Biology, 393 Syllabus

Biology is designed to give students an understanding of the basic functions of living organisms, their relationships to one another, and their interdependence with other living and non-living elements of their environment.  It provides an opportunity to explore important advances in the modern biological sciences through a combination of class work, independent reading, laboratory, and group work.  This course will focus on the areas of environmental biology, classical and molecular genetics, cell physiology, and evolution.  Where possible, these topics will be related to the ethical, social, and economic impact they have on the students’ lives and our society in general.

The order of the Topics is a typical sequence for this course but is subject to change to reflect changes in the text, the academic calendar, student needs, or other contingencies.  These topics are intended to reflect the major conceptual ideas and content material covered in this course. They are not intended to necessarily represent discrete units of study; material from one topic may be combined with another in a unit of study.

The educational standards used to align the material in this syllabus are:

• Fontbonne Academy, mission statement       
• Fontbonne Academy Science Department
• Massachusetts State Frameworks 
• American Association for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061 Benchmarks 
• National Science Education Standards
• Association of American Universities/The Pew Charitable Trust

 

Each Topic title provides a link to the corresponding detailed syllabus.

Topic	Key Questions
The Nature of Science	What is science? How does science differ from non science? What are the different branches of science? What is Biology and what are the various sub fields of Biology? What are the characteristics of living organisms?
The Scientific Method	What is the Scientific Method? Why do scientists use the Scientific Method? How do scientists use the Scientific Method?
Review of Basic Chemistry	What is the basic structure of an atom? What is an isotope and how are they used as a research tool in Biology? What are the similarities and differences between ionic and covalent bonds? What is a polar covalent bond? What is a hydrogen bond and how are they related to the physical properties of water? What is a chemical reaction and what is the role of energy in these reactions?
Macromolecules in Biology	What is a macromolecule? What is the relationship between monomers and polymers? What is the basic structure of common hydrocarbons, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleotides? What important functions do these macromolecules play in the cell? How are large macromolecules assembled in the cell and what is the role of enzymes in this process?
Cell Structure and Function	What is the Cell Theory? What are the differences between Prokaryote and Eukaryote cells and organisms? What is the basic molecular structure of the cell membrane and what functions do phospholipids and proteins have in membranes? What are the common organelles in a Eukaryotic cell and what are their functions and relationships to one another? What is the difference between passive and active transport? What is osmosis and how does it function to transport material across membranes? How do various membrane bound proteins function to move material across the cell membrane by active transport? How does endocytosis and exocytosis differ from other forms of active transport?
Cell Growth and Division	What is the relationship between the volume and surface area of a growing cell? How are chromosomes organized and what is their relationship to DNA and genes? What is the cell cycle and what important events take place in each phase of the cell cycle? What are the similarities and differences between mitosis and meiosis in terms of location, function, and changes in chromosome number? What are the phases of mitosis and what important events take place during each phase? What are the phases of meiosis and what important events take place during each phase? What are some important medical and ethical considerations related to the processes of cell division?
Introduction to Genetics	Who was Gregor Mendel and what were his contributions to the science of genetics? What are Mendel’s laws of genetics and how are they related to the events of meiosis? What is the difference between a phenotype and genotype? How is the Punnett Square used to analyze mono and dihybrid crosses? What is an X linked gene and how is this genotype different from an autosomal genotype? What are symptoms of some common autosomal and X linked genetic disorders?
DNA and RNA, Molecular Genetics	What is a nucleotide and how are they assembled into the polymers DNA and RNA? How did the experiments of Griffith, Avery, Hershey and Chase, and Watson, Crick, and Franklin contribute to our understanding of DNA’s role in molecular genetics? What is the mechanism of DNA replication including the important enzymes that are involved in the process? What the structural and functional differences between DNA and RNA? What are the different types of RNA and their unique functions? What is the “genetic code” and how can it be used to determine the primary structure of proteins from the DNA sequence in a gene? What are the mechanisms of transcription and translation and how are the DNA and various RNAs functionally related to one another in the process of protein synthesis? How do various types of mutations affect the process of protein synthesis? What is the molecular mechanism for some common genetic disorders?
Genetic Engineering	What is “genetic engineering?” What are genetic engineering methods commonly used by plant and animal breeders? How is DNA manipulated in the laboratory for genetic engineering studies? What are the techniques used to transform bacteria, plant, and animal cells? What are the applications of genetic engineering techniques and what potential ethical implications do these techniques have?
Ecosystems and Communities	What is Ecology and how can this science be studied at different levels of organization? What is the Biosphere, an Ecosystem, and a Community and how are they related to one another? What is an ecological niche and how do How does energy flow through a community and what function does each trophic level play in this process? How do ecological pyramids illustrate the flow of energy through a ecosystem? How do nutrients flow through a community and what function does each trophic level play in this process? How can an organism’s role in an ecosystem be described by its ecological niche? What are some of the important symbiotic relationships that link the niches of different organisms together in an ecosystem?
Biomes	What is a biome and how is this term related to the terms ecosystem and biosphere? What are the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the major land, aquatic, and marine biomes? How does local and global climate influence the character of a biome? What is ecological succession and how are abiotic and biotic factors important factors that influence succession?
Ecology of Populations	What is a population and how are populations related to communities and ecosystems? What are the properties of a population that determine its rate of growth? What is a logistic growth curve and what information about a population does this provide about a population? What is the carrying capacity of a population and how do limiting factors in the environment determine this characteristic? What are the density dependent and density independent factors that limit population growth?
Human Impact on the Biosphere	How has the impact of human activity changed during the course of human history? What is the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources and what does “sustainable development” mean? What are the major threats to our forest, land, marine, aquatic, and air resources? What is biodiversity and why is it important? What are the major reasons for the decline in biodiversity? What are examples of local, national, and global efforts to protect and heal our environmental resources?
Photosynthesis	What is photosynthesis and how is it related to the Laws of Thermodynamics? What role does photosynthesis play in the movement of energy through an ecological community? How is the process of photosynthesis related to the structure of a typical plant leaf? How are the light dependent and light independent reactions related to one another? What is chlorophyll and how does it convert light energy to chemical energy? How is the dual membrane structure of the chloroplast related to the process of photosynthesis? What is the role of ATP and electron carriers in photosynthesis? What is an electron transport system and how does it function in the light dependent reactions?
Cell Respiration	What is cell respiration and how is it related to the Laws of Thermodynamics? How are the processes of glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport system related to one another? What are the similarities and differences among the three stages of cell respiration in terms of location, ATP production, and oxygen requirements? What are the important events that take place in each stage of cell respiration? How do alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation provide alternative pathways to cell respiration in low oxygen environments? How are photosynthesis and cell respiration interrelated in the Carbon/Oxygen cycle and how does environmental degradation impact this relationship?
Darwin and the Theory of Evolution	Who was Charles Darwin and what were the historical events in his life that lead to his Theory of Natural Selection? Who was Alfred Wallace and what was his relationship to the development of evolutionary theory and to Charles Darwin? What are the major lines of geological, fossil, biogeographical, anatomical, and embryological evidence supporting the occurrence of evolutionary change? What is Natural Selection and what necessary conditions did Darwin propose were necessary for natural selection to take place? What is the relationship among natural selection, evolution, and extinction? What were the contributions of Lyell, Malthus, and animal breeders in the development of Darwin’s theory?
Modern Evolutionary Biology	What is the difference between microevolution and macroevolution, and how are the two related? What is a population and what is a species? How does modern evolutionary science define microevolution in terms of populations rather than individuals or species? Why is genetic variation critical for natural selection? What are the different patterns of selection in a population? What is the role of geographic isolation in the process of macroevolution and the formation of new species? What is adaptive radiation and how is it related to macroevolution and major shifts in environmental conditions?
Taxonomy and Phylogeny	Why do biologists need a common system of classification? Who was Linnaeus and what was his contribution to the science of taxonomy? What is the difference between taxonomy and phylogeny? What are the three Domains and six Kingdoms of life, and what are their defining characteristics. How are Kingdoms subdivided into small more narrowly defined taxonomic groupings? What is a binary scientific name and how is it related to the taxonomic classification scheme?
The Diversity of Life                     Return to Biology Class Page	What is the fossil and experimental evidence for the origin of life on Earth? How did eukaryotes evolve from early prokaryote life forms? What is the pattern of evolution leading to the three domains and six kingdoms of life? For each kingdom, what are some representative phyla and species? What patterns of evolution are exhibited within each kingdom? What are some examples of beneficial and harmful species from each kingdom?