Download Biology Learning Targets Explained

Biology Learning Targets Explained
1. The cell theory consists of three main parts. The first states that all living things are
made of cells. The next states that all cells come from preexisting cells. The third states
that the cell is the fundamental unit of function and structure for life.
2. The cell theory was influenced by proof that organisms could not be produced by
spontaneous generation, the observation that all known organisms are made of cells,
done with the help of microscopes, and knowledge that cells could divide by mitosis or
meiosis to create all new cells.
3. A scientific claim is evaluated by peer testing. When a scientific claim is made, other
scientists in the same field of science will test and attempt to replicate the result of the
claim. If the same result can be replicated many times then the claim may be considered
true and eventually refined for use in a reliable theory.
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4. Science is something that can be tested and supported by observations made with
instruments and the five senses. Things that are not science, or in other words,
pseudoscience, cannot be verified by tests or objective observations.
5. A scientific theory is an unproven set of hypothesis that is generally accepted as true
due to many tests by multiple individuals that gave the same result. On the other hand,
a scientific law has been verified many times and is considered to be true and accurate.
It is a combination of multiple theories and is constantly verified and proven true again
and again.
6. There are structures found in animal cells that are not in plant cells and vice-versa. One
such structure is chloroplasts. Those are found only in plant cells where they are the
structure that makes the food using energy from sunlight. A structure also found in
plant cells that is not in animal cells is the cell wall. Both cell types contain cell
membranes, cytoplasm, a nucleus, etc.
7. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have some of the same structures and also some that
the other does not. Both types of cells may have a cell walls, cell membrane, vacuoles,
cytoplasm, ribosomes, chromatin, plasmids, and cilia. Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus, a
nuclear membrane, a nucleolus, an endoplasmic reticulum, microtubules,
microfilaments, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, chloroplasts, and lysosomes, while
prokaryotes do not.
8. Structures in cells are directly related to their functions in cells in the way that
structures such as microtubules whose function is to support the cell will have a strong
structure capable of taking a load.
9. The cell membrane is the barrier between a cell and the outside world. During active
and passive transport, proteins acting as transport channels within the membrane allow
certain molecules in and out of the cell. During things such as facilitated transport
energy is used to accomplish this, while in passive transport, materials are able to pass
through with no energy use.
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10. Plant structures are related to their role in photosynthesis, cellular respiration,
transpiration, and reproduction. The structures within the vascular tissue, such as
phloem and xylem, are important to cellular respiration, transpiration, and
photosynthesis, for they carry the nutrients, water, and products of photosynthesis
necessary for those operations. Guard cells play a role in transpiration by controlling the
opening and closing of the stomata, which is where transpiration occurs. Leaves are
where the majority of photosynthesis occurs, which provides the glucose for cellular
respiration. Flowers are used to attract pollinators to plants to facilitate pollination for
reproduction. The pollen is produced in the anther, on the tip of the stigma, and is
deposited on the stigma, on the top of the pistil.
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11. I made these in MS Paint. The labels, not the picture.
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12. Blood pressure, blood volume, resistance, disease, and exercise all affect blood flow in
multiple ways. High blood pressure, caused by something such as clogged arteries, leads
to slow blood flow. If blood volume is too high, high blood pressure may result from the
excessive amount being pumped through the heart and blood vessels. Resistance, such
as plaque and hardened blood vessel walls, can slow blood flow. Disease, such as sickle
cell anemia is capable of slowing or halting blood flow in multiple areas. Exercise is able
to increase blood flow because it causes the heart to work harder and faster.
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13. The immune system is designed to protect the body from foreign pathogens, such as
viruses. This is done through three systems, two of which are non-specific, the barriers
to infection and the inflammatory response, and one specific, the immune response.
14. The immune system responds to vaccines by attacking the weakened form of the virus
and creating antibodies, which are stored in the memory of some white blood cells so
they can be used later. Antibiotics help the immune system kill many harmful bacteria,
although they also kill some good bacteria unfortunately. They also do not kill all of the
disease causing bacteria, so the immune system must finish them off.
15.
Genetic factors are important to health because without genes with the ability to
produce a strong immune system that is not negatively affected by weak traits or
genetic disease. Environmental factors, such as insects and bacteria living in the area are
important to health because they can cause and spread disease. Pathogenic agents can
affect health because they can spread and cause harmful diseases that can hurt or even
kill humans.
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16.
The theory of evolution is supported by the fossil record, which shows direct evidence
of evolution. Comparative anatomy shows homologous structures in various organisms,
which is also evidence of evolution. Comparative embryology shows how similar many
organisms appear in early stages of development. Biogeography shows how animals
seem to have developed traits specifically suited to the environment they live in.
Molecular biology shows the similarities between the DNA and cell structures of most of
Earth’s organisms.
17. Hominids have consistently evolved to have larger and larger brain cases and walk
upright. All the way back to species such as Homo erectus, an old ancestor of modern
humans, developed a less pronounced cranial brow and a larger brain than their
ancestor, and we developed a less pronounced cranial brow and a larger brain than
them.
18. Scientific inferences are made from past knowledge being applied rather than direct
observation. For example, someone may observe that the ground outside is wet in the
morning when they wake up. One can infer that is rained the night before, even though
there was no direct observation of the event.
19. Duplicate of #5.
20. The reliability of sources of information is determined largely by the number of sources
cited and the truth of those sources. A source that cites its information as coming from
multiple well known and trusted papers, theories, laws, etc., can usually be considered a
reliable source.
21. Duplicate of # 4.
22. Duplicate of # 3.
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23. Organisms in the domains Bacteria and Archea are all prokaryotes, and are therefore all
single celled. Organisms in the domain Archea do not have cell walls containing
peptidoglycan, while bacteria do. Most extremophiles are also Archea. Organisms
belonging to the domain Eukarya are all eukaryotes, and vary in all other characteristics
in many ways. Within Eukarya, there are the kingdoms Protista, Animalia, Plantae, and
Fungi. Animalia are heterotrophic, multicellular organisms; Plantae are multicellular
autotrophs; Fungi are uni or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms that have a cell wall;
and Protista are uni or multicellular, may or may not have a cell wall and chloroplasts,
and can be auto or heterotrophs.
24. Organisms are classified by evolutionary relationships by determining which animals
evolved from a common ancestor and how long ago that occurred. Animals with a more
recent common ancestor are more closely related than those with an older common
ancestor.
25. Humans have changed the way they classified objects over the years because we have
expanded our knowledge of the way in which organisms are related by evolution and
genetics. We have also been able to peer into the cellular structures of organisms more
recently and discovered that some organisms do not fit into the classes where we once
placed them, and that older domains and kingdoms did not accurately place organisms.
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26. According to science, life began on Earth when molecules in the environment
underwent chemical reactions, likely initiated by energy from lightning, and formed
organic molecules. Those organic molecules then combined through other chemical
reactions that allowed life to form. This occurred over the course of millions of years,
starting with extremely simple prokaryotic cells.
27. Conditions that contributed to the origin of life on Earth were the availability of organic
molecules within crevasses in rocks and in small, warm puddles of water near the
ancient oceans. These organic molecules were able to obtain energy to undergo the
chemical reactions necessary to create life from things such as lightning or heat from
lava or other natural heat sources.
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28. The conditions required for natural selection to occur are a competition for food,
overproduction of offspring, heredity of traits, and variation within a species.
29. Multiple mechanisms result in evolutionary change. These include gene flow, genetic
drift, and nonrandom mating. Gene flow introduces genes into a population from
another. Genetic drift affects how often a genetically controlled trait occurs in a
population over time. Nonrandom mating allows for only certain traits to be passed on,
for only organisms with traits best suited to surviving and mating will be able to pass on
their genetic traits, while others will die out.
30. Mutation and increases genetic variation by introducing traits and genes into a species
that may have not occurred before and are unique and may be well suited to survival.
Recombination allows for offspring to be different from their parents by combining the
alleles for traits given by each parent during sexual reproduction.
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31. As Mendel’s law of segregation states, every organism produced by sexual reproduction
will receive one allele for each trait from each of its parents, meaning that the trait
exhibited in one, both, or neither(if it is recessive) parent may be passed on. The law of
independent assortment states that the inheritance of one trait is not related to the
inheritance of another, for they are each inherited separately, meaning that receiving a
certain trait from ones parents has no affect on the inheritance of other traits.
32. One can easily predict the probability of certain traits being inherited and passed down
thanks to their properties of either dominance or recessive. Dominant genes will of
course be expressed over recessive ones, and are therefore more often seen. Genes
that are found on chromosomes that determine the sex of an organism are considered
to be sex-linked, and may be more or less likely to appear based on the gender of an
organism. Genes that are codominant are both expressed, while genes that show
incomplete dominance are expressed as an intermediate trait. Traits that are polygenic
are controlled by more than one gene and
can vary more, such as human height.
33. The Punnett Square here has a 50/50 chance
of producing an organism that will exhibit
the dominant trait or the recessive trait.
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34. DNA is replicated by first splitting down the center, and complimentary bases are joined
to the two strands by DNA polymerase, which creates two identical sets of DNA.
35. A mutation is a random change in DNA or chromosomes. If a mutation in DNA is
dominant or occurs for both alleles for a trait, it may be expressed as a phenotype,
meaning it will be a physical trait.
36. During transcription, the part of DNA that contains the sequence for the protein to be
synthesized will unravel. RNA will attach to it with complimentary nucleotides and
create mRNA. That will then travel out of the nucleus and into the ribosomes. The
information in the mRNA is arranged in codons, sequences of three nucleotides. During
translation, the information in the mRNA is used to arrange amino acids into proteins.
tRNA is used to carry amino acids to the ribosome. On the ribosomes, the bases of the
tRNA pair with their complimentary bases on the mRNA. rRNA is part of their structure
of the ribosomes where they assist in translations.
37. The bases of DNA, guanine, thymine, adenosine, and cytosine, are universal in all Earth
organisms because all organisms are descended from the same organisms.
38. The genetic similarities in organisms are due to the property of DNA that allows it to
effectively make copies of itself and pass on the information, and all of the organisms
come from a common ancestor whose DNA is still in all of us, to some extent. This is
mainly because the majority of DNA found in some modern organisms, such as humans,
is not coding DNA, but is instead just there.
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39. Biotechnology may have many impacts. Uses such as prosthetics and organ cloning will
greatly benefit mankind with improved medical practices, although uses such as cloning
and stem cell research may cause ethical problems.
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40. The human reproductive system consists of the specialized organs of males and females.
Males produce their gametes within the testes from which it travels through the
epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and out the urethra. The female system
consists of the ovaries, where their gametes are produced, which travel through the
fallopian tubes, where sperm from males may be introduced to fertilize the egg, and
into the uterus, where a fertilized egg will be developed.
41. The placenta provides nutrients for a developing fetus, as does the umbilical cord later
in development. Amniotic fluid and the amniotic sac suspend and protect the fetus.
42. Hormones are used in the human reproductive system to control when reproductive
processes occur and when they mature during growth.
43. During the early stages of human development, a fertilized egg, or a zygote, begins to
grow. As more cells, at this point undifferentiated, are created, a morula forms, which is
a group of cells. A blastocyst later forms and through gastrulation, collapses into
multiple layers of cells which will differentiate into organ systems. This occurs just
before implantation, when the embryo implants into the wall of the uterus. Neurulation
is when the nervous system and brain start to develop, beginning with the notochord.
44. Humans develop in stages from the zygote to a fully developed fetus over the course of
about nine months, split into three trimesters. It starts out with a fertilized egg, known
as an embryo. It develops through various stages, as discussed above, until
implantation. At this point, it is still an extremely small embryo. After eight weeks, the
embryo is considered to be a fetus. During the time as a fetus, the fetus will develop
organs and structures needed for human life.
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45. Mitosis is the division of a single cell into two copies of that cell with a full set of
chromosomes. Meiosis produces four cells with a new combination of genes to be used
for sexual reproduction.
46. Mitosis occurs in four stages. A cell in interphase enters mitosis with prophase. During
prophase, during which pairs of sister chromatids attach at regions called centromeres,
the nuclear membrane breaks down, the centrioles move to opposite sides of the cell,
and spindle fibers form around the centrioles and attach to the centromeres. During
phase two, metaphase, the nuclear membrane completes its breakdown, and the
chromosomes have lined up at the middle of the cell. Each chromosome is attached to a
spindle fiber at its centromere. In the third phase, anaphase, the sister chromatids are
pulled apart by the spindle fibers and moved to opposite ends of the cell. In the final
phase, telophase, the chromosomes reach the ends of the cell and begin to unravel. The
spindles break down, and nuclear membranes reform around the chromosomes at each
end of the cell. There are now two nuclei within the cell, with identical chromosomes.
During cytokinesis, these will split into their own cells.
47. Meiosis is the process by which sex gametes are produced. These cells are produced
with a new combination of genes thanks to crossing over, and are random. Each of
these cells only has a half a set of chromosomes, and is therefore a haploid. Meiosis
works in a similar way to mitosis, but with a few key differences. Meiosis goes through
the phases of cell division that mitosis has twice, for example there is metaphase in
mitosis, but metaphase I and metaphase II in meiosis. Another key difference is that in
prophase I of meiosis, crossing over occurs, creating new and unique gene combinations
in the chromosomes. Also, during meiosis, the second set of cell division creates four
unique haploid cells from the two unique diploid cells created during the first phases.
48. Asexual reproduction does not contribute to genetic variation, for it makes a clone of
the original cell or organism. Sexual reproduction creates genetic variation by combining
the genes of two distinct organisms which have already received their own variety from
meiosis and crossing over within it.
49. In G1 or growth one, the cell grows and carries out its functions regularly. During S, or
synthesis, DNA is copied and synthesized. The centrioles of the cell are also copied at
this time in preparation for mitosis. G2 is growth to sufficient size for mitosis. It also
creates extra organelles and cytoplasm for use in the offspring cells. M is mitosis.
50. Cancer can result from mutations that result in overproduction or underproduction of
proteins that control the cell cycle because that can allow the damaged cancer cell to
grow in too great of an amount too quickly. The rapid growth of the cancer cells can kill
other undamaged cells and are of course the cause of cancer.
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51. Population size is determined in part by net migration, whether it is net positive or
negative. If it is positive, then the population will increase. If it is negative, population
will decrease. If there are more births than deaths, population size will increase, or vice
versa. Limiting factors, such as the amount of food available can be a factor as well. If
there is only enough food for a small population to survive, then only a small population
will survive. Other limiting factors include competition in the environment, predators,
and natural disasters in the area can also affect a population.
52. Chemistry, geography, light, depth, salinity, and temperature allow different types of
organisms to exist in aquatic environments because they can vary greatly from one
location to another and organisms within each aquatic system will have adapted to its
specific environment. For example, an organism living in a warm, shallow, freshwater
environment with plenty of sunlight will have likely adapted to be a plant eater, for that
is the type of ecosystem in which plants thrive and are abundantly available.
53. An ecosystem may change with seasons in multiple ways. Things such as seasonal
migrations may cause organisms in the area to prey on different organisms during
different seasons. Certain plants may also die off during certain seasons, meaning that
animals in the area need to be able to adapt to eat different plants, or hibernate.
Climate change can affect an ecosystem in many ways as well. If the Earth actually
warms significantly due to global warming, animals that are not adapted to the heat
may die off, and those better suited to it are more likely to survive. The melting of the
polar ice caps may cause flooding in coastal areas and kill off entire ecosystems and
species in them who can’t find a new habitat. An ecosystem can change through
succession when it is damaged and mostly devoid of life, and then gains life and
biodiversity over time through succession.
54. A reduction in biodiversity can result in the health of an ecosystem declining without the
full range of organisms needed to support the food web of an ecosystem. Catastrophic
events, such as an asteroid impact, can easily wipe out a huge number of species and
plant life, like the one that killed off the dinosaurs. An invasive species can also
negatively impact biodiversity by introducing an animal with no natural predator, which
can begin to prey on the local organisms and reproduce faster than the environment
can sustain because nothing will kill it.
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55. Energy moves through the trophic levels of a food chain by passing from the producers
to the consumers, primary, secondary, and tertiary, in that order, and then to the
decomposers. For each level it moves up, 90% of the available energy is lost.
56. In both the water and carbon cycles, the materials move through multiple stages of the
cycle and may eventually reach their starting point to begin again. Each cycle is unique,
although the carbon cycle is considerably more complex. Here are some illustrations to
better illustrate this.
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57. Humans can negatively damage the environment by dumping trash or other waste into
the ecosystem. Humans may also cut down trees or destroy habitats in other ways.
Doing so may deplete resources too quickly, and cause the environment to no longer be
sustainable.
58. Environmental impacts created by the use of renewable resources, especially solar
power, are minimal, so long as they are used intelligently. Using fossil fuels can
negatively affect the environment with the pollutants emitted from their burning.
59. It is important to monitor environmental parameters while making policies, for some
environments may be more or less susceptible to pollution or damage. Weaker
environments must receive better protection, and therefore need stricter policies
concerning their use.
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60. Carbohydrates and Lipids are complex organic molecules composed largely of hydrogen,
oxygen, and carbon. They are used for short term energy storage and transfer. An
example is GLUCOSE (C6H12O6). Lipids, such as fat, are able to store energy for a long
period of time. Proteins contain molecules that help control cells and provide structural
support. Nucleic acids are used to store genetic information to help make DNA and RNA.
61. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by lowering the amount of energy needed to
initiate the reaction, which leaves more energy available to complete it.
62. The temperature and pH levels of a reaction environment can negatively or positively
affect enzyme activity. If the pH levels are at the optimum levels, the enzyme will be
more effective. The same is true for temperature. Remember my fever story about how
our body sends us a signal to not feel hungry when we have a fever so our body can
send all its enzymes and energy to fight off the infection rather than worry about losing
energy to digest food.
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63. Photosynthesis produces oxygen and glucose, the two components necessary for
cellular respiration. They are used to release energy for use in the cell. The products of
cellular respiration are CO2 and H2O, both of which are used to create oxygen and
glucose in photosynthesis with the energy from sunlight.
64. Photosynthesis stores energy captured from the sun in the molecular bonds of glucose.
Cellular respiration breaks down the glucose and releases the energy stored within it.
65. The reactants of photosynthesis are water and carbon dioxide; the products of
photosynthesis are glucose and oxygen. The function of photosynthesis is to store
energy in the bonds of glucose for use by other cells in the organism.
66. The reactants of cellular respiration are glucose and oxygen. The products of cellular
respiration are carbon dioxide and water. The function of cellular respiration is to
release energy stored in glucose for use in the cells.
67. Anaerobic respiration in living things is used to produce energy to keep cells active ad
alive when there is not oxygen available for cellular respiration. Unfortunately, its
byproducts can cause cramps or pain due to the lactic acid it produces because it must
work through fermentation.
68. ATP is used to store energy within its molecular bonds and can be transferred
throughout the cells for use where it is needed. It can be broken down to release energy
where needed.
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69. Water is able to moderate temperature in a way that keeps it closer to a constant.
Water has a high specific heat which mean it takes a LONG time to boil versus..say oil.
(Oil has a lower specific heat and if you put a pan or oil and a pan of water on 2 burners,
the oil will burn faster. Hence it’s lower specific heat than water.)
Cohesion allows water to stick to itself, and adhesion allows it to stick to other objects,
and together can cause surface tension. Upon freezing, water is one of the few
materials that expand, which is why ice floats. It is able to act as a solvent thanks to the
polarity of its hydrogen bonds.
70. Water is essential to life on Earth because it is able to attach to and transport materials
within organisms, and dissolve materials within cells. It is also capable of osmosis,
meaning it can pass through cell membranes without the use of energy, which is
important.
71. Hydrogen bonding and the polarity impact the special properties of water because they
are what give it the properties of adhesion and cohesion. It is what allows it to stick to
itself and other objects. That is why it is able to act as a universal solvent.
Water is POLAR and polar molecules stick to other polar molecules AND nonpolar sticks
to other nonpolar molecules. POLAR AND NONPOLAR (like water and oil) usually NEVER
stick together.