8th Grade Study Guide

Scientific method.

1. What are the 2 types of data? How are they different?

2. What is an inference? How do you tell an inference from an observation?

3. How do you formulate a hypothesis? What is the purpose of a hypothesis?

4. What is the independent variable? How do you identify it in an experiment or graph?

5. What is a dependent variable? How do you identify it in an experiment or graph?

6. What is a control variable? Why is it important to have many of these in an experiment?

7. What is the difference between an experimental group and a control group? What is the purpose of a

control group?

8. What is the placebo effect? Why is it important to always use a placebo as a control group when

experimenting with humans?

9. Understand the 10 point graphing rubric. What is the purpose of each point?

10. Why should you not truncate the Y axis when making a graph, even if none of the data is near 0?

11. When do you use a line graph versus a bar graph?

12. What are the following: Independent variable, dependent variable, control variables

13. How do you formulate a hypothesis? What is the purpose of a hypothesis?

Bonds and Water

1. What bonds hold the atoms together in a single water molecule?

2. What does the term electronegativity refer to?

3. Which element of water is most electronegative?

4. Which element in water will have a slightly negative charge? A slightly positive charge?

5. Define: Polar/polarity in terms of molecules

6. A polar molecule acts like a small weak ____________________.

7. Hydrophilic = ____________________________ Hydrophobic = __________________________________

9. Water can make these kinds of bonds with other hydrophilic molecules (other than water)?

10. Other than being polar, what other kinds of molecules/particles are also hydrophilic?

11. What happens when a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic molecule are near each other?

12. Define cohesion and provide an example.

13. Define adhesion and provide an example.

14. Define capillary action and provide an example.

Biological Molecules

1. What is the relationship between polymers and monomers?

2. What is the process that bonds monomers together to make a polymer?

3. What is the process that breaks down polymers to release individual monomers?

4. Which 3 classes of biological molecules are Macro because they are made of many monomers bonded

together?

5. Which class of biological molecule has no monomers or polymers?

6. What is the molecular ratio of all monosaccharides?

7. What is the main monosaccharide used by all organisms?

8. What is a disaccharide and a polysaccharide?

9. Give the 4 main polysaccharides, their function, and in which organisms they are found.

10. Lipids contain hydrocarbons. How is a hydrocarbon different from a carbohydrate?

11. What are the differences between a saturated and unsaturated triglyceride?

12. A plant’s cuticle is made from what lipid? What is the function of the cuticle?

13. Describe the 2 parts of a phospholipid. How are phospholipids arranged in a membrane?

14. What lipid is only found in animals? What do animals use that lipid for?

15. Proteins are the polymer of what?

16. What is the other name for a protein you must recognize?
17. What is the quality of proteins that allow them to perform the work of a cell?

18. What is the function of an enzyme?

19. What is activation energy?

20. How are enzymes related to activation energy?

21. What is a substrate?

22. What is the part of an enzyme that the substrate binds to?

23. What happens to the enzyme after the reaction?

24. On the enzyme catalyzed reaction diagram, be able to determine the substrate, product, and enzyme.

25. What are the 2 parts to the pattern of the naming of enzymes?

26. Nucleic acids are the polymers of what?

27. What 3 parts are in common with all monomers of nucleic acids?

28. What are the 3 key differences between DNA and RNA?

Cells and Organelles

1. What are Robert Hooke and Anton von Leeuwenhoek’s contribution to our knowledge of cells?

2. What are the 3 components of the cell theory?

3. What are the 7 characteristics of life and be able to identify which is which from an example.

4. What are the stages of biological organization from atom  biosphere

5. Why are cells small?

6. What happens to the surface area of a cell as a cell increases in size?

7. What happens to the surface area: volume ratio as a cell increases?

8. What are the components of a prokaryotic cell?

9. Of the answers in 8, which are ONLY ever found in prokaryotes.

10. What is absent from prokaryotic cells (in general)?

11. What are the 2 domains of prokaryotic organisms?

12. Compare the number of cells in a prokaryote with a eukaryote?

14. What are the main 2 components of the cell membrane?

15. What are all of the organelles and cell structures that can be found in eukaryotic cells and give the function

of each? Which are found in specific organisms? (16 in total)

16. Name the 2 parts and qualities of those parts of a single phospholipid?

Cell Transport

1. How are phospholipids arranged in a biological membrane?

2. What types of particles can diffuse directly through the phospholipids of a membrane (simple diffusion)?

3. What are the 2 key characteristics of passive transport?

4. Describe the phenomenon of dynamic equilibrium.

5. What is meant by facilitated diffusion? Give an example.

6. Osmosis is a type of ________________________ because water diffuses through an _______________.

7. Define the terms, hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic? How does water move when the solution is any of

those conditions? How does water move when the cell is any of those conditions?

8. What will be the resulting condition of a cell when placed in a hyper/hypo/isotonic solution?

9. What will be the resulting condition of a hyper/hypo/isotonic cell when placed in a solution? (yes, 8 and 9

are different questions)

10. You have a cell in an isotonic solution. How do you make the potato hypotonic to the solution? How do

you make the potato hypertonic to the solution?

11. What will prevent a plant cell from lysing, a fungal cell from lysing, a protozoan from lysing, and an animal

from lysing if placed in a hypotonic solution, such as a fresh water lake.

12. How do O2 and CO2 diffuse in respect to the blood in your lungs? How do O2 and CO2 diffuse in respect

with the blood near your muscle cells?

13. What are the 2 key characteristics of active transport?

15. What are the 3 main types of active transport? Describe each and how each affects the cell membrane?

Photosynthesis

1. Draw and label the 3 distinct parts of an ATP molecule (or be able to recognize them from a drawing).

2. What is the difference between ATP and ADP +P?

3. Where is the usable energy stored in ATP?

4. What is ATP directly used to do? Give an example.

5. Differentiate between autotrophs and heterotrophs.

6. Differentiate between producers and consumers.

7. What is the complete balanced equation for photosynthesis?

8. What is the ultimate source of all energy found on Earth?

9. Be able to draw chloroplast: photosynthesis diagram from memory. (rough sketch)

10. What are the 3 main stages of the Light Reactions in order, and what happens in each?

11. What is the overall purpose of the light reactions?

12. What is the main purpose of the Calvin Cycle?

13. Why are plants green?

14. What are the 5 main factors that determine the rate of photosynthesis and what do their graphs look like?

15. Why does excessive heat cause the rate of photosynthesis to go down?

Respiration

1. Compare cellular respiration to photosynthesis with regards to the following things: energy, CO2, O2,

Glucose, H2O, and the equation.

2. What is meant by the term anaerobic and aerobic?

3. What is the first step of fermentation?

4. What are the 2 types of waste product steps, what organisms perform each?
5. Which type do humans perform, which parts of humans perform it, and why would humans perform it

instead of cellular respiration?

6. What is the purpose of performing the waste product step during Fermentation?

7. What organisms perform glycolysis?

8. What is the purpose of performing glycolysis?

9. Why is cellular respiration also called aerobic respiration?

10. What are the 3 steps in order of cellular respiration?

11. What are all of the inputs and NET outputs of glycolysis?

12. Where does glycolysis take place?

13. What is the other name that refers to the Krebs cycle?

14. Where specifically does the Krebs cycle take place?

15. What are the inputs and outputs for the Krebs cycle per 1 molecule of glucose?

16. What is the main purpose of the Krebs cycle?

17. Where specifically does the Electron Transport Chain take place?

18. What are the inputs and outputs of the ETC and ATP synthase per 1 molecule of glucose?

19. Describe the steps of the ATP synthase, both in reality and with the Hoover Dam analogy.

20. What is the ETC made of?

21. What powers it?

22. What is the benefit of the mitochondria having 2 membranes?

23. Why is the inner membrane (cristae) folded?

24. ATP synthase performs what 2 functions?

25. What DIRECTLY powers ATP synthase?

26. What is the function and purpose of O2 in aerobic respiration?

27. What does the term “oxidative phosphorylation” refer to?

28. How much more ATP is generated in aerobic respiration versus fermentation?
29. Where would glycolysis take place in a prokaryote?

30. Where would the Krebs cycle take place in a prokaryote?

31. Where would the ETC be located on a prokaryote?

32. What is the origin of the mitochondria? How is the mitochondria different from its ancestor?

Mitotic Cell Cycle

1. What are the 3 main reasons why cells reproduce? Explain each.

2. What is meant by the term “asexual reproduction”?

3. What process does a prokaryote use to reproduce?

4. What process does a eukaryotic cell use to reproduce?

5. What are 2 ways that multicellular organisms asexually reproduce?

6. What is an organism’s genome?

7. A genome is contained in how many chromosomes in a prokaryotic cell?

8. A genome is contained in how many chromosomes in a eukaryotic cell?

9. Where is the genome contained in a prokaryotic cell?

10. Where is the genome contained in a eukaryotic cell?

11. In prokaryotes, DNA is found alone. In eukaryotes the DNA is coupled with ________________ to create a

material called ________________.

12. A single strand of this material is called a ________________________.

13. What is a chromosome? What are its 2 varieties? Draw out both of them. X I

14. How do we name the condition when a cell is NOT going through any cell cycle?

15. What are the 2 main parts of the cell cycle?

16. What are the 3 parts, in order, of cell growth, and what happens in each?

17. Name and describe the 2 parts of cell division (M-phase).

18. What are the 4 phases in order of mitosis and what happens in each?

19. Draw/recognize a cell in interphase and in each phase of mitosis? (both photo and drawing)
20. How is cytokinesis different from mitosis?

21. How does cytokinesis happen in animals? In plants?

Meiosis

1. What is the purpose of meiosis?

2. Define the following: Diploid, haploid, somatic, gamete, homologous chromosome, sister chromatid,

crossing over, independent assortment, and tetrad.

3. Why do all sexually reproducing organisms have an even number of chromosomes in their body cells?

4. How many interphases and M-phases are in meiosis? Compare this to mitosis.

5. Describe and draw out all of the phases of meiosis I and meiosis II. Which one is most similar to mitosis?

6. Compare the number of daughter cells produced in meiosis and the mitotic cell cycle:

7. Compare the types of cells produced in meiosis vs. the mitotic cell cycle?

8. Compare the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells of meiosis and the mitotic cell cycle?

9. Compare the function of the daughter cells in meiosis and the mitotic cell cycle?

10. What is crossing over, what does it happen to, when does it happen, and what is its purpose?

11. What is independent assortment, what does it happen to, when does it happen, and what is its purpose?

12. In meiosis, when is the cell haploid and when is it diploid?

Genetics

1. Define the following: heredity, genetics, trait, gene, allele, genotype, homozygous, heterozygous, true-

breeding, hybrid, and phenotype.

2. How do dominant and recessive alleles interact?

3. When should you use Mendelian genetics in a test question?

4. What is the dominant and recessive eye color in humans? What genotypes will code for its expression?

5. What type of hair line is dominant in humans? What genotypes code for it? Which is more common?
6. What does it mean when a trait is said to be controlled by Incomplete dominance? Give an example?

7. What are the 2 ways to know whether to use incomplete dominance in a quiz question?

8. What is meant when a trait is said to be controlled by co-dominance?

9. What are the 3 ways to know to use co-dominance in a quiz question?

10. What does each allele do for human ABo types

11. Which blood genotypes code for which blood phenotypes?

12. How do blood types affect blood transfusions?

13. What does the positive and negative refer to in blood types (it is something other than the ABo gene).

14. Be able to construct a Punnett square. Create some with a peer.

15. How do male and female mammals differ in their 23rd chromosome?

16. What affect does this chromosomal difference have on mammalian males?

17. Be able to set up a sex-linked Punnett square.

18. What is meant by polygenic?

19. What difference will you notice in the number of phenotypes of a polygenic trait vs a single gene trait?

20. Define: Segregation (from genetics)

21. Define: Independent Assortment (from meiosis)

DNA structure

1. What is the function of DNA?

2. What are the 3 components of a nucleotide?

3. Which component of a nucleotide can change between different nucleotides?

4. What is the purpose of the sugar and phosphate?

5. Compare Purines and Pyrimidines. How many nitrogenous rings are on each? Which bases are classified as

which?

6. Which bases can pair with each other in the double strands of DNA?
7. BE able to calculate base frequencies with Chargaff’s rule.

8. What is the shape of a strand of DNA?

9. What causes the DNA to twist?

10. What are the proteins that bind to DNA in a eukaryote chromatin?

11. What is a nucleosome?

DNA replication

1. When does DNA replicate in the cell cycle?

2. What are the 3 steps of replicating DNA?

3. What is the purpose of the first step?

4. What enzyme is used in the first step?

5. What is a Primer?

6. What enzyme adds primers?

7. How are new nucleotides added in step 2?

8. What enzyme is used in step 2?

9. What is the purpose of the 3rd step?

10. What enzyme is used in the 3rd step?

11. What would be the problem if DNA was always replicated with 100% accuracy and precision?

12. What is a replication fork?

13. The 2 strands made will be what to each other?

14. Describe the term semi-conservative?

15. What is meant by the term “multiple points of replication”?

Gene Expression

A. Define the term Gene Expression

C. What molecules do the work of the cell?

D. What are the 3 differences between DNA and RNA?

E. What are the 3 types of RNA, and what are their main functions?

F. To what does the nitrogenous base Uracil bind to?

G. Define transcription:

H. In which location in a cell does transcription take place?

I. DNA is used to directly make what product?

o What enzyme makes this product?

o Where does this process take place?

o How much of the DNA is transcribed at a time?

o What is the name for the product made during transcription?

J. What happens to introns and to exons after mRNA is made?

K. Where are the cap and tail added?

L. What is the function of the cap?

M. What is the function of the tail?

N. Define translation?
O. In which location of a cell does translation take place?

P. What information is being translated?

Q. What is a codon?

R. What is an anti-codon?

S. What molecule contains an anticodon?

T. Each anticodon comes with a unique what?

U. The sequence of mRNA nucleotides codes for a sequence of what?

V. What do we call this sequence?

W. What bonds hold amino acids together?

X. What is the generic name for any polymer of amino acids?

Y. What are all of the molecules involved in the process of transcription?

Z. What are all of the molecules involved in the process of translation?

AA. Be able to read both a codon wheel and codon chart.

BB. What is the start codon?

CC. What will happen when a STOP codon is reached?

DD. Be able to go from mRNA to amino acid, and from amino acid back to mRNA.

EE. Be able to go from tRNA to amino acid, and from Amino acid back to tRNA.

FF. Be able to go from DNA to amino acid.

Intro to Evolution

1. What contribution did Lyell make to evolution?

3. What contribution did Malthus make to evolution?

4. What contribution did Lamarck make to evolution?

5. What contribution did Darwin make to evolution?

6. Compare and contrast Darwinian evolution to Lamarckian evolution?

7. What contribution did Alfred Wallace make to evolution?

Evidence

I. What can be learned from studying the fossil record?

II. What are homologous structures and what do they tell us about the organisms that possess them?

III. What are analogous structures and what do they tell us about the organisms that possess them?

IV. What are vestigial structures and what do they tell us about the organisms that possess them?

V. Why do vertebrate embryos look similar at early stages of development?

VI. What can be learned from comparing the embryos of vertebrates throughout development?

VII. How does the molecular record compare between closely related organisms and distantly related

organisms?

VIII. How can artificial selection be used as evidence for natural selection?

IX. Describe how a pathogen can become resistant to antibiotics.

X. What are the key elements required for natural selection to take place?

XI. Stabilizing selection

o What does it result in?

o What causes it?

o What does its graph look like.

XII. Directional selection.

o What does it result in.

o What does its graph look like.

XIII. Disruptive selection.

o What does it result in?

o What causes it?

o What does its graph look like?

XIV. Selection pressures:

o What is physiological pressure, give an example.

o What is predation pressure, give an example.

o What is sexual pressure, give an example.

XV. What is genetic drift?

XVI. What causes the founder effect?

XVII. What causes a bottleneck event?

XVIII. Individuals do NOT evolve : POPULATIONS evolve