Name_________________________________

MathandChemistryforBiology
AbasicknowledgeofmathandChemistryisessentialforsuccessinbiology.Anunderstandingofpercents,fractions,decimals,
exponents(base10),andscientificnotationwillbeneededbothinthiscourseandinfuturebiologycourses.Inaddition,a
workingknowledgeofbasicchemistryprinciplesisalsonecessary.GMUprovidesexcellentmathematicstutoringin

JohnsonCenter311Candoffersonlineremedialmathcoursesathttp://math.gmu.edu/~eobrien/resource/.
1.Fillintheblanksinthefollowingtable(1pt):
Percent
50%
4%

Fraction
1/2

Decimal
0.5

3/4
0.05
140%
1/8
1.10
2.Solveorconvertthefollowingandexpresstheanswerincorrectscientificnotation.(1pt)
a.

7138.69=

b.

0.08=

c.

5x102x120x103=

d.

0.03x102x1.3x105=

e.

900x10315x102=

f.

1x102+2x103=

Inscience,onefrequentlyneedstouseconversionfactorstochangefromoneunittoanother.Forexample,sayyouwantedto
convert10,000cmtometers;youknowthat100cm=1meter.Therefore,1m/100cm=1.So,todothatconversion:10,000cmx
1meter/100cm=100meters.Setupthefractionsothattheunitscanceltoleavemeters.Thistechniquewillbeusedextensively
laterinthecoursewhenwecalculatemolarconcentrations,percentconcentrations,andnumberofmoleculesinsolutions.

3.ConvertthefollowingtomL(assumetheliquidiswaterandthatthedensityofwateris1g/cm 3=1g/ml)(1pt)
a.
1L
b.

0.78L

c.

60cm3

d.

5.6kg

e.

10L

4a.Ifacellculturehas3x105cellsperml,andthecultureflaskshold75mlofcultureeachandyouhave12flasks,
howmanycellsarethereintotal?(0.5pts)

4b.Adifferentflaskofculturedcellscontains7x105cellsin50mlofmedium.Whatistheconcentrationofcells
(perml)(0.5pts)

5a. Which drawing (above) depicts the electron configuration of Nitrogen ( 14

7 N)? (0.5pts)
5b. How many protons does Nitrogen have? (0.5pts)
6a. How many grams of glucose (C6H2O6 molecular mass =180 daltons) would be present in one liter of a 1 M
(molar) solution of glucose? (0.5pts)

6b. How many grams of glucose would you have to weigh out to make 500mls of a 0.5 M solution of glucose?
(0.5pts)

============================================
Whenorganizingbiologicaldata,itisimportanttopresentitinaclearfashionandtobesurethatanysummaries(mean,median,
range,standarddeviation)accuratelyreflecttheresults.Themeanistheaverageofthedata(addallthenumbersanddividethat
answerbythenumberofitemsyouadded).Themedianisthemiddlenumber.Thestandarddeviation(SD)isanindicationofhow
faryourdatastraysfromtheaverage.ThelowertheSD,themoreaccuratelythemeanrepresentsthedata.Therangeisjustthe
smallesttothelargestnumber.
Useacomputerbasedspreadsheetprogram(excel,openoffice,etc)torepresentthefollowingexperimentalresults.Forassistance
withcomputerusage,visittheCollaborativeComputerLab(JC311)ortryanITTrainingClass(JC311G).

7.Aftermeasuringthewristsizeofeveryoneintheclass,youendupwiththefollowingdata:13cm,15cm,21cm,
20cm,14cm,14cm,22cm,18cm,22cm,24cm,20cm,24cm,23cm,17cm,23cm,22cm,22cm,16cm,15cm,
16cm,17cm,21cm,16cm,22cm,21cm,23cm.
a.(2pts)Presentthesedataasacolumngraphandasatable(attachandhandin).Makesureyouusedescriptive
titlesandaxislabels.
b.(0.5pts)Whatisthevalueofthemeanofthedatapresentedabove?

c.(0.5pts)Whatarethemedianandtherangeofthedatapresentedabove?

d.(0.5pt)Whatisthestandarddeviationofthedatapresentedabove?
e.(0.5pts)Isitbetterforthestandarddeviationvaluetobealargevalueorasmallvalue?Why?

If the activities and questions in this assignment were exceedingly difficult for you to
complete or seemed unfamiliar, you may not be prepared to take Biol 213. Talk to
your lecture instructor or an academic advisor.