Bio 121 Exam #1 (Ch. 1-8) UPDATED
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What is Life? - CORRECT ANSWER - Cells, Replication, Information, Energy, and
Evolution
spontanous generation - CORRECT ANSWER - Pre-1600s - the mistaken idea that living
things can arise from nonliving sources
Robert Hooke - CORRECT ANSWER - first to observe "small chambers" in cork and call
them cells.
Theodor Schwann - CORRECT ANSWER - concluded that all animals are made of cells.
stated that heated air was suited for breathing, and should be able to support life
Louis Pasteur - CORRECT ANSWER - A French chemist, this man discovered that heat
could kill bacteria that otherwise spoiled liquids including milk, wine, and beer. This put to rest
the idea of spontaneous generation
Vital Force (Vitalism) - CORRECT ANSWER - a theory stating that microorganisms arise
spontaneously from the air. vital force can only be obtained from something that already
possessed it --> only living things could pass it on to their offspring, and living matter cannot be
returned to its former stated. living = organic, and non-living = inorganic
Mechanists - CORRECT ANSWER - Those who believe that life is a "mechanical
process" that has to obey all laws of chemistry and physics
Fredrich Wohler: organic substances can be produced without a vital force
,Reductionism - CORRECT ANSWER - reducing complex systems to simpler components
that are more manageable to study
Unifying Principle: not all the properties of the whole are determined by the properties of the
parts
Holism - CORRECT ANSWER - efforts to synthesize distinct approaches and findings
into a single comprehensive interpretation
Principle of Emergent Properties - CORRECT ANSWER - each level of biological
organization has properties that are difficult or impossible to predict based on what we know
about lower levels
Truths of Life - CORRECT ANSWER - Life is organized, requires energy (not closed
system), maintains internal constancy (homeostasis), reproduces (itself, grows, and develops
through chromosomal theory of inheritance), and evolves (related by common ancestry; can be
modified from generation to generation)
Species - CORRECT ANSWER - May consist of a single population or many populations
spread out geographically
Population - CORRECT ANSWER - a group of individuals all of the same species
Fitness - CORRECT ANSWER - Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its
environment
Adaptation - CORRECT ANSWER - A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce
(fitness)
Deductive Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - an analysis of specific cases by the use of
general principles
, Inductive Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - the discovery of general principles by
careful examination of specific cases
Molecule - CORRECT ANSWER - 2+ atoms held together by covalent bonds in a specific
arrangement
Proton - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has a positive charge and that is
found in the nucleus of an atom. the number of protons in the nucleus determine the properties of
atoms
Electron - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has a negative charge
Neutron - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has no charge and that is
found in the nucleus of an atom
Orbitals - CORRECT ANSWER - regions around the nucleus in which given electron or
electron pair is likely to be found. can hold 2 electrons. is organized in a regular patter of groups
with similar energy
Valence Electrons - CORRECT ANSWER - electrons in the outermost shell; the # of
valence electrons determine reactivity (tendancy to gain or lose electrons)
Electron Excitation - CORRECT ANSWER - movement of an electron to a higher energy
state
Isotopes - CORRECT ANSWER - Atoms of the same element that have different numbers
of neutrons
Atomic Mass - CORRECT ANSWER - (# of protons) + (# of neutrons)
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What is Life? - CORRECT ANSWER - Cells, Replication, Information, Energy, and
Evolution
spontanous generation - CORRECT ANSWER - Pre-1600s - the mistaken idea that living
things can arise from nonliving sources
Robert Hooke - CORRECT ANSWER - first to observe "small chambers" in cork and call
them cells.
Theodor Schwann - CORRECT ANSWER - concluded that all animals are made of cells.
stated that heated air was suited for breathing, and should be able to support life
Louis Pasteur - CORRECT ANSWER - A French chemist, this man discovered that heat
could kill bacteria that otherwise spoiled liquids including milk, wine, and beer. This put to rest
the idea of spontaneous generation
Vital Force (Vitalism) - CORRECT ANSWER - a theory stating that microorganisms arise
spontaneously from the air. vital force can only be obtained from something that already
possessed it --> only living things could pass it on to their offspring, and living matter cannot be
returned to its former stated. living = organic, and non-living = inorganic
Mechanists - CORRECT ANSWER - Those who believe that life is a "mechanical
process" that has to obey all laws of chemistry and physics
Fredrich Wohler: organic substances can be produced without a vital force
,Reductionism - CORRECT ANSWER - reducing complex systems to simpler components
that are more manageable to study
Unifying Principle: not all the properties of the whole are determined by the properties of the
parts
Holism - CORRECT ANSWER - efforts to synthesize distinct approaches and findings
into a single comprehensive interpretation
Principle of Emergent Properties - CORRECT ANSWER - each level of biological
organization has properties that are difficult or impossible to predict based on what we know
about lower levels
Truths of Life - CORRECT ANSWER - Life is organized, requires energy (not closed
system), maintains internal constancy (homeostasis), reproduces (itself, grows, and develops
through chromosomal theory of inheritance), and evolves (related by common ancestry; can be
modified from generation to generation)
Species - CORRECT ANSWER - May consist of a single population or many populations
spread out geographically
Population - CORRECT ANSWER - a group of individuals all of the same species
Fitness - CORRECT ANSWER - Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its
environment
Adaptation - CORRECT ANSWER - A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce
(fitness)
Deductive Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - an analysis of specific cases by the use of
general principles
, Inductive Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - the discovery of general principles by
careful examination of specific cases
Molecule - CORRECT ANSWER - 2+ atoms held together by covalent bonds in a specific
arrangement
Proton - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has a positive charge and that is
found in the nucleus of an atom. the number of protons in the nucleus determine the properties of
atoms
Electron - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has a negative charge
Neutron - CORRECT ANSWER - A subatomic particle that has no charge and that is
found in the nucleus of an atom
Orbitals - CORRECT ANSWER - regions around the nucleus in which given electron or
electron pair is likely to be found. can hold 2 electrons. is organized in a regular patter of groups
with similar energy
Valence Electrons - CORRECT ANSWER - electrons in the outermost shell; the # of
valence electrons determine reactivity (tendancy to gain or lose electrons)
Electron Excitation - CORRECT ANSWER - movement of an electron to a higher energy
state
Isotopes - CORRECT ANSWER - Atoms of the same element that have different numbers
of neutrons
Atomic Mass - CORRECT ANSWER - (# of protons) + (# of neutrons)
