BIO 171 EXAM 1 LEARNING
OBJECTIVES QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS 100% CORRECT!!
List the characteristics that all living organisms have; describe how biologists
distinguish living organisms from non-living entities
✔✔Traits of living organisms include:
Made of one or more cells
Have a defined boundary (like a cell membrane)
Use energy from their environment (metabolism)
Contain genetic material (DNA or RNA)
Are carbon- and water-based
Can reproduce
Can evolve and adapt over generations
Respond to environmental stimuli
Maintain internal balance (homeostasis)
✔✔Non-living things lack—or no longer show—key features like cellular
structure, metabolism, reproduction, movement, growth, and response to stimuli.
They do not evolve or adapt.
Give a reason why viruses might be considered living and a reason why they
might not
✔✔Considered living:
Contain genetic material (DNA or RNA)
Can evolve over time
Are carbon and water-based
,✔✔Considered non-living:
Not made of cells
Cannot reproduce without a host
Lack independent metabolism
8 characteristics of life - ANSWER✔✔universal genetic code (DNA/RNA),
evolution, response to stimuli, metabolism,organization/cells, homeostasis,growth
and development, reproduction
Describe what the "tree of life", and phylogenetic trees more generally,represent -
ANSWER✔✔The tree of life represents the three different domains of life:
Eukarya, Archaea, and Bacteria.
It describes the historical/evolutionary relationship between the domains and how
they differ. Bacteria and Archaea are both prokaryotic while Eukarya is eukaryotic
(has a nucleus) but Archaea and Eukarya are more closely related to each other
compared to Archaea and Bacteria, despite the fact that the latter are both
prokaryotic (no nucleus).
Bacteria is the oldest domain of life and most of our evolutionary history is
microbial.
The tree of life is based off the rRNA of the three domains of life; this is due to the
fact that all aspects of life contain rRNA since all organisms need to make proteins
and ribosomes are the site of protein synthesis.
Identify past and present on a phylogenetic tree, along with the root and nodes on a
tree
, Identify the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for two organisms on a
phylogenetic tree - ANSWER✔✔
Explain where prokaryotes and eukaryotes are found in the three contemporary
domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya - ANSWER✔✔Eukaryotes:
Eukarya (plants and animals)
-have nucleus
Prokaryotes: bacteria and archaea; no nucleus
Archaea are more closely related to eukaryotes than bacteria are
Draw a phylogenetic tree showing the evolutionary relationships among Bacteria,
Archaea, and Eukarya; indicate where plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses are (or
are not) in this tree. - ANSWER✔✔Viruses have their own tree
Explain the relationship among nucleotides, DNA, genes, amino acids, proteins,
and the genetic code - ANSWER✔✔nucleotide pairing makes up DNA
genes are sections of DNA that contain information for building a protein
amino acids are codon triplets that make up proteins
proteins are chains of amino acids that act as enzymes, support cell structure,
create membrane channels, are hormones, signaling molecules, etc.
the genetic code is what we use to find out which amino acid will be created from a
RNA codon.
DNA a double stranded molecule that is composed of base-paired nucleotides.
When DNA undergoes replication, each strand serves as a template for the creation
of a new DNA molecule. The product of this is mRNA which serves as an
information carrier. mRNA undergoes translation via complementary base-pairing
of nucleotides and the genetic code which translates the base pairs using 3-
nucleotide sections (codons) to amino acids. These amino acids then get added to a
growing polypeptide chain via tRNA and are connected via peptide bonds. This
process is known as gene expression.
OBJECTIVES QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS 100% CORRECT!!
List the characteristics that all living organisms have; describe how biologists
distinguish living organisms from non-living entities
✔✔Traits of living organisms include:
Made of one or more cells
Have a defined boundary (like a cell membrane)
Use energy from their environment (metabolism)
Contain genetic material (DNA or RNA)
Are carbon- and water-based
Can reproduce
Can evolve and adapt over generations
Respond to environmental stimuli
Maintain internal balance (homeostasis)
✔✔Non-living things lack—or no longer show—key features like cellular
structure, metabolism, reproduction, movement, growth, and response to stimuli.
They do not evolve or adapt.
Give a reason why viruses might be considered living and a reason why they
might not
✔✔Considered living:
Contain genetic material (DNA or RNA)
Can evolve over time
Are carbon and water-based
,✔✔Considered non-living:
Not made of cells
Cannot reproduce without a host
Lack independent metabolism
8 characteristics of life - ANSWER✔✔universal genetic code (DNA/RNA),
evolution, response to stimuli, metabolism,organization/cells, homeostasis,growth
and development, reproduction
Describe what the "tree of life", and phylogenetic trees more generally,represent -
ANSWER✔✔The tree of life represents the three different domains of life:
Eukarya, Archaea, and Bacteria.
It describes the historical/evolutionary relationship between the domains and how
they differ. Bacteria and Archaea are both prokaryotic while Eukarya is eukaryotic
(has a nucleus) but Archaea and Eukarya are more closely related to each other
compared to Archaea and Bacteria, despite the fact that the latter are both
prokaryotic (no nucleus).
Bacteria is the oldest domain of life and most of our evolutionary history is
microbial.
The tree of life is based off the rRNA of the three domains of life; this is due to the
fact that all aspects of life contain rRNA since all organisms need to make proteins
and ribosomes are the site of protein synthesis.
Identify past and present on a phylogenetic tree, along with the root and nodes on a
tree
, Identify the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) for two organisms on a
phylogenetic tree - ANSWER✔✔
Explain where prokaryotes and eukaryotes are found in the three contemporary
domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya - ANSWER✔✔Eukaryotes:
Eukarya (plants and animals)
-have nucleus
Prokaryotes: bacteria and archaea; no nucleus
Archaea are more closely related to eukaryotes than bacteria are
Draw a phylogenetic tree showing the evolutionary relationships among Bacteria,
Archaea, and Eukarya; indicate where plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses are (or
are not) in this tree. - ANSWER✔✔Viruses have their own tree
Explain the relationship among nucleotides, DNA, genes, amino acids, proteins,
and the genetic code - ANSWER✔✔nucleotide pairing makes up DNA
genes are sections of DNA that contain information for building a protein
amino acids are codon triplets that make up proteins
proteins are chains of amino acids that act as enzymes, support cell structure,
create membrane channels, are hormones, signaling molecules, etc.
the genetic code is what we use to find out which amino acid will be created from a
RNA codon.
DNA a double stranded molecule that is composed of base-paired nucleotides.
When DNA undergoes replication, each strand serves as a template for the creation
of a new DNA molecule. The product of this is mRNA which serves as an
information carrier. mRNA undergoes translation via complementary base-pairing
of nucleotides and the genetic code which translates the base pairs using 3-
nucleotide sections (codons) to amino acids. These amino acids then get added to a
growing polypeptide chain via tRNA and are connected via peptide bonds. This
process is known as gene expression.
