The Scientific Method of Problem Solving:
1. State the problem. Recognize that you do not understand something.
2. Gather information related to the problem, and think about it.
3. Form a hypothesis, which is an educated guess or a possible solution to your problem.
4. Experiment to test your hypothesis. Your experiment (review "controlled experiment" &
"variables") will yield data which will do what for you?????
5. State your conclusion.
6. Verification.
Look over: Pasteur's "chance favors only the mind that is prepared", & the work of Sir Alexander
Fleming & the methods he used when he discovered penicillin.
Also review: classifying, inferring, & modeling.
Characteristics of Living Things:
They are cellular (made out of protoplasm) & have a universal genetic code.
They have a metabolism (sum of all the chem. reactions that occur in an organism), which includes: ingestion,
digestion, respiration, etc.
They grow (increase in size) & develop (change over time).
They utilize energy, maintain homeostasis, respond to stimuli, & reproduce (Asexual, Sexual).
Think about & be able to discuss: spontaneous generation (abiogeneis) & biogenesis, warmbloodedness
& coldbloodedness, unicellular & multicellar.
They are diverse.
Metrics:
Basic Units: kilogram, meter, liter
Devices: Graduated cylinder, meter stick, balance
Prefixes: Kilo, centi, milli
Know: 1 ml = 1 cc, 1 meter = 39.4 inches
Larger to smaller units: move decimal to the right
Smaller to larger units: move decimal to the left
Review how you know how many places to move the decimal.
Mass - amount of matter in an objective, remains constant.
Weight - measure of the pull of gravity on an object, varies with the strength of the gravitational pull.
Parts & Use of A Compound Light Microscope
Ocular (eyepiece): 10x
Objectives: scanning - 4x
low
power - 10x
high
power - 40x
Diaphragm: adjusts the amount of light entering the slide. 2 types: disk & iris.
Revolving nosepiece: with objective attached.
Coarse adjustment knob: large, allows for initial focusing, use only with scanning objective.
Fine adjustment knob: small, allows you to focus for the best possible image.
Stage - platform for slide.
Stage clips - hold the slide in place.
Arm, base, inclination joint.
Review: magnification (apparent enlargement of the specimen), resolution (sharpness of the image), total magnification,
field of view, why stain is added to specimens, & setting up the microscope properly.
Ecology:
Biotic Factors - living, Producers (autotrophs), Consumers (heterotrophs), & Decomposers (bacteria).
Food chain/Web - Producers, 1st. order consumers, 2nd. order consumers, and so on.
Herbivores, Carnivores, & Omnivores. Terrestial & Aquatic.
Abiotic Factors: air, rocks, soil, water, etc.
Populations - Biotic Community - Ecosystems - Biomes (Desert, Mid-latitude Deciduous Forest,
Tropical Rain Forest, etc).
Ecological Niche - Ecological Succession - Limiting Factors - Carrying Capacity - Energy
Pyramid
Relationships: Predation, Parasitism, Commensalism, & Mutualism.
Population Density - Formula: D = N/S,
Determiners of Population Size: Mortality, Natality, Emigration, & Immigration.
If trends continue, it is estimated the the human population of the US will double in the next 100 years.
Pollution: Biodegradable & Non-biodegradable. Air - Water - Land - Noise.
Greenhouse Effort (Role of carbon dioxide), Acid Rain (Sulfur Dioxide & Nitric Oxide), Endangered
Species, & Ozone Depletion.
Microorganisms:
Abiogenesis - spontaneous generation: Life from non-life. Work of Redi & Spallanzani.
Finally disproved by Louis Pasteur.
Biogenesis - Life from life.
Koch - Father of Microbiology. Pasteur - practical applications. Both used culture
methods & microscopes.
Eubacteria - "true" bacteria. Shapes: bacilli - rod, cocci - round, spirilla - spiral.
Strepto, staphlo, diplo. Conditions for growth: proper media, proper temperature, & darkness. Incubator.
Protists - Ciliates: have cilia. Paramecium. Flagellates: have a flagellum.
Euglena. Sarcodina: have pseudopodes (false feet). Ameba.
Viruses - Nucleic acids: either DNA or RNA, can not reproduce within their own group, but rather
must enter & take over a living cell. Lytic cycle.
Cell Structure:
Cytoplasm - Protoplasm (semiliquid) between the cell & nuclear membranes.
Plant Cell - has cell wall (cellulose, non-living), chloroplasts (photosynthesis), and large vacuoles (storage).
Animal Cell - has lysosome (lytic enzymes), centrosome (with 2 centrioles), and small or no vacuoles.
Cell Membrane - semipermeable, controls what enters & leaves the cell.
Nucleus - has chromatin (DNA & protein), DNA ---> Genes ---> Chromosomes.
Nucleolus - in nucleus, RNA
Ribosomes - free or attached to endoplasmic reticulum, protein synthesis.
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) - transport
Mitochondria - "powerhouses", 96 % of energy.
Prokaryotic Cell - "primitive", no nucleus, bacteria & blue-green algae.
Eukaryotic Cell - "true", has nucleus, human.
Cell Function - Physiology
Organelles - Reminders:
Nucleus - controls cells, DNA
Ribosomes - protein synthesis
Chloroplasts - photosynthesis
Mitochondria - powerhouses, oxidize glucose
yeilding energy
ER - transport
Cell Membrane - semipermeable, controls
what enters & leaves
the cell
Vacuoles - store food or water
Golgi Apparatus - secretes glycoproteins
Passive Transport:
Cell does not use its own energy to move materials in or out.
Diffusion - movement of molecules from a higher to a lower concentration, due to the constant random
motion of the molecules themselves.
Osmosis - diffusion of water molecules only through a semipermeable membrane.
Active Transport:
Cell uses its own energy to move molecules in or out, even against the concentration gradient.
Pinocytosis & Phagocytosis
Cell Division:
Mitosis - exact doubling & division of the nucleus, resulting in 2 identical nuclei in 1 cell.
Interphase - "resting", DNA replicates.
Prophase - In animal cell, centrosome splits into 2 centrioles, which move to opposite sides
of the cell with spindle fibers running from 1 to the other. Chromosome pairs (chromatids) are visible & are
attached to each other & to the spindle by centromeres. Nucleus & nucleolus have disappeared.
Metaphase - chromosome pairs are lined up at the equatorial plate.
Anaphase - chromosome pairs split, with 1 member of each pair going towards 1 centriole, & the
other member going towards the other centriole.
Telophase - nuclear membrane forms around each set of chromosomes (which become diffuse & form
chromatin), nucleolus reappears, you end up with 2 identical nuclei in the 1 cell.
Cytokinesis - the splitting of the cytoplasm after mitosis, forming the 2 "daughter cells".
Energy, Life, & Biochemistry -think about:
Energy is stored in the chemical bonds between molecules. When you split the bonds, you release the
energy.
In a cell, energy is stored in ATP. Review the ATP-ADP cycle.
A catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction, allowing it to occur at a lower temperature, without permanently
being changed itself. A biological catalyst is an enzyme.
Lock & Key Theory of Enzyme Action - just as a particular key is needed to fit into & open
a certain lock, you need a specific enzyme to react with a particular substrate.
Photosynthesis: in chloroplasts.
General equation of photosynthesis.
Light Reaction: yields ATP, oxygen, & reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosophate.
Dark Reaction: PGAL yields RDP & glucose.
Cellular Respiration - Aerobic:
Glycolysis: Pyruvic acid will yield acetic acid & ????????????? (The answer is below)
Kreb's Cycle: Citric Acid will yield carbon dioxide, energy, hydrogen, & ????? (The answer is
below)
Answers to above:
Pyruvic acid -----> acetic acid & carbon dioxide.
Citric acid -----> carbon dioxide, hydrogen, energy, & oxaloacetic acid.
Look over fermentation.
Carboydrates: C, H, O, sugars, starches,
monosaccharides - glucose, fructose.
disaccharide - sucrose
polysaccharide - cellulose
Protein: C,H,O,N, building blocks are amino acids. Polypeptides. Tripeptides.
Lipids: fats, C,H,O.
Nucleic Acids: DNA & RNA
DNA:
Work of Pauling, Watson, Crick, Wilkins,
Double Helix. Sugar is deoxyribose.
Nitrogen Bases: A-T, G-C
Triplet Code
DNA Replication
Protein Synthesis
RNA:
1 strand, ribose, no thymine, has Uracil (U)
Genetic Engineering:
direct manipulation of a genetic code.
Cloning - forming a genetically identical organism from an original one. "Dolly the sheep".
Recombinant DNA Technology - combining portions of the DNA molecules from 2 or more individuals.
Ecoli DNA with human gene for insulin production ---> Ecoli that can produce human insulin. This Ecoli is a Transgenic
Organism - containing DNA from 2 or more species.
The Functioning Plant:
Vascular - having tubes (xylem, phloem) running through their leaves, roots, & stems.
Leaf - Diagram: upper & lower epidermis, stomata & guard cells, cuticle, Mesophyll: columnar layer
& spongy layer, both with chloroplasts - sites of photosynthesis. Air spaces. Transpiration.
Root - Root cap (protection), root tip (cell division, growth), cortex (storage), vascular cylinder (tubes).
Epidermis. Root hairs - increase surface area & thus absorption. Tap & fibrous roots.
Stem - Diagram: Woody Stem. Lenticels (openings in bark). Terminal & Lateral Buds.
Scale Scar. Leaf Scar. Meristem - growth tissue. Ex. cambium. Xylem - carry water. Phloem -
carry food.
Transpiration - Cohesion Theory.
Tropisms - plant responses to stimuli. Thigmo - touch (Venus Fly Trap), Photo (light).
Functioning Animal - Skeletal, Muscular, Integumentary, & Nervous Systems - A few topics to
review:
Skeletal: 206 bones in human body
Axial & appendicular skeletons
Key bones: Ex. radius, femur, ulna
Bone marrow ---> blood cells
Joints: moveable - hinge (elbow), ball & socket (shoulder). Non-moveable - sutures of skull.
Protect, support, movement, blood cell formation.
Muscular: Contraction, movement.
Skeletal muscle - on bones, striated voluntary, produces most of the body's heat.
Cardiac muscle - in heart, striated involuntary.
Smooth muscle - organs, blood vessels, non-striated, spindle-shaped fibers.
Integumentary: skin - protection from infection, internal damage, heat regulation.
Upper epidermis - dead cells, keratinized, waterproof. Lower epidermis - alive, cell reproduction
occurring.
Dermis
Nervous: Neurons - nerve cells. Dendrites. Cell body. Axon. Synapse.
Nerve Impulse: electrochemical.
CNS: brain & spinal cord.
Brain: cerebrum - largest part, thinking, memory, all conscious functions. Cerebellum - reflexes,
muscle coordination. Stem - breathing, heart rate. "Reptilian", "Primitive".
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS):
Eye: vision
Light ---->cornea ----->Lens (focuses light on retina - receptors (rods, cones)----> nerve impulse
----> Optic Nerve ----> Occipital Lobe of brain ----> Vision.
Ear: hearing
External - Middle - Inner
Sound waves (vibrations) ---> pinna ---> ear canal --->tympanic membrane (ear drum) ---> 3 ossicles
( malleus, incus, stapes) ---> fluid in cochlea (to hair cells - receptors for sound) ---> auditory nerve --- Temporal
Lobe of brain ---> hearing.
