Download Biology 122

Biology 122
1. Directions: You will be divided into 4 discussion groups (1-4) and your group will
be assigned one question from a topic, below. You should discuss each question with
your group and attempt to derive a consensus on a “best” answer in ~15 minutes,
keeping track of each other’s input by taking notes. You can use computers/iPads to
access information, but should spend most of your time in discussion. You will then
take turns presenting your group’s answer to the class for further discussion. We
will do this four times
Topic A (~15 minutes)
1. Describe as many of the levels in the hierarchy of organized matter that
occurs in living organisms, specifying their relative order.
2. Describe the processes of induction and deduction that is the scientific
process. Use the words theory, hypothesis, observation, and experiment in
your answer.
3. Describe the role of mutations and natural selection in producing
evolutionary change.
4. Using evolutionary theory as an example, describe as many cases of inductive
reasoning that helped generate the theory and as many cases of deductive
reasoning that support the theory as possible.
Topic B (~15 minutes)
1. What would constitute strong evidence/s that two species are closely related
in an evolutionary sense?
2. What is the difference between homology and analogy in evolution? How can
bat wings and bird wings be BOTH analogous and homologous?
3. Within a large family of evolutionarily related genes (i.e. homologs), how
could a particular human member of the gene family be more closely related
to a plant member of the gene family than to other human members of the
gene family?
4. How can DNA evidence be used to refine our understanding of evolutionary
trees?
2. Class discussion – what are some of the unifying themes in Biology?
3. Directions: Break into your groups and, as before, derive by consensus an
answer to one of the following questions that you will then present to the
class.
Topic C (~15 minutes)
1. Describe the electron configuration in terms of orbitals for the element
phosphorus (you can access a periodic table of the elements online).
Describe the configuration in terms of, e.g., 1s2, 2s2, 2p6 and in terms of a
simplified Bohr model with the electrons shown in circular orbits around
a nucleus. How many bonds does phosphorus “like” to form? Why?
2. Describe as many types of chemical bonds as you can and the differences
between them.
3. Why does it take a lot of energy (heat) to boil water, i.e change it from a
liquid to a gaseous state? Also, why does ice float? What properties of
H2O make it an ideal solvent for life’s molecules?
4. What are the properties of amino acids that allow proteins to fold
spontaneously in water? Explain how this occurs.