32 GENERAL CONCEPTS 



2. Describe an experiment to test the theory that worms develop from horsehairs in a 

 %vater trough. What observations do you suppose led to this hypothesis? Can you 

 supply an alternate hypothesis that explains the observation without invoking spon- 

 taneous generation? 



3. Discuss the ways in which the following animals are adapted to their mode of life: 

 honey bee, salmon, frog, field mouse. 



4. What are the distinguishing characteristics of mitochondria, microsomes and Golgi 

 bodies? What are the functions of each? 



5. What is the exact meaning of each of the following terms: atom, isotope, ion? Could 

 a single particle of matter be all three simultaneously? 



6. In what ways are isotopes used in zoological research? 



7. What is the most abundant compound in protoplasm? What are its functions? 



8. Discuss what is meant by the "dynamic state" of protoplasm. 



9. What distinguishes organic and inorganic compounds? 



10. What is meant by the symbol pH? 



11. What are the functions in protoplasm of each of the following: salts, fats, proteins, 

 nucleic acids, steroids? 



12. What are the chief properties of colloidal solutions? Describe three examples of 

 colloidal solutions other than the ones discussed in the text. 



Supplementary Reading 



Some of the chemical aspects of protoplasm are discussed in R. W. Gerard's Unresting 

 Cells. The Cell and Protoplasm, edited by F. R. Moulton, contains a series of short papers, 

 each by an authority on the subject, on a variety of topics related to protoplasm. The 

 subject of atoms, neutrons and isotopes is discussed in A. K. Solomon's Why Smash Atoms? 

 and in H. B. Lemon's From Galileo to the Nuclear Age. Further discussions of acids, bases, 

 salts and the chemical compounds found in protoplasm can be found in any introductory 

 chemistry text. 



