UMGC The Properties of Living Organisms Questions

A. Question 1: Using yourself as an example of a living organism,
mention any five properties of living organisms
Question 2: Define what we mean by the scientific process. Provide any
one biological observation in your environment that can be used to
support your definition
Question 3: Why is water considered the Solvent of Life?
Question 4: What are the water’s life-supporting properties?
B. Question 1: What is a buffer solution? What are the benefits of a
buffer solution
Question 2: What are the main classes of large biological molecules?
What are the building blocks (monomers) for each class of biological
molecules?
Question 3: Why are some people lactose intolerant? Mention one
benefit and one adverse effect of cholesterol consumption.
Question 4: Why are proteins important to us? Explain giving examples
of different types of proteins
C Question 1: Which cellular organelle is responsible for producing
energy from the food we eat? What is the name of the molecule that
supplies us the energy for all cellular activity?
Question 2: What is Cellular Respiration? What are the four main
stages of this metabolic process?
Question 3: Mention any two enzymes involved in breaking down food
to produce energy. Mention the reaction they catalyze
Question 4: How can chemicals like poisons affect the activity of
enzymes?
D. Question 1: What is the cell cycle?
Question 2: Using a cell from your body as an example, explain the
stages in the cell cycle
Question 3: Mention two differences between mitosis and meiosis
Question 4: Daughter cells of mitosis have the same number of
chromosomes as the parent cell while daughter cells of meiosis have
half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. What is the reason
for this?
E. Question 1: What are the building blocks that make up our genes?
What are the three components of the building block?
Question 2: What is a mutation? Give three examples of human
diseases that are caused by genetic mutation.
Question 3: What is co-dominance? Use the example of human blood
group to explain this concept. Why can a person die if he or she
receives the wrong type of blood?
Question 4: Some individuals have O+ or A- blood type. What is the
cause of this observed difference in blood type?
F Question 1: Distinguish between artificial and natural selection.
Question 2: Provide two examples of artificial and natural selection
Question 3: In what ways can malaria parasites develop resistance to
anti-malarial drugs?
Question 4: What is a Species? Distinguish between species,
population, and community
G. Question 1: What are the abiotic factors? Give examples of the
major abiotic factors that influence where organisms live.
Question 2: What are biomes? Give examples of the major biomes
found in the biosphere
Question 3: What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Question 4: How does the Greenhouse Effect result in global warming