DYERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM

 

Subject:               BIOLOGY I                                                                                                                                                   _____  Semester           

Grade:                __________________________                                                                                                      _____   Year

 

 

TOPIC

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

AUGUST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Cells

1.         What is biology; how will we study it; and why is it important?

 

  1.  What are the two major biomolecules, and how do they function in an organism? (II)

2.       What are the organelles of plant and animal cells, and how do they function? (I)

3.    How does the cell membrane’s composition affect homeostasis in the cell?  (II)

4.  Name and describe the stages in the life cycle of a cell. (II)

SEPTEMBER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photosynthesis and Respiration

1.       What are the reactants of photosynthesis, and where and how are they are produced?

2.       What are the reactants and products of cellular respiration, and where and how are they produced?

3.       Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration in all life forms.

4.       Discuss the interdependence of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

 

1.       Describe each of the following cycles:  carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and water.

2.       How are the above cycles important in photosynthesis and cellular respiration?

OCTOBER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard 4.0

Genetics and Biotechnology

1.       What is the molecular composition of DNA, and how is it arranged?

2.       How are DNA and RNA both alike and different?

3.       Describe the three DNA processes:  replication, transcription, translation.  Discuss their importance.

 

1.    Describe the usefulness of DNA fingerprinting.

 

1.       What are the stages in meiosis, and do they affect chromosome number?

2.       How is meiosis important for genetic variation?

 

1.          How are mutations determined by the physical and chemical structure of a DNA molecule?

 

1.   What are the Mendelian principles of genetics?

2.       How are dominant and recessive traits determined?

3.       Determine the probability of a particular genotype and phenotype given a monohybrid cross.

 

1.          How are punnett squares used to determine modes of inheritance?

2.         What is a pedigree, its purpose, and how is it read?

 

1.      How can disease in plants and animals be determined by genetic error?

2.     What is genetic engineering; how does it impact today’s society; and what are its future applications?

 

NOVEMBER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.       What are the Mendelian principles, and how are they used for determining dominant and recessive traits and genotypes and phenotypes and their probabilities?

 

1.        How are punnett squares and pedigrees used to determine modes of inheritance?

 

1.    How are mutations determined by the physical and chemical structure of a DNA molecule?

DECEMBER

 

 

1.          How can disease in plants and animals be determined by genetic error?

1.    What is genetic engineering; how does it impact today’s society, and what are its future applications?

JANUARY

 

 

Standard 6.0

Evolution

1.          How did Darwin arrive at the theory of evolution?

2.          How have organisms changed over time?

3.          What are the factors/evidence for biological evolution?

FEBRUARY

 

 

 

 

1.          What are the possible factors that lead to the development of new species of extinction of a species?

2.          How do factors of speciation and extinction function in a population?

MARCH

 

Standard 5.0

Diversity

1.   What are the criteria for classifying living organisms, and how are they used?

APRIL

 

 

 

 

 

1.       How is plant and animal life native to major biomes determined?

 

1.          How does an organism’s symmetry prove advantageous for the organism?

2.          How do the anatomical features of living things compare both structurally and functionally?

 

1.      How does metamorphosis and alternation of generation in organisms compare?

MAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard 2.0

Interactions

1.       What is the difference between abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem, and how can they effect population…

2.       What are the different symbiotic relationships in an ecosystem, and how do they affect humans?

 

1.       What are the general conditions necessary to maintain an ecosystem, and how do they function?

 

1.       What is an energy pyramid, and how does it illustrate the flow of energy through an ecosystem?

2.       How does a change in population growth affect an ecosystem?

 

1.       How do innate and learned behaviors facilitate species survival?

 

1.      What human activities have altered the environment, and how have they affected it?

2.      What are the future implications of continued human activity on the environment?