- Biology 101, General Biology (fall term)
- Biology 102, General Biology (spring term)
- Biology 201, Invertebrate Zoology (spring term)
- Biology 251, Human Physiology (fall term)
- Biology 271, Marine Biology (spring term)
- Biology 308, Comparative Animal Physiology (fall term)
Note that the typical kind of question I ask requires that the student do two things in writing a successful answer. First, the answer must contain correct facts about the phenomenon or subject in question. Second, my questions usually require the student to think about the material and present it in a slightly different way in the answer, a process which shows that s/he has mastered the concept.
In general, the best way to study for one of my tests is go over the topics listed in the lecture outlines, focusing on definitions, structures, functions and their controls.
Biology 101, General Biology (fall term)
1. Defend the statement that most of the really important chemicals of life are polymers. Be sure to give specific examples of several classes of polymeric organic molecules and of their constituent 'monomers'.
2. Why is water such a good solvent?
3. Discuss the structure of a typical cell membrane and tell me why ions don't pass through it readily.
4. How are integral cell membrane proteins held in the cell membrane?
5. Supply the missing terms indicated by "A", "B", "C", etc.: Glycolysis turns A into B and requires C molecules of D to make E molecules of F acid. F acid is fed into the G (cellular structure), where it is decarboxylated to make H and this is combined with I acid to make J acid. The final products of this pathway are K, L , M and N. In the mitochondrion, O are transported along a series of proteins called the P and then Q are pumped out of the inner matrix, making a(n) R gradient. Finally, this gradient is used by the S to cause T and U to be combined to make W by the X-ase.
6. Document in table form the total ATP yield from the oxidative 'burning' of one molecule of hexose. Be sure to indicate where substrate-level phosphorylation and NADH and FADH2 are involved.
7. Defend the statement that chloroplasts and mitochondria are endosymbiotic organisms living in eukaryotic cells.
8. What properties of CO2 and H2O make them good substrates for photosynthesis?
9. What are the wavelengths that compose visible light and, specifically, why are these wavelengths used in photosynthesis?
10. Draw the structure of a chloroplast and label all parts. Where in a plant cell would one be likely to find chlorophyll a and Rubisco?
11. In photosystem II, what is unique about the electron carrier plastoquinone?
12. Why is photorespiration considered wasteful of energy? Where in the plant cell does this process occur?
13. Why do we think that the 'ozone hole' is present over Antarctica rather than over the equator?
14. What is the answer to the ultimate question; you know, Man, God, the Universe; everything? HINT: The answer is encoded in your brainwaves and you should be very wary of a pair of white mice if they start following you.
Back to the top of this page
Biology 102 General Biology (spring term)
1. Define the terms sporphyte and gametophyte as they pertain to alternating generations of vascular plants.2. What is the function of the pollen tube?
3. Distinguish between a cotyledon and the endosperm of a typical angiosperm seed.
4. Discuss the life cycle of a typical seed plant, paying particular attention to (that is, define them) the sporophyte and gametophyte generations.
5. Classify a conifer as completely as you can; begin with Division (=Kingdom).
6. What is unusual about the genetics of the endosperm tissue of seeds? What is the function of the endosperm?
7. Define and give three major structural or biochemical differences between monocots and dicots.
8. Discuss two examples of coevolution between plants and the animals which pollinate them or transport their seeds.
9. Distinguish between mitotic and meiotic cell division and give a specific example of each, being sure to say in what tissue or organ each example takes place.
10. Where and by which cells are testosterone and progesterone made?
11. What are two functions of the human fallopian tube?
12. Define endometrium, give its location in the human body and state its function.
13. Define and give three physiological functions of the human umbilical cord.
14. Define vasectomy and tubal ligation and state the purpose of these operations.
15. Why is inbreeding thought to be a bad thing?
16. Why is it that a corn seedling can 'eat' a bean seedling? Under what conditions can this happen?
17. What are the four universal stages of development in animals?
18. What is the function of the protein made by the bicoid gene in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster ?
19. Define the terms zygote, embryo and larva.
20. Give the Phylum and Class of the following larvae:
1) veliger
2) megalops
3) maggot
4) zoea
5) trochophore
6) tadpole
Back to the top of this page
Biology 201, Invertebrate Zoology (spring term).
1 (20). Define the following terms (for all taxon names you must give the rank; e.g., Kingdom [= rank] Animalia [= taxon]):
a) Demospongiae f) Nematoda
b) Anthozoa g) Pogonophora
c) Nuda h) Anopla
d) Digenea i) Tricladida
e) Clitellata j) Hydrozoa
2 (20). Make a double-spaced list of numbers from 1-10 in your blue book and, next to the number for each term (#1 = "proglottid", #2 = "oral tentacles in multiples of 6", etc.), list all of the taxa (plural of taxon; for example, Animalia is a taxon and so is Hominidae, but don't use either of them) and their ranks we have studied so far in the course which are truthfully described by the term. Some of the terms below may describe several taxa and some of the terms may not apply to any of the taxa we have studied so far.
DO NOT GUESS, as I will deduct equal credit for incorrect answers.
TERMS
1) proglottid
2) oral tentacles in multiples of 6
3) parapodia
4) coelomate
5) velum
6) mastax
7) bilaterally symmetrical body
8) clitellum
9) rhynchocoele
10) cercaria
3 (15). Diagram a typical scyphozoan jellyfish, labeling 7 structures. What is strobilation in scyphozoan scyphistomas? (Sorry, I guess I'm just an alliterate.)
4 (10). Given what you know about the diseases (and the invertebrates causing them) we have studied so far, name the disease from which the person shown in the picture below is most likely suffering. Classify the organism which causes it as fully as you can (ranks and taxa, please). What is the intermediate host for this parasite?
NOTE: Picture is on Fig. 8.19 in text.
5 (15). Filariasis is particularly common in the tropics, often resulting in a condition known as "elephantiasis." Describe the disease and its symptoms in humans and classify as completely as you can (ranks and taxa, please) the organism which causes it. How do humans get infected with elephantiasis (this is a parasitic life cycle question)?
6 (15). Explain the arguments for:
a) including the present phyla Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Priapulida, Kinorhyncha and Loricifera as classes in a new phylum, the Cycloneuralia and,
b) including the present phylum Arthropoda (insects, crustaceans, spiders, etc.), the new phylum Cycloneuralia (as above) and the present phylum Tardigrada (not yet studied by us, so don't worry about it) as classes in a new phylum, the Ecdysozoa.
Back to the top of this page
Biology 251, Human Physiology (fall term)
1. Explain the difference between tropic and releasing hormones, giving one specific example of each.2. Discuss the acute changes in the function of the sympathetic nervous system of the woman in the center of the drawing below:
Drawing by Heinrich Kley, published by Borden Publishing, Alhambra, CA, in 'The Drawings of Heinrich Kley', 1968.
3. Give the molecular basis (e.g., structural/functional changes) for the Bohr shift of hemoglobin (i.e., lower O2 binding at lower pH).
4. Why does rapid, very shallow breathing lower O2 delivery to the alveoli?
5. How and why would you expect respiratory rate (breaths/min) to change in the following circumstance? A person is exposed to air at STP which has a pO2 of 50 mm Hg.
6. Explain how ADH controls the osmotic pressure of the blood plasma. Be sure to use an ADH reflex arc in your answer.
7. What would you predict as major symptoms of a disease which caused the excessive secretion of parathyriod hormone? Why?
8. What would you predict would be the consequences of excessive secretion of aldosterone? Why?
9. Discuss the cause and effects of the disease known as acromegaly.
10. Discuss the "set point theory" of human thermoregulation; be sure to include the function of peripheral and central temperature sensors.
11. Distinguish between the location and function of the proximal and distal convoluted tubules of the nephron. Give five functions for the PCT and three functions for the DCT.
12. What is GFR and how is it measured?
13. Distinguish between the processes by which 1) organic acids and 2) "new" (=xenobiotic), filterable chemicals are transported into the urine. Be sure to state a mechanism for each process.
14. What three processes control urinary potassium secretion?
15. How and where is acid (H+) secreted by the kidney?
16. Explain why it is that people often survive the loss of large amounts of blood if they: 1) don't die immediately and 2) they fall down or otherwise wind up in a prone position.
17. Differentiate (function and appearence) between monocytes and acidophils in the circulation.
18. Why are plasma proteins so important in preventing edema?
19. Explain why it is that sympathetic stimulation of the heart affects stroke volume and heart rate, while parasympathetic stimulation of the heart only affects heart rate.
20. Discuss the local and central control of blood flow through a capillary bed.
21. Distinguish between the conrol of release of antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin by the posterior pituitary.
22. Define, state the location of release and give a specific example (=name) of each of the following:
a) releasing hormone
b) tropic hormone
c) cholecystokinin
d) bradycardin
e) Pierrecardin
23. Distinguish between the action of pepsin and enterokinase. Where and how does each act?
24. How would you expect the loss of the ability to make carbonic anhydrase to affect a parietal cell of a gastric gland in the stomach? Why? What would the effects of this loss be if all of the parietal cells of the stomach were so affected? Think carefully, as this has consequences for duodenal function, too!
25. Explain why one of the symptoms of liver inflamation (hepatitis) is a yellowing of the skin (jaundice) and high blood levels of bile salts.
Back to the top of this page
Biology 271, Marine Biology (spring term)
1. Your text has much to say about 'Bioluminescence in the Deep Sea.' Summarize this information.
2. Discuss the sources of food in the deep sea environment. How do the rift vent communities seen in the film, 'Dive to the Edge of Creation,' differ from other deep sea communities with regard to the source of their food (be very specific here)?
3. What concept is Peterson (a Dane) known for? What is a Peterson grab?
4. Discuss the succession of changes in species composition and diversity in shallow-water benthic sediments after after a large disturbance (e.g., dredging). Be sure to correlate the creatures' life-history strategies (e.g., planktotrophic, opportunistic, etc.) with this succession.
5. In the film, 'Beneath the Emerald Sea,' several predator-prey trophic relationships were discussed. Discuss one of these predator-prey relationships, naming the animals involved and paying particular attention to hunting strategies and prey defenses.
6. Discuss the role of salt marsh grasses in the food web of a typical estuary. Give three genera of common marsh grasses and classify them as completely as you can.
7. Why is cutting down and filling in mangrove swamps a very bad idea? The film, 'Wellsprings,' gives many reasons to support this notion; write about three of them for me. Classify a mangrove tree as completely as you can.
8. What do zooxanthellae do for their coral hosts and what do the corals do for their zooxanthellae? Classify each organism as completely as you can.
9. Why are so many of the algae in the coral reef community in the coral, rather than in the water (as phytoplankton) above the coral?
10. Discuss the osmotic and ionic problems experienced by a salmon in:
a) fresh water
b) sea water
c) an estuary at a level where the water is isosmotic (equal osmotic pressure) with the blood of the fish
11. Discuss Darwin's classification of coral reefs into three major types.
12. Why do the structures of the windward and leeward sides of coral atolls differ in the communities they support?
13. Discuss the importance of free amino acids in the regulation of cell volume (i.e., limiting cell swelling) in osmoconformers. At a given salinity, say 20 %o, would you expect a osmoconformer or an osmoregulator to make the most use of FAAs to control cell swelling? Why?
14. Diagram the life cycle of a typical coral. Classify a reef-building coral as completely as you can.
15. Discuss the special adaptations of halophytes to their salt marsh environment. List three genera of salt marsh grasses.
16. Distinguish between commensalism, mutualism and parasitism, giving a real-life example of each.
17. Why do pollutants present in the marine environment at very low, non-toxic concentrations (0.1-0.001 ppm) pose a very real threat to marine animals and, ultimately, to humans?
Back to the top of this page
Biology 308, Comparative Animal Physiology
(fall term)
1. Discuss the osmotic and ionic problems exprienced by a strongly osmoregulating fiddler crab in 10% SW and in 150% SW; discuss also the crab's solutions to these problems. Begin with a graph of the osmotic performance (pOsm inside vs. pOsm outside) and use it to explain your answer.2. Discuss Heinrich's work on thermoregulation in the sphynx moth. You must use at least one graph to help in your answer.
3. Discuss the anatomical changes in the circulatory systems of endothermic fish like the tuna. How do these changes let them be "warm-blooded"?
4. Discuss the advantages of uricotelism in terms of:
1) urinary water loss necessary for excretion of nitrogenous waste
2) Na+ and K+ excretion
3) making one's mark on pedestrians walking below (this only in birds).
5. Would you expect a tadpole to have high or low levels of carbamoyl phosphate synthase in its liver? Why or why not? Answer the same questions for glutamine synthase.
6. Discuss the role of the soma of a typical neuron in integration of the neural input from the 100-1000 synapses it receives from other neurons.
7. Assume that the sea-nymph pictured below(the one without the helmet) is descended from ancient hominid stocks which returned to the deep sea and that she (looks like a "she" to me!)
uses oxidative metabolism to maintain normal human values for core body temperature and plasma ion composition. Discuss as fully as you can the extensive adaptive mechanisms she would need to survive in her environment. Finally, think carefully about your answer thus far and then tell me if you think the person in the diving suit is in any physical danger from her; why or why not?The drawing, 'Love's Labor Lost', is by Heinrich Kley and was published by Borden Publishing, Alhambra, CA, in 'The Drawings of Heinrich Kley', 1968.
Back to the top of this page
Return to Prof. Holliday's web page.