BIO 121 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE | 2026 LATEST
UPDATES | VERIFIED STUDY | ALREADY
PASSED
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EXAM 2
Lecture video 1:
Mitochondria
Chloroplasts
-chloroplasts and mitochondria do not create energy. Organisms have to capture
energy from surroundings and they can transform or transfer it but they cannot create it.
The First Law of Thermodynamics
● Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be transferred and changed in
form
● Organisms cannot “create” energy. They must capture energy from their
surroundings
The second law of Thermodynamics:
, lOMoAR cPSD| 61371432
● Entropy in the universe, a closed system, is continuously increasing.
● “Contrary to popular opinion among those who do not understand it, Entropy
does not mean “disorder” in the sense that we usually think about the term. The
second law does not dictate the decrease of the ordered structure by its
predictions. It only demands a "spreading out" of energy when such ordered
structures are formed spontaneously.” - Frank Lambert, Professor Emeritus of
Chemistry, Occidental College
○ Example: Formation of snowflakes – These “orderly” structures form
spontaneously every day. This is not a violation of the 2nd law.
● No energy transfer is 100% efficient
● Some energy dissipates as heat, random motion that contributes to entropy (S)
● How does this relate to the history of the universe?
● The total energy available to do work in a closed system decreases over
time= second law of thermodynamics
Closed and Open Systems:
● Close system
○ No energy exchange with surroundings
● Organisms are open systems
○ Exchange energy with surroundings
○ Earth is an open system constantly getting energy from the sun and
radiating it out to the universe
Key Concepts;
○ energy cannot be created or destroyed (first law of thermodynamics)
○ -total energy available to do work in a closed system decreases over time
(entropy) which is the d law of thermodynamics
○ -Organisms follow laws of thermodynamics
○ -are open systems
○ -use energy from surroundings to do work
○ -process involved in the evolution
Catabolism and Anabolism
● Catabolism
○ Degradation of large complex molecules into smaller, simpler molecules. ○
Exergonic (getting energy out)
● Anabolism
UPDATES | VERIFIED STUDY | ALREADY
PASSED
, lOMoAR cPSD| 61371432
EXAM 2
Lecture video 1:
Mitochondria
Chloroplasts
-chloroplasts and mitochondria do not create energy. Organisms have to capture
energy from surroundings and they can transform or transfer it but they cannot create it.
The First Law of Thermodynamics
● Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be transferred and changed in
form
● Organisms cannot “create” energy. They must capture energy from their
surroundings
The second law of Thermodynamics:
, lOMoAR cPSD| 61371432
● Entropy in the universe, a closed system, is continuously increasing.
● “Contrary to popular opinion among those who do not understand it, Entropy
does not mean “disorder” in the sense that we usually think about the term. The
second law does not dictate the decrease of the ordered structure by its
predictions. It only demands a "spreading out" of energy when such ordered
structures are formed spontaneously.” - Frank Lambert, Professor Emeritus of
Chemistry, Occidental College
○ Example: Formation of snowflakes – These “orderly” structures form
spontaneously every day. This is not a violation of the 2nd law.
● No energy transfer is 100% efficient
● Some energy dissipates as heat, random motion that contributes to entropy (S)
● How does this relate to the history of the universe?
● The total energy available to do work in a closed system decreases over
time= second law of thermodynamics
Closed and Open Systems:
● Close system
○ No energy exchange with surroundings
● Organisms are open systems
○ Exchange energy with surroundings
○ Earth is an open system constantly getting energy from the sun and
radiating it out to the universe
Key Concepts;
○ energy cannot be created or destroyed (first law of thermodynamics)
○ -total energy available to do work in a closed system decreases over time
(entropy) which is the d law of thermodynamics
○ -Organisms follow laws of thermodynamics
○ -are open systems
○ -use energy from surroundings to do work
○ -process involved in the evolution
Catabolism and Anabolism
● Catabolism
○ Degradation of large complex molecules into smaller, simpler molecules. ○
Exergonic (getting energy out)
● Anabolism
