Midterm Review Sheet BSC2010L

This review sheet is a guide to helping you review concepts covered and equipment used in this course.
However, it is not necessarily a comprehensive guide to the content of the exam. You are responsible for
knowing all material covered in the lab course this semester, as well how to operate and read all
equipment that was used.
Lab 1: Scientific Method and Laboratory Techniques

Be able to correctly use and read the measuring tools used throughout the
course. For example: serological pipettes, micropipettes and graduated
cylinders. Know how the spectrophotometer works (i.e. what it measures,
how it is measured).

What is an absorption spectrum? What value for a substance can be

determined by plotting its absorption spectrum?

What is a standard curve? How can it be used to find the concentration of an

unknown substance?

What is a hypothesis? Why must it be falsifiable?

Know the meaning of a control, independent variable, dependent variable.
You dont need to know about the Chi Square test.

Lab 2: The Light Microscope

Know the names and functions of parts of a microscope

Understand the terms magnification, resolution, contrast, depth of field and index of refraction,
and explain how each can be modulated in light microscopy.
Know how to calculate the total magnification and the diameter of the field of view. Know how
to estimate the size of a cell depending upon the magnification and diameter of the field of view.
Be able to interconvert between the following metric units: meters, mm and m, and liters, ml, l.

Lab 3: Viewing Cells

Be able to summarize the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Be able to categorize organisms you observed as prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes, photosynthetic vs.
non-photosynthetic, etc. Know which organelles you would find in the different organisms you
observed.
Be able to describe organisms in terms of size, shape, living environment, etc.
Be able to explain why cell size is limited by the surface area-to-volume ratio. Understand the
mechanisms larger cells such as those found in plants use that allow them to survive.
Be able to explain the endosymbiont theory for how certain eukaryotic organelles originated.
What evidence exists to support the theory?

Lab 4: Diffusion, Osmosis and pH

What is diffusion? What is meant by diffusion down a concentration gradient? What is dynamic
equilibrium? How does heat affect the rate of diffusion?
What is osmosis? Explain what is meant when a cells environment is referred to as hypertonic,
hypotonic, or isotonic? How does each affect a plant cell? An animal cell? How do animal cells,
plant cells, protists and bacteria each deal with the problem of osmosis?
How can an osmometer be used to test the solute concentration of a solution?
Be able to explain what pH means. Be able to describe how Paramecia and hypermastigotes
differ in their sensitivity to environmental pH.
Be able to distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data in this exercise or other
exercises.

Exercise 5: Observing Strawberry DNA

Summarize the structural features of DNA as described in the lab manual and by your TA.
Why were DNA-containing solutions kept on ice throughout the lab exercise?
Explain the purpose of each of the following items in this exercise: baking soda, isopropyl
alcohol, salt, and shampoo.
At which optimum wavelengths do DNA and protein absorb the most light? What does the
absorbance ratio 260 nm/280 nm tell us about a DNA sample?