STUDY GUIDE FOR THE BSCI 106 FINAL EXAM

The BSCI 106 final exam is worth 150 points. There will be 10 bonus points offered in addition. Of the 150 points, approximately 80-90 will be from questions based on lectures from the last quarter of the course [Lectures # 33 — 42]. The remaining points will be questions on specific material covered in the first _ of the course, limited to ONLY the following topics:

I. Mitosis, Meiosis, and Mendel: understanding the fundamental genetic processes and principles resulting in new genetic combinations for the next generation, i.e. providing the "raw material" of heritable variation for evolution by natural selection.

? all of the topics and terminology covered on the outline of Lectures 4-5, the genetics homeworks and study questions, and the genetics questions (but not Hardy-Weinberg) on Exam I.
  1. The Process Of Evolution By Natural Selection: understand and be able to clearly describe, in a step-by-step manner for any particular example, how traits evolve by the process of natural selection. Essentials to remember (to be applied to specific examples, like evolution of long necks in giraffes) are:
    1. Heritable variation in phenotype: Within a species, individuals vary in phenotype, in part due to heritable traits
    2. Differential survivorship and reproduction: Only those individual organisms having the most favorable characteristics for survival in their particular environment survive and reproduce; their characteristics are passed to their offspring.
    3. Change over time: Over long periods of time, selective changes or variations can lead to considerable change in phenotype, including evolution of new species.
  2. Selected topics from Dr. Hawthorne’s lectures:
  3. Speciation
  4. What is a phylogeny? What does it tell us?
  5. Relationships among major groups of organisms (including among major groups of animals and plants).
  6. Key innovations in plants and animals.
  7. Ecological roles of major groups of organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants, animals).
  8. Trophic relationships.