Animation links

Hello All,
Please use the following animation links for further reinforcement of the content in the unit.


http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp00/00020.html

Hello All, The following are practice questions for your unit 7 exam, please I highly recommend that you go over the questions. Good luck!

The first genetic material was most likely a(n)

A) DNA polymer.

B) DNA oligonucleotide.

C) RNA polymer.

D) protein.

E) protein enzyme.

In their laboratory simulations of the early Earth, Miller and Urey observed the abiotic synthesis of

A) amino acids.

B) complex organic polymers.

C) DNA.

D) liposomes.

E) nucleoli.

Which of the factors below weaken the hypothesis of abiotic synthesis of organic monomers in early Earth's atmosphere?

1.     the relatively short time between intense meteor bombardment and appearance of the first life forms

2.     the lack of experimental evidence that organic monomers can form by abiotic synthesis

3.     uncertainty about which gases comprised early Earth's atmosphere

A) 1  

B) 2  

C) 3  

D) 1 and 3

E) 2 and 3

In what way were conditions on Earth more than 2 billion years ago different from those on Earth today?

A) The early Earth had water vapor in its atmosphere.

B) The early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris.

C) The early Earth had an oxidizing atmosphere.

D) Less ultraviolet radiation penetrated the early atmosphere.

E) The early atmosphere had significant quantities of ozone.

What condition would have made the primitive atmosphere of Earth more conducive to the origin of life than the present one?  The primitive atmosphere

A) had a layer of ozone that shielded the first fragile cells.

B) removed electrons that impeded the formation of protobionts.

C) may have been a reducing one that facilitated the formation of complex substances from simple molecules.

D) had more oxygen than the modern atmosphere, and thus it successfully sustained the first living organisms.

E) had less free energy than the modern atmosphere, and thus newly formed organisms were less likely to be destroyed.

What characteristic would all protobionts have had in common?

A) the ability to synthesize enzymes

B) a surrounding membrane or membrane-like structure

C) RNA genes

D) a nucleus

E) the ability to replicate RNA

RNA molecules can be both self-replicating and catalytic. This probably means that

A) RNA was the first hereditary information.

B) protobionts had an RNA membrane.

C) RNA could make energy.

D) free nucleotides would not have been necessary ingredients in the synthesis of new RNA molecules.

E) RNA is a polymer of amino acids.

Which measurement would help determine absolute dates by radiometric means?

A) the accumulation of the daughter isotope

B) the loss of parent isotopes

C) the loss of daughter isotopes

D) all three of these

E) only A and B

What was the consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial photosynthesis? It

A) made life on land difficult for aerobic organisms.

B) changed the atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing.

C) made it easier to maintain reduced molecules.

D) made Earth an oxidizing environment.

E) prevented the formation of an ozone layer.

Elemental sulfur is to hydrogen-sulfide-splitting prokaryotes as ________ is to water-splitting prokaryotes.

A) H+ 

B) H2 

C) OH- 

D) O2 

E) H2O

Which of the following statements provides the strongest evidence that prokaryotes evolved before eukaryotes?

A) the primitive structure of plants

B) meteorites that have struck Earth

C) abiotic laboratory experiments that produced liposomes  

D) Liposomes resemble prokaryotic cells.

E) The oldest fossilized cells resemble prokaryotes.

Mycoplasmas are bacteria that lack cell walls.  On the basis of this structural feature, which of the statements below is true about mycoplasmas?

A) They are gram-negative.

B) They are subject to lysis in hypotonic conditions.

C) They lack a cell membrane as well.

D) They undergo ready fossilization in sedimentary rock.

E) They possess typical prokaryotic flagella.

Which of the following statements about bacterial cell walls is false?

A) Bacterial cell walls differ in molecular composition from plant cell walls.

B) Cell walls prevent cells from bursting in hypotonic environments.

C) Cell walls prevent cells from dying in hypertonic conditions.

D) Bacterial cell walls are similar in function to the cell walls of many protists, fungi, and plants.

E) Cell walls provide the cell with a degree of physical protection from the environment.

Jams, jellies, preserves, honey, and other foodstuffs with a high sugar content hardly ever become contaminated by bacteria, even when the food containers are left open at room temperature.  This is because bacteria that encounter such an environment

A) undergo death by plasmolysis.

B) are unable to metabolize the glucose or fructose, and thus starve to death.

C) undergo death by lysis.

D) are obligate anaerobes.

E) are unable to swim through these thick and viscous materials.

In a bacterium that possesses antibiotic resistance and the potential to persist through very adverse conditions, such as freezing, drying, or high temperatures, DNA should be located within, or be part of, which structures?

1.    nucleoid region

2.    flagellum

3.    endospore

4.    fimbriae

5.    plasmids

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 4

C) 1 and 5

D) 1, 3, and 5

E) 2, 4, and 5

In regard to prokaryotic reproduction, which of the following is true?

A) Prokaryotes form gametes by meiosis.

B) Prokaryotes feature the union of haploid gametes, as do eukaryotes.

C) Prokaryotes  exchange some of their genes by conjugation, the union of haploid gametes, and transduction.

D) Mutation is a primary source of variation in prokaryote populations.

E) Prokaryotes skip sexual life cycles because their life cycle is too short.

Match the numbered terms to the descriptions that follow.  Choose all appropriate terms, but only appropriate terms.

                1.     autotroph

                2.     heterotroph

                3.     phototroph

                4.     chemotroph

  an organism that obtains its energy from chemicals

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) 3 only

D) 4 only

E) 1 and 4

 a prokaryote that obtains both energy and carbon as it decomposes dead organisms

A) 1 only

B) 4 only

C) 1 and 3

D) 2 and 4

E) 1, 3, and 4

 an organism that obtains both carbon and energy by ingesting prey

A) 1 only

B) 4 only

C) 1 and 3

D) 2 and 4

E) 1, 3, and 4

Modes of obtaining nutrition, used by at least some bacteria, include all of the following except

A) chemoautotrophy.

B) photoautotrophy.

C) heteroautotrophy.

D) chemoheterotrophy.

E) photoheterotrophy.

Mitochondria are descendants of alpha proteobacteria.  They are, however, no longer able to lead independent lives because most genes originally present  on their chromosome are now located in the nuclear genome.  What phenomenon most directly accounts for the movement of these genes?

A) horizontal gene transfer

B) binary fission

C) conjugation

D) meiosis

E) plasmolysis

Which of the following traits do archaea and bacteria share?

1.     composition of the cell wall

2.     presence of plasma membrane

3.     lack of a nuclear envelope

4.     identical rRNA sequences

A) 1 only

B) 3 only

C) 1 and 3

D) 2 and 3

E) 2 and 4

What do the archaea used in primary sewage treatment and the archaea that help cattle digest cellulose have in common?

A) They produce methane as a waste product.

B) They live only at extremely low pH levels.

C) They are nitrogen fixers.

D) They possess both photosystems I and II.

E) They require extremely high temperatures for reproduction.

Which of the following would most likely occur if all prokaryotes were suddenly to perish?

A) All life would eventually perish due to disease.

B) Many organisms would perish as nutrient recycling underwent dramatic reduction.

C) All life would eventually perish because of increased global warming due to the greenhouse effect.

D) Only the organisms that feed directly on prokaryotes would perish.

E) Very little change would occur because prokaryotes are not of significant ecological importance.

All of the following groups had taxonomic significance in the past, but only one is now considered to be a diverse clade.  Which group is it?

A) algae

B) protist

C) protozoa

D) monera

E) euglenozoa

The strongest evidence for the endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotic organelles is the similarity between extant prokaryotes and which of the following?

A) nuclei and chloroplasts

B) mitochondria and chloroplasts

C) cilia and mitochondria

D) mitochondria and nuclei

E) mitochondria and cilia

Which process allows nucleomorphs to be first reduced, and then lost altogether, without the loss of any genetic information from the host cell that ultimately surrounds the nucleomorph?

A) conjugation

B) horizontal gene transfer

C) binary fission

D) phagocytosis

E) meiosis

The goal in classifying organisms should be to create categories that reflect the evolutionary histories of organisms. What system would be best to use?

A) a three-kingdom classification system

B) a five-kingdom classification system

C) an eight-kingdom classification system

D) a system that uses as many kingdoms as necessary to be accurate

E) a system that returns to that used by Linnaeus

Which of the following groups does not include many planktonic species?

A) kinetoplastids.

B) golden algae.

C) diatoms.

D) dinoflagellates.

E) radiolarians.

Which two genera have members that can evade the human immune system by frequently changing their surface proteins?

1.     Plasmodium

2.     Trichomonas

3.     Paramecium

4.     Trypanosoma

5.     Entamoeba

A) 1 and 2

B) 1 and 4

C) 2 and 3

D) 2 and 4

E) 4 and 5

Which of the following is mismatched?

A) apicomplexa-internal parasites

B) golden algae;-planktonic producers

C) euglenozoa-unicellular flagellates

D) ciliates-red tide organisms

E) entamoeba-ingestive heterotrophs

If one speculates that it requires ten times as many ATP molecules to power a typical flagellum as to power a typical cilium for a given unit of time, and if one assumes that locomotion is the largest energy drain for protists, then which protist should have the largest number of ATP synthases per cell?

A) Euglena

B) Chlamydomonas

C) Giardia

D) Plasmodium

E) Paramecium

If one were to apply the most recent technique used to fight late potato blight to the fight against the malarial infection of humans, then one would

A) increase the dosage of the least-expensive antimalarial drug administered to humans.

B) increase the dosage of the most common pesticide used to kill Anopheles mosquitoes.

C) introduce a predator of the malarial parasite into infected humans.

D) use a "cocktail" of at least three different pesticides against Anopheles mosquitoes.

E) insert genes from a Plasmodium-resistant strain of mosquito into Anopheles mosquitoes.

Theoretically, which two of the following present the richest potential sources of silica?

1.     marine sediments consisting of foram tests

2.     diatomaceous earth

3.     marine sediments consisting of radiolarian tests

4.     marine sediments consisting of dinoflagellate plates

A) 1 and 2

B) 1 and 4

C) 2 and 3

D) 2 and 4

E) 3 and 4

What makes certain red algae appear red?

A) They live in warm coastal waters.

B) They possess pigments that reflect and transmit red light.

C) They use red light for photosynthesis.

D) They lack chlorophyll.

E) They contain the water-soluble pigment anthocyanin.

Which taxonomic group containing eukaryotic organisms is thought to be directly ancestral to the plant kingdom?

A) golden algae

B) radiolarians

C) foraminiferans

D) apicomplexans

E) green algae

Choose the nutritional mode that is primarily employed by each of the protists listed below.

                A.    autotrophic

                B.    mixotrophic

                C.    heterotrophic (by absorption)

                D.    heterotrophic (by ingestion)

diatoms?

 oomycetes?

  phagocytic euglenids that possess functional chloroplasts

amoebozoans that do not possess endosymbionts

Which of the following do all fungi have in common?

A) meiosis in basidia

B) coenocytic hyphae

C) sexual life cycle

D) absorption of nutrients

E) symbioses with algae

When a mycelium infiltrates an unexploited source of dead organic matter, what are most likely to appear within the food source soon thereafter?

A) haustoria

B) soredia

C) exoenzymes

D) increased oxygen levels

E) larger bacterial populations

What is the primary role of a mushroom's underground mycelium?

A) absorbing nutrients

B) anchoring

C) sexual reproduction

D) asexual reproduction

E) protection

What do fungi and arthropods have in common?

A) Both groups are commonly coenocytic.

B) The haploid state is dominant in both groups.

C) Both groups are predominantly saprobic in nutrition.

D) The protective coats of both groups are made of chitin.

E) Both groups have cell walls.

What best accounts for the extremely fast growth of a fungal mycelium?

A) a rapid distribution of synthesized proteins by cytoplasmic streaming

B) their lack of motility that requires rapid spread of hyphae

C) a long tubular body shape

D) the readily available nutrients from their predatory mode of nutrition

E) a dikaryotic condition that supplies greater amounts of proteins and nutrients

Both fungus-farming ants and their fungi can synthesize the same structural polysaccharide from the β-glucose molecules that are derived from the digestion of plant leaves.  What is the synthesized polysaccharide?

A) amylopectin

B) chitin

C) cellulose

D) lignin

E) glycogen

Which of the following cannot be assigned to any one kind of morphology (that is, unicellular or hyphate) or to any one fungal taxon?

A) yeasts

B) ascomycetes

C) club fungi

D) bread molds

E) ergot fungi

If all of their nuclei are equally active transcriptionally, then the cells of both dikaryotic and heterokaryotic fungi are essentially like ________ cells in terms of the gene products they can make.

A) haploid

B) diploid

C) alloploid

D) completely homozygous

E) completely hemizygous

What is the ploidy of a single mature Neurospora ascospore?

A) haploid

B) diploid

C) triploid

D) tetraploid

E) polyploid

Which of the following statements is true of deuteromycetes?

A) They are the second of five fungal phyla to have evolved.

B) They represent the phylum in which all the fungal components of lichens are classified.

C) They are the group of fungi that have, at present, no known sexual stage.

D) They are the group that includes molds, yeasts, and lichens.

E) They include the imperfect fungi that lack hyphae.

A biologist is trying to classify a new organism on the basis of the following characteristics: fungus-like in appearance, reproduces by conidia, has no apparent sexual phase, and parasitizes woody plants.  If asked for advice, to which group would you assign this new species?

A) Deuteromycota

B) Zygomycota

C) Ascomycota

D) Basidiomycota

E) Glomeromycota

Considered at the taxonomic level of the kingdom, which of the following constitute a monophyletic clade?

A) mosses and zygomycetes

B) chytrids and fungi

C) algae and ascomycetes

D) chytrids and slime molds

E) mosses and fungi

You have been given the assignment of locating living members of the phylum Glomeromycota.  Where is the best place to look for these fungi?

A) between the toes of a person with "athlete's foot"

B) in stagnant freshwater ponds

C) the roots of vascular plants

D) growing on rocks and tree bark

E) the kidneys of cattle

Which of these fungal structures are structurally and functionally most alike?

A) conidia and basidiocarps

B) sporangia and hyphae

C) soredia and gills

D) haustoria and arbuscles

E) zoospores and mycelia

You are given an organism to identify. It has a fruiting body that contains many structures with eight haploid spores lined up in a row. What kind of a fungus is this?

A) zygomycete

B) ascomycete

C) deuteromycete

D) chytrid

E) basidiomycete

Mushrooms with gills, typically available in supermarkets, have meiotically produced spores located in or on ________ and belong to the phylum ________.

A) asci; Basidiomycota

B) hyphae; Zygomycota

C) basidia; Basidiomycota

D) asci; Ascomycota

E) hyphae; Ascomycota

If there were no mycorrhizae, then which of the following would be true?

A) There would be fewer infectious diseases.

B) We wouldn't have any antibiotics.

C) There would be no mushrooms for pizza.

D) Most vascular plants would be stunted in their growth.

E) Cheeses like blue cheese or Roquefort would not exist.

How are the vascular plants that are involved in mycorrhizae and the photosynthetic cells that are involved in lichens alike?

A) They provide organic nutrients to fungal partners.

B) They secrete acids that keep the fungal partner from growing too quickly.

C) They are in intimate associations with chytrids.

D) They are digested by fungal exoenzymes while still alive.

E) They contain endosymbiotic fungi.

Sexual reproduction has never been observed among the fungi that produce the blue-green marbling of blue cheeses. What is true of  these fungi  and others that do not have a a sexual stage?

A) They are currently classified among the deuteromycetes.

B) They do not form heterokaryons.

C) Their spores are produced by mitosis.

D) Only A and B are correct.

E) A, B, and C are correct.

Fungi are beneficial to agriculture in all of the following ways except in that they

A) recycle nutrients that are tied up in dead organic matter.

B) increase the ability of most vascular plants to absorb minerals from the soil.

C) contribute to the initial stages of soil formation from rock.

D) form mycoses on leaves and stems.

E) may harbor photosynthetic partners that add nitrogenous compounds to the soil.

                    

Lab 7 Update

Hello All,
I have recieved all your emails and comments on our class blog, I have not been ignoring you, however I have been trying to find an alternative method to complete the lab assigned. I tried working on the lab this morning, but I as well was not able to acquire part 2 of the lab. Therefore, what you are responsible to turn in is the lab bench activity. There will be an assessment when you return on information in the lab bench. You are also required to turn in the practice questions under biology junction.
1. Under biologyjnction.com
2. Scroll down to "tests study guides"
3. Click on unit 7 "practice questions"
4. You are to complete all 200 questions due the next time we meet :)
If this is a problem, please email me! enjoy your break!

Lab 7 Genetics of organisms

Hello all:
 Lab 7 will have to be completed virtually :(
Ap Seniors - your lab bench will be due on Friday 02/17/2012 your lab will be due on Wednesday 02/22/2012. You can get ahead start on the lab, however know that a complete lab write up will be due on Wednesday.

Ap juniors- lab bench due Thursday 02/16/2012, lab report due 02/21/2012

Use the following link for lab bench:
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/labbench/lab7/intro.html

Goodluck let me know if you need anything!

Great job!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful job all of you on your comments and your enthusiasm. I definitely enjoyed reading all of them :)
Please prepare yourself for an assessment on both chapter 24 and 25 coming up in the near future.

Chapter 23 objectives Seniors- Due Wednesday Juniors- Due Thursday. There will be a reading assessment on chapter 23 next class session. STUDY!!!!!! Enjoy your weekend! Your answers are to be turned in as a hardcopy not comments through the blog.

Population Genetics
	1.	Explain why it is incorrect to say that individual organisms evolve.
	2.	Explain what is meant by "the modern synthesis."
	3.	Define a population; define a species.
	4.	Explain how microevolutionary change can affect a gene pool.
	5.	State the Hardy-Weinberg theorem.
	6.	Write the general Hardy-Weinberg equation and use it to calculate allele and genotype frequencies.
	7.	Explain why the Hardy-Weinberg theorem is important conceptually and historically.
	8.	List the conditions a population must meet to maintain Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Causes of Microevolution
	9.	Define microevolution.
	10.	Define evolution at the population level.
	11.	Explain how genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, nonrandom mating, and natural selection can cause microevolution.
	12.	Explain the role of population size in genetic drift.
	13.	Distinguish between the bottleneck effect and the founder effect.
	14.	Explain why mutation has little quantitative effect on a large population.
Genetic Variation, the Substrate for Natural Selection
	15.	Explain how quantitative and discrete characters contribute to variation within a population.
	16.	Define polymorphism and morphs. Describe an example of polymorphism within the human population.
	17.	Distinguish between gene diversity and nucleotide diversity. Describe examples of each in humans.
	18.	List some factors that can produce geographic variation among closely related populations. Define a cline.
	19.	Explain why even though mutation can be a source of genetic variability, it contributes a negligible amount to genetic variation in a population.
	20.	Describe the cause of nearly all genetic variation in a population.
	21.	Explain how genetic variation may be preserved in a natural population.
	22.	Briefly describe the neutral theory of molecular evolution and explain how changes in gene frequency may be nonadaptive.
A Closer Look at Natural Selection as the Mechanism of Adaptive Evolution
	23.	Distinguish between Darwinian fitness and relative fitness.
	24.	Describe what selection acts on and what factors contribute to the overall fitness of a genotype.
	25.	Describe examples of how an organism's phenotype may be influenced by the environment.
	26.	Distinguish among stabilizing selection, directional selection, and diversifying selection.
	27.	Describe the advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction.
	28.	Define sexual dimorphism and explain how it can influence evolutionary change.
	29.	Distinguish between intrasexual selection and intersexual selection.
	30.	Describe at least four reasons why natural selection cannot breed perfect organisms.

Evolution Vs Creation Video

Hello All,
Please watch the following video and discuss the ideas/theories presented in the video based upon your view of the content. You are all required to state your comments by Sunday 01/15/2012.
You are also required to reply to 2 of your classmates comments. All blog assignments are graded :)



Evolution Vs Creation Video

The Evolution vs. Creation debate is often referred to as the "Great Debate." It's the emotion-packed question of "Origins" -- why, how, and where did everything come from? 20th century science has made the compelling discovery that, at some point, the universe began. Both sides of the Great Debate now agree that the universe has not existed eternally. However, this is where the agreement ends. As far as the "why" and "how" of the "origin event," this is where the division and contention begin. There are two basic theories in this Great Debate. The first is the historical default - the Creation Model of Origins. This theory maintains that the intricate design permeating all things implies a Designer. The second theory is the more recent, atheistic explanation - the Evolution Model of Origins. This theory postulates that the intricate design permeating all things is a product of random chance and excessive time.