Fall semester review – AP biology Final 2020

Note: This is NOT an exhaustive review of everything that could be on the final exam. This
review attempts to cover important conversations within each unit. For a full review, consider
supplementing with your unit study guides, old unit tests (in class), and vocabulary reviews.

Unit 1 – Building blocks of life

1. Identify four properties of water that make life possible on Earth (with 75% of our planet
covered in water, and the water inside and outside the cells in our bodies). For each:
Cohesion: Cohesion is the attracting of water molecules to itself. This can help organisms
because it allows water to be moved up roots, as well as helps with evaporative cooling.
Adhesion: moves water up roots, cell membrane is hydrophilic
Evaporative Cooling: allows for animals to cool off since the water evaporated and the
high kinetic energy travels in the water, and therefore cooler water is left behind.
Universal Solvent: Allows for the minerals, to be carried throught our body (blood, ect..)-
this is because it is polar.
a) Discuss how the property helps living organisms.
b) Explain how water’s molecular structure and behavior relates to the property.

2. Biologists identify four classes of macromolecules that make up cells in any living organism.
Discuss the following topics:
Carbohydrates: glucose-ose, 1:2:1, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, monosaccharide, plants-starch-
cellulose, animals-glycogen. Glycoproteins serve as tags.
Lipids: oils, carbon hydrogen oxygen, triglyceride and fatty acid chain, many C-H bonds, cell
membrane. insulation
Nucleic Acids: DNA, nucleotide, CHONP, nitrogen base 5 carbon sugar phosphate group,
function is ATP and coding genes.
Proteins: enzymes-ase, CHONS, amino acid, amino-carboxyl and r group, enzmes strorage
transport hormones.
a) Identify examples within each class (and a common suffix for 2 of the classes)
b) Identify the atoms that make up each class (and differentiate ratios of carbs / lipids)
(basically, be able to classify an example molecule based on formula or name)
c) Identify the monomers that combine to make three of the four classes
d) Identify some functions of each class (multiple for each)

3. In particular, the structure and function of proteins is worthy of further discussion.

a) Name many different classes of proteins (I can think of five different classes) and
what they do (if not done in 2d above) enzyme, defensive, storage, transport,
hormonal.
b) All proteins have a unique 3-D conformation as a result of different bonds that form
to hold the protein in that shape. Identify all four levels of protein structure, and
i. what parts of the protein are interacting at each level
ii. what type of bond(s) form at each level
primary: carboxyl and amino groups-peptide bonds
secondary: H and O groups-hydrogen bonds
Tertiary: r-groups/side chains-ionic van-der walls disulfide
 Quarternary-multiple polypeptide chains- hydrogen ionic vanderwalls
disulfide(mostly the weak ones though).
c) In tertiary structure, there are many types of bonds that can form because this is
where the unique parts of proteins interact. The textbook identifies three subgroups
of these unique parts when showing all the amino acids – what are they? R-group
d) Proteins may not only have binding sites for the chemical that they interact with, but
may also have binding sites for regulatory molecules. Name this type of binding site,
and discuss what happens if a regulatory molecule binds (2 possibilities). Allosteric
site. It can bind there and change the shape of the protein and the active site.
e) Identify environmental factors that might cause a protein to lose its shape (and name
this concept). Denaturing-if it is too hot, DNA changes, or pH changes

4. How do autotrophs and heterotrophs obtain the materials needed to build needed
macromolecules (2 different sources for autotrophs)? How are they both structurally
adapted to maximize uptake of these materials?
Photosynthesis and respiration work together in plants. Most of their food is made of CO2-
nitrogen fixing bacteria allow for uptake of this from the soil, mycorrzae allow for better
absorption. Heterotrophs eat the food, and then break it down in cell respiration-, they can eat big
food because they have bacteria to break it down. Villi for better absorption S/A, and also
herbivores have longer digestive tract to break down cell walls.

Unit 2 – Cells and transport

5. Explain the concept of the surface area / volume ratio – what does surface area and volume
represent in a living cell, and how do cells optimize this ratio?
smaller cells-better diffusion
6. Identify some adaptations that all plants have to regulate water loss. Identify some additional
adaptations that desert plants have to reduce water loss.
ALL PLANTS: stomata-open and close DESERT: fleshy stems, CO2 at night, leaves
gone
7. Not only do individual cells (and organelles in eukaryotic cells) optimize the ratio described
above, but so do transport systems in multicellular organisms. Identify the functional
area where transport occurs in the systems identified on the next page – also discuss the
structure of that area to explain how it optimizes the ratio discussed above.
A. animal respiratory system - alveoli
B. animal circulatory system -capillaries
C. animal digestive system -villi and microvilli
D. animal nervous system (what area of neuron cell)-dendrites
E. plant photosynthetic system-large exposure of sun to flat leaf
F. plant soil nutrient uptake system-myacorrzhae

8. Explain how the circulatory system can adjust to deliver more oxygen to hard-working cells.
it can close off parts of the cappilaries when not needed.
9. How is oxygen primarily transported in blood? How about carbon dioxide?
in red blood cells hemoglobin- it is transport carbonic acid
Unit 3 – Metabolic pathways
10. Identify the two laws of thermodynamics that discuss energy flow.
1) law of conservation of mass
2) energy is produced spontaneously, and entropy always increases
11. Different tools are used in cells to change the energetics of chemical reactions.
a) What factor is different between a spontaneous and a nonspontaneous chemical
reaction?
Spontaneous is unstable, unspontaneous happens over time and is unually stable
composition
b) What can the cell do to help a nonspontaneous reaction occur, and how does the
energy diagram change?
Add ATP to the reaction-by adding phosphate groups it will become more unstable
c) What factor is different between a slow and a fast chemical reaction?
The amount of energy needed for the reaction to cross the transition phase
d) What can a cell do to speed up a slow chemical reaction, and how does the energy
diagram change? Your answer should be different from the one above.
Enzymes and the energy diagram changes because the activation energy will decrease
12. What components make up the molecule ATP? What makes the molecule so unstable
(or high in energy?)
Adenosine-5carbon sugar triphosphate; the phosphate groups that want to repell each other
13. Name multiple cell processes that we have discussed this semester that use ATP energy.
cell respiration and photosynthesis active transport
14. Enzymes are not always “on.” Explain how enzyme activity is regulated – what often turns
enzymes “off” temporarily, and how does it turn the enzyme off?
they are activated when the substrate binds to the correct enzyme, when the substrate is
unbinded, then the enzyme is “turned off”
15. What is the difference between negative and positive feedback? Which type is often used in
biological systems to regulate activity?
Negative feedback is used to regulate activity. Negative is a reaction coming back to the
normal state. Positive is amplifying the response
16. Cellular respiration takes the energy stored in organic molecules and converts it into a
different chemical form.
a) Write the full, balanced chemical equation for cellular respiration. Circle the
important product that cells are trying to produce.
C6H12O6 + 6O2CO2 +6H20
b) We can subdivide respiration into the broad stages of glycolysis-cytoplasm , citric
acid cycle-mitochondrea, and electron transport chain-mitochondrea membrane.
Where do these stages take place in a eukaryotic cell? What about a prokaryotic
cell?-cell and cell membrane
c) Identify the chemicals that enter each stage (glycolysis-glucose, pyruvate, citric acid
cycle pyruvateacytal coa and co2, and electron transport chain O2H20), and the
products that leave each stage (not numbers, just names).
d) Explain how the energy of high-energy electrons is converted into ATP energy
through the process of oxidative phosphorylation (two steps here).in ETC the H+ is
pumped up when the high energy electrons travel through. They then travel through
ATP synthase and create ATP with the current.
 e) What specifically is oxygen doing in the respiration process? Why is it needed?
it is needed to create water
17. How does the overall process of fermentation ensure that some energy is available without
the presence of oxygen? Why is fermentation generally unsustainable in the long-term?
it does not create enough ATP to supply bodily function
18. The goal of photosynthesis is to absorb light and convert its energy to the stored energy
within organic molecules.
a) Write the full balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis. Circle the important
product that cells are trying to produce.
6CO2 + 6H20C6H12O6 + 6O2
b) What is produced in the light reactions half of photosynthesis? NADPH, ATP,
O2Where does it take place in eukaryotes? thylacoid Prokaryotes? Foldings in
membrane
c) Explain how light energy is converted in the initial step of the light reactions. PS2 in
chloroplasts takes in the light and splits water to allow for O2 to be relased and
energized electrons to move along. H+ is also pushed into the membrane and then
pumped through ATP synthase. The electrons then get re-energized and then go
through NADP reductase to form NADPH
d) How is water used in the light reactions half of photosynthesis?
Water is split and the electrons are elergized the H+ s used for ATP and the O2 is
released
e) Where does the Calvin cycle take place in eukaryotes? Prokaryotes?
stroma, in the cell
19. For what three broad purposes do organisms spend energy? Name some energy conservation
strategies that organisms have to maximize survival (and continuing the species). What
do organisms do with extra energy if they spend fewer calories than they take in?
they hibernate, heating and cooling mechanisms. They store it in starch and fat.
20. How is endothermy advantageous? What challenge do endotherms face?
They can survive more variety in temperatures. They must use a lot of energy to maintain
this temperature.
21. Identify some ways that ectotherms and endotherms can regulate their body temperature.
Hibernation, estivation, evaporative cooling, coverings, they can more around
Unit 4 – Signaling pathways
1. Cells are capable of detecting environmental signals and then changing activity in
response.
a. How are cells capable of receiving environmental signals when they come to the
cell? Through transduction pathways and a stimulus
b. How does this reception of the signal outside the cell trigger a signaling cascade
inside the cell? The ligand will bind to a receptor and then a transduction and then
a response.
c. Identify multiple ways that the “next” part is activated during signal transduction.
Through protein kinases, G-protiens, or a secondary messenger which will carry
the message and amplify it allowing for the “next” part to take place.
d. What are two different ways that cells might change their activity in response?
They might activate different genes that will produce new proteins for a
behavioral change. They can also immediately create a direct reaction in order for
 a direct response

2. Describe various structural regions of a typical neuron, including how those structures
contribute to sending an electrical action potential signal quickly.

Cell, axon, dendrite-surface area, myelin-speed, synapse-allow for electrical-chemical

signal.
3. Explain how ion movement across a neuron’s membrane leads to an action potential.
a. Discuss what protein is active during rest, what kind of transport is involved, and
where ions are moved.
Na/K, active, Na+ is moved out making the outside positive, and K and negative
proteins make the inside -.
b. Discuss what proteins are active during the action potential (and in what order),
what kind of transport is involved, and where ions are moved.
Na pumps, + ions are moved into the cell (passive) making the inside of the cell
positive.
c. Briefly discuss how neurons communicate with other neurons (or muscles).
Ca enters the cell when a action potential is increasing. Synapses allow for
neurotransmitters to move from one cell since the neurotransmitter leaves the
preneuron, connect to channels on another neuron and open them, creating a
action potential there and therefore carrying on the response.
4. Identify external / internal defenses that comprise our innate (nonspecific) immune
system.
Mucous, Skin, Stomach acid, enzymes. Internal-phagocytes, swelling

5. Describe the process of clonal selection in generating a specific immune response.

When something binds to a T or B cell then it is mass replicated, and then can transfer
more messages(helper T) form antibodies(B) or directly attack the pathogen(cytotoxic B
and T)

6. Once clonal selection occurs, discuss the role of B and two types of T lymphocytes in
clearing out a specific pathogen. How do certain lymphocytes “remember” a previous
pathogen that was eliminated before?
(Answered Before) Memory B and T cells this helps because the antibody will be directly
attacked instead of having to be activated by a antigen presenting cell. The response will
most likely be reacted to before your body feels it.

7. Identify one example hormone released into the bloodstream from an endocrine gland.
What cells does this signaling hormone target, and what effect does the signal cause?

epinephrine-causes a flight or fight response