Outcomes:

After completing this class, students should be able to:

• Identify the major themes of biology and list characteristics of living things.
• Identify and distinguish the major characteristics of the domains and kingdoms of life
• Demonstrate the methodology of scientific inquiry by observation, experimentation, data collection and data interpretation in problem solving and the generation of new knowledge.
• Recognize that science is the study of the natural (physical) world and that science is based on common laws or principles and methods.
• Describe the properties of carbon that make it the central component of organic compounds.
• Compare the functions and chemical functional groups of the major groups of organic compounds: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
• Demonstrate the special properties of water that support life.
• Explain why the cell is the basic unit of life.
• Compare and contrast properties of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.
• Describe the structure and function of eukaryotic cell organelles.
• Describe the fluid mosaic model of cell membrane structure in relationship to membrane function.
• Describe how the first and second laws of thermodynamics relate to living systems.
• Explain the chemical structure of ATP and its central role in metabolism.
• Describe the relationship between enzyme properties and types and rates of chemical reactions.
• Describe the processes of photosynthesis and the essential role of photosynthesis to all life
• Describe aerobic cellular respiration and fermentations and the processes of cell respiration in the domains and kingdoms of life.
• Describe the cell cycle and the process mitosis in cell division.
• Describe the process of meiosis and the genetic importance of meiosis in life cycles and sexual reproduction.
• Relate the contributions of Mendel to inheritance and solve inheritance problems using Mendel’s principles.
• Describe the chemical and physical features of DNA.
• Relate the contributions of Griffith, Avery, Franklin, Watson and Crick and others to our knowledge that DNA is the molecule of life and the to the structure of DNA.
• Discuss the significance of chromosomes in inheritance and the transmission of genetic information from generation to generation.
• Outline the flow of genetic information in cells, from DNA to RNA to protein and how this process may be controlled.
• Explain the scientific origins of biotechnological developments and evaluate the ecological, social, cultural, personal and ethical implications of those developments.
• Summarize evidence supporting the theory of evolution.
• Describe the contributions of Wallace and Darwin to the principles of evolution.
• Explain why evolution is the central theme of all biology.
• Explain how genetic variation and selection are the basis for evolution in a given environment.
• Use various laboratory techniques, including compound and dissecting microscopes, and gel electrophoresis.
• Use biology laboratory equipment and techniques correctly to observe specimens and perform experiments.
• Develop the general skills (e.g., observation, problem solving, hypothesis generation and testing) used in science.