APP 310 - Biology 30

Course Description

This is the second of two courses designed to prepare you for university entrance. Through the study of biology (life and living systems), learners are given an opportunity to explore and understand the natural world through the themes of diversity, energy, equilibrium, matter and systems. The major units developed in this course are: nervous and endocrine systems; reproduction and development; cell division, genetics and molecular biology; and population and community dynamics.

Course Details

Biology is the study of life and living systems from the molecular level to the biosphere. Through the study of biology, learners are given an opportunity to explore and understand the natural world and to become aware of the profound influence of biology in their lives. Students further develop their ability to ask questions, investigate and experiment; to gather, analyze and assess scientific information; and to test scientific laws and principles and their applications.

By completion of this course, successful students will be able to:

• describe the role of the nervous system in homeostasis
• describe the organization of the nervous system into divisions, and the organization of neurons into neural pathways and reflex arcs
• identify the primary structures of the central nervous system and regions of the brain
• explain the transmission of nervous system signals through action potentials, saltatory conduction, and synaptic transmission
• describe the process of sensation and perception as it pertains to the major senses
• identify the main structures of the eye and ear, and explain their functions in perception
• explain how the endocrine system contributes to homeostasis, including regulation through negative feedback
• identify the hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, and pancreas, and describe how the hormones they produce contribute to homeostasis
• analyze physiological disorders, such as diabetes, that result from hormone imbalance in order to relate the physiological symptoms to the function of the hormone
• describe sex determination in mammals, and explain the difference between male and female gametes
• identify male and female reproductive structures and describe their functions
• explain how sexually transmitted infections can affect fertility and reproduction
• identify the main reproductive hormones, and describe how they regulate the reproductive systems of males and females
• trace the processes and key events that occur during embryonic and fetal development, and explain how environmental and genetic factors can affect development
• identify and describe the extra-embryonic structures in mammals
• describe the processes of parturition and lactation
• analyze a variety of reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization, in order to relate technologies to the reproductive issue they are designed to address
• describe how genetic material is organized in eukaryotic cells, including chromosome number and ploidy
• describe the general stages of the cell cycle
• describe the cell cycle, and explain the phases of mitosis
• explain the phases of meiosis, and describe the importance of reduction division and genetic variation in sexual reproduction
• compare and contrast a variety of reproductive strategies, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of sexual vs asexual reproduction
• use Mendel’s law of equal segregation and independent assortment to demonstrate the inheritance of genes, and identify the implications for breeding
• compare the inheritance of complete dominance, incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles, sex-linked genes, and polygenic traits,
• use Punnett squares and pedigrees to calculate phenotypic and genotypic probabilities and ratios for monohybrid and dihybrid crosses
• describe linked genes and crossing over, and explain how they relate to genetic diversity
• describe the structure of DNA, and explain how it encodes genetic information
• describe the processes of DNA replication
• describe the process of gene expression through transcription and translation
• explain the different effects that DNA mutations can have on an organism
• describe the process of genetic engineering, and analyze a variety of genetic technologies in order to relate the technologies to the principles of molecular genetics
• describe population genetics in terms of the Hardy-Weinberg principle, use the Hardy-Weinberg equation to calculate allele and genotype frequencies, and identify factors that can disrupt a genetic equilibrium
• use quantitative methods, such as density and growth rate, to describe populations
• describe populations qualitatively, and explain how different populations interact in a community including competition, predation, and symbiosis

Notes