10th Grade Biology

Scientific Inquiry

Science in Practice

Characteristics of Life

Biochemistry

Cells

Metabolism

Cell Division

Mendelian Genetics

Molecular Genetics

Evolution

Ecology

Identify and clarify biological research questions and design experiments

Manipulate variables in experiments using appropriate procedures (e.g., controls, multiple trials)

Collect, organize, and analyze data accurately and precisely (e.g., using scientific techniques and mathematics in experiments)

Write and speak effectively to present and explain scientific results, using appropriate terminology and graphics

Safely use laboratory equipment and techniques when conducting scientific investigations

Calculate the mean of a set of values

Use graphical models, mathematical models, and simple statistical models to express patterns and relationships determined from sets of scientific data

Describe the fundamental assumptions of science

Assess how scientific and technological progress has affected other fields of study, careers, and aspects of everyday life

Recognize and apply criteria that scientists use to evaluate the validity of scientific claims and theories

Explain why scientific explanations must meet certain criteria (e.g., be consistent with experimental/observational evidence about nature, be open to critique and modification, be subject to peer review, use ethical reporting methods and procedures)

Explain why all scientific knowledge is subject to change as new evidence becomes available to the scientific community

Use a variety of appropriate sources (e.g., Internet, scientific journals) to retrieve relevant information; cite references properly

Compare the goals and procedures followed in basic science with the goals and procedures of applied science and technology; discuss the important contributions of each and how citizens need to understand the ramifications of funding both endeavors

Explain how the contributions of basic science drive the potential of applied science (e.g., advantages found in nature can be emulated for our own benefit/product development, such as observations of gecko feet suggesting new adhesives; understanding of basic cell biology leading to cancer treatments)

Identify the difference between an abiotic and biotic entity

Describe the biological criteria that need to be met in order for an organism to be considered alive (8 major characteristics)

Define and provide examples of each level of organization (e.g., biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, multicellular organism, organ system, organ, tissue, cell, organelle, molecule, atom, subatomic particle)

Identify subatomic particles and describe how they are arranged in atoms

Describe the function of a valance electron in forming bonds

Describe the difference between ions and atoms and the importance of ions in biological processes

Describe how the bonding between atoms forms molecules (polar covalent, nonpolar covalent, ionic, hydrogen)

Define and explain the unique properties of water that are essential to living organisms

Explain the fundamental principles of the pH scale and the consequences of having the different concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxide ions

Describe the general structure and function(s), including common functional groups, of monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, carbohydrates, fatty acids, glycerol, glycerides, lipids, amino acids, dipeptides, polypeptides, proteins, andnucleic acids

Analyze the similarities and differences among (a) plant versus animal cells and (b) eukaryotic versus prokaryotic cells

Compare and contrast animal and plant cells.

Explain the functions of unique plant structures, including the cell wall, chloroplasts, and large central vacuole

Describe the functions of all major cell organelles, including nucleus, ER, RER, Golgi apparatus, ribosome, mitochondria, microtubules, microfilaments, lysosomes, centrioles, and cell membrane

Illustrate how all cell organelles work together by describing the step-by-step process of the translation of an mRNA strand into a protein and its subsequent processing by organelles so that the protein is appropriately packaged, labeled, and eventually exported by the cell

Contrast the structure and function of subcellular components of motility (e.g., cilia, flagella, pseudopodia)

Explain how the cell membrane controls movement of substances both into and out of the cell and within the cell

Explain how the cell membrane maintains homeostasis

Describe and contrast these types of cell transport: osmosis, diffusion, facilitated diffusion, and active transport

Identify the difference between how an animal and plant cell behave in a hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic solution

Show how chemical reactions (e.g., photosynthesis, fermentation, cellular respiration) can be represented by chemical formulas

Describe the function of enzymes, including how enzyme-substrate specificity works, in biochemical reactions

Explain how photosynthetic organisms use the processes of photosynthesis and respiration

Explain the interaction between pigments, absorption of light, and reflection of light

Describe the light-dependent and light-independent reactions of photosynthesis

Relate the products of the light-dependent reactions to the products of the light-independent reactions

Design and conduct an experiment demonstrating effects of environmental factors on photosynthesis (light vs. dark)

Explain how cells store energy temporarily as ATP

Identify the cellular sites of and follow through the major pathways of anaerobic and aerobic respiration, compare reactants and products for each process, and account for how aerobic respiration produces more ATP per monosaccharide

Describe the process of interphase and how it occurs before both mitosis and meiosis

Describe DNA replication, which occurs in the S phase of interphase

Describe the process of mitosis, including the steps.

Explain how the cell cycle is regulated by checkpoints.

Describe carcinogens that can increase the likeihood of developing cancer (cigarettes, lead paint, etc.)

Explain how a mutation in DNA that promotes an overactive cell cycle can lead to cancer

Describe the process of meiosis, including the steps

Identify and explain Mendel’s law of segregation and law of independent assortment

Explain how the process of meiosis reveals the mechanism behind Mendel’s conclusions about segregation and independent assortment on a molecular level

Define and provide an example of the following: genotype, phenotype, dominant allele, recessive allele, codominant alleles, incompletely dominant alleles, homozygous, heterozygous, and carrier

Construct and interpret Punnett squares and pedigree charts (e.g., calculate and predict phenotypic and genotypic ratios and probabilities)

Infer parental genotypes and phenotypes from offspring data presented in pedigree charts and from the phenotypic and genotypic ratios of offspring

Describe the mode of inheritance in commonly inherited disorders (e.g., sickle cell anemia, Down syndrome, Turner’s syndrome, PKU)

Explain sex-linked patterns of inheritance in terms of some genes being absent from the smaller Y chromosome, and thus males (XY) having a different chance of exhibiting certain traits than do females (XX)

Explain  how recombinant DNA, cloning, stem cell research, CRISPR are being used a genetic engineering tools

Describe the basic structure and function of DNA and RNA.

Describe the experiments of major scientists in determining both the structure of DNA and the central dogma

Describe the process of transcription, including the roles of mRNA and RNA polymerase, and that it occurs in the nucleus.

Describe the role of the ribosome in process of translation, including descriptions of tRNA, amino acids, polypeptides, and proteins

Use mRNA codon charts to determine amino acid sequences of example polypeptides

Describe the different types of mutations (silent, missense, nonsense) and their impacts on an organisms structure and function

Use mRNA codon charts to determine the effects of different types of mutations on amino acid sequence and protein structure (e.g., sickle cell anemia resulting from base substitution mutation)

Describe how gene expression is regulated in organisms such that specific proteins are synthesized only when they are needed by the cell (e.g., allowing cell specialization)

Support or falsify the hypothesis of spontaneous generation, looking at experiments performed by scientists like Miller and Urey

Explain the influences of other scientists (e.g., Malthus, Wallace, Lamarck, Lyell) and of Darwin’s trip on HMS Beagle in formulating Darwin’s ideas about natural selection

Contrast Lamarck’s and Darwin’s ideas about changes in organisms over time

Discuss Darwin’s four postulates of natural selection

Explain the biological definition of evolution

Discuss evidence from the fields of geology, biochemistry, embryology, comparative anatomy, and comparative physiology that points to shared evolutionary relationships

Explain how natural selection and its evolutionary consequences (e.g., adaptation or extinction) provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life-forms and the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms

Explain how Earth’s life-forms have evolved from earlier species as a consequence of interactions of (a) the potential of a species to increase its numbers and (b) genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombinations of DNA

Design, perform, and analyze a laboratory simulation of natural selection on a working population (moths)

Describe the basic types of selection, including disruptive, stabilizing, and directional

Provide examples of behaviors that have evolved through natural selection (e.g., migration, courtship rituals)

Specifically describe the conditions required to be considered a species, pre-zygotic barriers (e.g., reproductive isolation, geographic isolation)

Describe the post-zygotic barriers that prevent hybrids from becoming a species.

Describe species relationship by using a phylogentic tree as a model

Define and provide examples of biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, species, habitat, and niche

Discuss biotic and abiotic factors that affect land and aquatic biomes

Discuss the role of beneficial bacteria (e.g., in the recycling of nutrients)

Explain how energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, from photosynthetic organisms to herbivores to carnivores and decomposers

Explain how the amount of life any environment can support is limited by the available matter and energy and by the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of dead organic materials

Explain how organisms cooperate and compete in ecosystems and how interrelationships and interdependencies of organisms may generate ecosystems that are stable for thousands of years

Diagram the flow of energy using food webs, food chains, and pyramids (e.g., pyramid of energy, pyramid of biomass, and pyramid of numbers)

Describe examples of competition, symbiosis, and predation

Explain the concept of carrying capacity

Describe the growth of populations, including exponential and logistic growth (e.g., design and conduct an experiment investigating bacterial growth using appropriate calculations)

Explain the process of ecological succession, and describe the different communities that result

Read and describe current journal articles relating to environmental concerns (e.g., loss of biodiversity, habitat loss, pollution)

Discuss and evaluate the significance of human interference with major ecosystems (e.g., the loss of genetic diversity in cloned crops or animals)

Evaluate data that supports the theory that rapid climate change is occurring due to human impact