Download Objectives for BIO105 Principles of Biology Mark S. Wilson Science

Objectives for BIO105 Principles of Biology
Mark S. Wilson
Science as a way of knowing
After attending lecture, reviewing lecture notes and reading the text, you should be able
to:
- Outline the scientific method.
- Distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning
- Distinguish between science as a way of knowing and other systems of knowledge, and
identify key characteristics of science as a way of knowing. Identify strengths and
weaknesses of science as a system of knowledge
- Define hypothesis and experiment
- explain what sort of experiments or observations would be necessary for a particular
scientific hypothesis to be rejected (or accepted).
- distinguish questions that can be answered by scientific approaches from those that
can't.
- distinguish a scientific explanation of a particular phenomenon from a non-scientific
explanation.
- recognize sound arguments (direct, indirect, or statistical) as they are applied to
scientific phenomena, and distinguish them from arguments that are unsound.
- develop conclusions from a particular set of observations or experiments.
- critically assess conclusions drawn from a particular set of observations or experiments.
-Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the observations/experiments in the textbook
relating to mimicry of coral snakes by king snakes
Chemistry
overall goal - understand the relationship between chemical structure and biological
function
1. Biological function results from shape and chemical reactivity of a molecule
2. Shape and chemical reactivity result from atomic structures of constituent atoms
You are expected to understand basic atomic structure, and the role of electrons in
bonding, including being able to define the following: atom, molecule, compound,
element, chemical number, mass number, neutron, proton, electron, nucleus, electron
orbital, energy levels, octet rule, valence electrons, electronegativity, mole, molarity
1s, 2s, 2p designations of orbitals
- State 4 elements essential to life that make up 96% of living matter
- describe the structure of an atom
- define and distinguish among atomic number, mass number, atomic weight and valence.
- Given the atomic number and mass number of an atom, determine the number of
neutrons.
- Explain why radioisotopes are useful to biologists
- Explain how radioisotope dating, and particularly carbon-14 dating, works
- Explain how electron configuration influences the chemical behavior of an atom.
- Explain the octet rule and predict how many bonds an atom might form.
- Explain why the noble gases are so unreactive.
- Define electronegativity and explain how it influences the formation of chemical bonds.
- Distinguish among polar and nonpolar covalent bonds, and ionic bonds.
- Describe the formation of a hydrogen bond and explain how it differs from covalent &
ionic
Water
After attending lecture, reviewing lecture notes and reading the text, you should be able
to:
- Describe the structure and geometry of a water molecule, and explain what properties
emerge as a result of this structure.
- Describe the structure and geometry of an NH3 molecule, and explain what properties
emerge as a result of this structure.
- Explain the relationship between the polar nature of water and NH3 and their ability to
form hydrogen bonds.
- Define molarity.
- Write the equation for the dissociation of water, and explain what is actually transferred
from one molecule to another.
- Explain the basis for the pH scale, and understand the meaning of pH terminology
- Explain how acids and bases directly or indirectly affect hydrogen ion concentration
Carbon and Organic Chemistry
After attending lecture, reviewing lecture notes and reading the text, you should be able
to:
- explain how carbon's electron configuration determines the kinds and numbers of bonds
carbon will form.
- Describe how carbon skeletons may vary, and explain how this variation contributes to
the diversity and complexity of organic molecules.
- Distinguish among the three types of isomers: structural, geometric and enantiomers.
- Recognize, name and draw the structures of the 7 major functional groups.
- Describe the chemical properties of each of the 7 major functional groups, and describe
on what kinds of macromolecules these functional groups are found.
Macromolecules
After attending lecture, reviewing lecture notes and reading the text, you should be able
to:
- list the four major classes of biomolecules, and the common roles that these
macromolecules play in cells and organisms
- describe how covalent linkages are formed and broken in organic polymers
- describe the monomers that make up proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids
- describe the chemical structure of a sugar, and how this chemical structure allows the
synthesis of different polysaccharides
- describe the chemical structure of a fat and of a phospholipid,
- explain the role of uncharged fatty acids and the polar phosphate-containing head group
in maintaining membrane stability
- describe the chemical structure of an amino acid
- explain how amino acids can be grouped according to chemical and physical properties
of the side chains
- explain what determines protein conformation and what is meant by the 4 levels of
protein structure
- define denaturation and explain how proteins may be denatured
- recognize whether a nucleic acid contains ribose or deoxyribose as a sugar
- describe the structure of a nucleotide,
- explain the carbon numbering system on the sugar of a nucleotide, describe how
nucleotides are joined together to make polymers and identify 5' and 3' ends of a nucleic
acid strand
- describe the basic three-dimensional structure of DNA
- summarize the functions of nucleic acids
- recognize each of the four macromolecules -- ascribe a molecule to one of the groups
Topic: Cell Structure and Function
After attending lecture, studying their notes, and reading the textbook, a student should
be able to:
-distinguish between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
- explain why there are upper and lower limits to cell size
- explain the Central Dogma which describes the relationships between DNA, RNA and
protein
- describe the structure and function of the nucleus, and briefly explain how the nucleus is
involved in protein synthesis in the cytoplasm
- describe the structure and function of a ribosome
- list the components of the endomembrane system, describe their structures and
functions and summarize the relationships between them
- explain the role of peroxisomes in eukaryotic cells
- describe the structure of a mitochondrion and explain why compartmentalization is
important in its functioning
- describe the structure of a chloroplast, identifying the three structural compartments,
and explain why compartmentalization is important in its functioning
- describe the structure and functions of the cytoskeleton
- describe the structure and function of microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate
filaments
- describe the structure of the extracellular matrix of animal cells
Topic: Membrane structure / function
After attending lecture, studying their notes, and reading the textbook, a student should
be able to:
- describe the function of the plasma membrane
- describe the fluidity of the cell membrane and explain how membrane fluidity is
influenced by membrane composition
- explain the role of hydrophobic interactions in membrane structure / function
- describe the different ways that proteins are oriented in the cell membrane
- describe factors that affect selective permeability of cell membranes
- define diffusion; explain what causes it and why it is a spontaneous process
- explain why a concentration gradient across a membrane has potential energy
- explain what an electrochemical gradient is and why it has potential energy
- explain how transport proteins are similar to enzymes
- describe a model for facilitated difusion
- explain how active transport differs from diffusion
- explain how the potential energy of a transmembrane solute gradient can be harvested
by a cell and used to transport substances across the membrane