Diversity 1

Question 1

What is Biodiversity?

Answer 1

Biodiversity is the number and variety of species and ecosystems on Earth.

Question 2

What is a species?

Answer 2

A species is a group of organisms capable of breeding freely with each other under natural conditions and producing viable and fertile offspring.

Question 3

What is Taxonomy?

Answer 3

Taxonomy is the science of classifying all organisms, both living and fossil.

Question 4

What is Binomial Nomenclature?

Answer 4

A system used to classify species where the genus name is the first name and the specific name is the second name.

Question 5

What are the taxonomic ranks?

Answer 5

Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Question 6

What did Carl Linnaeus do?

Answer 6

Carl Linnaeus invented the system of binomial nomenclature, and grouped species into taxonomic levels based on shared characteristics. He only recognized plants and animals as distinct kingdoms.

Question 7

What are some traits of prokaryotes?

Answer 7

• No nucleus, no membrane bound organelles, no membrane bound DNA
• In Eubacteria and Archaea kingdoms
• Many are anaerobic (do not require oxygen)
• Always unicellular
• Do not divide by mitosis/meiosis

Question 8

What are some traits of eukaryotes?

Answer 8

• Nucleus, membrane bound organelles, membrane bound DNA
• In Fungi, Protista, Animalia, and Plantae kingdoms
• Divide by mitosis/meiosis
• Most are aerobic (require oxygen)
• Can be unicellular or multicellular

Question 9

What is a Taxon?

Answer 9

A taxon is a taxonomic level. It groups species based off shared characteristics. Each taxonomic rank is a taxon.

Question 10

Modern Cell Theory:

Answer 10

• All living things are made of 1 or more cells
• Cells are the basic functional/structural units of life
• All cells arise from the division of pre-existing cells

Question 11

What is an Autotroph?

Answer 11

An organism which produces its own food.

Question 12

What is a Heterotroph?

Answer 12

An organism which eats other things as food.

Question 13

What are the traits of the animalia kingdom?

Answer 13

• Heterotrophs
• Eukaryotes
• Multicellular

Question 14

What are the traits of the plantae kingdom?

Answer 14

• Autotrophs
• Eukaryotes

-Multicellular

• Cell wall

Question 15

What are traits of the fungi kingdom?

Answer 15

• Eukaryotes
• Heterotrophs
• Unicellular / Multicellular
• Cell wall

Question 16

What are the traits of the archaea kingdom?

Answer 16

• Live in extreme conditions
• Prokaryotes
• Cell Wall
• Unicellular

Question 17

What are the traits of the eubacteria kingdom?

Answer 17

• Found almost everywhere
• Prokaryotic
• Unicellular
• Either heterotrophic or autotrophic
• Cell Wall

Question 18

What is a dichotomous key?

Answer 18

A tool used to determine the identities of items in the natural world.

Question 19

Why is classification of living things on Earth important?

Answer 19

• It allows everyone to have common names for different species, regardless of differences in language.
• Provides useful information about an organism’s evolutionary history.
• Allows fossils to be classified with specific names relating to their attributes, just like living organisms.

Question 20

What did Carl Linnaeus propose for the classification of all living things?

Answer 20

Carl Linnaeus proposed that all organisms should be classified in taxonomic ranks, known as taxa, which group organisms based off shared characteristics. We still use these taxonomic ranks with some changes, as at the time Linnaeus only recognized two kingdoms (plantae and animalia) and no domains. This was because there were no microscopes at the time he was alive. He also proposed binomial nomenclature, which gave each species a name starting with their genus and ending with their specific name.

Question 21

Are viruses living or non-living?

Answer 21

Non-living

Question 22

Why are viruses not alive?

Answer 22

• Not made of cells
• Cannot carry out the characteristics of life on their own; Cannot reproduce on their own; Cannot carry out metabolic functions on their own; Cannot respond to stimuli or move
• Made up of DNA/RNA with a protein shell to cover it; no organelles are inside viruses

Question 23

What are the traits of the protista kingdom?

Answer 23

• Eukaryotic
• Can have a cell wall
• Can be heterotrophic or autotrophic
• Mainly lives in water

Question 24

What is the structure of a typical virus?

Answer 24

Usually consists of a capsid (protein shell) covering DNA or RNA. Most viruses which infect animals have an Envelope of protein which covers the capsid and nucleic acid. The proteins on the outside of viruses are only able to attach to specific types of cells.

Question 25

What is the structure of a bacteriophage virus?

Answer 25

Capsid - Protein coating covering the nucleic acid Nucleic Acid - DNA or RNA Sheath - Anchors the virus onto the host Tails - Recognize the host cell. Unlike viruses which infect animal cells, bacteriophages do not enter the host cell. Instead, they insert their genetic material into the cell via the sheath and tails.

Question 26

What is the structure of an animal cell virus?

Answer 26

-Often a round shape - Ligands – proteins which stick out of the surface of the virus. They act as a key to recognize specific cells in order to 'unlock' and invade them. - A layer of fatty acids cover many animal viruses.

Question 27

What is the lytic cycle, and what is the lysogenic cycle?

Answer 27

The lytic cycle is the infectious cycle, where genetic material from a virus takes over a cell and causes it to synthesize parts for the virus. The lysogenic cycle is a period of dormancy, where genetic material from a virus stays inactive inside a host cell as it divides, and stays there for a prolonged period of time until external changes trigger the lytic cycle to begin.

Question 28

Steps of the lytic cycle

Answer 28

1.Attachment. 2. The virus' genetic instructions enter the cell. These instructions take over the cell, reprogram the cell, and have it synthesize new viral genomes and proteins. 4. Assembly of new viruses. 5. Release of the new viruses

Question 29

Steps of the lysogenic cycle

Answer 29

1. The virus' genetic instructions enter the cell, but stay dormant. 2. Viral genetic information integrates with host DNA. 3. The host cell divides as normal. At some point, the dormant virus enters the lytic cycle.

Question 30

What are the ecological roles of viruses?

Answer 30

- Can cause disease - Selective; can only enter certain host cells - Important tools for genetic engineering and gene therapy. Can insert non-harmful genetic material into viruses and have them carry it into cells.

Question 31

How do viruses connect to human diseases?

Answer 31

Many diseases are caused by viruses - Cause diseases by destroying cells as they reproduce - There are vaccines which teach your body to fight certain viruses; Introduce inactivated/weakened viruses to your body, getting immune cells to destroy them, which creates a chemical memory of what was fought off. This allows your cells to recognize the real virus if you ever encounter it. Some viruses can mutate much faster than others, causing them to not be recognized even if fought off before.

Question 32

Similarities between eubacteria and archaea

Answer 32

- All are unicellular and prokaryotes. - They live in colonies/groups, but are still single individual cells. - Prokaryote = no nucleus, no membrane bound organelles.. - Live almost everywhere

Question 33

What are some physical characteristics of eubacteria?

Answer 33

Cell Wall - Differs from plant cell wall; not made of cellulose but instead glycoprotein. Capsule - Protective gel-protein coating. Not all bacteria have this. Nucleoid Region - where the cell's DNA is found. Pili (Single: Pilus) - Used in a special type of reproduction (conjugation), or attachment. Flagella - Helps with cell movement. Ribosomes - Used in protein synthesis.