Biology Final Exam Review

Final exam schedule:

Section A- 8 to10 am on Thursday May 2

Section B- 1 to 3 pm on Thursday May 2

For the cumulative portion of the exam I will take questions from the previous exams. However, some cumulative questions will ask you to incorporate your knowledge over the entire course into thought provoking questions. If you truly understand the answers to the previous exam questions this will not be a problem. Think about the connections from previous topics to more recent topics in class. For example the fossils and biodiversity labs likely gave you more insight into how organism evolve from such simple forms to more advanced forms. Also thermodynamics (remember that?) has implications in food chain dynamics in communities and also in current environmental issues like energy conservation.

Attention!!- There will be a set of questions on this exam that will involve looking at specimens and answering some question about them. This will be most relevant to the fossil and biodiversity labs. Could you for example tell me what type of fossil a specimen is? Or to what kingdom a specimen belongs? These will be multiple choice questions.

Fossils- There are several types of fossils based on the way in which they are formed (cast, mold, imprint, permineralization, or unaltered) Be familiar with the basic processes for each. Understand that fossils are usually altered from an organic form into inorganic rock. What is the difference between a body fossil and a trace fossil? What are coprolites? If you were given a set of plant groups could you give me the proper sequence of the evolutionary past from most primitive to most advanced? What period of time did plants first invade land? What are some modern (living) examples of transitional animals that show features of two different groups of animals? In what way are fossils biases? Why don’t we find many fossilized worm like creatures? Is the evidence that such creatures existed? If the odds that any given organism will become fossilized are so low why are fossils so common? Portions of chapter 15 in your text are well worth a review for this subject (sections 3 and 4).

Biodiversity- Review the biodiversity worksheet. Know the answers and the terms used. Be familiar with the key characteristics of each of the 5 kingdoms of life that separate them from the other groups. What is the hierarchal classification sequence from Domain to Species? Why are nitrogen fixing bacteria important to most life on this planet (this is a good connection question applying previous class knowledge)? What are hyphea? What group has them? What does “alteration of generation” regard? What are the sporophyte and gametophyte? Could you complete a generic life cycle (where does meiosis occur? where does mitosis occur, fertilization? Which would be the sporophyte or gametophyte?). What is the most abundant group of animals? The Niles Eldredge reading also gives some interesting information on certain groups of living organisms. Be sure to read this article. Much of this information is covered in chapter 16 of your text (you may want to review the questions at the end of this chapter).

Pollination- Sections 8-13 of chapter 17 of your text touch on this topic. Could you draw a generic flower with the structures listed on your pollinations worksheet? Speaking of- you want to understand the answers to this worksheet (I can guarantee that you will see questions 8, 22, and 23 (notice these questions incorporate other class subjects!). Focus on the adaptability of flowers- why some are showy and others are not reflects the strategy of pollination they use (i.e. bird vs. wind pollination). Could you hypothesize what a flower might look like given characteristics of the pollinator?

Populations and Community Ecology- Much of this subject is covered in chapter 27 (sections 1-3) and 28 of your text. What are the three models of population growth and what would graphs of each look like. Which is the most realistic? What assumptions does each make? What exists in density dependent growth that does not exists in density independent growth? (I’ll give you a hint on this one- It’s a key feature of evolution by natural selection). What are the advantages and disadvantages to an R-Strategy of population growth versus a K-strategy of population growth? What characteristic exists in these two groups of organisms (See the table in the handout). What is a limiting factor? Ecological niche? What differs between intraspecific and interspecific competition? Give some examples of types of species interactions. What is the principle of tolerance limits? Competitive exclusion principle? What is a keystone species and give examples (the video we watched would help here). Describe ways in which species are able to live together in spite of competition. Why are moderate levels of disturbances good for a community? What is succession and what differs between primary and secondary succession.

In chapter 29 read the first section dealing with food webs and transfer of energy through the tropic levels (discussed during our campus nature walk). What is the 10% rule (or law)? Also what is biological magnification? Are pesticides used at very low concentrations a problem, when considering this magnification process?

Finally- look over the sheet I’ll be giving you this week that provides suggestions for helping the environment. Most make commons sense but you might see questions dealing with these on the exam as well. Niles Eldredge’s article also touches on some of these ideas.

Group presentations-

I will also ask some question that relate to the group presentation. Nothing too big; but be familiar with the main points of each topic. Below are some sections in your book that might help you. Though be aware topics varied for each section, some of you may not find them relevant for your class section.

Chapter 12 discusses cloning and other forms of biotechnology (cloning is discussed in the later half of the chapter)

Portions of Chapter 29 also discuss global warming.

Mimicry in butterflies is discussed in chapter 28 (see page 615 for photo).

Hydrothermal vents are discussed in chapter 30 pages 679-680.