Introduction to Organismal Biology (BIOL221) - Dr. S.G. Saupe; Biology Department, College of St. Benedict/St. John's University, Collegeville, MN 56321; ssaupe@csbsju.edu; http://www.employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe/

Review Guide - Exam 1

General:
     The exam will be a mixture of objective (e.g., multiple choice, definition, fill-in-blank) and subjective (non-objective) questions.  The subjective questions could include completing/analyzing diagrams or experiments, short answers (require a few sentences), definitions, and matching.  The multiple choice questions will be scored electronically so you will need to bring & use a pencil.  The subjective questions can be answered using pencil or pen (I strongly recommend pencil).  The exam is designed to last one hour.  In general, the exam could include:  (1) anything covered in class; (2) items in textbook that pertain directly to concepts covered in class; (3) lecture notes on-line pertaining to material covered in class; (4) study sheets, handouts or other materials used/assigned in class; and (5) questions from videos seen in lecture (i.e., video worksheet).  Below is a brief summary of the main topics that are "fair game" for the exam.

Study Hints:
    Since the exam will focus on material covered in class, it is imperative that you take good notes.  You should write down EVERYTHING that was said/done in class.  Be sure to record everything - not just what was written on the blackboard.  The reason for this is because sometimes we will discuss important things - that are testable items - that are not written on the board.  By having it in your notes then you will be less likely to forget studying it for the exam.  You may want to check out the study tips for the course.  In general, about 50% of the exam questions will be "concrete" while the other 50% will require higher level thought skills.  As an example....a concrete, lower level question might be:  Water is moved through a plant by:  (a) transpiration; (b) root pressure; (c) capillary action.  This should be easy; a. transpiration is the answer.  Now, based on the same concept I could ask the following question:  If the roots of a plant are placed in boiling water, which of the following would most likely stop first?  (a) transpiration; (b) root pressure; (c) capillary action.  I won't tell you the answer, but as you can see, the question is now assuming that you know what each of these three processes are, and looking at what happens under different circumstances.

    The take-home-message is to not just memorize your notes, but strive to understand them.  Could you explain your notes to someone else?  One way you quickly realize how much you know is to try and teach someone else.  And from a practical perspective, remember that for the multiple choice questions you have the answer in front of you.  You simply need to sort it out from the incorrect answers.  Thinking skills will serve you better than memorizing.

    Some people say that if you have no clue about the answer on a multiple choice test, choose A.  This  sometime works because when writing a question the writer usually writes the correct answer first.  However, be careful using this strategy on my exams because I usually alphabetize my choices and/or list them according to length.  It is a good strategy when taking a test to scratch off the answers that you know are not correct.   Sometime there is a joke or goofy answer that you can immediately delete.  It is usually the last choice in the list.  Hopefully once you've eliminated any jokes and answers you know aren't correct, this will leave only two or three answers from which to choose.

    I find that making concept maps can be very helpful, also.  To make a concept map, prepare a list of the topics/ideas from a given section of material.  Then, create an organizational-type diagram, draw lines interconnecting the different ideas.  On the connecting line, indicate how the ideas relate.  Start with the broadest, most general concept first and work from there.  This can be a nice way of visualizing relationships between concepts.  See me or the web sites indicated in the study tips for more details

    Be sure to check out the textbook website and go through the activities/exercises/quizzes available.  I have also posted a copy of a sample exam (and answers) to study.

Form & Function:

• check out the notes on line.  Everything in these notes is "fair game." 

• check out the copies of the overheads I gave you - these served to guide our discussions

• you should be able to calculate simple S/V ratios.  You may want a calculator, though you can probably do the simple math in your head

• don't forget about the article, "Matters of Size".

• check out the questions in the s/v ratio online handout

• Chapter 41, pp 934 - 937, 941 - 945.

Plant Way of Life

• I posted some lecture notes on the plant way of life.  For the most part, this can be considered
• background and "pleasure reading" - except check out sections I, II, III, IV, and V: a-d.   
• There are some plant way of life study questions available, most don't directly pertain to what we covered in class so you can ignore them.

Plant Structure

• check out the notes on plant form & function (and the online study guide)

• check out the online notes on growth & meristems and the notes from the overhead.
• don't forget Gink & Go at the Playground

• Chapter 35 - everything except Box 35.1, silversword example, Box 35.3, wood as a structural material

Animal Structure

• Chapter 41, pp 937 - 941.
• check out the copy of the "animal tissues" overhead I provided in class and I posted some online lecture notes.

Gas Exchange

• Check out my online notes and the copies of the class overheads
• Chapter 41, pp
• check out the Spuds demo
• Chapter 44 (pp 999 - 1013); pp 901 - 903.

Transort in Plants & Animals (in progress)

• Chapter 41, pp
• check my on-line for xylem & phloem transport and stomatal action. 
• Gink & Go at Malt Shop
• Chapter 36; Chapter 44 (pp 1013 - end).