Big Idea 2: Free Energy

Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis

Enduring Understanding 2.A. Growth, reproduction and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter

2.A.1: All living systems require constant input of free energy

2.A.2: Organisms capture and store free energy for use in biological processes

2.A.3: Organisms must exchange matter with the environment to grow, reproduce and maintain organization

Enduring understanding 2.B: Growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis require that cell create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments

2.B.1: Cell membranes are selectively permeable due to their structure

2.B.2: Growth and dynamic homeostasis are maintained by the constant movement of molecules across membranes.

2.B.3: Eukaryotic cells maintain internal membranes that partition the cell into specialized regions

Enduring understanding 2.C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth and reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

2.C.1: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to maintain their internal environments and respond to external environmental changes.

2.C.2: Organisms respond to changes in their external environments.

Enduring understanding 2.D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the system’s environment

2.D.1: All biological systems from cells and organisms to populations, communities and ecosystems are affected by complex biotic and abiotic interactions involving exchange of matter and free energy

2.D.2: Homeostatic mechanisms reflect both common ancestry and divergence due to adaptation in different environments

2.D.3: Biological systems are affected by disruptions to their dynamic homeostasis.

2.D.4: Plants and animals have a variety of chemical defenses against infections that affect dynamic homeostasis.

Enduring understanding 2.E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination.

2.E.1: Timing and coordination of specific events are necessary for the normal development of an organism, and these events are regulated by a variety of mechanisms

2.E.2: Timing and coordination of physiological events are regulated by multiple mechanisms.

2.E.3: Timing and coordination of behavior are regulated by various mechanisms and are important in natural selection.

Sample Learning Objectives- What should I be able to do?

• explain how biological systems use free energy based on empirical data that all organisms require constant energy input to maintain organization, to grow and to reproduce
• predict how changes in free energyavailability affect organisms, populations and ecosystems
• construct explanations of the mechanisms and structural features of cells that allow organisms to capture, store or use free energy
• use calculated surface area-to-volume ratios to predict which cell(s) might eliminate wastes or procure nutrients faster by diffusion
• construct models that connect the movement of molecules across membranes with membrane structure and function
• explain how internal membranes and organelles contribute to cell functions.
• analyze data to identify possible patterns and relationships between a biotic or abiotic factor and a biological system
• The student can create representations and models to describe immune responses