UCF BIOLOGY EXIT EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026 COMPLETE QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS BRAND NEW VERSION

UCF BIOLOGY EXIT EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026 COMPLETE QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS BRAND NEW VERSION 1. Theory - ANSWER A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data, backed by strong evidence 2. Law - ANSWER A descriptive statement or equation that reliably predicts events under certain conditions 3. Hypothesis - ANSWER A testable prediction, often implied by a theory 4. Control - ANSWER In an experiment, the standard that is used for comparison 5. Experimental group - ANSWER In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable. 6. Independent variable - ANSWER The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being measured. Plotted on the x axis 7. Dependent variable - ANSWER The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. Plotted on the y axis 8. Autotrophs - ANSWER Organisms that are able to make their own food 9. Heterotrophs - ANSWER An organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their by-products. 10. Diffusion - ANSWER Movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration; requires no energy 11. Osmosis - ANSWER Diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane; moves from higher to lower water concentration 12. Active transport - ANSWER Energy-requiring process that moves material across a cell membrane against a concentration difference 13. Frontal lobe - ANSWER A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement 14. Parietal lobe - ANSWER A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch. 15. Occipital lobe - ANSWER A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information 16. Pituitary gland - ANSWER The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. 17. Pons - ANSWER A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain 18. Testosterone - ANSWER The most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty 19. Estrogen - ANSWER A sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity. 20. Negative feedback - ANSWER A primary mechanism of homeostasis, whereby a change in a physiological variable that is being monitored triggers a response that counteracts the initial fluctuation. 21. Positive feedback - ANSWER A type of regulation that responds to a change in conditions by initiating responses that will amplify the change. Takes organism away from a steady state. 22. Organ system - ANSWER A group of organs that work together in performing vital body functions. 23. Asexual reproduction - ANSWER Process by which a single parent reproduces by itself 24. Sexual reproduction - ANSWER A reproductive process that involves two parents that combine their genetic material to produce a new organism, which differs from both parents 25. Mitosis - ANSWER Part of eukaryotic cell division during which the cell nucleus divides after chromosomes are replicated 26. Meiosis - ANSWER Cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms 27. Meiosis II - ANSWER The second phase of meiosis consisting of chromatids separating, along with the two diploid cells splitting in two 28. PMAT - ANSWER Cell Division: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase 29. Steps of mitosis Prophase - ANSWER Chromosomes become visable, nuclear envelop dissolves, spindle forms Prometaphase - ANSWER The second stage of mitosis, in which the nuclear envelope fragments and the spindle microtubules attach to the kinetochores of the chromosomes. Metaphase - ANSWER Chromosomes line up in the middle of the cell Anaphase - ANSWER Phase of mitosis in which the chromosomes separate and move to opposite ends of the cell Telophase - ANSWER After the chromosome seperates, the cell seals off, Final Phase of Mitosis. 30. Cytokinesis - ANSWER Division of the cytoplasm during cell division 31. Interphase - ANSWER Period of the cell cycle between cell divisions 32. Zygote - ANSWER Fertilized egg 33. Gametes - ANSWER A mature haploid male or female germ cell that is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote (sex cells) 34. Fertilization - ANSWER Process in sexual reproduction in which male and female reproductive cells join to form a new cell 35. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - ANSWER A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes. 36. RNA (ribonucleic acid) - ANSWER A nucleic acid that translates the code stored in DNA, which makes possible the synthesis of proteins; single stranded 37. Mutations - ANSWER Random errors in gene replication that lead to a change in the sequence of nucleotides. The source of all genetic diversity. 38. Selective breeding (artificial selection) - ANSWER The process of selecting a few organisms with desired traits to serve as parents of the next generation 39. Gene splicing - ANSWER The process by which the DNA of an organism is cut and a gene from another is inserted 40. How many chromosomes do humans have? - ANSWER 46 (23 pairs) 41. Charles Darwin - ANSWER English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (); father of modern evolution 42. Natural selection - ANSWER A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits. 43. Gene flow (migration) - ANSWER Movement of alleles into or out of a population due to the migration of individuals to or from the population 44. Krebs Cycle (Citric Acid Cycle) - ANSWER The Krebs Cycle, also known as the citric acid cycle, takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria. In the Krebs Cycle, each of the two acetyl coenzyme A molecules enter the cycle and combine with oxaloacetate to form citric acid, which then loses two carbons as carbon dioxide. The cycle is now ready to begin again with the second Acetyl CoA. For each Acetyl CoA, the Krebs Cycle produces 1 ATP, 3 NADH, and 1 FADH2. 45. Calvin Cycle - ANSWER Light-independent reactions of photosynthesis in which energy from ATP and NADPH is used to build high-energy compounds such as sugar 46. Endothermic - ANSWER Absorbs heat 47. Exothermic - ANSWER Releases heat 48. Endergonic - ANSWER A chemical reaction that requires the input of energy in order to proceed (positive △G) 49. Exergonic - ANSWER Chemical reactions that release energy (negative △G) 50. Spontaneous reaction - ANSWER A reaction that will proceed without any outside energy 51. What is a ribozyme? - ANSWER An RNA with enzymatic activity 52. Which of the following helps to stabilize mRNA by inhibiting its degradation? - ANSWER 5' cap and poly (A) tail 53. Transcription in eukaryotes requires which of the following in addition to RNA polymerase? - ANSWER Several transcription factors (TFs) 54. In eukaryotes there are several different types of RNA polymerase. Which type is involved in transcription of mRNA for a globin protein? - ANSWER RNA polymerase II 55. The "universal" genetic code is now known to have exceptions. Evidence for this could be found if which of the following is true? - ANSWER If UGA, usually a stop codon, is found to code for an amino acid such as tryptophan (usually coded for by UGG only). 56. The nitrogenous base adenine is found in all members of which group? - ANSWER ATP, RNA, and DNA 57. Garrod hypothesized that "inborn errors of metabolism" such as alkaptonuria occur because - ANSWER genes dictate the production of specific enzymes, and affected individuals have genetic defects that cause them to lack certain enzymes. 58. Why do histones bind tightly to DNA? - ANSWER Histones are positively charged and DNA is negatively charged 59. Which of the following help to hold the DNA strands apart while they are being replicated? - ANSWER Single-strand binding proteins 60. What is the role of DNA ligase in the elongation of the lagging strand during DNA replication? - ANSWER Unwind the parental double helix 61. The leading and the lagging strands differ in that - ANSWER the leading strand is synthesized in the same direction as the movement of the replication fork, and the lagging strand is synthesized in the opposite direction. 62. The difference between ATP and the nucleoside triphosphates used during DNA synthesis is that - ANSWER The nucleoside triphosphates have the sugar deoxyribose; ATP has the sugar ribose 63. Which of the following synthesizes short segments of RNA? - ANSWER Primase 64. Which of the following covalently connects segments of DNA? - ANSWER Ligase 65. What is the function of DNA polymerase III? - ANSWER To add nucleotides to the end of a growing strand 66. Replication in prokaryotes differs from replication is eukaryotes for which of these reasons? - ANSWER Prokaryotic chromosomes have a single origin of replication, whereas eukaryotic chromosomes have many. 67. What kind of chemical bond is found between paired bases of the DNA double helix? - ANSWER Hydrogen 68. Why does the DNA double helix have a uniform diameter? - ANSWER Purines pair with pyrimidines 69. When T2 phages infect bacteria and make more viruses in the presence of radioactive sulfur, what is the result? - ANSWER The viral proteins will be radioactive 70. Which of the following investigators was/were responsible for the following discovery? Phage with labeled proteins or DNA was allowed to infect bacteria. It was shown that the DNA, but not the protein, entered the bacterial cells, and was therefore concluded to be the genetic material. - ANSWER Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl 71. In trying to determine whether DNA or protein is the genetic material, Hershey and Chase made use of which of the following facts? - ANSWER DNA contains phosphorus but protein does not 72. What does transformation involve in bacteria? - ANSWER Assimilation of external DNA into a cell 73. The frequency of Down syndrome in the human population is most closely correlated with which of the following? - ANSWER Age of the mother 74. Women with Turner syndrome have a genotype characterized as which of the following? - ANSWER A karyotype of 45, X 75. A cell that has 2n+1 chromosomes is - ANSWER Trisomic 76. New combinations of linked genes are due to - ANSWER Crossing over 77. Calico cats are female because - ANSWER A male inherits only one of the two X-linked genes controlling hair colour 78. SRY is best described in which of the following ways? - ANSWER A gene region present on the Y chromosome that triggers male development 79. Catabolism - ANSWER Metabolic pathways that break down molecules, releasing energy. 80. Anabolism - ANSWER Metabolic pathways that construct molecules, requiring energy. 81. Catalysis - ANSWER A process by which a chemical agent called a catalyst selectively increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. 82. Enthalpy - ANSWER The heat content of a system at constant pressure 83. Entropy - ANSWER A measure of disorder or randomness. 84. ATP - ANSWER (adenosine triphosphate) main energy source that cells use for most of their work 85. ADP - ANSWER (Adenosine Diphosphate) The compound that remains when a phosphate group is removed from ATP, releasing energy 86. Thermodynamics - ANSWER The study of energy transformations that occur in a collection of matter. 87. Kinetics - ANSWER Study of forces associated with the motion of a body 88. Glycolysis - ANSWER A metabolic process that breaks down carbohydrates and sugars through a series of reactions to either pyruvic acid or lactic acid and release energy for the body in the form of ATP 89. Oxidative phosphorylation - ANSWER Part of the electron transport chain. A process occurring in the mitochondria that results in the formation of ATP from the flow of electrons across the inner membrane to bind with oxygen. 90. Why are C4 plants able to photosynthesize with no apparent photorespiration? - ANSWER They use PEP carboxylase to initially fix carbon dioxide (CO2) 91. Paracrine - ANSWER Referring to a secreted molecule that acts on a neighboring cell. 92. Paracrine signaling - ANSWER Signal released from a cell has an effect on neighboring cells. 93. Autocrine - ANSWER Referring to a secreted molecule that acts on the cell that secreted it. 94. Autocrine signaling - ANSWER Secreted molecules diffuse locally and trigger a response in the cells that secrete them 95. Botany - ANSWER The scientific study of plants 96. Biology - ANSWER The scientific study of life 97. Chemistry - ANSWER The study of the properties of matter and how matter changes 98. Genetics - ANSWER The scientific study of heredity 99. Surface tension - ANSWER Level of difficulty involved in breaking or stretching the surface of a liquid 100. High specific heat - ANSWER This means how successfully a substance resists changing temperature. 101. Specific heat capacity - ANSWER The amount of amount of heat that must be gained or lost to change the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1° C. 102. Why does water have such a high specific heat capacity? - ANSWER Due to hydrogen bonds absorbing the heat increase 103. High heat of vaporization - ANSWER It takes a great amount of energy to convert water from liquid to gas. This helps moderate earth's climate in the case of water. 104. What happens when water freezes? - ANSWER It becomes less dense and floats 105. Water is a solvent, thus ____ __________ ________ __ __. - ANSWER many substances dissolve in it 106. Hydrophobic - ANSWER Repelled by water; mostly non polar substances 107. Hydrophilic - ANSWER Water loving or attracted to water. Most of these compounds are polar or charged. 108. Acid - ANSWER Substance which increases the H ion in a solution