Deck 4: Fundamentals of Biology

Question 1

During the day, algae carry out both photosynthesis and respiration, but at night, when there is no light, they can only perform respiration. Small, isolated tide pools on rocky shores are often inhabited by thick growths of seaweeds, which are algae. Would you expect the amount of oxygen in the water to differ between night and day? How?

Answer 1

Biology is an interwoven field of science that is based on the combination of living and non living things. This combination is crucial in establishing the life form in the area. There are several advantages of this combination such as the provision of organic material and oxygen.
Yes, there would be difference in the oxygen concentration between day and night. During the day, algae produces higher amount of oxygen due to the process of photosynthesis. Algae use some of this oxygen during the process of respiration. During the night, algae could not perform photosynthesis due to absence of solar energy and thus algae could only consume oxygen. This results in drastic difference in the oxygen concentration during day and night.

Question 2

The cells of some marine organisms are known to have high concentrations of ions found in minute amounts in seawater. Could these organisms accumulate the ions by diffusion? Formulate a hypothesis to explain how this accumulation is accomplished. How might this hypothesis be tested?

Answer 2

Biology is an interwoven field of science that is based on the combination of living and non living things. This combination is crucial in establishing the life form in the area. There are several advantages of this combination such as the provision of organic material and oxygen.
The question states the marine organism has higher concentration of ions in contrast to the surroundings. This concentration could not be managed by the process of diffusion as diffusion is the movement of substance from higher concentration to lower concentration. It is hypothesized that the maintenance of higher concentration of ions in the cell is mainly by the use of energy or adenosine triphosphate by the process of active transportation. There are several ways of proving the hypotheses, such as killing the organism or removing the membranous proteins followed by observing the flow of ions in the cells.