EOC Prep Review Topics MCHS Biology

Things to know before you test: The EOC exam will be broken up into two sections which are 45 minutes long. This will take all of 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd period. The EOC exam is worth 20% of your overall grade. The EOC is 80% multiple choice and 20% open response.

Tips for test taking RELAX. Don’t panic. Try to keep a clear mind. Get a good night of sleep and eat a good meal prior to the test. Use process of elimination to narrow down choice options. Check the clock periodically and pace yourself. If you finish early, go back and work on questions that you left blank.

What will be on the EOC? All of the material that we covered throughout the school year is fair game on the EOC exam. Review any concepts that you struggled with during our unit assessments. Big topics to understand are: Evolution, Ecology, Heredity, Characteristics of life, Cell types, Cell structure, and Cell processes.

Study tips: Watch old video lessons or find video lessons on Youtube for concepts you don’t understand. Bring questions to class. Stay after school for study sessions. Make flashcards. Highlight your notes as you review material. Take practice tests

Review Topics… 1.) Scientific method 2.) Characteristics of life 3.) Types of cells 4.) Cell structure 5.) DNA, RNA, and Protein 6.) Heredity 7.) Evolution 8.) Ecology 9.) Enzymes

SCIENTIFIC METHOD Step 1: Make an observation Step 2: Develop a hypothesis Step 3: Conduct an experiment Step 4: Analyze data Step 5: Draw conclusion

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Experimental group: Group you are applying the independent variable to (the group you are testing). Control group: The group that serves as a standard for comparison. You will not apply the independent variable to this group. Independent variable: What you manipulate or change in an experiment. Dependent variable: What you measure in an experiment. This variable depends on the independent.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Example: I observe that my neighbor’s tomato plants are growing bigger than mine. I hypothesize that his tomato plants are bigger because he uses fertilizer. I conduct an experiment to see if fertilizer helps my tomato plants to grow bigger. Independent variable: fertilizer Dependent variable: growth of tomato plants Experimental group: 10 tomato plants that receive fertilizer Control group: 10 tomato plants that receive no fertilizer

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE Growth and development: Organisms must be able to develop new or larger structures in their lifetimes. Metabolism: Organisms have chemical reactions going on inside. Homeostasis: Organisms must be able to maintain stable internal conditions. Reproduction: Organisms must be able to create more organisms. Ability to evolve: Organisms must be able to pass down their traits; the best traits are more likely to be passed on to offspring. Responsiveness: Organisms must be able to respond to stimuli in their external environment. Organization: All organisms are made of one or more cells and are organized within their cell(s).

TYPES OF CELLS Prokaryotic: Simple cells with no true nucleus and no membrane bound organelles. EX. Bacterial cells Eukaryotic: Complex cells. Can be single celled or multi-cellular. They do have a true nucleus and membrane bound organelles. EX. Plant and animal cells

CELL STRUCTURE: Animal Mitochondria: make ATP Ribosomes: produce protein Nucleus: stores genetic info Lysosome: contains digestive enzymes to break down waste Cytoplasm: Jelly-like substance within the cell Golgi apparatus: Packages and distributes things around the cell Endoplasmic reticulum: Like an intracellular highway

CELL STRUCTURE: Plant Vacuole: used for storage of water and wastes Chloroplasts: carry out photosynthesis Cell wall: rigid outer structure which surrounds the cell membrane and provides support

DNA, RNA, & PROTEIN DNA is turned into RNA through the process of transcription, which takes place in the nucleus. RNA is turned into protein through the process of translation, which takes place in the cytoplasm at a ribosome.

DNA, RNA, & PROTEIN RNA and DNA are both nucleic acids made of repeating subunits called nucleotides.

INHERITANCE OF TRAITS Our genetic information is stored in our DNA. Genetic information is passed from parent to offspring during reproduction. The first person to conduct a study of heredity was Gregor Mendel. He experimented with pea plants. He found that traits were determined by allele combinations. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene. Phenotype: The physical characteristics of an individual which can be observed. EX. The flower is blue Genotype: The underlying allele combination which determines the traits that will be expressed. EX. The flower has two recessive alleles (bb).

INHERITANCE OF TRAITS The Punnett square is a diagram that is used to predict an outcome of a genetic cross. A pedigree is a diagram which shows family history and the prevalence of certain traits or disorders.

EVOLUTION The theory of evolution by natural selection was proposed by Charles Darwin. He noticed that some organisms seemed to have developed certain traits for their environment. Natural selection is the process by which nature selects for traits which will allow an organism to survive better in a particular environment. Due to these observations, Darwin proposed that all organisms may have descended from a common ancestor.

EVOLUTION Cladograms show evolutionary relationships among organisms.

ECOLOGY When two organisms have a close, long term relationship, it is called symbiosis. There are three types of symbiotic relationships. Parasitism (+ -) Mutualism (+ +) Commensalism (+ 0)

ECOLOGY Energy flows through an ecosystem from the producers to the herbivores, and on.

ENZYMES Enzymes are biological catalysts. They speed up the rate of a chemical reaction by lowering the amount of activation energy needed. Enzymes are made of protein.