Professor Boardman's Bioblog: 2015

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

BOTANY 120 Final Exam Review

This is the Botany 120 review for the final lecture exam.

Bio 120 students, your review is one post down.
Mosses, Ferns, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

1. Which of the following is found in gymnosperms, and which is found in angiosperms?
A. seeds
B. pollen
C. Vessel cells in xylem
D. tracheid cells in xylem

2. 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

3. Ovules are
A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains

4. 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

5. 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

6. Liverworts and mosses both have a dominant ________ generation

7. What are three ways plants are adapted to life on land?

8. What organisms are believed to be the ancestors of land plants?

9. Sporophytes do what kind of cell division to make spores?

10. Are gametophytes are haploid or diploid?

11. Why are most mosses small?

12. What do ferns have that is missing in mosses and liverworts?

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 conifers 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?

Cell Respiration
Here's some questions to make those brain cells churn out the ATP!

1. Why do plants do aerobic respiration?

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 yeast cells during fermentation?

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?

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?

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 plants developed to survive in 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?

8. Grasslands have fertile soil, and a wet humid time of the year. Why don't they turn into forests?

9. What do all deserts have in common?

10. In a tropical broad leaf forest, it often rains every afternoon. What do plants in this biome compete for? How are they adapted to compete for this resource?

11. What important role does fire play in a grassland biome?

Monday, May 11, 2015

Bio 120 Final Review

Echinoderms and Chordates

1. To which group of mammals do you belong, and how are you different from a monotreme?
2. Birds are part of the reptile clade, yet they are highly modified for flight. What are 3 adaptations they have to facilitate flight?
3. What makes a bird a bird?
4. How are reptiles better adapted for land than the amphibians?
5. Why do amphibians need to keep their skin moist?
6. Bony fish have some characteristics that the cartilaginous fish lack. What are these features and how are they a benefit to the bony fish?
7. What is present in the fins of the lobed finned fish?
8. How is a marsupial different from a monotreme?
9. What marsupial is found in the US?
10 Which group of chordates have the chordate characteristics as larvae, but retain the pharyngeal slits as adults?
11. How are the Echinoderms different from the other invertebrate animals?
12. What do the Echinoderms use for movement?
13. What is the symmetry of animals in Phylum Echinodermata both as a larva and adult?
14. What are the characteristics of your Phylum?
15. Why are tunicates in our Phylum?

Genetics and Population Ecology and Interactions Review:

1. Define resource partitioning and give an example of it.

2. How is logistic growth different from exponential growth?
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. Define and give examples of the following: Mutualism, Commensalism, social parasite.

6. What are common strategies predators use to capture prey, and common defenses found in prey?

7. Draw a food web that could occur in your backyard or here at Cerritos. Include all the trophic levels we discussed in class.

8. Why are there fewer members of the upper trophic levels as compared with primary consumers or the producers?

9. What is carrying capacity?

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. 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. What does Mendel's law of independent assortment describe?

11. In a species of plant, there are individuals with red flowers and individuals with blue flowers. When plants with blue flowers are crossed with other blue flowering plants, only plants with blue flowers are produced. When Blue is crossed with red, sometimes only red flowering plants are produced, and other times both blue and red flowering plants are produced. When red plants are crossed with red, sometimes only red flowering plants are produced, and other times both blue and red flowering plants are produced. What color is dominant?

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?

8. Grasslands have fertile soil, and a wet humid time of the year. Why don't they turn into forests?

9. What do all deserts have in common?

10. In a tropical broad leaf forest, it often rains every afternoon. What do plants in this biome compete for? How are they adapted to compete for this resource?

11. What important role does fire play in a grassland biome?

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Bio 120 Exam 3 Review Photosynthesis, Cell Respiration, Evolution and Animals up to and including Arthropods

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration (Chapter 4) Review:

1. Which colors of light are most strongly absorbed by chlorophyll?

2. Where does the oxygen released during photosynthesis come from?

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?

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?

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 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. Other than the fossil record, what evidence exists to support the theory of evolution?

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?

14. How can adaptive radiation happen?

15. What mechanisms of evolution are random?

16. What is the RNA World hypothesis?

17. Why is the Urey-Miller experiment important?

Animal Diversity Review

1. What two unique tissues do animals have?
2. Cnidarians all have _______symmetry and have an _______ digestive system.
3. Coral animals enter into a partnership with algae. Why is this important to the coral?
4. Flat worms have _____ symmetry and have an _______ digestive system
5. Tapeworms, and flukes are _____ worms that have a _______ lifestyle

6. Which of the following can you get from eating rare pork.
A. Hookworm
B. Ascaris worm
C. Trichina worm
D. Whipworm

7. Which of the following can you get from walking barefoot on contaminated soil?
A. Hookworm
B. Ascaris worm
C. Trichina worm
D. Whipworm

8. What kind of animal are you?
A. acoelomate
B. pseudocoelomate
C. coelomate

9. During early development of an animal the first opening that forms becomes its mouth. This animal is
A. a protostome
B. a deuterostome
C. an endotherm
D. a bird

10. Jellyfish have a body form called a _______ .
11. How are the three groups of worms we have discussed different?
12. What characteristics do all Mollusks share?
13. What features of the Arthropods contribute to this group being the most successful group of animals?
14. What do all Arthropods share in common?
15. How are the Echinoderms different from the other invertebrate animals?

Monday, April 6, 2015

Litter: From Street to the Ocean

Litter on the street makes it way to our ocean and wetlands. It is not treated along the way. It just pollutes. Don't throw trash on the street! Take a look at the LA Times article here

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Botany Review for Exam 3 Plant Physiology, Evolution, Prokaryotes, Fungi, Algae

Plant Physiology

1. Which vascular tissue move water and which moves food in the plant body and how are these tissues different?
2. What forces are involved in the movement of water?
3. What is the role of the endodermis in the movement of water into the vascular cylinder?
4. What is the driving force of water movement into the leaves of a plant?
5. Food in plants moves from a ___________ to a ____________ .
6. Which process, water movement or translocation of food requires ATP?
7. What kind of cells in the phloem participates in the actual movement of the dissolved sugars?
8. Describe how dissolved sugar moves through the phloem.

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. What are vestigial structures?
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?

Bacteria

1. What is the name of the bacteria that do photosynthesis,and what can they do in addition to photosynthesis?
2. In what major way are bacterial cells different from plant cells?
3. Describe how bacterial cells can reproduce.
4. What is in the cell walls of bacteria?
5. What is a capsule used for?
6. What are the three basic shapes of bacteria?
7. What roles do bacteria play in the ecosystem where they are found?
8. How are Archea different from bacteria?
9. Some bacteria live in the roots of plants. What are they doing there?
10. What is a plasmid?

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?

Algae and other Protists

1. Why are algae different colors?
2. Which type of algae is most related to land plants?
3. How are diatoms different from other algae?
4. What are dinoflagelates and why are they important?
5. What are two economic use of algae?
6. What role do most algae play in their ecosystems?
7. How are the large brown algae we call kelp or seaweed adapted to life in the ocean?
8. Why is Euglena not considered a plant?
9. How are cellular and plasmodial slime molds different?
10. What plant diseases can be caused by water molds?
11. Give an example of a colonial algae. What does it mean to be colonial?

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

I mentioned this animal in class when we were discussing photosynthesis.

This beautiful green leafy organism is actually a sea slug. The sea slug Elysia chlorotica consumes chloroplasts when it eats the algae Vaucheria litorea. The slug feeds on the algae, but the chloroplasts are retained in the cells of the gut. The gut in this sea slug is highly branched and the chloroplasts give it the green color. The chloroplasts in the tissue of the animal's gut continue to function in the animals without an algal cell being present. The slug lives about 10 months and can survive off the food made by the chloroplasts.

The green color also provides great camouflage. While the animal has to eat an algae to get the chloroplasts, it is intriguing that the chloroplasts can continue to function without any algal cells present as genes in the nucleus of the algae are needed for photosynthesis to occur. So where are the genes to support photosynthesis? In the nucleus of the sea slug cells! The slug gets the genes from the algae, it does not have them until the animal feeds on the algae.

Interested in looking into this gene transfer further? Click here to read a paper by Mary E. Rumpho et al. on horizontal gene transfer between the algae and the slug.

Photosynthesis from Space

When the chloroplasts in the leaves of plants absorb sunlight, some of the light is released from the leaves in a phenomenon called fluorescence. The light that is released is too dim for our eyes to see it, but it can be seen from satellites in space. Take a look. Click here to watch a short video of this fluorescence

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Bio 120 review for Exam 2

DNA and Genetic Engineering 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. mRNA gets a cap and a tail prior to being read by the ribosome. What is the function of the cap and tail?

8. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?

9. The function of transfer RNA is ?

10. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?

11. If the sequence of DNA is the same in your body cells, why are all cells not the same?

12. The DNA in you, an earthworm, and a fungus is the same. So why are you a human and not an earthworm?

13. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?

14. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________

15. 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?

Plant Diversity

1. Which of the following is found in gymnosperms, and which is found in angiosperms?

A. seeds
B. pollen
C. Vessel cells in xylem
D. tracheid cells in xylem

2. What is the function of the anther in the flower?

3. 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

4. Ovules are

A. eggs
B. spores that will become pollen
C. spores that will become eggs
D. immature seeds
E. pollen grains

5. 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

6. What is the function of fruit?

7. Microspores become
A. the embryo sac
B. the mature male gametophyte
C. pollen grains
D. eggs
E. only B and C above

8. What is the oldest plant on Earth, and what is the most massive

9. How are confiers adapted to life in cold dry climates?

10. What is missing in moss that is present in ferns?
A. swimming sperm
B. seeds
C. pollen
D. vascular tissue
E. ovules

11. Why are flowering plants so much more diverse than the gymnosperms?

12. What do ferns and mosses share in common?
A. seeds
B. swimming sperm
C. pollen
D. vascular tissue
E. dominant sporophyte generation

13. During a plant's life cycle the _______ generation is diploid and makes spores
A. sporophyte
B. gametophyte
C. sori
D. sporangia
E. photosynthetic

Fungi
1. A lichen is made of a ____ and a ____. What is the ecological role of lichens?
2. What role do fungi play typically in their habitat?
3. How are fungi different from plants?
4. How do fungi feed?
5. How do fungi spread out in their habitat?
6. The body of a fungus is a thread like structure called a ____
6. A mass of the answer in question 6 is call a ____

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Botany 120 Review for exam 2

Movement of Water in the plant.
1. Describe the path a water molecule would take to enter the root, move into the xylem and up the stem of a plant and out a stoma in the leaf.
2. How is xylem different from phloem?
3. What forces are involved in the movement of water up a plant?
4. What determines if stomata are open or closed?

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?

DNA
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. If the DNA strand being copied had this sequence: ACT GGC ATA CTA what would the sequence of the mRNA be?
8. The function of transfer RNA is ?
9. What is the name of the enzyme that produces RNA from DNA?
10. What is an anti-codon and where is it found?
11. The protein synthesis process that occurs at the ribosome is called _____________
12. What is a stop codon?

Mitosis and Meiosis
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. Mitosis creates cells which are ________.
3. What are sister chromatids?
4. When mitosis is over, how does a plant cell divide up the cytoplasm?
5. Describe what happens in anaphase.
6. What are spindle fibers?
7. How can you tell a plant cell is in prophase?
8. During what part of the cell cycle is DNA replicated?
9. If a plant cell with a diploid number of 12 does meiosis the cells produced will have ___ chromosomes
10. What are homologous chromosomes?
11. What is crossing over and why is it important?
12. How is metaphase 1 in meiosis different from metaphase 1 in mitosis?

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Bio 120 Review for First Exam Chapters 1-3 and 13

Biology 120
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

10. What is an acid? What is a base?

Organic Molecules
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 3
1. How are the mitochondria and chloroplasts similar?

2. Why do we think 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 are prokaryotic cells different from eukaryotics cells?

6.What can cyanobacteria do that the bacteria living in your mouth do not do?

7. What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?

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?

Osmosis and Diffusion

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 _____.

Microbes
1. How are viruses different from other microbes covered in class?

2. How do viruses get into cells?

3. Eukaryotic cells reproduce using mitosis, how do prokaryotic cells reproduce?

4. What are the three common shapes of bacteria, and why is shape important?

5. How are the protists different from bacteria?

6. What is a capsule in bacterial cells?

7. How are the Archaeans different from Bacteria?

8. How do Paramecium, Amoeba, and Euglena move and feed?

Monday, February 2, 2015

Measles- One of the most contagious viral diseases

In Bio 120 we recently talked about viruses, how they enter cells and once their how they take over the cells to make copies of the virus. Click on the link below to learn more about measles, how it spreads and what it does to your body. In light of the outbreak here in Southern CA, it would be wise for you to be sure you have been vaccinated. Measles article

Thursday, January 29, 2015

BOTANY 120 Review for the first exam

Botany 120 Review for the first exam

The first exam includes the scientific method, the plant cell, chemistry of life, and processes like diffusion, dialysis and osmosis. No DNA topics will be on the first exam.

Organic Molecules made in plant cells:

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?

Basic Chemistry Concepts:

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 level. Will this atom react? How do you
know?
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?
7. What is the role of each of the sub-atomic particles?

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. How 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? Why is it important?
14. What are the functions of the Golgi bodies?
15. Make a list of all the plant cell structures we discussed and then state the function of each.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

You are a habitat

In class we have been discussing cells, and microbes recently. We've talked about what a great habitat the human body is and that most of the cells that make up our body aren't our cells at all, but are bacterial. Your face is also home to mites. Yes mites. Mites are related to spiders and scorpions. Our skin mites are very well adapted to live in our pores. Take a look at this recent post from Discover magazine to learn more. Click here to see the article from Discover

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Now is the time to plant Native Plants

Take a look at this article about Milkweed. Did you know it is the only plant where Monarch Butterflies lay their eggs? At Cerritos College we have some on the west side of the library. Maybe we will see more Monarchs this spring.

Locally I know the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach sells milkweed, and there are native plant nurseries in Claremont and San Juan Capistrano that do as well. The Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont is a great place to wander around and enjoy native plants. They have a wonderful native plant nursery. The Tree of Life Nursery on the Ortega Highway outside of San Juan Capistrano is right next to Caspers Wilderness Park which is a huge park with great hiking trails and camping.
Click here to go to the article about milkweed and Monarchs.

Professor Boardman's Bioblog