End of Course Review by the California Biology standards
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: BIOLOGY/LIFE
SCIENCES
Cell Biology
Essential Questions and Book References
1. The fundamental life processes of plants and animals depend on a variety of chemical reactions that occur in specialized areas of the organism’s cells.
As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know cells are enclosed
Chapter 7-3
within semipermeable membranes

What is the structure of the cell membrane? (182)
that regulate their interaction with

Why is the cell membrane selectively permeable? (182)
their surroundings.
o
Function of the lipid bilayer
o
Function of protein channels

What happens during diffusion?(183-184)

What is osmosis?(185-186)

Predict what will happen to a cell in different solutions (hypotonic solution, isotonic solution, hypertonic
solution)(186)

Compare Facilitated diffusion and Active transport(187-189)

Compare Endocytosis and Exocytosis (188-189)
b. Students know enzymes are proteins
Chapter 2-4
that catalyze biochemical reactions

Why are enzymes important to living things?(51-53)
without altering the reaction

Is an enzyme used up when catalyzing (speeding up) a chemical reaction?(51-53)
equilibrium and the activities of

Does an enzyme increase or decrease a reactions activation energy?(51-53)
enzymes depend on the

Where does a substrate bind to an enzyme?(52)
temperature, ionic conditions, and

How does pH affect Enzyme activity?(51-53)
the pH of the surroundings.
c. Students know how prokaryotic cells,
Chapter 7 and 19
eukaryotic cells (including those from

Compare and contrast Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells (172-173 for basics, more detail 172-181 + 471-477)
plants and animals), and viruses

What is an organelle? (174)
differ in complexity and general

Compare and contrast Cells an Viruses (483)
structure.

Which is the least complex and which is the most complex : (viruses, prokaryotic cells, and eukaryotic cells)
d. Students know the central dogma of
Chapter 7-2 and Chapter 12
molecular biology outlines the flow of

What is the function of the nucleus and ribosomes (176-177)
information from transcription of

What is the role of DNA and RNA (306)
ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the nucleus

What is the connection between Genes and proteins? (306)
to translation of proteins on
ribosomes in the cytoplasm.
e. Students know the role of the
Chapter 7-2
endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi

What is the function of rough and smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum? (177-178)
apparatus in the secretion of

What is the function of the Golgi apparatus? (178)
proteins.
f. Students know usable energy is
7-2 and Chapter 8
captured from sunlight by

What is the function of the Chloroplast? (180)
chloroplasts and is stored through

Does the energy from the sun get stored in the sugar or the oxygen produced during the process of
the synthesis of sugar from carbon
photosynthesis? (206)
dioxide.

What color light does chlorophyll absorb and which colors does it reflect (207)

How does light intensity affect photosynthesis? (214)
g. Students know the role of the
Chapter 7-2 and Chapter 9
mitochondria in making stored

What is the function of the Mitochondria?(179)
chemical-bond energy available to

What is cellular respiration(AKA Aerobic respiration)? (221-222)
cells by completing the breakdown of

What is the role of ATP in cellular Activities? (202-203)
glucose to carbon dioxide.
h. Students know most macromolecules
Chapter 2-3
(polysaccharides, nucleic acids,

What are the monomer building blocks of polysaccharides (carbohydrates)? (45-46)
proteins, lipids) in cells and

What are the monomer building blocks of proteins? (47-48)
organisms are synthesized from a

What are the monomer building blocks of nucleic acids? (47)
small collection of simple precursors.
Genetics
2. Mutation and sexual reproduction lead to genetic variation in a population. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know meiosis is an early step
Chapter 11-14 and Chapter 14
in sexual reproduction in which the

What happens during the process of meiosis (275-277)
pairs of chromosomes separate and

How many chromosomes does a human somatic cell have? (278+341-342)
segregate randomly during cell

How many chromosomes does a human gamete (sex cell have)?(278+341-342)
division to produce gametes

What is the difference between a 2N cell and an N cell? (278)
containing one chromosome of each
type.
d. Students know new combinations of

11-1
alleles may be generated in a zygote

What is fertilization? (263 + 1016-1017)
through the fusion of male and
female gametes (fertilization).
f. Students know the role of
14-1
chromosomes in determining an

What is the difference between sex chromosomes and autosomes? (341)
individual’s sex.

What are the sex chromosomes for a human female? (341-342)

What are the sex chromosomes for a human male? (341-342)
g. Students know how to predict possible
Chapter 11
combinations of alleles in a zygote

How do geneticists use Punnett Squares? (268-269)
from the genetic makeup of the

In people the allele for Dimples (D) is dominant over the allele for non dimples (d). Two Heterozygous (Dd) people
parents.
are expecting a baby. What are the phenotype and genotype possible outcomes?

In people the allele for Dimples (D) is dominant over the allele for non dimples (d). A homozygous dominant mother
(DD) and a homozygous recessive father (dd) are expecting a baby. What are the phenotype and genotype
possible outcomes?
End of Course Review by the California Biology standards
b. Students know how to apply the genetic
coding rules to predict the sequence of
amino acids from a sequence of
codons in RNA.
3. A multicellular organism develops from a single zygote, and its phenotype depends on its genotype, which is established at fertilization. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a. Students know how to predict the
Chapter 11 and 14
probable outcome of phenotypes in a

What is a genotype? (268)
genetic cross from the genotypes of

What is a phenotype? (268)
the parents and mode of inheritance

What is the difference between homozygous and heterozygous? (268)
(autosomal or X-linked, dominant or

Use a punnett square to show how two normal skin colored parents can have an albino child. Note: N= Dominant
recessive).
allele for normal skin color; n = recessive allele for albinism.

What are sex-linked gene? (350)

Which sex has the most number of individuals affected by sexlinked disorders? (350)
b. Students know the genetic basis for
Chapter 11
Mendel’s laws of segregation and

What is segregation? (266)
independent assortment.

Describe fig 11-5 (266)

What is Mendel’s principle of independent assortment? (270-271)

By meiosis, what are the 4 unique gametes formed from the independent assortment of genes RrYy.(271)

Complete a Dihybrid cross of RrYy and RrYy
4. Genes are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of
that organism. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know the general pathway by
Chapter 12
which ribosomes synthesize

ID the following nucleotides as DNA, RNA or Both: Adenine, Guanine, Uracil, thymine, Cytosine (300-301)
proteins, using tRNAs to translate

What are the 3 main types of RNA? (300-301)
genetic information in mRNA.

What is the function of mRNA? (301)

What is the function of tRNA? (301)

Describe the process of transcription? (301-302)

Describe the process of Translation? (303-305)

What is a codon? (302)

What is the amino acid Sequence of the mRNA strand: AUGUCGCACGGUUAG

What is an anticodon (304)

What are the tRNA anticodons of mRNA strand: AUGUCGCACGGUUAG? (304-305)

Complete the DNA strand that coded for the following mRNA strand?
DNA: TAC????????????
mRNA strand: AUGUCGCACGGUUAG
c. Students know how mutations in the
Chapter 12-4
DNA sequence of a gene may or

What is a mutation? (307)
may not affect the expression of the
gene or the sequence of amino acids
in an encoded protein.
5. The genetic composition of cells can be altered by incorporation of exogenous DNA into the cells. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know the general structures and
Chapter 12
functions of DNA, RNA, and protein.

Describe the structure of DNA? (291+293-294)

If the coding strand of DNA was TACG, what would the complementary DNA strand be? (p294)

Compare and contrast DNA and RNA? (300)

How many different amino acids are there that can be used to build a protein? (47)

In RNA molecules complementary rules between mRNA and tRNA (304-305)
o
Cytosine = ____
o
Guanine = ____
o
Adenine = ____
o
Uracil = _____
b. Students know how to apply base-pairing
12-3
rules to explain precise copying of DNA

Complementary base pairing rules: What is the mRNA sequence transcribed from the following gene’s
during semiconservative replication and
DNA?(301)
transcription of information from DNA
DNA: TACCCGATCGTAGGGATA
mRNA: AUG???????????????
into mRNA.

What is the process called of making mRNA from a Gene’s DNA strand?(301)
Ecology
6. Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects. As a basis for understanding this concept:
b. Students know how to analyze changes in
Ch3-2
an ecosystem resulting from changes in

What is a food chain? (69)
climate, human activity, introduction of

See fig3-7: Predict what would happen to the population size of the small fish and the sharks, if suddenly the
nonnative species, or changes in
Squid were killed off. (69)
population size.
Ch6-3

What is an invasive (non native) species, include an example? (153)
Ch6-4

What is the ozone layer? (157)

What chemical has been banned in the US because it causes damage to the ozone layer? (158)
c. Students know how fluctuations in
Chapter 5
population size in an ecosystem are

What factors affect population size? (120-122)
determined by the relative rates of birth,

What factors limit population growth? (124-127)
immigration, emigration, and death.
End of Course Review by the California Biology standards
d. Students know how water, Carbon and
nitrogen cycle between the abiotic
resources and organic matter in the
ecosystem and how oxygen cycles
through photosynthesis and (cellular)
respiration.
3-3



e. Students know a vital part of an
ecosystem is the stability of its
producers and decomposers.
f. Students know at each link in a food web
some energy is stored in newly made
structures but much energy is
dissipated into the environment as heat.
This dissipation may be represented in
an energy pyramid.
Explain how carbon cycles between the biotic and abiotic components of the environment? (76-77)
Using logic: Which of the 2 following human activities would increase atmospheric Carbon dioxide
concentrations, and which one would decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations?
o
Burning fossil fuels to drive cars and other human activities
o
Cutting down forests
o
Planting trees
Nitrogen cycle (78)
o
What is nitrogen fixation?
o
Which organisms perform nitrogen fixation?
3-2


Why can’t an environment survive without producers? (67-69)
What is the function of Detritvores and decomposers in an ecosystem? (69)




Where does the energy for life processes come from? (67)
How does energy flow through an ecosystem? (67-71)
How do producers and consumers interact in the environment? (67-69)
On average, how much energy gets transferred from one trophic level to another in an Ecological Energy
Pyramid? (72)
3-2
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: BIOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
Evolution
7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a. Students know why natural selection acts
Chapter15-3 and 16-2
on the phenotype rather than the

What is Natural Selection (380-381)
genotype of an organism.

How does Natural Selection act on a Single gene trait? (397-398)
Peppered MothsCharles Darwin accumulated a tremendous collection of facts to support the theory of evolution by natural
selection. One of his difficulties in demonstrating the theory, however, was the lack of an example of evolution over a short period
of time, which could be observed as it was taking place in nature. Although Darwin was unaware of it, remarkable examples of
evolution, which might have helped to persuade people of his theory, were in the countryside of his native England. One such
example is the evolution of the peppered moth Biston betularia.
The economic changes known as the industrial revolution began in the middle of the eighteenth century. Since then, tons of soot
have been deposited on the country side around industrial areas. The soot discoloured and generally darkened the surfaces of
trees and rocks. In 1848, a dark-coloured moth was first recorded. Today, in some areas, 90% or more of the-peppered moths are
dark in colour. More than 70 species of moth in England have undergone a change from light to dark. Similar observations have
been made in other industrial nations, including the United States.

How is The Peppered moth an example of Natural selection acting on phenotype and only indirectly affects
genotype? (see above reading)
b. Students know why alleles that are lethal
Bunny Lab
in a homozygous individual may be

How could heterozygous bunnies act as carrier for the leathal (f) furless allele?
carried in a heterozygote and thus
14-1
maintained in a gene pool.

Why are many African Americans carriers (heterozygous) for Sickle cell Disease? (347-348)
c. Students know new mutations are
16-1
constantly being generated in a gene

Define evolution in Genetic terms. (349)
pool.

What are the sources of Genetic variation in a Gene pool? (394-395)

How do mutations create new alleles? (307)
d. Students know variation within a species
15-3
increases the likelihood that at least

How does genetic variation increase the likelihood that at
some members of a species will survive
least some members of a species will survive under changed environmental conditions? (380-381+394)
under changed environmental
o
What is the connection between reproduction, genes and offspring?
conditions.
o
What is adaptation?
8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know how natural selection

What are the 5 key components to Evolution by natural selection, as first proposed by Darwin? (386)
determines the differential survival of

What factors are involved in the formation of a new species? (404-405)
groups of organisms.
c. Students know the effects of genetic drift
16-2
on the diversity of organisms in a

What is genetic drift and founder effect? (399-400)
population.
o
How do they both affect the genetic diversity of the population?
d. Students know reproductive or
16-3
geographic isolation affects speciation.

How does reproductive isolation affect speciation (404)
o
Give an example of behavioral and temporal isolation.

How does geographic isolation affect speciation? (405)
e. Students know how to analyze fossil
17-4
evidence with regard to biological

What role have mass extinctions played in the history of life? (435-436)
diversity, episodic speciation, and mass

Explain the pattern known as “punctuated equilibrium” (439)
extinction.
15-3

What is the evidence of evolution (382-385)
End of Course Review by the California Biology standards
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: BIOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
Physiology
9 Human Body – general body systems
a. Students know how the complementary
activity of major body systems provides
cells with oxygen and nutrients and
removes toxic waste products such as
carbon dioxide
a’ Other body systems to know!
9b.Students know how the nervous system
mediates communication between
different parts of the body and the
body’s interactions w the environment
9c Students know how feedback loops in the
nervous and endocrine system regulate
conditions in the body
35-1 (p892-893)
Complementary Human Body systems

Respiratory System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Digestive System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Excretory System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Circulatory System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?
o

Integumentary System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Skeletal System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Muscular System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Reproductive System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Nervous System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?

Endocrine System
o
What key structures make up this system?
o
What is the function of this system?
10. Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease. As a basis for understanding the human immune response:
a. Students know the role of the skin in
40-2
providing nonspecific defenses against

What are your bodies nonspecific defenses against infection? (1036-1037)
infection.

How does your skin protect you against infection? (1036)
b. Students know the role of antibodies in
40-2
the body’s response to infection.

How do antibodies help in the immune response? (1038-1040)
c. Students know how vaccination protects
40-2
an individual from infectious diseases.

What is a vaccine?(1041)

How does a vaccination help protect individuals against infectious pathogens? (1041-1042)
d. Students know there are important
19-3
differences between bacteria and

How can bacterial infections be prevented or treated? (486)
viruses with respect to their

Can antibiotics be used to treat viral infections? (488)
requirements for growth and replication,

What is the best defense against viral infections? (488)
the body’s primary defenses against
bacterial and viral infections, and
effective treatments of these infections.
e. Students know why an individual with a
compromised immune system (for
example, a person with AIDS) may be
unable to fight off and survive infections
by microorganisms that are usually
benign.
f.* Students know the roles of phagocytes,
B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes in
the immune system.
40-3




Why are Immunodeficiency diseases harmful? (1045)
What cells are infected by HIV virus?(1045-1046)
What happens to ones immune system when one is infected with HIV?(1045-1046)
What are the 4 fluids that can transmit HIV? (1046)
40-2(1038-1040)

How do Helper T cells help fight infection?

How do B cells help fight infection?

How do Macrophages help fight infection?

How do Killer (cytotoxic) T cells help fight infection?
Investigation and Experimentation
1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and
addressing the content in the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
f. Distinguish between hypothesis and
1-1
theory as scientific terms.

Why are hypothesis important to scientific experiments? (5)

How does a theory develop? (13-14)
g. Recognize the usefulness and limitations
Bunny Lab
of models and theories as scientific

How did the Bunny/ Bean lab help us model what would happen to a real world bunny populations gene
representations of reality.
pool over time?

How do scientist Control variables in a scientific experiment? (1062)

What is the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable?(1062)