People to Know - AP Biology Exam Questions
and Answers
Gregor Mendel
Monk who grew up in Austria, experimented with garden peas in 1857 to study inheritance,
documented "particulate mechanism", came up with laws of independent assortment and
segregation.
Thomas Hunt Morgan
Came up with first solid evidence associating a specific gene with a specific chromosome by working
with various varieties of Drosophila; invented notation for symbolizing alleles; discovered sex-linked
trait of white eyes.
Watson & Crick
American scientists who were the first to discover the structure of DNA as well as come up with a
hypothesis for the method of DNA replication (semiconservative model).
Frederick Griffith
1928, studied streptococcus pneumoniae; 2 strains of the bacteria that when killed with heat and
mixed with nonpathogenic bateria, acquired pathogenicity - discovered phenomenon of
transformation.
Avery & MacLeod
Researched the identity of the Griffith's transforming substance, discovering it to be DNA by ruling out
the possibility of RNA and protein.
Erwin Chargaff
Analyzed base composition of DNA from multiple different organisms; reported that base composition
varies from one species to another; provided evidence that DNA is the universal genetic material, also
came up with base-pairing rules
Rosalind Franklin
Colleague of Wilkins and expert X-ray crystallographer, conducted critical experiments resulting in
photograph that allowed Watson and Crick to deduce double-helical structure of DNA
Maurice Wilkins
Worked at King's College in London, helped with research on the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Meselson & Stahl
Devised experiment to test the three possible models for DNA replication (semiconservative,
conservative, dispersive) using nucleotides labeled with nitrogen isotopes. (1950's)
Archibald Garrod
British physician, first to suggest that genes dictate phenotypes through enzymes that catalyze
specific chemical reactions in the cell; disease symptoms reflect an inability to produce a particular
enzyme (ex. alkaptonuria)
and Answers
Gregor Mendel
Monk who grew up in Austria, experimented with garden peas in 1857 to study inheritance,
documented "particulate mechanism", came up with laws of independent assortment and
segregation.
Thomas Hunt Morgan
Came up with first solid evidence associating a specific gene with a specific chromosome by working
with various varieties of Drosophila; invented notation for symbolizing alleles; discovered sex-linked
trait of white eyes.
Watson & Crick
American scientists who were the first to discover the structure of DNA as well as come up with a
hypothesis for the method of DNA replication (semiconservative model).
Frederick Griffith
1928, studied streptococcus pneumoniae; 2 strains of the bacteria that when killed with heat and
mixed with nonpathogenic bateria, acquired pathogenicity - discovered phenomenon of
transformation.
Avery & MacLeod
Researched the identity of the Griffith's transforming substance, discovering it to be DNA by ruling out
the possibility of RNA and protein.
Erwin Chargaff
Analyzed base composition of DNA from multiple different organisms; reported that base composition
varies from one species to another; provided evidence that DNA is the universal genetic material, also
came up with base-pairing rules
Rosalind Franklin
Colleague of Wilkins and expert X-ray crystallographer, conducted critical experiments resulting in
photograph that allowed Watson and Crick to deduce double-helical structure of DNA
Maurice Wilkins
Worked at King's College in London, helped with research on the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Meselson & Stahl
Devised experiment to test the three possible models for DNA replication (semiconservative,
conservative, dispersive) using nucleotides labeled with nitrogen isotopes. (1950's)
Archibald Garrod
British physician, first to suggest that genes dictate phenotypes through enzymes that catalyze
specific chemical reactions in the cell; disease symptoms reflect an inability to produce a particular
enzyme (ex. alkaptonuria)
