HESI A2 section
Biology
The molecules of life, water, cells, metabolism, respiration and photosynthesis, cell division and genetics.
- 30 questions (25 scored)
- 25 minutes
- 17 topics
Biology basics & diversity of life
- Biology Basics & the Scientific MethodThe characteristics of living things (incl. homeostasis as a trait of life), levels of organization, and the scientific method — hypothesis, variables, controls.
- Classification & the Kingdoms of LifeTaxonomic ranks from domain to species, binomial names, the three domains and the kingdoms with their defining traits (pathogens and disease: Microorganisms).
- Microorganisms, Infectious Disease & ImmunityBacteria, viruses, fungi and protists as pathogens, how infection spreads and is treated (antibiotics vs viruses), and the immune defense in brief.
- Natural Selection, Adaptation & PopulationsHow populations change: variation, natural selection, adaptation, evidence for evolution, and population growth (birth, death, immigration, emigration, fertility factors).
Chemistry of life
- Properties of WaterPolarity and hydrogen bonding, and the properties they give water: cohesion, adhesion, high specific heat, ice floating, universal solvent.
- Biological MoleculesCarbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids: their building blocks, bonds, functions and examples.
- Metabolism & EnzymesAnabolism and catabolism, ATP as the energy currency, and how enzymes lower activation energy and are affected by temperature and pH.
Cells
- Cell Structure & OrganellesProkaryotic versus eukaryotic and plant versus animal cells, and the job of each organelle (what the membrane does and moves: Cell Membrane & Transport).
- Cell Membrane & TransportThe fluid-mosaic membrane, diffusion, osmosis and tonicity, facilitated diffusion, active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis.
Cellular energy
- Cellular RespirationGlycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain: where each happens, what goes in and out, ATP yield, and fermentation.
- PhotosynthesisLight reactions and the Calvin cycle in the chloroplast, the overall equation, and how photosynthesis and respiration mirror each other.
Cell division & heredity
- Cell Cycle, Mitosis & DifferentiationInterphase and the phases of mitosis, cytokinesis, binary fission, and how stem cells differentiate into specialized cells.
- Meiosis & Sexual ReproductionMeiosis I and II, haploid versus diploid, crossing over and independent assortment, and how meiosis differs from mitosis.
- DNA & RNA: Structure and ReplicationNucleotides, base pairing, the double helix, how DNA and RNA differ, and semiconservative DNA replication.
- Protein Synthesis & MutationsTranscription and translation, codons and the genetic code, and mutations: point vs frameshift, spontaneous at low rates, and somatic vs germ-line (only germ-line is inherited).
- Mendelian Genetics & Punnett SquaresGenes and alleles, dominant and recessive, genotype versus phenotype, and monohybrid and dihybrid Punnett squares.
- Chromosomes & Non-Mendelian InheritanceChromosomes and karyotypes, sex determination, nondisjunction (owns it), incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles (ABO) and sex-linked traits.
Study Biology topic by topic, then take the timed section test.
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