Welcome back! Viking Way!

Contact Information:
E mail allenp@dcpsmd.org
Telephone (410) 228-9224
Planning/Office Hours Period: 4

Available most days after school for tutoring barring meetings or other commitments . Please check with instructor.



Room D-61-B

Biology 1 Course Syllabus

• COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of organisms and body systems. This is an assessed class – it will give the student groundwork in concepts for use in future classes in the sciences and will prepare them for the High School Assessment (HSA) test.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS / CORE LEARNING GOALS

Concepts of Biology: The student will demonstrate the ability to use scientific skills and processes (Core Learning Goal 1) and major biological concepts to explain the uniqueness and interdependence of living organisms, their interactions with the environment, and the continuation of life on earth.
Core Learning Goal Expectation 3.1: The student will be able to explain the correlation between the structure and function of biologically important molecules and their relationship to cell processes.
Core Learning Goal Expectation 3.2: The student will demonstrate an understanding that all organisms are composed of cells which can function independently or as part of multi-cellular organisms.
Core Learning Goal Expectation 3.3: The student will analyze how traits are inherited and passed on from one generation to another.
UNITS OF STUDY

UNIT 1: MOLECULES FOR LIFE
Indicator 3.1.1: The student will be able to describe the unique characteristics of chemical substances and macromolecules utilized by living systems.
Assessment limits:
• water (inorganic molecule, polarity, density, and solvent properties)
• carbohydrates (organic molecule; monosaccharides are building blocks; supplier of energy and dietary fiber; structural component of cells: cell wall, cellulose)
• lipids (organic molecule; component of cell membranes; stored energy supply)
• proteins (organic molecule; amino acids are building blocks; structural and functional role, including enzymes)
• nucleic acids (organic molecule; nucleotides are building blocks - sugar, phosphate, & nitrogen bases; DNA is a double helix, RNA is a single strand; DNA replication; DNA role in storage of genetic information)
• minerals (inorganic substances essential for cellular processes)
• vitamins (organic molecule; role in human body: C – wound healing, K – blood clotting, D – bone growth)
Indicator 3.1.2: The student will be able to discuss factors involved in the regulation of chemical activity as part of a homeostatic mechanism.
Assessment limits:
• osmosis (predicting water flow across a membrane based on the cell’s environment; explain role in living systems)
• temperature (effect upon enzyme activity and metabolic rate; effect upon rate of diffusion and states of matter)
• pH (pH scale: relative values for acids and bases; effect on living systems: cellular, organismal)
• enzyme regulation (effect of temperature, pH, and enzyme/substrate concentration on enzyme activity)

UNIT 2: CELLS AND MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
Indicator 3.2.1: The student will explain processes and the function of related structures found in unicellular and multi-cellular organisms.
Assessment limits:
• transportation of materials (role of cellular membranes; role of vascular tissues in plants and animals; role of circulatory systems)
• waste disposal (role of cellular membrane; role of excretory and circulatory systems)
• movement (cellular – flagella, cilia, pseudopodia; interaction between skeletal and muscular systems)
• feedback (maintaining cellular and organismal homeostasis - water balance, pH, temperature, role of endocrine system)
• asexual (binary fission, budding, vegetative, mitosis: role in growth and repair, chromosome number remains the same) and sexual reproduction (angiosperms, mammals)
• control of structures (cellular organelles and human systems) and related functions (role of nucleus, role of sensory organs and nervous system)
• capture and release of energy (chloroplasts, mitochondria)
• protein synthesis (ribosomes)
Indicator 3.2.2: The student will conclude that cells exist within a narrow range of environmental conditions and changes to that environment, either naturally occurring or induced, may cause changes in the metabolic activity of the cell or organism.
Assessment limits:

• pH
• temperature
• light
• water
• oxygen
• carbon dioxide
• radiation (role in cancer or mutations)
• toxic substances (natural, synthetic)


UNIT 3: ENERGY
Indicator 3.1.3: The student will be able to compare the transfer and use of matter and energy in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organisms.
Assessment limits:
• photosynthesis (energy conversion: light, chemical; basic molecules involved)
• cellular respiration (distinctions between aerobic and anaerobic, energy released, use of oxygen; basic molecules involved in aerobic)
• chemosynthesis (from inorganic compounds)
• ATP (energy carrier molecule)
UNIT 4: GENETICS
Indicator 3.3.1: The student will demonstrate that the sorting and recombination of genes during sexual reproduction has an effect on variation in offspring.
Assessment limits:
• meiosis (process that forms gametes; chromosome number reduced by one-half; crossing-over occurs; new gene combinations)
• fertilization (combination of gametes to form zygote)
Indicator 3.3.2: The student will illustrate and explain how expressed traits are passed from parent to offspring.
Assessment limits:
• phenotypes (expression of inherited characteristics)
• dominant and recessive traits
• sex-linked traits (X-linked only; recessive phenotypes are more often expressed in the male)
• genotypes (represented by heterozygous and homozygous pairs of alleles)
• Punnett square (use to predict and/or interpret the results of a genetic cross; translate genotypes into phenotypes - monohybrid only)
• Pedigree (use to interpret patterns of inheritance within a family)
Indicator 3.3.3: The student will explain how a genetic trait is determined by the code in a DNA molecule.
Assessment limits:
• definition of gene (a segment of DNA that codes for a protein or RNA)
• sequence of nitrogen bases directing protein formation (role of DNA, mRNA, tRNA, rRNA)
• proteins determine traits
Indicator 3.3.4: The student will interpret how the effects of DNA alteration can be beneficial or harmful to the individual, society, and/or the environment.
Assessment limits:
• mutations
• chromosome number (abnormalities)
• genetic engineering (gene splicing, recombinant DNA, cloning)
UNIT 5: BODY SYSTEMS

Established Goal: Indicator 3.2.1b: The students will explain processes and the function of related structures found in multi-cellular organisms.

Essential Question: How are form and function related within body systems of organisms?


Understand:
• How do the major systems of organisms interact?
• What is homeostasis and how is it maintained?
• How do single celled organisms perform the same functions as multi-celled organisms?
• Feedback mechanisms
• Different strategies of reproduction
• The various types of reproduction
• Know the vascular systems of plants and animals
• The functions of each of the major systems in plants and animals

Comprehensive Final Exam

TEXT / RESOURCES
TEXTBOOK:
• Biggs, A., Kapicka, C., Lundgren, L. Biology: The Dynamics of Life. Glencoe / McGraw-Hill. 2004.

ONLINE RESOURCES
• McGraw-Hill Learning Network www.mhln.com
• www.biosurf.com
• http://mrallenscience.blogspot.com/
• http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/science/clg_toolkit.html

REQUIRED MATERIALS
Please have the following on hand every day in class.
 Three ring binder with dividers
 Writing utensil (no red or pink ink please)
 3X5 index cards

GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESS IN THE COURSE

Classroom Rules
All students are expected to follow school rules as outlined in the Cambridge-South Dorchester High School Student Handbook. My classroom rules and consequences for breaking those rules are:

1. Be in your seat when the bell rings.
2. Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself.
3. Follow directions the first time they are given.
4. No cursing or teasing.
5. If you wish to speak please raise your hand.

If You Choose to Break a Rule
Warn and counsel.
Parent contact.
Parent conference.
After school detention (30 minutes/1 hour).
Written referral and student sent to office.

In the case of a severe disruption: The student will be sent to the office immediately – and a referral written.

SOME ADVICE

This class is challenging. To do well you must focus, pay strict attention, use your higher order thinking skills, take good notes, use your curiosity and STUDY every night! Vocabulary and other memorization can be best handled with the use of your text, handouts, notes, graded quizzes and by drilling with flash cards. A picture is worth a thousand words. So draw and redraw diagrams to clarify and practice processes or concepts. If you have questions or difficulty understanding anything, please ask me to explain. First and foremost, I am here to help.
It is my hope that you will learn many interesting things and to come away from this course enriched and prepared to do well on the HSA.

Grading Policy
Term grades will be computed as follows:
• Exams: 40%
• Quizzes: 20%
• Homework / class work: 20%
• Labs: 10%
• Projects: 10%
Your grade from the first term and second terms are each worth 45% of your semester grade. The remaining 10% of your grade is determined by your final exam score.
Checking grades in Powergrade is the responsibility of the student, and any appeals to published grades must be accompanied by the work in question. It is advisable that you retain papers for the duration of the semester to assist in studying for cumulative quizzes and the final exam.
Make-up work is only available to those students with excused absences from class. All work must be made up within 5 days of receipt for full credit. Unexcused late work will not be accepted.
This course satisfies one of the three science credits required for high school graduation.

“Truth is the drive at the center of science:
it must have the habit of truth, not as a dogma but as a process.”
~J. Bronowski