PB102 Exam information and question examples.

Your grade in this class is calculated in a way that attempts to reduce the influence of the midterm. This is because experience has shown that it is sometimes difficult for non-science majors to know what is expected of them in a university science exam. Many students improve their performance significantly in the final because they know what to expect and therefore they tend to study more efficiently for the final.

The downside to this approach for you is that it is important that you study hard for the final because it is an extremely important part of your grade!

To help you retain more information from this class and to encourage you to revisit material that you may have found difficult at first, section 1 of your final will include about 20 of the same multiple choice questions that were in your midterm (in a slightly reworked form), as well as new questions that emphasize material you have learned in lab and lecture since the midterm. Section 2 will also include some familiar questions. Please don't anyone say "I don't know what to study!"

Section one of the final is worth 75 points, section two is worth 35 points. The sum will be multiplied by a generous 1.4 and the result rounded to the nearest integer in order to get a total out of a maximum of 150.

Section 1 consists of 75 simple multiple choice questions like the ones below. 1 point per question. Give the BEST answer in each case. (the correct answer is underlined here).

1) Plant cell walls are made mainly of
a) cellulose
b) protein
c) endosperm
d ) starch

(If we imagine that this question appeared in your midterm, then the reworked version of the same question might appear in your final as shown below:)

1) Plant cell walls are mainly made of
a) starch
b) protein
c) nitrogen
d) cellulose

2) Chloroplasts
a) make carbohydrates
b) make nitrates
c) are diploid
d) are descended from ferns

3) The group formerly known as the blue-green algae are best described as
a) algae
b) bacteria
c) always blue-green in color
d) always endosymbiotic

4) The algal class Charophyceae includes
a) Choleocheate
b) Ulva
c) red algae
d) brown algae

5) The organism shown here is an example of
a) algae
b) hornwort
c) Psilotum
d) Hepatophyta

(note that in the exam, this picture would be available (along with others) on the projector screen at the front of the classroom.)

6) Gause's principle states that

a) alleles compete until only one is left in the population
b) complex biomes gradually replace simple ones until a climax community appears
c) every species has its own special niche unlike any other
d) only one species can permanently occupy a given niche

Biomes are
a) artificial plant communities created by the activities of humans and maintained by human disturbance
b) plant communities that are supposedly very early in their successional sequence
c) characteristic plant communities such as Taiga, coastal desert and tropical forests
d) artificial glass or plastic domes where crops can be raised under controlled conditions

 

The second section of the final exam will consist of a collection of questions just like those you see below. Some of these questions will appear in the final exam, either exactly as they appear here, or in a slightly modified form. You are also welcome to submit your own exam questions for this section. In the final you will be asked to answer 7 questions from a list of 14. (I know I originally said 10 of 20, but that seemed to make the exam just a little too long, so I have decided to only ask for 7.) Short answer questions are worth 5 points each.

Hints for answering these questions: Your answers should include as many scientific details from class as possible. Each specific detail, or solid argument that you mention will generally earn you one point, hence you generally need to include at least FIVE distinct pieces of information for each answer to score full points. Avoid vague statements of opinion and the repetition of common scientific misconceptions that are perpetuated by popular culture. These will be immediately spotted by the graders and recognized as an attempt to pad your answer when you don't really know the details discussed in class. keep your answers succinct. Numerous DETAILS are more important than fine prose.

1) a) What are "sori"? Where are they found and what do they produce? b) What is a gameteophyte? What does it generally look like in ferns? c)

2) a) What are the two possible fates for species "A" that occupies exactly the same ecological niche as species "B" (in the same geographic area and at the same time). How might the phenomenon of ecological disturbance affect this fate?

3) What is gluten? Where is it found? Why is it so useful to bakers? How is it that the wheat embryo is diploid, but the endosperm is triploid?

4) What is ecological efficiency and how is it related to the second law of thermodynamics? About how much energy moves from one trophic level to the next? Why are humans more likely to eat mainly plant material in the coming century?

5) What is the scientific method? How and why does it work? What are it's strengths and weaknesses?

6) What is Agrobacterium tumefaciens and how is it used by scientists to genetically modify plants?

7) The Carnegie Institute has lots of pretty pictures of plant cells on its web site at:

http://deepgreen.stanford.edu/

Describe how jellyfish help to make these pictures possible. (hint: google jellyfish GFP). Why are most of these images designed to show only one gene product?

8) Describe two examples of symbiotic relationships that have important agricultural implications. Your description should include the identity of the organisms involved and a description of the benefits from the relationship. Mention also any special evolutionary significance of the relationship and whether or not any degeneration or other physiological adaptation has occurred in one or more of the organisms involved. Include as many details as you can.

9) What is primary succession and secondary succession? Give some examples of the actual plant species that might be involved in the different stages of succession in this part of the world.

10) List as many factors as you can that affect the diversity of a plant community. You'll need at least 5 factors mentioned in class to score full points.

11) Make a list of things that are good and things that are bad about genetically modified (GM) food. Limit yourself  as much as possible to specific arguments that are supported by empiric scientific research. Avoid vague statements of opinion as much as possible.

12) What are plant secondary compounds? Why do plants make them? List some of the many uses that humans have found for these compounds.

13) How does disturbance affect species diversity in an ecosystem? Why is there an optimal frequency for disturbance? What happens if the disturbance occurs more or less often than this?

14) Describe the carbon cycle. Include how water, respiration, decomposition, photosynthesis, and anything else you may find relevant affects the flow of carbon as it moves through the ecosystem. Make sure you identify the form that the carbon takes as it moves through the cycle. Your answer may take the form of an annotated flow chart if you like.

15) Briefly explain why adding an outside source of nitrogen to a plant will reduce the amount of Rhizobium nodules on the root of a plant. What is leghaemoglobin and how does it help nitrogen fixation?

Good luck with your studying. University guidelines suggest that for each credit hour of class time you should spend  1-2 hours studying outside class. That's 10 hours PER WEEK for this class.