CAMPBELL BIOLOGY IN FOCUS 4TH EDITION
BY LISA A. URRY EXAM 2026 COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM SCRIPT WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◉ evolution. Answer: Descent with modification; the idea that living
species are descendants of ancestral species that were different
from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the
change in the genetic composition of a population from generation
to generation.
◉ biology. Answer: The scientific study of life.
◉ reductionism. Answer: The approach of reducing complex
systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study.
◉ biosphere. Answer: The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life;
the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.
◉ ecosystem. Answer: All the organisms in a given area as well as
the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more
communities and the physical environment around them.
,◉ community. Answer: All the organisms that inhabit a particular
area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close
enough together for potential interaction.
◉ population. Answer: A group of individuals of the same species
that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring.
◉ organism. Answer: An individual living thing.
◉ organ. Answer: A specialized center of body function composed of
several different types of tissues.
◉ organ system. Answer: A group of organs that work together in
performing vital body functions.
◉ tissue. Answer: An integrated group of cells with a common
structure, function, or both.
◉ cell. Answer: Life's fundamental unit of structure and function.
◉ organelle. Answer: Any of several kinds of membrane-enclosed
structures with specialized functions, suspended in the cytosol of
eukaryotic cells.
,◉ molecule. Answer: Two or more atoms held together by covalent
bonds.
◉ atom. Answer: The smallest unit of matter that retains the
properties of an element.
◉ emergent properties. Answer: New properties that arise with
each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement
and interactions of parts as complexity increases.
◉ systems biology. Answer: An approach to studying biology that
aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems
based on a study of the interactions among the system's parts.
◉ eukaryotic cell. Answer: A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed
nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles and include protists,
plants, fungi, and animals.
◉ prokaryotic cell. Answer: A type of cell lacking a membrane-
enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles and include
bacteria and archaea.
◉ DNA. Answer: A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-helix, in
which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers
with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A),
, cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being
replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell's
proteins.
◉ replication. Answer: The process of copying DNA before a cell
divides.
◉ gene. Answer: A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting
of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).
◉ gene expression. Answer: The process by which information
encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases,
RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as
RNAs.
◉ genome. Answer: The genetic material of an organism or virus;
the complete complement of an organism's or virus's genes along
with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences.
◉ genomics. Answer: The study of whole sets of genes and their
interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons
between species.
BY LISA A. URRY EXAM 2026 COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM SCRIPT WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◉ evolution. Answer: Descent with modification; the idea that living
species are descendants of ancestral species that were different
from the present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the
change in the genetic composition of a population from generation
to generation.
◉ biology. Answer: The scientific study of life.
◉ reductionism. Answer: The approach of reducing complex
systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study.
◉ biosphere. Answer: The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life;
the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.
◉ ecosystem. Answer: All the organisms in a given area as well as
the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more
communities and the physical environment around them.
,◉ community. Answer: All the organisms that inhabit a particular
area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close
enough together for potential interaction.
◉ population. Answer: A group of individuals of the same species
that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring.
◉ organism. Answer: An individual living thing.
◉ organ. Answer: A specialized center of body function composed of
several different types of tissues.
◉ organ system. Answer: A group of organs that work together in
performing vital body functions.
◉ tissue. Answer: An integrated group of cells with a common
structure, function, or both.
◉ cell. Answer: Life's fundamental unit of structure and function.
◉ organelle. Answer: Any of several kinds of membrane-enclosed
structures with specialized functions, suspended in the cytosol of
eukaryotic cells.
,◉ molecule. Answer: Two or more atoms held together by covalent
bonds.
◉ atom. Answer: The smallest unit of matter that retains the
properties of an element.
◉ emergent properties. Answer: New properties that arise with
each step upward in the hierarchy of life, owing to the arrangement
and interactions of parts as complexity increases.
◉ systems biology. Answer: An approach to studying biology that
aims to model the dynamic behavior of whole biological systems
based on a study of the interactions among the system's parts.
◉ eukaryotic cell. Answer: A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed
nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles and include protists,
plants, fungi, and animals.
◉ prokaryotic cell. Answer: A type of cell lacking a membrane-
enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles and include
bacteria and archaea.
◉ DNA. Answer: A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-helix, in
which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers
with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A),
, cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being
replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell's
proteins.
◉ replication. Answer: The process of copying DNA before a cell
divides.
◉ gene. Answer: A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting
of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).
◉ gene expression. Answer: The process by which information
encoded in DNA directs the synthesis of proteins or, in some cases,
RNAs that are not translated into proteins and instead function as
RNAs.
◉ genome. Answer: The genetic material of an organism or virus;
the complete complement of an organism's or virus's genes along
with its noncoding nucleic acid sequences.
◉ genomics. Answer: The study of whole sets of genes and their
interactions within a species, as well as genome comparisons
between species.
