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Aug 31, 2024
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BIO 112 - General Biology I Credits: 4 Lecture Hours: 3 Lab Hours: 2 Practicum Hours: 0 Work Experience: 0 Course Type: Core First semester of Biology for majors. Topics covered include chemistry of life, cells, bioenergetics, genetics, evolution, and viruses Prerequisite: H.S. Biology & H.S. Chemistry or equivalent Competencies
- Demonstrate competent and safe laboratory skills
- Locate safety equipment in the laboratory
- Model safe behavioral practices when in the laboratory
- Use laboratory equipment correctly
- Demonstrate competence in the use of microscopes
- Examine different methods of scientific investigation, including The Scientific Method
- Distinguish between hypotheses and theories
- Gain exposure to primary scientific literature
- Engage in scientific writing
- Examine the chemistry of life
- Define atoms, molecules, chemical bonds, and chemical reactions
- Describe the unique physical and chemical characteristics of water that support life
- Identify structural characteristics of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and explain their modes of synthesis and degradation
- Investigate features of biological macromolecules in the laboratory
- Compare and contrast key structural and functional properties of living cells
- Identify the structural and functional similarities and differences that exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- Correlate the structure of each eukaryotic cell component to its biological function
- Understand the pros and cons of using compound light microscopes, dissecting microscopes and electron microscopes for visualizing living cells
- Correlate biological membrane structure with membrane function
- Understand how compositional and organizational aspects of membrane structure underlie cellular functions
- Compare and contrast passive and active modes of membrane transport in terms of energetic requirements and existing gradients of concentration or electrical potential
- Examine metabolism
- Distinguish between endergonic and exergonic reactions and anabolism and catabolism
- Describe the structure of ATP and how it powers the work of cells
- Relate energy of activation to enzyme activity
- Describe enzyme structure/function and its regulation by negative feedback mechanisms
- Investigate enzymes in the lab
- Examine cellular respiration
- Describe production of chemical energy in cells
- Summarize chemical reactions of aerobic and anaerobic respiration of glucose
- Distinguish between oxidation and reduction
- Explain the importance of electron carriers in cellular respiration
- Specify the cellular sites of the processes of cellular respiration
- Distinguish types of phosphorylation
- Track and explain ATP production through each stage of cellular respiration
- Explain the necessity of oxygen for cellular respiration
- Investigate respiration in the laboratory
- Analyze photosynthesis
- Describe photosynthetic events and structures
- Distinguish between autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition
- Relate chloroplast structure to function
- Summarize chemical reactions of photosynthesis
- Describe features of light
- Explain how light absorption leads to electron flow through photosystems I and II
- Describe the roles of ATP and NADPH in the Calvin cycle
- Describe adaptations for minimizing water loss
- Investigate photosynthesis in the laboratory
- Examine cellular reproduction
- Distinguish between sexual and asexual cellular reproduction
- Describe chromosomes and their structural forms
- Describe the bacterial chromosome and binary fission
- Summarize cell chromosome number changes in the sexual life cycles
- Outline the steps and control of the cell cycle
- Identify characteristics and events of the phases of mitosis
- Describe structures and events required for chromosomal movement in mitosis
- Compare cytokinesis of plant and animal cells
- Outline the steps of meiosis
- Differentiate between mitosis and meiosis
- Explain how genetic variation in populations allows for natural selection
- Identify stages of mitosis and meiosis in the laboratory
- Interpret genetics
- Summarize Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment
- Use Punnett squares and laws of probability to predict genotype and phenotype ratios
- Differentiate between Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance patterns
- Explain how linkage may affect genotype and phenotype ratios
- Evaluate pedigrees to determine patterns of inheritance
- Explore inheritance in the lab
- Evaluate molecular genetics
- Describe the history of the discovery of DNA
- Describe the structure and function of DNA
- Outline the steps of DNA replication
- Explain the one gene-one polypeptide hypothesis
- Differentiate between RNA and DNA structure and function
- Compare transcription and translation mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
- Use the universal genetic code to work transcription and translation problems
- Explain eukaryotic mRNA processing
- Differentiate between types of mutations and their effects
- Investigate molecular genetics in the laboratory
- Examine viruses
- Summarize virus structure and function
- Describe processes of viral genome replication
- Discuss virus reproduction and transmission
- Investigate genome organization and expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
- Compare genomic organization in eukaryotes and prokaryotes
- Describe genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression
- Understand the role of selective gene expression in regulating development
- Explain how operons function in metabolic control
- Examine the processes, applications, and ethics of biotechnology
- Describe functions and uses of restriction enzymes
- Describe various research tools used in biotechnology
- Cite specific advances that have been achieved through biotechnology
- Consider safety and ethical aspects of recombinant DNA research
- Investigate biotechnology in the laboratory
- Analyze the origins and evolution of life
- Explain the concept of evolution as a central theme of biology
- Trace the historical development of the theory of natural selection, including the contributions of Charles Darwin and other scientists
- Describe the evidence for the evolution of life
- Use the geologic timescale to sequence major events (extinctions, adaptive radiations) in the evolution of life
- Recognize the role of the population as the unit of evolution
- Distinguish between artificial and natural selection
- Contrast macroevolution and microevolution
- Describe other modes of evolution, such as genetic drift and gene flow
- Investigate evolution in the laboratory
- Classify life
- Use the phylogenetic approach to classification
- Contrast the biological species concept with other definitions of species
- Identify prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolation mechanisms that underlie allopatric and sympatric speciation
- Distinguish homologous and analogous structures, and provide examples of each
- Utilize cladistics to discuss monophyletic, paraphyletic, and polyphyletic groupings
- Summarize how molecular clocks are utilized
Competencies Revised Date: 2019
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