1.   What are the main elements that make up life?

CHON,  carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen (may also include phosphor and sulfur)

2.  What is the pre-biotic soup theory of life?

That life arose from an inorganic mix of component elements and available energy (lightening).

3.  What was Stanley Miller's experiment in 1953?

Miller tested the pre-biotic soup theory of life by mixing water, ammonia, methane and hydrogen with electric sparks and yielded amino acids.

4.  What is NASA's definition of life?

Life is a self sustained chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution.

5.  What are three important aspects of Darwinian evolution?

amplification, mutation, and selection

6.  When did life probably appear on Earth?
 
3.5 to 4 billion years ago

7.  What is RNA?

Self-replicating compounds that assist in creating proteins.

8.  Why did life probably originate in the ocean rather than on dry land?

Dry land exposed dangers that could easily disrupt or distroy life -- UV radiation, meteorite impacts, potential lack of water.  Deep ocean environments were likely more stable for creating life.

9.  Why do some organisms go extinct?

the inability to adapt to a changing environment

10.  How did dinosaurs probably go extinct?

A large meteorite struck Earth and disrupted the atmosphere, which changed conditions so that dinosaurs went extinct.

11.   How old is the oldest fossil evidence of life on Earth?

about 3.5 billion years

12.  How is life on Earth fundamentally the same?

They are made up of 4 basic elements, amino acids, and DNA.

13.  What is the difference between producers and consumers?

Producers create their own organic materials from inorganic substances; consumers are organisms that eat producers or other consumers.

14.  Describe the basic process of photosynthesis (see figure 13.2 on page 349).

carbon dioxide and water combine with light and the presence of chlorophyll to produce glucose and oxygen

15.  Describe the basic process of chemosynthesis (see figure 13.4 on page 350)

carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide combine to form glucose, sulfure, and water

16.  What is an example of a highly productive marine community with respect to primary productivity?  What is an example of a low  productive marine community?

coral reefs, kelp beds; shelf community, open ocean

17.  What term describes specialized organisms that can survive in extreme environments of temperature, pressure, and chemistry?

extremophiles

18.  How do we organize producers and consumers in a particular ecological community?

They are organized into a trophic pyramid.

19.  What are the six major kingdoms in biology?

archaea, bacteria, animalia, plantae, protista, fungi

20.  What are three ways that substances move through  cells?

diffusion, osmosis, & active transport

21.  What does the addition of CO2 to the oceans generally do to pH?

It lowers the pH and makes the oceans more acidic.