Biology Chapter 1 Study Guide

What is the primary reason for planting sunflowers according to your observation?

What phenomenon do the young sunflower plants exhibit throughout the day?

What happens to the sunflowers once they are fully grown?

What drives the decision to conduct a series of experiments?

Which of the following key concepts is NOT mentioned in the provided content?

What aspect of the sunflower behavior does the content suggest should be scrutinized through experimentation?

Which of the following is NOT a primary component of the plasma membrane?

If a cell were placed in a hypertonic solution, which of the following would occur?

Which of the following processes directly involves the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane?

A cell that is actively secreting digestive enzymes would likely have a higher abundance of which of the following organelles?

Which of the following molecules can typically diffuse directly through the plasma membrane without the assistance of a transport protein?

Chapter 1 Study Guide

Sections 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 will not be on Exam 1.
Figures 1.8 and 1.9 are important for understanding scientific methods.
Important scientific concepts include: observations, hypotheses, predictions, experiments, hypotheses vs. theories, testable vs. untestable hypotheses, control groups, and test groups.
Distinguishing between hypotheses and predictions is a common challenge.
Students should be able to identify and formulate a hypothesis, prediction, and experiment, given a scenario.

The Scientific Method

Recognize and specify observations;
Formulate a hypothesis;
Make predictions, and;
Design an experiment.

The Cell

Differentiate between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Understand why the cell is considered the smallest unit of life.
Define metabolism.

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

General steps of the central dogma will be covered in greater detail in Chapter 3

Challenging Question 1 - Plant Sunflowers

The observation is that young sunflower plants track the movement of the sun throughout the day until maturity; older plants do not track the sun.
A possible hypothesis is that the movement of young sunflowers toward the sun is necessary for growth, but not for mature plants.
Experiments could involve growing sunflower plants in various conditions:
- One group exposed to natural sunlight.
- One group exposed to artificial (constant) light.
- Control/Comparison group to have one in continuous darkness.
The groups exposed to variable sunlight would be the test groups;
The consistently shaded and consistently dark rooms would be control groups.
A prediction might be that plants exposed to natural sunlight that track the sun will grow taller than those kept under continuous (variable illumination).

Prepare for Exam 1 with this comprehensive study guide covering key concepts such as the scientific method, cell types, and fundamental biological principles. Investigate important figures and terminology including hypotheses, predictions, and the central dogma of molecular biology. Mastering these topics will help students excel in their understanding of biology.