BSC 108 CORRECT EXAMS ANSWERS AND
QUESTIONS SET A+
✔✔What is the phosphorous cycle? - ✔✔1. Weathering of rock adds inorganic
phosphate PO4 to the soil
2. Plants absorb dissolved PO4 from soil and assimilate it by building it into organic
compounds
3. Consumers obtain phosphorous by eating plants
4. Phosphates are returned to soil when decomposers decompose, and when animals
produce urine/feces
5. Some phosphates drain from soil into the sea, where they may settle and become
part of new rocks
6. This phosphorous will not be available to living organisms until these rocks
experience weathering again
a. Naturally, phosphates are moved from land to water quicker than they can be
replaced
b. This limits availability to plants, so farmers use phosphate fertilizers to boost plant
growth
✔✔What are the major types of ecosystems? - ✔✔ocean, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams,
coral reef, marsh, tundra, taiga, temperate forest, tropical rain forest, temperate
grassland, tropical grassland, desert
✔✔What are the characteristics of an ocean? - ✔✔home to the smallest organisms,
three zones based on amount of sunlight that can reach, large variety of plants/animals,
saltwater
✔✔What are the characteristics of a temperate forest? - ✔✔deciduous and evergreen
trees, fluctuating temperatures, defined seasons
✔✔What are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest? - ✔✔most diverse ecosystem
on Earth, near equator, high precipitation, year-round warmth, flourishing vegetation
✔✔What are the characteristics of a temperate grassland? - ✔✔temperate, not enough
rain to support a forest, flat, rich soil, large number of animals
, ✔✔What are the characteristics of a tropical grassland? - ✔✔high amount, but not
enough rain to support a forest, grasses dominate, scattered trees may be common
✔✔What are the characteristics of a coral reef? - ✔✔"rainforests of the ocean," ¼ of
marine species rely on them for food/shelter, Great Barrier Reef is world's largest living
structure
✔✔What are the characteristics of a lake? - ✔✔formed by blocked or ending rivers, soil
is supersaturated, water is mainly still but can be moving in some slanted areas
✔✔What are the characteristics of a pond? - ✔✔same, but doesn't have an aphotic
zone (meaning there's not an area deep enough that sunlight can't reach)
✔✔What are the characteristics of a river? - ✔✔flowing freshwater, higher O2 levels
than stationary waters, natural, contains channels that empty into larger bodies of water
✔✔What are the characteristics of a stream? - ✔✔same, but smaller than a river- would
flow into or out of a river
✔✔What is a marsh? - ✔✔dominated by grasses, reeds, and sedges, type of wetland,
water covers ground for long time, treeless
✔✔What is a taiga? - ✔✔far northern regions of the world, consist of always green
needle-and-cone trees, such as pine and spruce
✔✔What is a tundra? - ✔✔harsh, snow-covered, windy, treeless, soil frozen almost
year-round, some lichens and small flowers present, birds in spring
✔✔What is a desert? - ✔✔low precipitation, varying temperatures, windy, rocky and/or
sandy, sparse vegetation, animals highly adapted to dryness
✔✔How have humans impacted biodiversity? - ✔✔through population numbers, use of
land, and lifestyles
✔✔What are the steps of human gene therapy? - ✔✔Normal human gene is isolated
and cloned, human gene is inserted into a virus, virus is injected into a patient, normal
human gene is transcribed and translated in the patient
✔✔What is a vector? - ✔✔DNA carriers that move genes from one cell to another
✔✔ What is the structure of a strand of DNA? - ✔✔double helix, twisted ladder
✔✔What is DNA composed of? - ✔✔nucleotide subunits
QUESTIONS SET A+
✔✔What is the phosphorous cycle? - ✔✔1. Weathering of rock adds inorganic
phosphate PO4 to the soil
2. Plants absorb dissolved PO4 from soil and assimilate it by building it into organic
compounds
3. Consumers obtain phosphorous by eating plants
4. Phosphates are returned to soil when decomposers decompose, and when animals
produce urine/feces
5. Some phosphates drain from soil into the sea, where they may settle and become
part of new rocks
6. This phosphorous will not be available to living organisms until these rocks
experience weathering again
a. Naturally, phosphates are moved from land to water quicker than they can be
replaced
b. This limits availability to plants, so farmers use phosphate fertilizers to boost plant
growth
✔✔What are the major types of ecosystems? - ✔✔ocean, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams,
coral reef, marsh, tundra, taiga, temperate forest, tropical rain forest, temperate
grassland, tropical grassland, desert
✔✔What are the characteristics of an ocean? - ✔✔home to the smallest organisms,
three zones based on amount of sunlight that can reach, large variety of plants/animals,
saltwater
✔✔What are the characteristics of a temperate forest? - ✔✔deciduous and evergreen
trees, fluctuating temperatures, defined seasons
✔✔What are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest? - ✔✔most diverse ecosystem
on Earth, near equator, high precipitation, year-round warmth, flourishing vegetation
✔✔What are the characteristics of a temperate grassland? - ✔✔temperate, not enough
rain to support a forest, flat, rich soil, large number of animals
, ✔✔What are the characteristics of a tropical grassland? - ✔✔high amount, but not
enough rain to support a forest, grasses dominate, scattered trees may be common
✔✔What are the characteristics of a coral reef? - ✔✔"rainforests of the ocean," ¼ of
marine species rely on them for food/shelter, Great Barrier Reef is world's largest living
structure
✔✔What are the characteristics of a lake? - ✔✔formed by blocked or ending rivers, soil
is supersaturated, water is mainly still but can be moving in some slanted areas
✔✔What are the characteristics of a pond? - ✔✔same, but doesn't have an aphotic
zone (meaning there's not an area deep enough that sunlight can't reach)
✔✔What are the characteristics of a river? - ✔✔flowing freshwater, higher O2 levels
than stationary waters, natural, contains channels that empty into larger bodies of water
✔✔What are the characteristics of a stream? - ✔✔same, but smaller than a river- would
flow into or out of a river
✔✔What is a marsh? - ✔✔dominated by grasses, reeds, and sedges, type of wetland,
water covers ground for long time, treeless
✔✔What is a taiga? - ✔✔far northern regions of the world, consist of always green
needle-and-cone trees, such as pine and spruce
✔✔What is a tundra? - ✔✔harsh, snow-covered, windy, treeless, soil frozen almost
year-round, some lichens and small flowers present, birds in spring
✔✔What is a desert? - ✔✔low precipitation, varying temperatures, windy, rocky and/or
sandy, sparse vegetation, animals highly adapted to dryness
✔✔How have humans impacted biodiversity? - ✔✔through population numbers, use of
land, and lifestyles
✔✔What are the steps of human gene therapy? - ✔✔Normal human gene is isolated
and cloned, human gene is inserted into a virus, virus is injected into a patient, normal
human gene is transcribed and translated in the patient
✔✔What is a vector? - ✔✔DNA carriers that move genes from one cell to another
✔✔ What is the structure of a strand of DNA? - ✔✔double helix, twisted ladder
✔✔What is DNA composed of? - ✔✔nucleotide subunits
