BIO 112 - General Biology I

1. Apply competent and safe laboratory skills
   1. Locate and be able to use safety equipment in the laboratory
   2. Model safe behavioral practices when in the laboratory
   3. Use laboratory equipment correctly
   4. Demonstrate competence in the use of microscopes         
2. Evaluate different methods of scientific investigation, including The Scientific Method
   1. Distinguish between hypotheses and theories
   2. Read primary scientific literature
   3. Engage in scientific writing
   4. Synthesize data or figures into communicable products
3. Assess the chemistry of life
   1. Define atoms, molecules, chemical bonds, and chemical reactions
   2. Explain the unique physical and chemical characteristics of water that support life
   3. Identify structural characteristics of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and explain their modes of synthesis and degradation    
   4. Examine features of biological macromolecules in the laboratory    
4. Break down key structural and functional properties of living cells
   1. Identify the structural and functional similarities and differences that exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
   2. Match the structure of each eukaryotic cell component to its biological function
5. Compare and contrast biological membrane structure and function
   1. Identify the compositional and organizational aspects of membrane structure that underlie cellular functions
   2. Outline passive and active modes of membrane transport in terms of energetic requirements and existing gradients of concentration or
      electrical potential
6. Examine metabolism 
   1. Distinguish between endergonic and exergonic reactions and anabolism and catabolism
   2. Describe the structure of ATP and how it powers the work of cells
   3. Relate energy of activation to enzyme activity 
   4. Recall enzyme structure/function and its regulation by negative feedback mechanisms
   5. Demonstrate enzyme activity in the lab
7. Dissect cellular respiration
   1. Define oxidation and reduction
   2. Summarize chemical reactions of aerobic and anaerobic respiration of glucose
   3. Explain the importance of electron carriers in cellular respiration
   4. List the cellular sites of the stages of cellular respiration
   5. Contrast the types of phosphorylation
   6. Track and explain ATP production through each stage of cellular respiration
   7. Explain the role of oxygen in cellular respiration
   8. Investigate respiration in the laboratory
8. Outline photosynthesis
   1. Define autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition
   2. Match chloroplast structures to their functions
   3. Summarize chemical reactions of photosynthesis
   4. Describe features of light
   5. Sequence the steps of electron flow through photosystems I and II
   6. Identify the roles of ATP and NADPH in the Calvin cycle
   7. Describe adaptations for minimizing water loss
   8. Investigate photosynthesis in the laboratory       
9. Analyze cellular reproduction
   1. Distinguish between sexual and asexual cellular reproduction
   2. Order the steps and state the control mechanisms of the cell cycle
   3. Differentiate between mitosis and meiosis
   4. Order the steps of meiosis
   5. Summarize how meiosis generates an alteration in chromosome number and genetically unique gametes
   6. Identify stages of the cell cycle in the laboratory
10. Interpret genetics
    1. Summarize Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment
    2. Construct Punnett squares and laws of probability to predict genotype and phenotype ratios
    3. Differentiate between Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance patterns
    4. Explain how linkage may affect genotype and phenotype ratios
    5. Use pedigrees to determine patterns of inheritance
    6. Explore inheritance in the lab
11. Evaluate molecular genetics
    1. Describe the historical process of DNA discovery
    2. Identify the structure and function of DNA
    3. Outline the steps of DNA replication
    4. Explain the one gene-one polypeptide hypothesis
    5. Show how RNA structure and function differ from DNA
    6. Compare transcription and translation mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
    7. Demonstrate how the universal genetic code is used during transcription and translation
    8. Explain eukaryotic mRNA processing
    9. Differentiate between types of mutations and their effects
    10. Apply the principles of molecular genetics in the laboratory
12. Characterize viruses
    1. Identify virus structure and function
    2. Detail viral reproduction and transmission
13. Investigate genome organization and expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
    1. Compare genomic organization in eukaryotes and prokaryotes
    2. Describe genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression
    3. Compare the role of patterned gene expression in regulating development across taxa
    4. Explain how operons function in metabolic control   
    5. Diagram positive and negative feedback regulation in gene expression     
14. Appraise the processes, applications, and ethics of biotechnology
    1. Describe functions and uses of restriction enzymes
    2. Describe various research tools and processes used in biotechnology
    3. Cite specific advances that have been achieved through biotechnology in agriculture and medicine and their implications to society
    4. Assess safety and ethical aspects of recombinant DNA research
    5. Investigate biotechnology in the laboratory
15. Analyze the origins and evolution of life
    1. Identify the concept of evolution as a central theme of biology
    2. Trace the historical development of the theory of natural selection, including the contributions of Charles Darwin and other scientists
    3. Describe the evidence supporting the evolution of life
    4. Use the geologic timescale to sequence major evolutionary events (extinctions, adaptive radiations)
    5. Recognize the role of the population as the unit of evolution  
    6. Distinguish between artificial and natural selection
    7. Contrast macroevolution and microevolution           
    8. Explain other modes of evolution, such as genetic drift and gene flow
    9. Illustrate evolutionary mechanisms in the laboratory
16. Categorize life
    1. Utilize the phylogenetic approach to classification
    2. Contrast the biological species concept with other definitions of species
    3. Identify prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolation mechanisms that underlie allopatric and sympatric speciation
    4. Distinguish between homologous and analogous structures through examples
    5. Infer monophyletic, paraphyletic, and polyphyletic groupings through cladistics
    6. Explain how molecular clocks are used during phylogenetic tree construction