Semester 2 Biology Final Exam Review

Evolution
1. Given the following DNA sequences, which species are more closely
related? How do you know?
Species 1
TAG CTG TAC GCG TAT
Species 2
TAG CTG TAC CGC AAA
Species 3
TAG CTG TTG GCG TAT
2. What are homologous structures? Give at least 2 examples.
3. What are analogous structures? Give at least 2 examples.
4. Why do mass extinction events tend to be followed by (episodic)
speciation events?
5. Define speciation.
6. How do you know when speciation has occurred?
7. Which of the following contributes the most to a species surviving a
drastic change in environmental conditions? Genetic variation, number
of individuals in a population, or location of individuals?
8. Propose a change in environmental conditions that would favor the
survival of woodpeckers with long beaks.
9. A farmer has many ducks which are different colors. He has ducks that
are white, brown, black, and mixed colors. More of the white ducks are
caught by predators. What is the benefit of having ducks of many
colors?
10. What is genetic drift? What is the founder effect? What is the
bottleneck effect?
11. What effect does genetic drift have on genetic diversity of the new
population?
12. The chance that some species will survive a major environmental
change is more likely when there is a high _______________ of species.
13. What will happen to plant and animal species in a region that has
experienced drought for 15 years?
14. Species A and B both have approximately the same population size. A
permanent environmental change occurs and Species A population
goes up and Species B population goes down. In general, what can be
said about Species A in the new environment?
Ecology
15. Define biodiversity.
16. What is an introduced species and how does it affect native
populations?
17. Increasing the biodiversity in an ecosystem increases its ______________.
18. The introduction of the pesticide DDT into the ecosystem had its
greatest negative affect on the eggs of fish-eating birds like the bald
eagle. The concentration of DDT in these birds was found to be 10
million times greater than the original concentration sprayed into the
environment. These high concentrations in the bald eagle are MOST
likely the result of _______________.
19. A normally dry ecosystem receives a higher percentage of rain over
the course of a four-year period. This will affect what trophic level first?
20. Define carrying capacity.
21. What organisms, if removed, will have the most drastic effect on a food
web?

22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

What determines the population size of an ecosystem?

What are the processes through which oxygen is cycled?
Define nitrogen fixation.
Which organisms are the most important populations in an ecosystem?
What happens to energy from one trophic level to the next in a food
web?
27. At each link of the food web, how much energy is passed on to the
consumer and how much is lost as heat?
28. Which trophic level has the least amount of energy available to it?
29. Both food webs and energy pyramids show relationships between
organisms in an ecosystem. When is a food web preferred?
Body Systems
30. Define homeostasis.
31. What parts make up the central nervous system?
32. What triggers a reflex arc?
33. As the outside temperature drops, a person responds by shivering to
increase their body temperature. Which system mediates this
response?
34. Billy is cooking dinner and accidentally touches the hot stove with his
hand and immediately pulls it away. What is Billys response an
example of?
35. Draw a neuron and label the cell body, dendrites, axon, and axon
terminals/endings. Also label where neurotransmitters would be
released and received. Draw the direction of an action
potential/impulse next to the neuron.
36. What is the function of the respiratory system?
37. Which blood vessels are responsible for gas and nutrient exchange?
38. When carbon dioxide levels in the body rise too high, the human
bodys homeostatic mechanisms responsible for maintaining optimal
levels force the body to do what?
39. Which system is closely involved with the nervous system in the
release of hormones like insulin into the blood?
40. How are the functions of the excretory system and circulatory systems
alike?
41. Describe the flow of oxygen through the bodys major body systems.
42. Through what system is glucose delivered to cells for cellular
respiration? Through what system is oxygen delivered to the cells to
produce energy in cellular respiration?
43. What type of cell transports oxygen in the body?
44. What is the purpose of a scab formed on your skin?
45. What is an antigen and what is an antibody? What is their relationship
to one another?
46. How do bacteria reproduce? What is used to treat bacterial infections?
47. How do viruses reproduce? What is used to treat viral infections?
48. When a person receives a vaccine for a pathogen, what two type of
immune cells will the body produce? How will this affect his response
the next time he encounters the pathogen?
49. When a pathogen enters tissues via a wound, what is it attacked by at
the infection site? If the infection is not controlled, what will the body
make to destroy it?

50. What is an autoimmune disease?

51. What is one of the bodys first lines of defense against pathogens?