Biology Exam Info

Chemical composition of organisms

• Simple chemical reactions and bonds
• Properties of water
• Chemical structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
• Origin of life

Cells

• Structure and function of cell organelles
• Properties of cell membranes
• Comparison of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Enzymes

• Enzyme-substrate complex
• Roles of coenzymes
• Inorganic cofactors
• Inhibition and regulation

Energy transformations

• Glycolysis, cellular respiration, aerobic
  and anaerobic pathways
• Photosynthesis

Cell division

• Structure of chromosomes
• Mitosis, meiosis, and cytokinesis in plants and animals

Chemical nature of the gene

• Watson-Crick model of nucleic acids
• DNA replication
• Mutations
• Control of protein synthesis: transcription, translation, and post-transcriptional processing
• Structural and regulatory genes
• Transformation
• Viruses

Structure and function in plants with emphasis on angiosperms

• Root, stem, leaf, flower, seed, and fruit
• Water and mineral absorption and transport
• Food translocation and storage

Plant reproduction and development

• Alternation of generations in ferns, conifers, and flowering plants
• Gamete formation and fertilization
• Growth and development: hormonal control
• Tropisms and photoperiodicity

Structure and function in animals with emphasis on vertebrates

• Major systems (e.g., digestive, gas exchange, skeletal, nervous, circulatory, excretory, and immune)
• Homeostatic mechanisms
• Hormonal control in homeostasis and reproduction

Animal reproduction and development

• Gamete formation and fertilization
• Cleavage, gastrulation, germ layer formation, and differentiation of organ systems
• Experimental analysis of vertebrate development
• Extraembryonic membranes of vertebrates
• Formation and function of the mammalian placenta
• Blood circulation in the human embryo

Principles of heredity

• Mendelian inheritance (dominance, segregation, independent assortment)
• Chromosomal basis of inheritance
• Linkage, including sex-linked
• Polygenic inheritance (height, skin color, etc.)
• Multiple alleles (human blood groups)

Principles of ecology

• Energy flow and productivity in ecosystems
• Biogeochemical cycles
• Population growth and regulation (natality, mortality, competition, migration, density, r- and K-selection)
• Community structure, growth, and regulation (major biomes and succession)
• Habitat (biotic and abiotic factors)
• Concept of niche
• Island biogeography
• Evolutionary ecology (life history strategies, altruism, and kin selection)

Principles of evolution

• History of evolutionary concepts
• Concepts of natural selection (differential reproduction, mutation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, speciation, and punctuated equilibrium)
• Adaptive radiation
• Major features of plant and animal evolution
• Concepts of homology and analogy
• Convergence, extinction, balanced polymorphism, and genetic drift
• Classification of living organisms
• Evolutionary history of humans

Principles of behavior

• Stereotyped and learned social behavior
• Societies (insects, birds, and primates)

Social biology

• Human population growth (age composition, birth and fertility rates, and theory of demographic transition)
• Human intervention in the natural world (management of resources, and environmental pollution)
• Biomedical progress (control of human reproduction, and genetic engineering)