometimes all red are produced, and other times both red and blue flowering plants are produced. When two red flowering plants are crossed, sometimes the offspring are all red, and other times both red flower and blue flowering plants are made. Which color is dominant?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Botany Review Questions for the 3rd Exam
Evolution:
1. How do biologists define evolution?
2. What is a population?
3. What islands were important to Charles Darwin's thinking on evolution?
4. Biogeography is how living things are distributed around the world. How was Darwin surprised by the the biogeography he observed on his trip around the world?
5. While fossils support the theory of evolution, we can't rely on the fossil record ever being complete. Why?
6. How does the existence of fossils support the theory of evolution?
7. How did LaMarck explain inheritance?
8. What was the hypothesis of catastrophism?
9. While the theory of evolution does not indicate humans came from chimps, it does indicate a _________________________ between chimps and humans.
10. Upon what observations did Darwin base his theory of evolution by natural selection?
11. What is adaptive radiation, and give an example of adaptive radiation in plants.
12. How has evidence from molecular biology supported the theory of evolution?
13. What is sympatric speciation, and how is it different from allopatric speciation?
Fungi Questions
1. How are fungi classified?
2. What role do fungi play typically in their habitat?
3. How are fungi different from plants?
4. How do fungi feed?
5. What does heterokaryotic mean?
6. How do fungi spread out in their habitat?
7. The body of a fungus is a thread like structure called a ____
8. A mass of the answer in question 7 is call a ____
9. A lichen is made of a ____ and a ____. What is the ecological role of lichens?
Land Plants, Mosses and Ferns
1. Liverworts and mosses both have a dominant ________ generation
2. What are three ways plants are adapted to life on land?
3. What organisms are believed to be the ancestors of land plants?
4. Sporophytes do what kind of cell division to make spores?
5. Are gametophytes are haploid or diploid?
6. Why are most mosses small?
7. What do ferns have that is missing in mosses and liverworts?
8. Why are horsetails also called scouring rushes?
9. The dominannt generation in the ferns is the ____ generation
10. Under the leaves one can find ____ in ferns
Gymnosperms
1. What advancement is seen in the gymnosperms compared to the ferns?
2. How are Gingkos and cycads different from conifers?
3. What is in a male cone? What is in a female cone?
4. How are confirs adapted to cold dry climates?
5. What does it mean if a plant is monecious?
6. Ephedra belongs to what division of plants?
7. What is the male gametophyte in the conifers?
Angiosperms
1. What is the function of these parts of the flower?
petals
sepals
anther
ovary
stigma
style
2. Other than the flower, what other advantage do the flowering plants have over the gymnosperms?
3. What is the function of fruit?
4. How is an imperfect flower different from a perfect flower? How is a complete flower different from an incomplete flower?
1. How do biologists define evolution?
2. What is a population?
3. What islands were important to Charles Darwin's thinking on evolution?
4. Biogeography is how living things are distributed around the world. How was Darwin surprised by the the biogeography he observed on his trip around the world?
5. While fossils support the theory of evolution, we can't rely on the fossil record ever being complete. Why?
6. How does the existence of fossils support the theory of evolution?
7. How did LaMarck explain inheritance?
8. What was the hypothesis of catastrophism?
9. While the theory of evolution does not indicate humans came from chimps, it does indicate a _________________________ between chimps and humans.
10. Upon what observations did Darwin base his theory of evolution by natural selection?
11. What is adaptive radiation, and give an example of adaptive radiation in plants.
12. How has evidence from molecular biology supported the theory of evolution?
13. What is sympatric speciation, and how is it different from allopatric speciation?
Fungi Questions
1. How are fungi classified?
2. What role do fungi play typically in their habitat?
3. How are fungi different from plants?
4. How do fungi feed?
5. What does heterokaryotic mean?
6. How do fungi spread out in their habitat?
7. The body of a fungus is a thread like structure called a ____
8. A mass of the answer in question 7 is call a ____
9. A lichen is made of a ____ and a ____. What is the ecological role of lichens?
Land Plants, Mosses and Ferns
1. Liverworts and mosses both have a dominant ________ generation
2. What are three ways plants are adapted to life on land?
3. What organisms are believed to be the ancestors of land plants?
4. Sporophytes do what kind of cell division to make spores?
5. Are gametophytes are haploid or diploid?
6. Why are most mosses small?
7. What do ferns have that is missing in mosses and liverworts?
8. Why are horsetails also called scouring rushes?
9. The dominannt generation in the ferns is the ____ generation
10. Under the leaves one can find ____ in ferns
Gymnosperms
1. What advancement is seen in the gymnosperms compared to the ferns?
2. How are Gingkos and cycads different from conifers?
3. What is in a male cone? What is in a female cone?
4. How are confirs adapted to cold dry climates?
5. What does it mean if a plant is monecious?
6. Ephedra belongs to what division of plants?
7. What is the male gametophyte in the conifers?
Angiosperms
1. What is the function of these parts of the flower?
petals
sepals
anther
ovary
stigma
style
2. Other than the flower, what other advantage do the flowering plants have over the gymnosperms?
3. What is the function of fruit?
4. How is an imperfect flower different from a perfect flower? How is a complete flower different from an incomplete flower?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wildflower hotline up and running
The Theodore Payne Foundation's weekly postings of where, and which wildflowers are blooming is up and running. Click here to go to the hotline webpage.
I am hopeful this will be a good year for a wildflower bloom.
I am hopeful this will be a good year for a wildflower bloom.
Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve 2010
Sand Verbena and Desert Sunflower, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park 2010
Datura, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, 2010
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
DNA and Mitosis Meiosis, Plant Anatomy and Morphology reveiw questions
Mitosis and Meiosis Review
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
DNA Review Questions
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complemetary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon?
Plant Anatomy:
1. Pick one of the ground tissues we discussed such as parenchyma or sclerenchyma, and explain how its structure and function are related.
2. What are the two types of vascular tissue in plants, and what is the function of each?
3. How is the anatomy of a monocot root, or stem or leaf different from that of a dicot?
4. What is the role of the epidermis? In woody plants the epidermis is replaced by the _______ ?
5.What are the regions called in plants where mitosis occurs to make the plant taller?
6. What is the name of the openings in the epidermis and what is the function of these openings?
7. In a dicot leaf, why is the lower layer of mesophyll more open than the upper layer?
8. What part of the root actually absorbs the water?
9. What is the difference between spring and summer wood?
10. How are compound and simple leaves different?
11. What is the function of the following stem modifications: tuber, bulb, corm, rhizome, stolon, tendril
12. What are five modifications of stems or leaves that might be found in a plant adapted to hot dry conditions?
13. Why are some plant's leaves modified to trap insects?
14. What is the role of the endodermis in the root?
15. What is the function of the pericycle?
1. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does mitosis, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
2. If a cell has 8 chromosomes and does meiosis to make sperm cells, how many cells will be made, and how many chromosomes will each cell have?
3. Mitosis creates cells which are ________, while meiosis makes cells which are _____.
4. What are homologous chromosomes?
5. What are sister chromatids?
6. What is crossing over, and during which process, (mitosis or meiosis) does it occur?
7. Why is crossing over important?
8. During __________ of mitosis sister chromatids separate.
9. During _________ of meiosis homologous pairs of chromosomes separate, but during ____________ of meiosis sister chromatids separate.
10. In meiosis, typically four sperm cells are made, but meiosis only makes one large egg cell. Why?
DNA Review Questions
1. Describe the structure of the DNA molecule
2. If the sequence of bases on one stand of the molecule is AAC TGC CCG, what is the sequence on the complemetary strand?
3. During DNA replication, what enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs, and what enzyme matches up nucleotides to the existing ones on the parent strand of DNA?
4. Why is this type of replication called Semi Conservative?
5. How is RNA different from DNA?
6. The production of messenger RNA from DNA is called ________, and this happens in the __________ of the cell.
7. The parts of the mRNA molecules which are edited out before RNA reaches the cytoplasm are called __________
8. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?
9. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
10. The function of transfer RNA is ?
11. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
12. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?
13. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?
14. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
15. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
16. What is a stop codon?
Plant Anatomy:
1. Pick one of the ground tissues we discussed such as parenchyma or sclerenchyma, and explain how its structure and function are related.
2. What are the two types of vascular tissue in plants, and what is the function of each?
3. How is the anatomy of a monocot root, or stem or leaf different from that of a dicot?
4. What is the role of the epidermis? In woody plants the epidermis is replaced by the _______ ?
5.What are the regions called in plants where mitosis occurs to make the plant taller?
6. What is the name of the openings in the epidermis and what is the function of these openings?
7. In a dicot leaf, why is the lower layer of mesophyll more open than the upper layer?
8. What part of the root actually absorbs the water?
9. What is the difference between spring and summer wood?
10. How are compound and simple leaves different?
11. What is the function of the following stem modifications: tuber, bulb, corm, rhizome, stolon, tendril
12. What are five modifications of stems or leaves that might be found in a plant adapted to hot dry conditions?
13. Why are some plant's leaves modified to trap insects?
14. What is the role of the endodermis in the root?
15. What is the function of the pericycle?
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Botany review exam 1
Here are a host of review questions for you to prepare for the first exam
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. What are the major functions of carbohydrates in plant cells?
5. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
6. What are the building blocks or subunits of proteins?
7. What kind of fatty acids are usually made in plant cells?
Here's some more questions for you to answer !
1. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
2. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
3. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy leve. Will this atom react?
4. How are ions formed?
5. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
6. What determines if an atom with react with another?
Plant Cells, and how substances get into and out of cells
1. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
2. Why do we think the mitochondria and chloroplasts were once independent organisms?
3. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
4. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
5. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
6. What affect would a 10% salt solution have on a plant cell?
7. Describe how a protein would get out of a plant cell.
8. What are the channels from one cell to another called?
9. How do plants use the central water vacuole?
10. are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
11.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
12.What organelle is found on the ER?
13.Where is the nucleolus?
14What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
1. What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?
2. What is the difference between a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid?
3. Why is the shape of an enzyme important to the function of the enzyme?
4. What are the major functions of carbohydrates in plant cells?
5. Which of the macromolecules we discussed stores energy in the most efficient way?
6. What are the building blocks or subunits of proteins?
7. What kind of fatty acids are usually made in plant cells?
Here's some more questions for you to answer !
1. How are polar and non polar covalent bonds different?
2. What is a hydrogen bond, and why are these bonds important to life?
3. Oxygen has 8 electrons, with 6 in the outermost energy leve. Will this atom react?
4. How are ions formed?
5. A solution with a pH of 5 is how many times more acidic than a solution with a pH of 7?
6. What determines if an atom with react with another?
Plant Cells, and how substances get into and out of cells
1. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?
2. Why do we think the mitochondria and chloroplasts were once independent organisms?
3. Describe the plasma membrane. Include how a lipid membrane functions in a watery environment.
4. What role do the proteins in the plasma membrane play?
5. How is dialysis different from osmosis?
6. What affect would a 10% salt solution have on a plant cell?
7. Describe how a protein would get out of a plant cell.
8. What are the channels from one cell to another called?
9. How do plants use the central water vacuole?
10. are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?
11.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?
12.What organelle is found on the ER?
13.Where is the nucleolus?
14What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Bison in winter
Bison move to the lower elevations of the park in the winter to feed. They use their huge heads to shovel the snow and ice out of the way, and feed on dead grasses.
If the winter is very harsh they will continue to move to lower elevations which take them out of the park where they are hunted, or rounded up and killed because they have been exposed to a disease called brucellosis. This bacterial disease causes bison and cattle to abort calves, and can be transmitted if an animal eats grass near where another has given birth. Local ranchers are concerned that the bison could spread the disease to their cattle. Ironic since cattle gave the disease to bison in the first place.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wolves
These wolf tracks were in the snow by the side of the road that traverses the Lamar Valley. This is the only road open to cars in the park during the winter. Down the road to the east we came across the male wolf below at a kill made the night before.
90% of the time when wolves are present so are ravens. Ravens can't open the body of an elk or other large mammal by themselves, but the wolves can. Ravens have been seen playing with wolf pups as they emerge from their dens in the spring. Ravens also play with adult wolves as well as the pups. Wolves don't kill ravens, but they will kill other birds and animals that approach their kills.
There is a hypothesis that ravens may even lead wolves to weak prey as they fly back and forth from the prey to the wolf pack they may be guiding wolves to specific animals the ravens have picked out as being slow, weak or ill.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
More Yellowstone in Winter
There is alot more snow in the Lamar Valley this winter than last. All this snow makes it more difficult for the animals to more around, and some like wolves, bison and coyotes learn using the road makes traveling easier when they want to move along the valley.
This coyote was headed up a hillside near the road, and broke through the icy crust on the snow.
This coyote headed toward the road. I saw it in my side view mirror, so I stopped the car and waited.
It continued up the road right past the car.
This mule deer had been killed either by a mountain lion or wolves. When I saw it magpies, ravens and this coyote were scavenging the remains. Wolf kills end up feeding lots of other animals.
Winter in Yellowstone
The red fox in the foreground was hunting mice and other rodents in the snow, and did not notice the coyotes approaching it. Like wolves will kill coyotes, coyotes will kill foxes.
Once it did see the coyotes, the fox took off running toward the road with the coyotes in pursuit.
The coyotes became distracted by their own rodent hunting when they reached the area where the fox had been hunting, and the fox was able to evade them. This fox is a color variation on typical foxes and is referred to as a "black morph."
This is the typical color of the red fox. We had four days of "three dog days" in Yellowstone during which we saw wolves, coyotes and foxes.
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