OBJECTIVES

Lesson 1 - Introduction: The Scientific Study of Life

1. List features that distinguish living organisms from nonliving matter.
2. Describe the general pattern of energy flow through Earth's life forms, and explain how Earth's resources are used again and again (cycled).
3. List the levels of organization in the living world.
4. Define the terms evolution, natural selection, and adaptation and how they were used by Darwin.
5. List steps of the scientific approach to understanding a problem.
6. Understand what limitations are imposed on science and scientists.
7. Describe the differences between the three domain and five kingdom classification systems.

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 Lesson 2 - The Chemical Basis of Life

1. Diagram and label the parts of an atom (protons, neutrons, and electrons), give the characteristics of each particle and its "function".
2. Distinguish between atomic number and atomic weight.
3. Describe the arrangement of electrons around the atomic nucleus.
4. Explain how the distribution of electrons in an atom or ion determines the number and kinds of chemical bonds that can be formed.
5. Distinguish between ionic, polar covalent, non-polar covalent, and hydrogen bonds.Give examples of each.
6. Distinguish between single, double, and triple covalent bonds.
7. Define: chemical symbol, chemical formula, and chemical reaction.
8. Explain the polarity of the water molecule and the extent of hydrogen bonding between water molecules and the importance of the polarity and bonding has to:
• a) cohesion
• b) surface tension
• c) evaporation (heat of vaporization)
9. Diagram a water molecule.
10. Describe how water functions as a solvent.
11. Define hydrophilic and hydrophobic.
12. Describe the density of water.
13. Define: pH, acid, base, salt, buffer, and neutral pH.
14. Describe the pH scale and how it is used to measure acidity and alkalinity/basicity.
15. Describe the relationship between the amount of potential energy and the location of electrons in a particular skill.

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  Lesson 3 - The Molecules of Cells

1. Identify four major types of organic molecules found in living organisms and describe their chemical composition.
2. Recognize the structure of hydrocarbons.
3. Identify the general properties and structures of the following functional groups:

• a. hydroxyl
• b. carboxyl
• c. amino
• d. phosphate

4. Describe the general structure of and give several examples of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. Explain how these are used by living organisms.
5. Distinguish between condensation and hydrolysis reactions. (Which makes larger molecules? Which "splits" molecules? Which requires energy?)
6. Show the formation of an disaccharide from two monosaccharides.
7. Define and give examples of monomers and polymers.
8. Describe the general functions and structures of lipids. Recognize how triglycerides, phospholipids, and waxes differ from steroids.
9. Give the important role of phospholipids in the cell and recognize the general structural formula of them.
10. Describe the general chemical structure of an amino acid (the building block of proteins).
11. Describe the peptide linkage formation between two amino acids.
12. Identify the primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary levels of protein structure.
13. Identify major functions of proteins in living organisms.
14. Describe the structural changes in proteins by denaturation.
15. Recognize the general structure and function of nucleotides.
16. Describe the role of hydrolysis and condensation reactions in the formation and breakdown of macromolecules.

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 Lesson 4  - A Tour of the Cell - Cell Structure and Function

1. Cite key features of the cell theory.
2. Contrast the general features of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
3. Describe the nucleus of eukaryotes with respect to structure and function.
4. Describe the organelles associated with the endomembrane system, and tell the general function of each.
5. Contrast the structure and function of  mitochondria and chloroplasts.
6. Describe the cytoskeleton of eukaryotes and distinguish it from the endomembrane system.
7. List several surface structures of cells and explain how they help cells survive.

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Lesson 5--The Working Cell: Membrane Structure and Function

1. Understand the essential structure and function of the cell membrane.
2. Describe the forces that cause water and solutes to move across membranes passively (that is, without expending energy).
3. List examples of types of substances that move by
• diffusion and osmosis
• facilitated diffusion
• active transport
4. Understand the importance of osmosis to all cells.
5. Describe the mechanisms by which substances move across membranes against a concentration gradient.
6. Recognize the importance of tonicity in the living cell and the various osmotic relationships that occur as a result of this phenomenon.
7. Distinguish between each of the following, giving examples:
• diffusion
• osmosis
• facilitated diffusion
• active transport
• exchange pumps including the Na-K Pump
• vesicular transport
• endocytosis including phagocyctosis and pinocytosis
• receptor-mediated endocyctosis

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Lesson 6-- The Working Cell: Energy and the Cell-Ground Rules of Metabolism

1. Differentiate between potential, chemical, and kinetic energy
2. State the two laws of thermodynamics including a description of entropy and recognize applications of these laws to various biological phenomena.
3. Recognize that the sun's energy release is the basis of life on earth.
4. Describe and recognize endergonic and exergonic reactions.
5. Provide an example of a metabolic pathway and explain what kinds of substances regulate activity of the pathway.
6. Tell exactly what enzymes do and how they do it.
7. Describe how enzyme activity is blocked.
8. Explain how a molecule can "carry" energy.
9. Recognize the importance of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to living organisms.
10. Be able to diagram the formation of ATP from ADP and a phosphate group. Explain the energy relationship and how this acquisition of energy by the addition of the third phosphate to ADP is utilized by cells.

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Lesson 7 - 

Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food and How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy (Cellular Respiration)

Photosynthesis

1. Differentiate between autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms.
2. Describe the main pathways by which energy from the sun or from specific chemical reactions enters organisms and passes from organism to organism and/or back into the environment.
3. Describe the electromagnetic spectrum.
4. Describe the properties of light and relate this to the photosynthetic process and to the absorption and action spectra of the pigments found in photosynthetic organisms.
5. Be able to describe the structure and function of the chloroplast.
6. Diagram the summary equation of photosynthesis.
7. Know the steps of the light-dependent and light-independent reactions. Know the raw materials needed to start each phase and know the products made by each phase.
8. Describe similarities and differences in photosystems I and II. This description must include structural and physiological components.
9. Diagram photon and electron flow in the light reaction. 
10. Diagram the Calvin cycle. 
11. Differentiate between C₃, C_4, and CAM plants.
12. Summarize photosynthesis. (See Figure 7.11, page 119)

Cellular Respiration

1. Know the relationship of food molecules to glucose and this glycolysis.
2. Write the generalized summary equation for cellular respiration.
3. State and diagram all steps in the process of glycolysis. An understanding of the process and the concepts involved in glycolysis is necessary.  (You don't need to know the names of all of the intermediates.)
4. State and diagram all steps in the process of fermentation. A complete description will include the names of all molecules, ions, etc. involved in this process.
5. State and diagram the preparatory conversions (formation of acetyl CoA) before a pyruvic acid molecule enters the Krebs cycle.
6. State and diagram the Krebs cycle. An understanding of the process and the concepts involved in Krebs cycle is necessary.  (You don't need to know the names of all of the intermediates.)
7. State the function of electron transport phosphorylation. A complete description will include the names of all molecules, ions, etc. involved in this process.
8. Discuss the net yield of ATP from the oxidation of one glucose molecule in aerobic respiration and glycolysis/fermentation alone. (See Figure 6.14, page 102)
9. Recognize the factors that determine whether an organism will carry on fermentation or aerobic respiration.

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Lesson 8 - The Cellular Basis of Reproduction and Inheritance: Cell Cycle, Mitosis, and Meiosis

Cell Cycle and Mitosis

1. List four reasons that cells must divide or reproduce.
2. Explain why the chromosome number of a species must be constant and the role of mitosis in this process.
3. Identify the components of the cell cycle, and explain how mitosis fits into the cycle.
4. Identify the subphases of Interphase and characterize the important events of each subphase.
5. Characterize the important events of each stage of mitosis and differentiate between each stage.
6. Explain what is meant by cytokinesis, and explain the process in plants and animals.
7. Differentiate between mitosis in plant cells and animal cells.

Meiosis

1. Contrast asexual and sexual reproductive mechanisms in cellular and multicellular organisms.
2. Understand the effect that meiosis has on chromosome number.
3. Describe the events that occur in each meiotic phase.
4. Compare and contrast meiosis and mitosis.
5. Explain why meiosis is the raw material of evolution.

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Lesson 9 -Mendelian Genetics, Part 1 and 2

1. Define or describe the following:
• dominant
• recessive
• allele
• gene
• heterozygous
• homozygous
• genotype
• phenotype
• testcross
• mutation
2. Describe the principle of segregation and the principle of independent assortment.
3. Be able to work a monohybrid cross, a test cross, and crosses related to incomplete dominance.
4. Recognize when it is appropriate and be able to work a test cross.
5. Recognize how the laws of probability apply to genetics.
6. Differentiate between incomplete dominance, codominance, and epistasis.
7. Be able to work a dihybrid cross.
8. Be able to work crosses related to codominance, and epistasis.

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Lesson 10 -Human Genetics

1. Define or describe the following: sex determination, autosomes, sex chromosomes, sex- linkage, and incomplete dominance.
2. Recognize how sex is determined and be able to work sex-linked crosses.
3. Define or describe the following: karyotype, amniocentesis, deletion, nondisjunction, inversion, substitution, duplication, trisomy, and chromosome deletions
4. Describe occurrence and the consequences of nondisjunction.
5. Recognize that some nondisjunctions do not result in lethal conditions.
6. Describe occurrence and the consequences of Down's Syndrome.
7. Describe the procedure of amniocentesis and the importance of this procedure.
8. Be able to read and/or construct a human pedigree.

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Lesson 11 - Nucleic Acid Structure and Function

1. Define or describe the following terms: transformation, bacteriophage, virulent, complementarity, antiparallel, nitrogenous base, purine, pyrimidine, nucleotide, deoxyribose, template, double helix, semi-conservative, DNA polymerase, DNA ligase, replication fork, and lead and lag strands.
2. Identify significant aspects of the conclusions and methods in the experiments of:

   a. Griffith
   b. Hershey-Chase
   c. Chargaff
   e. Watson-Crick

3. Recognize the molecular structures of deoxyribose, adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine.
4. Classify nitrogenous bases as purines or pyrimidines.
5. Recognize the generalized structure of a nucleotide.
6. Describe the complementary, anti-parallel nature of the DNA molecule by drawing a six nucleotide segment of the DNA molecule including all four bases.
7. Describe DNA replication.
8. List the criteria that the model of the genetic material must meet, and show how the current model of  DNA structure/replication meets these criteria.

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Lesson 12 - Protein Synthesis and Control of Gene Expression

1. Define or describe the following terms: ribose, central dogma, ribosomal RNA, codon, triplet code, promoter, initiation, termination, mutation, messenger RNA, transfer RNA, transcription, DNA hybridization, anticodon, terminator, elongation, RNA polymerase.
2. Define the central dogma, including translation and transcription.
3. Describe transcription and the role of RNA polymerase.
4. Compare transcription in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
5. Differentiate between introns and exons.
6. Distinguish between mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA.
7. Compare and contrast DNA and RNA structure.
8. Describe translation (protein synthesis) in terms of initiation, elongation, and termination.
9. Describe chromosome packaging and X-chromosome inactivation.
10. Explain how expression of genes influences tissue formation, phenotypes in cats, and development of cancer.

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  Lesson 13 - Recombinant DNA and Genetic Engineering 

1. Explain how genetic recombination occurs naturally.
2. Understand what plasmids are, and how they may be used to insert new genes into recombinant DNA molecules
3. Describe how DNA can be cleaved, spliced, cloned, used as a probe, and extracted.
4. Be aware of several limits and possibilities for future research in genetic engineering.

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