BOT 201 Plant Biology

The following list contains a description of material that should be studied in each text book chapter. Students should use this as a guideline to help them prepare for the exams.

Chapter 1:
This chapter is introductory and not too content laden. Students should pay particular attention to the sections on scientific method, and plant origin and evolution.

Chapter 2:
This chapter contains an introduction to the chemistry of living organisms. It can be a long and difficult chapter for students with little science background. Understanding of this material is critical, however, before students continue on with succeeding chapters. I suggest that students strive for mastery of the first half of the chapter, including chemical bonds, water, and carbon compounds. The section on mechanisms of chemical reactions can be skipped. The remainder of the chapter covers a variety of organic molecules and polymeric construction of large molecules. Students should learn the general molecular forms and functions of these molecules, but should not attempt to memorize every molecule in the book. This includes functional groups, carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, cofactors and carriers, and enzymes.

There are a few additional resources that students may find helpful for studying this material. There is a video that can be checked out from Pierce Library called Basic Chemistry for Biology Students, EVH 1180. There is some tutorial information available via the Internet that can be accessed through the Eastern Oregon University Chemistry Program homepage.

Chapter 3:
This chapter contains an overview of plant cell structures, including membranes, protoplasm, cellular organelles, and cell walls. All of this information is important and should be covered in detail.

Chapter 4:
This chapter addresses the processes of cell division, including both mitosis and meiosis. Students should strive for a clear understanding of how each of these processes operate and of the similarities and differences between them.

Chapter 10:
This chapter explains the process of photosynthesis in detail. It is not necessary for students to master every detail at this point. It is important, however, for students to understand the basics of how photosynthesis operates. The entire chapter should be read, but students should pay particular attention to the sections on the light-dependent reactions and the stroma reactions and should be prepared to explain how these processes operate on the second exam.

Chapter 11:
This chapter discusses how plants take sugars produced by photosynthesis and break them down into individual molecules of carbon dioxide, releasing energy from utilization by cells in the process. This necessarily involves a significant amount of chemistry. In studying this chapter, students should focus on holistic understanding of the three main processes of aerobic respiration: Glycolysis, the Citric Acid Cycle, and the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Students should understand what takes place in these three series of reactions, and where the reactions take place. The sections on the Pentose Phosphate Pathway, and respiration of lipids can be omitted.

Chapter 13:
Students should read the entire chapter on soils and mineral nutrition. They should learn what each of the macronutrients are and why plants need them, and should study the concluding sections on nitrogen metabolism.

Chapter 14:
Chapter 14 covers a variety of topics related to plant growth and development. Students should read about the variety of ways in which plants can sense and respond to environmental stimuli and the roles that plant hormones such as auxin, cytokinin and gibberellin play in plant growth.

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