My apologies for posting this so late. I have been extremely ill and have spend most of the day in bed.

Thanks to Professor Busher for this outline. Good luck all!

NS201 – Biological Science – Midterm Exam,

OUTLINE

 

I.                    The philosophy of science and nature of biology

A.     Naturalistic vs. Vitalistic philosophy

B.     Epistemology in science

C.     Methodology in science

1.      Data model loop

2.      Hypothetico-deductive method

3.      Characteristics of a “good” theory

D.     Biology and the concept of emergent properties

II.         Review of the Darwinian Model of Evolution

            A. The evolutionary paradigm

            B. The mechanism of evolution

                        1. Natural Selection

            C. Evidence for evolution

            D. The connection between evolution and this course

III.       The characteristics of life

A.     Life as an emergent property

B.     Laboratory #1 as an illustration of the characteristics of life

1.      Response to stimuli in crayfish

2.      Territoriality in crayfish

VI.       Review of general chemistry

A.     Atomic structure

1.      Atomic number and atomic particles

2.      Valence electrons and valence number

3.      The representative elements on the periodic table

4.      Electron configuration

5.      Attraction of electrons by atoms and electronegativity

6.      Ions

7.      Electronegativity and bond type

a.       Electronegativity scale = 0.7 – 4.0

b.      Differences in electronegativity between atoms can determine bond type

c.       Ionic bonds (electrostatic attractions) EN difference greater than 1.7

1.      Complete transfer of electron(s) creates ions

2.      Oppositely charged ions attract and form an ionic substance

3.      Usually between metals and non-metals

d.      Covalent bonds: EN difference 0.0 – 1.7

1.      Sharing of valence electrons

2.      Sharing may be equal or unequal

3.      Non-polar covalent bonds – equal sharing of electrons

a.       EN difference = 0.0 – 0.7

b.      Example is hydrogen bonded to carbon

4.      Polar covalent bonds – unequal sharing of electrons

a.       EN difference = 0.7 – 1.7

b.      Example is hydrogen bonded to oxygen

E.      Hydrogen bonds – between polar molecules

1.      Hydrogen is polar covalently bonded to a strong electronegative atom (oxygen, nitrogen)

2.      Hydrogen (with a slight positive charge) is attracted to a negatively charged atom in another molecule

3.      Relatively low energy attraction

4.      First described by Linus Pauling

V.        Characteristics of Water

A.     Formation of one water molecule – polar bonds and polar molecule

B.     Water and the hydrogen bond – between water molecules

C.     State change graph of water (ice-liquid-gas)

1.      Heat of fusion (80cal/gr)

2.      Specific heat of liquid (1cal/gr/°C)

3.      Heat of vaporization (540 cal/gr)

4.      The physical state and hydrogen bonding

D.     Cohesion and adhesion of water

E.      General idea of pH scale and water

F.      Water and plant adaptations – lab #2

G.     Plant adaptations to drought

VI.       Origin of Life on Earth

A.     Traditional spontaneous generation of large organisms

1.      Macroscopic organisms from abiotic matter

2.      Vitalistic concept

3.      Disproved by Redi

B.     Traditional spontaneous generation of microscopic organisms

1.      Anton van Leeuwenhoek and microscopic organisms

2.      Needhan-Spallanzani debate

3.      Louis Pasteur and the “ultimate” experiment

4.      Biogenic law – Life from life

C.     A special case of spontaneous generation – Chemical Evolution

1.      Haldane-Oparin Hypothesis/ Primordial Sea Hypothesis

a.       Life originated in warm nutrient rich ancient oceans

b.      Earth’s atmosphere 4.5 billion years ago was reducing – no free molecular oxygen

c.       Energy was available from lightning, thermal vents, volcanic activity

2.      Miller-Urey experiment

a.       Organic monomers could be produced in a reducing atmosphere

b.      Precursors of life

c.       Simple moleculesàorganic monomersàorganic polymers à protocells(protobionts) à?life?

3.      Panspermia – life from space – another possible view?

4.      Life originated 3.5-3.8 billion years ago when conditions on Earth were very different from the current Earth

VII.      The first organic molecules – How to build a living cell

A.     Hydrocarbons

1.      Characteristics

a.       Dull, repetitive, non-polar, hydrophobic, low chemical reactivity

b.      Good foundation for building a cell

c.       Saturated vs. unsaturated Hydrocarbons

B.     Functional groups – Radicals

1.      Add polarity and/or unsaturation to hydrocarbons

2.      Higher chemical reactivity

3.      Hydrophilic

4.      Replace a hydrogen(s) in a hydrocarbon with a radical(s) to make organic monomers

5.      Review and know the functional groups

C.  Lipids (C, H, O,) some have P and N

1. Lipid characteristics:

            a. non-polar

            b. hydrophobic

            c. some are amphipathic

            d. diverse groups of molecules

2. Fats and oils

            a. monomers are glycerol and fatty acids

            b. Fatty acids may be saturated or unsaturated

            c. Fatty acids connected to glycerol by an ester bond

3. Phospholipids

            a. monomers are glycerol, fatty acids and a phosphate group

                        b. molecule is amphipathic (polar and non-polar/hydrophilic and

    hydrophobic)

                        c. major component of cell membranes

                        d. Danielli-Davson vs. Singer Nicolson models

            4. Steroids

                        a. three 6C rings and one 5C ring.

                        b. very stable, generally non-polar

                        c. Testosterone, Estradiol, Cholesterol are examples

                        d. Function as hormones

            5. Isoprenoids

a.       vitamin A is an isoprenoid

b.      carotenoids, which make carrots orange, are isopreoids

c.   Isoprenoids and fall foliage

VIII.     Membranes and transport (review chapter 5 and lab 3)

            A. Membrane structure – a double layer of phospholipids

                        1. Models

                                    a. Davson-Danielli

                                    b. Singer-Nicholson Fluid Mosaic model

                        2. Membrane structure allows transport of materials

                                    a. Integral proteins and material transport

                        3. Membrane is fluid and allows movement of proteins and phospholipids

    within the membrane

2.      Lab. #3 Movement of materials across a membrane

            B. Types of transport

                        1. Passive Transport

                                    a. Always is with a concentration gradient: High conc. àLow

conc.

b. No cellular energy is expended in the transport.

c. Examples: Diffusion of a gas in the air, smoke in a room…

d. Osmosis - Water movement across a membrane (High àlow)

            1. Water movement is always from a hypotonic towards a

hypertonic solution

2. Hypertonic = high solute, low solvent (water)

3. Isotonic = equal solute and solvent (water)

4. Hypotonic = Low solute, high solvent (water)

5. Remember the lab we did on this – lab #3.

                                    e. Facilitated diffusion – diffusion across the cell membrane

through protein channels

                        2. Active transport

                                    a. Always against a concentration gradient (Low à high)

                                    b. Cellular energy is expended during transport

                                    c. Examples: Na⁺ - K⁺ pump, Proton Pump

                                   

IX. Other Biological Molecules

A.     Proteins – Control molecules (C,H,O,N,S)

1.      Monomer is the amino acid - amphoteric molecule (acid and a base)

2.      20 different amino acids – side group is what makes them different

3.      Amino acids bond together by covalent bond = peptide bond

4.      Bond forms by dehydration (condensation) reaction (removal of water)

5.      Bonding of amino acids creates a polymer called a polypeptide

6.      The polypeptide assumes up to four additional structures to be a functional protein

7.      Protein structures:

a.       Primary – amino acid sequence

b.      Secondary – alpha helix (Linus Pauling) and Beta Pleated sheet

c.       Tertiary – Globular form – disulfide bonds and hydrogen bonds

d.      Quaternary – between more than one protein (electrostatic forces)

e.       Review examples of protein structures

8.      Functional groups of proteins – what do proteins do?

9.      Enzyme activity – review lab #4 – Catechol to Benzoquinone mediated by catechol oxidase (enzyme).

10.  Enzyme activity and environmental conditions

a.       Temperature and pH can denature enzymes

b.      Temperature and pH can alter the active site by denaturing the enzyme

c.       Enzymes and the lock and key model of activity

 

Note: Take a moment to review the objective and organization of the labs. Review your lab notes and the results from the lab experiments.

Just wanted to say thanks to Brett Mazza for submitting this to me, as I was unable to attend the tutorial today. YOU ROCK! :)

 

SS Tutorial

 

• Order #1
  • Asked soldiers to stop obeying their commanding officers
    • Call them by a different name (Mr.)
  • Function of order was to undermine czar’s control over military
  • Written by the Petrograd Soviet

 

• Reading #15 (Verdict Against Pyatakov)
  • Implies innocent workers were tried on bogus, trumped-up charges
    • Siding with Trotsky
    • Attempting to overthrow the government
  • Demonstration of public news

 

• War Communism
  • Goal – to win the Civil War
  • Military draft
  • Food requisitions
  • Forced labor
  • Ended in 1921 with the establishment of the NEP, 10^th Party Congress

 

• 2^nd Party Congress
  • Split social democratic party between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
  • “What is to be done?” is voted on
• 10^th Party Congress
  • Khronsted
  • NEP
• 20^th Party Congress
  • Khrushchev gives “secret speech”
  • Beginning of Destalinization

 

• “Socialism in one country”
  • Policy associated with Stalin
    • Wanted international recognition of new country – USSR
  • Abandon Lenin’s ideas of permanent revolution, international revolution
  • Commterm – 1919
    • Sent agents around to different parts of the world to assist any countries who were setting up or trying to set up socialist governments

 

• Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Responsible for the downfall of Khrushchev

 

• Mendelstein Poem – “We Live, Not Feeling”
  • What it’s like to live under Stalin, terror

Quiz on Stalin Materials

 

1.  Stalin’s dictatorship was even worse than under the tsars because:

 

1. Modern technologies of surveillance allowed Stalin’s secret police to be more thorough in policing its citizens.
2. The aspiration of totalitarian systems to control every sphere of life, even private and personal domains, was more ambitious than in previous centuries.
3. Russian tsars held peasants in high regard and gave them favorable treatment.
4. Both A and B

 

2.   Stalin treated his fellow “Old Bolsheviks”

 

1. the same way that Lenin did.
2. favorably and he guaranteed their safety as long as they were loyal to him.
3. as potential rivals and he systematically eliminated all of them by 1940.
4. B and C

 

3.   Stalin’s stance within the Industrialization Debate of the mid to late 1920s

 

1. shifted cynically as he aligned himself with various factions and maneuvered to take over the Party.
2. was similar to Trotsky’s and Preobrazhensky’s position once he gained supreme power in the party even though he gave them no credit for the ideas.
3. was similar to Lenin’s late in life NEP policies.
4. A and B

 

4.  Osip Mandelstom’s poem about a “murderer and a peasant-slayer”:

 

1. had nothing to do with Stalin although his accusers in the secret police said it did.
2. was never written down.  The secret police learned about it from informants who had been recruited to keep tabs on fellow citizens.
3. was only a poem and yet the poet was killed because of it.
4. demonstrates that to insult Stalin even in private was considered a crime so serious that death or deportation was justified.
5. All but A

 

5.  Stalin used terror

 

1. as a lever of control against fellow Party members
2. as a form of entertainment
3. to enforce his policies of rapid industrialization and collectivization
4. to create a pervasive sense of fear and loss of control within society so that no opposition to his government could take root.
5. All of the above

 

6.  At his show trial of 1937, Bukharin wrote a letter:

 

1. to confess his guilt as a Trotskyite conspirator scheming to undo the November Revolution.
2. To denounce the “hellish machine” that the Party had become.
3. To warn future generations that anyone--even Central Committee members--can be arbitrarily “rubbed out.”
4. All of the above
5. B and C

 

7.  Stalin’s March 1930 writing entitled “Dizzy with Success”

 

1. heralds the purported success of Stalin’s collectivization program.
2. blames local officials for excesses in implementing collectivization policies.
3. Declares that Old Bolsheviks are all Trotskyites deserving of the death penalty.
4. A and B
5. A, B, and C

 

8.  The 1932-33 famine in the Ukraine

 

1. was a natural disaster.
2. brought about by disruptions caused by collectivization policies and Stalin’s response to peasant resistance with a campaign of terror.
3. Went undetected by foreign governments.
4. Was well-known in the USA because of the courageous reportage of Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Walter Duranty. 

 

9.  Collectivization meant that the peasants had to

 

1. give up their livestock and farming implements to the State.
2. Peasants became wage-earners dependent on the State for subsistence.
3. Experienced peasants became subject to outside managers who did not always understand local farming conditions.
4. All of the above.

 

10.  Alec Nove’s article argues

 

1. That democracy might have taken root in Russia had constitutional government been given a sufficient chance.
2. That coercive leadership usually accompanies rapid industrialization.
3. That “whole-hog” Stalinism was not pre-ordained but that some form of absolutism was the “necessary” outgrowth of Russia’s situation of backwardness.
4. B and C

Answers

 

1. D
2. C
3. D
4. E
5. E
6. E
7. D
8. B
9. D
10. D

REVIEW SHEET

 

Chekhov’s “The Peasants”

Russia’s main geographic features

Peter the Great’s building of St. Petersburg

Emancipation Edict /Great Reforms of 1861

Assassination of Alexander II by People’s Will

Counter-reforms, Alexander III, the political police

Konstantin Pobedonostsev’s “Reflections of a Russian Statesman”

Sergei Witte’s Industrialization Policies

Father Gapon’s role in the Revolution of 1905, Bloody Sunday

The October Manifesto and the creation of the Duma

Decisions made by Tsar Nicholas II contributing to the tsarist state’s demise

The film “Nicholas and Alexandra”

Russia’s homegrown revolutionary tradition (Chernyshevsky); influences on Lenin

Lenin’s concept of party organization described in “What is to be Done?”

The Bolshevik vs. Menshevik schism

Peter Stolypin’s Reforms

Lenin’s “April Theses”

Lenin’s “State and Revolution”

Petrograd Soviet’s “Order no. One”

The weakness of the Provisional Government led by Kerensky

Martov’s complaints before the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and Trotsky’s reply

Lenin’s concept of Democratic Centralism

Lenin’s Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

War Communism

The Cheka

Alexandra Kollontai and the Workers’ Opposition

The Kronstadt Rebellion

Lenin’s response to his political opponents, “On Party Unity”

The New Economic Policies

Lenin’s late in life second thoughts as expressed in his Last Testament and “Better Fewer, But Better”  Stalin; Trotsky; Bukharin.

Hey everyone! I got these questions from one of the other professors and thought you might find them useful.

Thought Questions for Discussion—Week III S.S. 201

 

1.      The Bolsheviks after November 1917 changed their name to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).  Why?

 

2.      What were the major problems (political, military, economic) confronting the Bolsheviks after they got control of the government in 1917? 

 

3.      How did the way in which the Bolsheviks solved their problems (e.g., closing down the Constituent Assembly in January, 1918) establish a pattern for addressing subsequent challenges to their rule?  In short, how did the means used to achieve ends become the “definition of the situation” (Social Science 101—Thomas theorem), establishing the new reality for constructing the communist utopia? 

 

4.      What were the issues of debate within the CPSU over signing the peace treaty with Germany?

 

5.      Was it wise to have accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?  What were the consequences for the subsequent course of the revolution in Russia?

 

6.      What were the causes of the civil war?

 

7.      What was “war communism?”  Was it successful?

 

8.      Be aware of the various groups that were involved fighting the “Reds” in the civil war.

 

9.      Why did the “Reds” win the civil war?

 

Thought Questions for Week IV            S.S. 201

 

1.      Be certain to know the various individuals who struggled within the CPSU to succeed Lenin.  What were their respective strengths and weaknesses?

 

2.      What were Lenin’s thoughts on succession?

 

3.      Why did Stalin win?

4.      What was Stalin’s ideological contribution to the application of Marxism to Russia?  How did it differ from the views of Trotsky?

 

5.      Be aware of the different positions and those advocating them in the great industrialization debates of the early 1920s—These constitute the beginning of what today is known as developmental economics.

 

6.      How did the issue of NEP fit into these debates?

 

7.      What was the essential problem with Preobrazensky’s plans for industrialization (called “Preobrazensky’s dilemma)?

 

Thought Questions for Week V:  S.S. 201

 

1.      How did Stalin’s industrialization program compare with that of the “Left” and “Right” Opposition?

 

2.      What were the ideas and mechanisms for advancing  the Soviet Union’s First Five-Year Plan?

 

3.      Be aware of the nature and purpose of Stalin’s collectivization drive.

 

4.      Were Stalin’s programs a success or a failure?  How can they be measured?

 

5.      How does one explain the purges of the 1930s?  What were the objectives?  What impact did they have on Soviet society?

 

6.      How does one evaluate Stalin?  Was he the logical extension of Leninism, or was he rather an aberration, someone who perverted the Leninist vision for Soviet communism?  Pay special attention to Alex Nove’s essay on this issue—we will revisit it at a later date.

 

Thought Questions for Week VI       S.S. 201

 

1.      Read the article by Alec Nove concerning Stalin carefully.  What is his thesis?  Would Khrushchev have agreed with Nove’s central argument?

 

2.      What were the fundamental alterations in rule with the coming to power of Leonid Brezhnev?

 

3.      What was the Brezhnev’s regimes position on Stalin?

 

4.      Did Soviet foreign policy change under Brezhnev?

 

5.      What was meant by Détente?  What were Soviet objectives in pursuing such a course of action?

 

6.      Who were the Soviet dissidents and what were their concerns?

 

7.      What were the sources within the Soviet Union that could move that country more in the direction of the West?  Did it happen?

 

Thought Questions for Week VII               SS 201

 

1.      What were the foreign policy challenges for Gorbachev?

 

2.      What made Gorbachev different from his predecessors”

 

3.      What was Gorbachev’s strategy for guiding Soviet foreign policy and thereby winding down the Cold War?

 

4.       Gorbachev initiated several revolutions.  Which succeeded?

 

5.      What caused the coup against Gorbachev in August 1991?  Who was involved?  Why did it fail?

6.      Could Gorbachev’s reforms have succeeded?  What was his ultimate goal?  How did all this compare with Yeltsin’s vision?  Where did Yeltsin and Gorbachev part ways?

 

7.      What do you see as the ultimate reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union?

Hey Team U!

Hope everyone is almost ready for midterm week as it begins tomorrow...EEEKK!!! Below you will find things you need to know, things you don't need to know, the format of the exam, etc. Any questions, comments, concerns, feel free to e-mail me at bparadox@bu.edu or shoot me a message on facebook. Hope this helps a little and good luck!

Format: Three sections
Sec. 1) Identification: Be prepared to identify "who coined the term/phrase?, why it is important?, what does it mean?" This section will be worth a total of 30 points.
(Ex: Q. Explain what "Substituted judgment" answering who termed the phrase (or where it was seen), why it is important, and what it means.)
(A. This phrase was used in the Nancy Cruzan case. This term is important because this is what Cruzan's parents were sueing for. They wanted to be able to make the decision of whether she stayed on the feeding tube or not. Since Cruzan was unable to express her thoughts, her parents wished to "substitute" Cruzan's "judgment" for theirs.)
Sec.2) Socrates: (most likely short answer) Pick 2 out of 3 questions to write about.
(Ex: Q.Why can't Euthyphro be read literally or taken seriously?)
(A. Euthyphro cannot be read literally because of the vast amount of irony that is found in the text. An example of this is when Socrates is talking about how wise Meletus is and what a great public benefactor he will make. However, we know he is saying this sarcastically because he does not think anyone is wise. Then later in Apology, he says what he really thinks about Meletus, when he basically calls him a young punk who is handling the case frivolously.)
Sec. 3) Epicurus: (most likely will be some sort of short essay question)
(Ex: Q. How is Epicurus' concept of nature the same as that of the Sophists' and Socrates'?)
(A. Epicurus says that we are naturally incline to lives of sensual pleasure and Socrates says this interferes with our functioning by resulting in things such as high cholesterol, heart attacks, etc. The dispute between the sophists and Socrates is this: They both agree that virtue is a type of knowledge but they go about it in two different ways. The sophists argue that they are teaching people to live virtuously and because it is a type of knowledge, it can be taught like any other type of knowledge. Socrates disagrees with this and rather claims that the majority is ignorant because they do not know that they are ignorant. Only a rare group of people can understand justice, temperance, courage, etc. Everyone else is prone to excess and defect. This small group of elite, however, can learn to live an excellent and virtuous life.)

Other things you should know:

• Expressed thoughts: the lawyers didn't want a casual statement, such as that of her roomates, but rather a clear "expression of her thoughts" which was not available due to her vegetative state
  
• Heightened Evidentiary Requirements:
  
• "Clear and convincing evidence": this is one of the most important points of the case; the state demanded "clear and convincing evidence" in order to be able to make a decision, however no one was able to provide any
  
• Justice Theory and 3 parts of the psyche
• Procedural Justice: the law is not a bunch of discrete individual laws, but rather one body. It is purely formal. In Crito, Socrates agreed to abide by the law and by the procedures that the community uses to make decisions. Crito says that Socrates should escape to Thessaly and Socrates says that he is going to follow this "procedural justice" instead.
  
• Substantive Justice
• Crito and what is the major argument between him and Socrates
  • Keep in mind that the argument depends on the question: "Is the law a body?"
  • The social contract
    
• More examples of irony in Euthyphro (I recommend finding examples that don't stick out as much as the ones that were discussed in class...Professors always love when you include these tiny details)
  
• What Socrates is being charged with, and what his real crime was
  • The political dimensions of the trial/case
• What is Hedonism and how is Epicurus an example of a hedonist?
• How is Epicurus an atomist?
• Ataraxia
• The means of acheiving ataraxia
• How Epicurus is creating an ideology?
• Stipulative vs. Lexical definition of piety/impiety
• Socrates' theory of virtue
• The issue of "quality of life"
• "Do Americans have a constitutional right to die?" - Through living wills one can request not to be kept alive on machines, but cannot ask to be killed, so where do we draw the line?
• Autonomy: what one's wishes, best interests and intrinsic value should be the three things that we consider
  
• How the Cruzan case relates to philosophy: "You can discuss the case for all of eternity (much like in philosophy) but at one point a decision has to be made. Even the decision not to make a decision, is a decision."
• Risk of error: this meant that the court system and lawyers were afraid of pulling the plug on her and then later on finding a piece of evidence that stated she wanted to live
  
• About Socrates' quest for someone who is wiser than he, and the three groups of people he sees
• Why chaos is natural to us?
• The goal of living a moral life
• Pain vs. pleasure, good vs. evil
• Know sections 5 and 6 in Chapter 2 of GTE
  

Things you shouldn't see on the exam:

• Nietzsche's paragraph
• Quiz Show
• Phaedro
• Elenchus point
• Incomensurability
• Section 3 and 4 in Chapter 2 of GTE
• No compare and contrast questions

Good luck studying, and I hope this helps a little! Ciao!