AP Biology Students:

So, If you haven’t already heard, the AP Exam is still on but it has been drastically changed. It is now a 45 minute online exam
consisting of two free response questions only. I have asked you to complete some questions from the workbooks. In addition, I
am providing two questions for each of the eligible units for the exam. I have included the first three units in this packet. More
will follow. These questions were taken from the college board AP Classroom website. They were to be assigned as practice
questions for the exam. They are inline with the type of questions that will be chosen for the exam. Pay attention to the “action”
words in each questions…i.e. Describe, Explain, Make a claim, Justify, Graph etc. These are the things you will be asked to do on the
test. The test is open book/ open note….but with only 45 minutes, don’t plan on relying to heavily on other sources of information.
You simply will not have time. I have been told that the questions will not really ask you for fundamental or factual recall of
information. Instead, you will be given a scenario, such as what you will read in the questions that follow. You will need to relate
that scenario to information learned in class, analyze data, and make predictions or justifications. Give these questions a try. Call
me during office hours on ZOOM if you have questions. I will gladly talk you through them. Please email me your answers and I will
give you feedback.

Those of you preparing for the exam….how well you will do is going to ultimately depend on how you use your time for
preparation while you are off school. Feel free to do more than what I assign. As I have said before, the book I sent home is a great
referrence. It has good descriptions and summaries of the information we have covered, the multiple choice questions (although
there will be none on the test) are a good test of your understanding of the topics, the grid-ins will help you develop data analysis
skills, and the free-response questions will help you develop your ability to express your understanding in words. I will give you
feedback on anything you complete. Just reach out with an email or call me on during office hours.

Stay safe and healthy. I miss you all and wish we were in class. I really wish things were different and we could be finishing out the
year as normal. But we’ll just have to make the best of things.

Take care,

Mrs. V.
Unit 1: Chemistry of Life : FRQs

1. White blood cells called B cells produce proteins that can be used for the treatment of certain illnesses. However, these B
cells do not live for very long on their own. To keep the B cells growing for a long time in laboratories, scientists fuse the B
cells with cancer cells (fused B-cancer cells) that do grow for a very long time. The particular cancer cells used for the fusion
are treated with chemicals that make them unable to produce the nitrogenous bases adenine and quinine, but the B cells
with which they are fused do produce these nitrogenous bases. The scientists grow the large fused B-cancer cells in a
growth medium that contains necessary nutrients for the cells and includes a source of carbon.
a) Describe the role of carbon in biological systems
b) The membranes of both B cells and the cancer cells are largely composed of phospholipids. Explain how,
when the membranes are fused, the polar parts of the phospholipids from one cell will interact with the
phospholipids from the other cell and how the nonpolar parts of the phospholipids from one cell will interact
with the phospholipids from the other cell.
c) Make a claim about the most immediate effect on the fused B-cancer cells if the fused cells are transferred to
a growth medium that lacks a source of nitrogen.
d) Provide reasoning with evidence based on the composition of biological macromolecules to support your
claim.
2. Scientists are studying the structure and function of Receptor X, a single-polypeptide protein that is found in the membrane
around certain types of cells. Receptor X contains no alpha-helices or beta-pleated sheets. A specific molecule outside the
cells is recognized and bound by Receptor X. The binding of the molecule to Receptor X causes the cells to have a particular
response.
To study the structure and function of Receptor X, the scientists are altering the sequence of small sections of the receptor.
Both the normal sequence of a five-amino acid section of Receptor X and an altered sequence that contains two amino
acid substitutions are shown in Figure 1.
H O H O H O H O H O
(A)
N C C N C C N C C N C C N C C
H CH H CH 2 H CH2 H CH H H
HO CH 3 CH2 CH 2 H3C CH3
CH2 C
CH2 O O-
+
NH3

(B) H O H O H O H O H O

N C C N C C N C C N C C N C C
H CH H CH H CH 3 H CH H H
HO CH 3 H3C CH2 H 3C CH3
CH3

Figure 1. (A) The normal sequence and (B) the altered sequence of a five-amino acid section of Receptor X
a) Identify the process used to form the covalent peptide bonds that join amino acids into a polypeptide.
b) The change in the amino acid sequence illustrated in Figure 1 caused a change in the shape of Receptor X. Based on
the R groups of the original and substituted amino acids, explain why Receptor X changed shape.
c) Using the template below that represents the four levels of protein structure; place an X on each level that is expected
to be altered as a result of the amino acid substitutions shown in Figure 1.
Primary structure------Secondary structure------ Tertiary structure-----Quaternary structure
d) Explain how the amino acid substitution shown in Figure 1 is most likely to affect the function of Receptor X.
Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function

1. Scientists are testing substance L to determine how it enters mammalian cells in a culture. The cells maintain a 120
millimolar (mM) intracellular concentration of substance L. The scientists determined the rate of entry of substance L into
the cells at various external concentrations of substance L (10 to 100mM) in culture medium (Table 1).

Table 1: Rate of entry of substance L into mammalian cells in culture

External concentration of substance L (mM) Rate of entry of substance L into cell as percent of maximum
10 5%
20 25%
30 45%
40 65%
50 80%
60 90%
70 95%
80 100%
90 100%
100 100%
The cells maintain substance L at an internal concentration of 120mM

a) Identify the most likely mode of transport across the membrane for substance L. Explain how information provided
helps determine the most likely mode of transport.
b) Construct an appropriately labeled line graph with correct scale and units to illustrate the data in Table 1.
c) Determine the external concentration of substance L that will result in one-half of the maximal entry rate.
d) Predict the likely effect on the ability of substance L to enter the cells if substance L is attached to a large protein
instead of free in the culture.

2. Figure 1 represents a plasma membrane and molecules present on either side.

Specific Water-soluble
ions

Figure 1: A model of a plasma membrane demonstrating selective permeability.

a) Describe the biological need for cells to be surrounded by a membrane that is selectively permeable for different materials.
b) Explain how the model shows selective permeability of the membrane to specific ions.
c) Describe the characteristics of the phospholipid bilayer that permit small hydrophobic lipid molecules to pass directly
across the membrane.
d) Based on the model, explain whether the molecules shown crossing the membrane require energy to do so.
Unit 3: Cellular Energetics

1. Researchers studied the relationship between glucose concentration, oxygen level, and ATP production in one type of
mammalian cell. Cells were isolated and cultured in growth medium containing either 1.5mM glucose or 25mM glucose
and at oxygen levels that varied from 0% to 21%. The researchers determined the concentration of ATP per cell under the
different conditions. The ATP concentrations are shown as relative to the maximum ATP concentration obtained when cells
were cultured in the presence of 25mM glucose and 21% oxygen, standard culture conditions. The data are shown below.

Table1: Relative concentration of ATP per cell under different growth conditions.

Concentration of Glucose in growth Percent of oxygen Relative Concentration of ATP per

medium cell
1.5mM 0 0.3
1.5mM 5 0.65
1.5mM 10 0.75
1.5mM 21 0.85
25mM 0 0.4
25mM 5 0.7
25mM 10 0.8
25mM 21 1.0

a) Describe the role of oxygen in cellular respiration

b) Construct and appropriately labeled graph to represent the data in Table 1.
c) Describe the relationship between the concentration of glucose in the culture medium and the ATP concentration in
the cells.
d) In a further experiment, the researchers add a compound to the cell growth medium that both binds and releases
protons (H+) and also passes through lipid membranes. Predict the effect of this added compound on ATP production
by the cells. Justify your prediction.

2. Enolase is an enzyme that catalyzes one reaction in glycolysis in all organisms that carry out this process. The amino acid
sequence of enolase is similar but not identical in the organisms. Researchers purified enolase from Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, a single-celled eukaryotic yeast that grows best at 37 oC, and from Chloroflexus aurantiacus, a bacterium that
grows best at the much higher temperature of 55 oC. The researchers compared the activity of purified enolase from the
two organisms by measuring the rate of the reaction in the presence of varying concentrations of substrate and a constant
amount of each enzyme at both 37oC and 55oC.
a) Depending on the organism, the optimal pH for enolase to catalyze its reaction is between 6.5 and 8.0. Describe how a
pH below or above this range is likely to affect enolase and its catalytic ability.
b) Identify the appropriate negative control the researchers most likely used when measuring the reaction rate in the
presence of each organism’s enolase.
c) The researchers predict that for any particular concentration of substrate, the C. aurantiacus enolase-catalyzed
reaction is more rapid at 55oC than at 37oC. Provide reasoning to justify the researcher’s prediction.