ENVS 1301 UNIT 1 ACTUAL
QUESTIONS 2026 WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS.
Thermodynamics - correct answer-Thermodynamics refers to
the study of energy and energy transfer involving physical
matter.
The matter relevant to a particular case of energy transfer is
called a system, and everything outside of that matter is called
the surroundings.
Biologicalorganismsareopensystems.
Energyisexchangedbetweenthemandtheirsurroundingsas
theyuseenergy fromthe
suntoperformphotosynthesisorconsumeenergy-storing
moleculesandrelease energytothe environment
bydoingworkandreleasingheat.Likeallthingsinthephysicalworld,e
nergyissubjecttophysicallaws.Thelaws
ofthermodynamicsgovernthe transferof
energyinandamongallsystems intheuniverse. Ingeneral,
energyis definedas theabilitytodowork,or
tocreatesomekindofchange. Energy exists indifferentforms.
Forexample, electrical energy, light energy, and heat energy are
all different types of energy. To appreciate the way energy flows
into and out of biological systems, itis important to understand
two of the physical laws that govern energy.
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The first law ofthermodynamics states that the total amount of
energy in the universe is constant and conserved. In other
words, there has always been, and always will be, exactly the
same amount of energy in the universe. Energy exists in many
different forms. According to the first law of thermodynamics,
energy may be transferred from place toplace or
transformedintodifferentforms,butitcannot
becreatedordestroyed. The transfersandtransformations
ofenergytakeplacearoundusallthetime.Lightbulbs
transformelectricalenergyintolightandheatenergy.Gas stoves
transform chemical energy from natural gas into heat energy.
Plants perform one of the most biologically useful energy
transformations on earth: that of converting the energy of
sunlight to chemical energy stored within organic
molecules(Figure 4.7).
The challenge for all living organisms is to obtain energy from
their
order and disorder - correct answer-An important concept in
physical systems is that of order and disorder. The more energy
that is lost by a system to its surroundings, the less ordered
and more random the system is. Scientists refer to the measure
of randomness or
disorderwithinasystemasentropy.Highentropymeanshighdisorde
randlowenergy. Moleculesandchemical reactions havevarying
entropy as well. For example, entropy increases as molecules
at a highconcentrationin one place diffuse and spread out. The
second law of thermodynamics says that energy will always be
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lost as heat in energy transfers or transformations. Living things
are highly ordered, requiring constant energy input to be
maintained in a state of low entropy.
kinetic energy - correct answer-energy of motion
When an objectis in motion,there is energy associated with that
object. Think of a wrecking ball. Even a
slowmovingwreckingballcandoagreatdealofdamageto
otherobjects. Energyassociatedwithobjects inmotionis called
kineticenergy
Potential Energy (PE) - correct answer-the energy stored in an
object, not moving, but stored "within", it can move when it is
not standing still, or being transported etc...
first microscope - correct answer-Leeuwenhoek 1600s by
Antony van Leeuwenhoek,dutch, observed with lenses moving
protists, sperm,
s. Inthe 1670s, van Leeuwenhoek discoveredbacteria
andprotozoa.
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Robert Hooke (1665) - correct answer-Discovered cells, In a
1665 publication called Micrographia, experimental scientist
Robert Hooke
coinedtheterm"cell"(fromtheLatincella,meaning"smallroom")
Matthias Schleiden - correct answer-concluded that all plants
are made of cells
By the late 1830s, botanist Matthias Schleiden and zoologist
Theodor Schwann were studying tissues and proposed
theunifiedcelltheory,whichstatesthatalllivingthingsarecomposed
ofoneormorecells,thatthecellisthebasic
unitoflife,andthatallnewcellsarisefromexistingcells.Theseprincipl
esstillstandtoday.
eukaryotic and prokaryotic - correct answer-two types of cells
Animal cells,plant cells,fungal cells, and protist cells
areclassified as eukaryotic,whereas bacteria and archaea cells
are classified as prokaryotic.
All cells share four common components: 1) a plasma
membrane, an outer covering that separates the cell's interior
from its surrounding environment; 2) cytoplasm, consisting of a
jelly-like region within the cell in which other cellular
components are found; 3) DNA, the genetic material of the cell;