BIOL*1090 Final Exam
Comprehensive Questions and
Solutions Graded A+
why do red blood cells have no nucleus or DNA? - Answer: evolved to accommodate maximum
hemoglobin carrying capacity
what is enucleation of a red blood cell? - Answer: process by which an RBC ejects its nucleus
what is the Miller-Urey experiment? what hypothesis is it based off of? - Answer: a chemical
experiment that was designed to stimulate the conditions thought to exist on the early earth to
test the chemical origin of life under those conditions
- water, methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide were the gases
- based off of primordial soup hypothesis
what is the primordial soup hypothesis? - Answer: conditions on the early earth favoured
chemical reactions that synthesized more complex organic compounds from simpler, smaller
organic precursors, like nitrogen, ammonia, methane or CO2
what was the main conclusion generated from the Miller-Urey experiment? - Answer: amino
acids can be generated in conditions that mimic those of the early earth (no oxygen)
what are the 3 main 'ingredients' of a cell? - Answer: 1. info (DNA or RNA)
2. chemistry
3. compartments (usually defined by a membrane; organelles)
,discovery of cells followed the work of ____ ____ - Answer: Robert Hooke, an English scientist
who contributed to improvement of the microscope
what are the 9 basic properties of a cell? - Answer: 1. highly complex and organized
2. activity controlled by a genetic program
3. can reproduce/make copies of themselves (there are some exceptions, like RBCs and
neurons)
4. assimilate and utilize energy
5. carry out many chemical reactions
6. engage in mechanical activities
7. respond to stimuli
8. capable of self regulation (proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis)
9. they evolve
asexual reproduction is a typical feature of a ______ (euk/prok) cell. - Answer: prokaryotic
what are the 4 organelle/cell structures specific to a plant cell? what do they do? - Answer: 1.
cell wall: maintain cell's shape, provides protection, composed mainly of cellulose
2. (big) vacuoles: stores water, ions, nutrients, makes cell rigid
3. chloroplasts: carry out photosynthesis
4. plasmodesmata: tubelike cell junctions that span the cell wall, connect cytoplasms of
adjacent plant cells
how can you tell a lysosome has an acidic internal environment from electron microscopy? -
Answer: need to carry out stains, which react based on pH of tissue, so a lysosome should
appear vary dark in a microscopy image
,what are slime molds? list some characteristics of them. - Answer: - eukaryotic single celled
organisms
- used to be classified as fungi but are now protists
- multi-nucleated
- when it gets hungry, it sends out little 'fingers' to explore environment, while different parts of
the mold communicate w each other to figure out which direction to move in
- have cytoplasm and motor proteins that cause contractile movements
which 3 basic cell properties do viruses have? which basic cell property do they 'kind of' have? -
Answer: 1. complex and organized
2. controlled by a genetic program
3. they evolve (new strains)
they can kind of reproduce: they do not have the machinery to do it themselves, but they can
reproduce in a host cell
outside of host cells, viruses exist as inanimate particles called ____, which are made of ____ or
____, and a _____, which is a capsule made out of ______ - Answer: virions, DNA or RNA,
capsid, proteins
what is the Baltimore virus classification method? - Answer: categorizes viruses based on type
of genome (RNA/DNA) and their method of replication
what is a bacteriophage? - Answer: virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea
what type of virus is Ebola? what is this virus group defined by? - Answer: filovirus, defined by a
single strand of RNA, which gets encoded into the host cell and causes hemorrhagic fevers (a lot
of bleeding and dying blood vessels)
, what is an adenovirus? provide 1 example. - Answer: viruses (DNA type) that infect the linings of
the eyes and respiratory tract
example: pneumonia, bronchitis, conjunctivitis
what is a hepadnavirus? provide 1 example. - Answer: (DNA type) virus that affects the liver and
causes serious infections
example: hep b
what is a retrovirus? provide an example. - Answer: RNA virus that inserts a copy of its genome
into the DNA of a host cell
example: HIV, causes AIDS
what does it mean for a virus to have a wide or narrow host range? - Answer: relates to range of
species it can infect: narrow would be few, wide would be many
explain the lytic virus cycle. - Answer: 1. virion attaches itself onto host cell, injects its genetic
info
2. cell's machinery is hijacked by the virus to produce new viral copies
3. after multiple copies of the virus are made, the cell lyses (opens) and the new copies are
released
explain the lysogenic / non-lytic virus cycle. - Answer: 1. virion attaches itself onto host cell and
injects its genetic info
2. genetic info integrates into the chromosome of the host cell, so when the host cell divides
and reproduces as normal, it is copying its own DNA as well as the viral DNA
3. effected cell often survives with impaired function
Comprehensive Questions and
Solutions Graded A+
why do red blood cells have no nucleus or DNA? - Answer: evolved to accommodate maximum
hemoglobin carrying capacity
what is enucleation of a red blood cell? - Answer: process by which an RBC ejects its nucleus
what is the Miller-Urey experiment? what hypothesis is it based off of? - Answer: a chemical
experiment that was designed to stimulate the conditions thought to exist on the early earth to
test the chemical origin of life under those conditions
- water, methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide were the gases
- based off of primordial soup hypothesis
what is the primordial soup hypothesis? - Answer: conditions on the early earth favoured
chemical reactions that synthesized more complex organic compounds from simpler, smaller
organic precursors, like nitrogen, ammonia, methane or CO2
what was the main conclusion generated from the Miller-Urey experiment? - Answer: amino
acids can be generated in conditions that mimic those of the early earth (no oxygen)
what are the 3 main 'ingredients' of a cell? - Answer: 1. info (DNA or RNA)
2. chemistry
3. compartments (usually defined by a membrane; organelles)
,discovery of cells followed the work of ____ ____ - Answer: Robert Hooke, an English scientist
who contributed to improvement of the microscope
what are the 9 basic properties of a cell? - Answer: 1. highly complex and organized
2. activity controlled by a genetic program
3. can reproduce/make copies of themselves (there are some exceptions, like RBCs and
neurons)
4. assimilate and utilize energy
5. carry out many chemical reactions
6. engage in mechanical activities
7. respond to stimuli
8. capable of self regulation (proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis)
9. they evolve
asexual reproduction is a typical feature of a ______ (euk/prok) cell. - Answer: prokaryotic
what are the 4 organelle/cell structures specific to a plant cell? what do they do? - Answer: 1.
cell wall: maintain cell's shape, provides protection, composed mainly of cellulose
2. (big) vacuoles: stores water, ions, nutrients, makes cell rigid
3. chloroplasts: carry out photosynthesis
4. plasmodesmata: tubelike cell junctions that span the cell wall, connect cytoplasms of
adjacent plant cells
how can you tell a lysosome has an acidic internal environment from electron microscopy? -
Answer: need to carry out stains, which react based on pH of tissue, so a lysosome should
appear vary dark in a microscopy image
,what are slime molds? list some characteristics of them. - Answer: - eukaryotic single celled
organisms
- used to be classified as fungi but are now protists
- multi-nucleated
- when it gets hungry, it sends out little 'fingers' to explore environment, while different parts of
the mold communicate w each other to figure out which direction to move in
- have cytoplasm and motor proteins that cause contractile movements
which 3 basic cell properties do viruses have? which basic cell property do they 'kind of' have? -
Answer: 1. complex and organized
2. controlled by a genetic program
3. they evolve (new strains)
they can kind of reproduce: they do not have the machinery to do it themselves, but they can
reproduce in a host cell
outside of host cells, viruses exist as inanimate particles called ____, which are made of ____ or
____, and a _____, which is a capsule made out of ______ - Answer: virions, DNA or RNA,
capsid, proteins
what is the Baltimore virus classification method? - Answer: categorizes viruses based on type
of genome (RNA/DNA) and their method of replication
what is a bacteriophage? - Answer: virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea
what type of virus is Ebola? what is this virus group defined by? - Answer: filovirus, defined by a
single strand of RNA, which gets encoded into the host cell and causes hemorrhagic fevers (a lot
of bleeding and dying blood vessels)
, what is an adenovirus? provide 1 example. - Answer: viruses (DNA type) that infect the linings of
the eyes and respiratory tract
example: pneumonia, bronchitis, conjunctivitis
what is a hepadnavirus? provide 1 example. - Answer: (DNA type) virus that affects the liver and
causes serious infections
example: hep b
what is a retrovirus? provide an example. - Answer: RNA virus that inserts a copy of its genome
into the DNA of a host cell
example: HIV, causes AIDS
what does it mean for a virus to have a wide or narrow host range? - Answer: relates to range of
species it can infect: narrow would be few, wide would be many
explain the lytic virus cycle. - Answer: 1. virion attaches itself onto host cell, injects its genetic
info
2. cell's machinery is hijacked by the virus to produce new viral copies
3. after multiple copies of the virus are made, the cell lyses (opens) and the new copies are
released
explain the lysogenic / non-lytic virus cycle. - Answer: 1. virion attaches itself onto host cell and
injects its genetic info
2. genetic info integrates into the chromosome of the host cell, so when the host cell divides
and reproduces as normal, it is copying its own DNA as well as the viral DNA
3. effected cell often survives with impaired function
