Biology

COURSE OVERVIEW:

Biology is a full year class about living things. Students will study cell, DNA, genetics, Biochemistry, classification, ecology and other topics. This will be accomplished through written work, experiments involving microscopes, films, tests and computer labs. This class will be graded on a point system with all work receiving a given amount of points.

BENCHMARKS: CIM

COMMON CURRICULUM GOALS:

Describe, explain, and compare the structure and functions of cells in organisms.
Explain laws of heredity and their relationship to the structure and function of DNA.
Describe and analyze the effect of species, including humans, on an ecosystem.
Analyze how living things have changed over geological time, using fossils and other scientific evidence.
Formulate and express scientific questions or hypotheses to be investigated.
Design safe and ethical scientific investigation or address questions or hypotheses.
Conduct procedures to collect, organize, and display scientific data.
Analyze scientific information to develop and present conclusions.

CONTENT STANDARDS:

Identify unique structures in cells from plants, animals, and prokaryotes. Identify cell organelles and state how their activities contribute to a particular type of cell carrying out its functions.
Describe the structure of DNA and the way that DNA functions to control protein synthesis. Apply concepts of inheritance of traits, including Mendel’s laws, Punnett squares and pedigrees, to determine the characteristics of offspring.
Predict outcomes of changes in resources and energy flow in an ecosystem. Explain how the balance of resources will change with the introduction or loss of a new species within an ecosystem.
Recognize that, over time, natural selection may result in development of a new species. Recognize that natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a explanation for the fossil record as well as an explanation for the molecular similarities among varied species.
Based on observations and scientific concepts, ask questions that can be answered or tested through scientific investigations.
Design an investigation that provides sufficient data to answer a question.
Collect, organize and display sufficient data to facilitate scientific analysis and interpretation.
Summarize and analyze data, evaluating sources of error or bias. Propose explanations that are supported by data and knowledge of scientific terminology.

Table of contents:

Unit 1: What is Biology ?

Unit 2: Ecology

Unit 3: The Life of a Cell

Unit 4: Genetics

Unit 5: Change Through Time

Unit 6: Viruses, Bacteria, Protists, and Fungi

Unit 7: Plants

Unit 8: Invertebrates

Unit 9: Vertebrates

Unit 10: The Human Body

This class is a graduation and a state CIM requirement !!!

Online Sources:

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/biology/bio2000/index.html