First Semester
Unit I – Foundations of Biology
LS1.A: Structure and Function – How do the structures of organisms enable life’s functions?
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in ecosystems – How do organisms interact with the living and nonliving environments to obtain matter and energy?
LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior – How do organisms interact in groups so as to benefit individuals?
LS4.C: Adaptation – How does the environment influence populations of organisms over multiple generations?
Chapter 1 - The Science of Life
Systems of organized cells perform functions of life.
Cells contain DNA, which is how proteins are formed to carry out cellular work.
Multicellular organisms have hierarchical structural organization.
Feedback mechanisms maintain living system’s internal conditions within certain limits.
Ecosystems have carrying capacities (limits), which result from availability of resources and challenges.
Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.
Natural selection leads to adaptation; a population dominated by organisms that are well suited to survive in a specific environment.
Chapter 2 – Chemistry- (Brief Review of Definitions)
Composition of Matter
Energy
Water and Solutions
LS1.A: Structure and Function – How do the structures of organisms enable life’s functions?
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms – How do organisms obtain and use the matter and energy they need to live and grow?
Chapter 3 – Biochemistry
Carbon Compounds
Molecules of Life
Systems of organized cells perform functions of life.
Multicellular organisms have hierarchical structural organization.
As matter and energy flow through organization levels, chemical elements are recombined in different ways to form different products.
As result of chemical reactions, energy is transferred from one system of interacting molecules to another.
Unit III – Genetics and Biotechnology
LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits – How are the characteristics of one generation related to the previous generation?
LS3.B: Variation of Traits – Why do organisms of the same species vary in the way they look, function and behave?
Chapter 9 – Fundamentals of Genetics
Mendel’s Legacy
Genetic Crosses
In all organisms, the genetic instructions for forming the species’ characteristics are carried in the chromosomes.
All cells in an organism have the same genetic content, but the genes expressed by the cell may be regulated in different ways.
Not all DNA codes for a protein; some segments of DNA are involved in regulatory or structural functions, and some have no known function.
The information passed from parents to offspring is coded in DNA molecules that form the chromosomes.
In sexual reproduction, chromosomes can sometimes swap sections during the process of meiosis, thereby creating new genetic combinations and thus more genetic variation.
Environmental factors also affect expression of traits, and hence affect the probability of occurrences of traits in a population. (Variation and distribution of traits observed depends on both genetic and environmental factors.)
LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits – How are the characteristics of one generation related to the previous generation?
LS3.B: Variation of Traits – Why do organisms of the same species vary in the way they look, function and behave?
Chapter 10 – Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis
Discovery of DNA
DNA Structure
DNA Replication
Protein Synthesis (Overview)
In all organisms, the genetic instructions for forming the species’ characteristics are carried in the chromosomes.
Each chromosome consists of a single very long DNA molecule, and each gene is a particular segment of that DNA.
All cells in an organism have the same genetic content, but the genes expressed by the cell may be regulated in different ways.
Although DNA replication is tightly regulated and remarkably accurate, errors do occur and result in mutations, which are also a source of variation.
Environmental factors can also cause mutations in genes, and viable mutations are inherited.
Environmental factors also affect expression of traits, and hence affect the probability of occurrences of traits in a population. (Variation and distribution of traits observed depends on both genetic and environmental factors.)
Second Semester
Unit IV – Evolution
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity – What evidence shows that different species are related?
Chapter 14 – Origin of Life
Biogenesis
Earth’s History
First Life Forms
Genetic information provides evidence of evolution.
Such information is also derived from the similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and from anatomical and embryological evidence.
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity – What evidence shows that different species are related?
LS4.B: Natural Selection – How does genetic variation among organisms affect survival and reproduction?
LS4.C: Adaptation – How does the environment influence populations of organisms over multiple generations?
Chapter 15 – Theory of Evolution
History of Evolutionary Thought
Evidence of Evolution
Evolution in Action
Genetic information provides evidence of evolution.
DNA sequences vary among species, but there are many overlaps; in fact, the ongoing branching that produces multiple lines of descent can be inferred by comparing DNA sequences of different organisms.
Such information is also derived from the similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and from anatomical and embryological evidence.
Natural selection occurs only if there is both (1) variation in the genetic information between organisms in a population and (2) variation in the expression of that genetic information that leads to differences in performance among individuals.
The traits that positively affect survival are more likely to be reproduced, and thus are more common in the population.
Natural selection is the result of four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) Competition for an environments limited supply of resources, (4) the ensuing proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in that environment.
Natural selection leads to adaptation; a population dominated by organisms that are well suited to survive in a specific environment.
Adaptation means that the distribution of traits in a population can change when conditions change.
Unit VI – Microbes, Protists and Fungi
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in ecosystems – How do organisms interact with the living and nonliving environments to obtain matter and energy?
LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems – How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience – What happens to ecosystems when the environment changes?
Chapter 23 Bacteria
Bacteria and Humans
Chapter 24 Viruses
Viral Diseases
Chapter 25 Protists
Protists and Humans
Ecosystems have carrying capacities (limits), which result from availability of resources and challenges.
Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations of great size if it were not for the fact that environments and resources are finite.
This fundamental tension affects the abundance of species in any given ecosystem.
Competition among species is ultimately competition for matter and energy needed for life.
A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem can keep its numbers and types of organisms relatively constant over long periods of time under stable conditions.
If a modest biological or physical disturbance to an ecosystem occurs, it may return to its original status, as opposed to becoming a very different ecosystem.
Extreme fluctuation in conditions or the size of any population however can challenge the functioning of ecosystems in terms of resources and habitat availability.
Anthropogenic changes (human causes) in the environment can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.
STS Unit
Research project
The instructor reserves the right to make changes where necessary. Students will be made aware of any such changes.