Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Biology

Organelles and Functions:

• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum: Responsible for the assembly of many proteins • Cell Membrane: Controls the movements in & out of the cell and organelles • Golgi Apparatus: Process and bundle macromolecules like proteins and lipids • Mitochondria: Perform cellular respiration 0 Breaks nutrients into energy • Nucleus: Contains a majority of the genetic material • Nucleolus: Rewrite ribosomal RNA and combine it with proteins • Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum: Makes cellular products like hormones and lipids • Lysosome: Digestion and waste removal • Flagella: Allows cells to move • Vesicle: Transport vesicles move molecules within the cell • Ribosomes: Makes proteins within cells • Cytoskeleton:...

ALLOPHONE: Any possible variation in the production of a phoneme. These variations do not involve any change in the meaning of a word. Allophones are alwaysbased on sounds. Eg: /p/ in “property” and /p/ in “option”

PHONETICS: Science related to the study of the sounds of human speech. Thephysical properties of each one influence the variation of sounds they pronounce. Theunit of phonetics is thesound. The speech processes are:production, transmissions and reception.

  2 STANDARD PRONUNCIATIONS: There are two standard and widely accepted pronunciations:

BBC pronunciation (also called Received Pronunciation, RP in the past) United Kingdom. 

GeneralAmericanpronunciation(GenAm) NorthAmerica. 

2 TYPES OF TRANSCRIPTION:

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Photosynthesis: Key Reactions and Processes

Oxygen Release in Photosynthesis: Oxygen is released during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, specifically when water molecules are split (photolysis).

Organelles Involved: The organelles represented are the mitochondria and chloroplast. Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast, and cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondria.

Oxygen as a Waste Product: Oxygen (O2) is produced as a byproduct during photosynthesis and is consumed during cellular respiration.

Anabolic and Catabolic Processes: Photosynthesis is an anabolic process (building complex molecules), while cellular respiration is a catabolic process (breaking down complex molecules).

Photosystems: Structure and Location

Photosystems...

The First Cells: Cell Evolution

All organisms that currently inhabit the Earth are related because they come from ancestral cells that emerged more than 3,800 million years ago as a result of a slow evolutionary process of organic molecules accumulated in the primeval oceans. It is believed that the decisive moment in the origin of cells was the appearance of a biological membrane.

• The membrane separated the external environment from the internal environment, which favored the existence of a rudimentary metabolism that enabled the ancestral cells to get energy (via nutrition) and use it to reproduce and respond to environmental changes.

Because they originated in a sea of organic molecules, the first cells were probably anaerobic fermentative

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Mitosis: is a dynamic, continuous and very complex whereby the nuclear material is duplicated and then divided and shared equally between the daughter cells.
Phases of mitosis: interphase, prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase.
Chromatic chromosome is a newly formed, still attached by the centromere.
Equatorial plate: the formation is taken as linear chromosomes in the center of the spindle in the metaphase stage of mitosis and meiosis.
Spindle fibers: attract the respective chromosomes toward the centrioles.
Meiosis is a type of reduction division and multiple it is performed by two successive divisions during which four daughter cells are formed, the chromosomes are duplicated so that the number of chromosomes that appear...

Understanding the Endocrine System: Glands, Hormones, and Functions

Exocrine vs. Endocrine Glands

Exocrine glands have ducts that secrete substances such as mucus, saliva, cerumen, sebaceous oils, and sweat.

Endocrine glands produce hormones (chemical messengers) and secrete them directly into the bloodstream.

The Pituitary Gland: Master Regulator of Hormones

The pituitary gland (hypophysis), often called the "master gland," primarily functions to secrete vital hormones into the bloodstream.

Key Pituitary Hormones and Their Functions

• ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone or corticotropin): Stimulates the release of steroid hormones by the adrenal cortex.
• TSH (Thyroid-stimulating hormone or thyrotropin): Targets the thyroid gland and triggers the release

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Five Kingdoms of Life

1. Monera

This kingdom includes bacteria and cyanobacteria. Bacteria are prokaryotic, lacking a true nucleus. Key components include the cell membrane, nuclear region (or nucleoid), ribosomes, cytoplasm, and often a cell wall. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are thought to have originated atmospheric oxygen around 2 billion years ago through photosynthesis.

Bacteria

Bacteria reproduce asexually, typically through binary fission. Some can form cysts for protection in unfavorable conditions. Cyanobacteria are crucial for various ecological processes.

2. Protists

Protists are unicellular, heterotrophic eukaryotes. They possess organelles like the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, ribosomes, centrosome, mitochondria, endoplasmic...

English Vowels

Short Vowels

• /ɪ/ (as in: sit): Front, unrounded, between close and half-close.
• /ɛ/ (as in: dead): Front, unrounded, between half-close and half-open.
• /æ/ (as in: cat): Front, unrounded, between half-open and open.
• /ʌ/ (as in: does): Between front and central, unrounded, half-open.
• /ɒ/ (as in: dog): Back, rounded, between half-open and open.
• /ʊ/ (as in: good): Between back and central, rounded, near-close.

Long Vowels

• /i:/ (as in: sweet): Unrounded, almost fully closed.
• /ɜ:/ (as in: bird): Central, unrounded, between half-close and half-open.
• /ɑ:/ (as in: fast): Almost fully back, unrounded, fully open.
• /ɔ:/ (as in: hawk): Back, rounded, between half-close and half-open.
• /u:/ (as in: shoe): Almost fully back, rounded, almost fully

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Siphonaptera (Fleas)

Fleas have three pairs of legs, a segmented body, and are 0.5 to 4 mm in size. They can jump 33 times their size. Ctenidia are hairs on their body. The female spermatheca is where the eggs are stored. They have a complete or holometabolous life cycle. The adult lays eggs, and in three weeks, the larvae emerge. In 9-15 days, the pupa stage is reached, and then the adult. Males and females feed on blood. The larvae feed on the feces of the adult fleas. The pupa is covered with earth and is motionless until the temperature changes.

• Pulex irritans (Human flea)
• Ctenocephalides canis (Dog flea)
• Ctenocephalides felis (Cat flea)
• Xenopsylla cheopis (Rat flea)
• Tunga penetrans: The female introduces itself inside the skin, producing a wound

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Mollusks

Triploblasty, coelomates, not segmented. Bilateral symmetry. Soft body (head, visceral mass, foot). Limestone shell. Complete digestive tube (mouth-anus). Radula (in most). Open circulatory system (closed in cephalopods). Excretory system: 1 or 2 metanephridia. Ganglionic nervous system. Asexual or larval reproduction.

• Bivalves: Mussels
• Gastropods: Snails
• Cephalopods: Cuttlefish

Annelida

Triploblasty, coelomates. Bilateral symmetry. Elongated cylindrical body with rings or metamerism. Closed circulatory system. Ganglionic nervous system. Cutaneous respiration. Excretory system: metanephridia. Sexes separate or hermaphrodites. With or without a larval stage.

• Polychaetes: Marine worms
• Oligochaeta: Earthworms
• Hirudinea: Leeches

Arthropods

Triploblasty,...