Course Title: Biology
Name : Unit 1
Time: 9 days/yr
(5 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
Assessment
Standards
*These standards
will be reinforced
throughout the
Biology course,
this unit is meant
as an foundation
upon which
students will
build their
Biology content
on.
Biology Fundamentals
This unit will focus on fundamental aspects students need to build upon their prior Biology and
overall science knowledge. Concepts include the Scientific Method and Characteristics of Life.
How are you a biological specimen?
What prior Biology knowledge do you have?
How is science performed?
Students will understand:
 How to use lab equipment
 Where to find safety equipment in a classroom
 How to differentiate between living and nonliving things
 How scientific method is used to test hypotheses
 Common elements found in living things
 Homeostasis
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions,
problems); Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SCSh1. Students will evaluate the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in
science.
a. Exhibit the above traits in their own scientific activities.
b. Recognize that different explanations often can be given for the same evidence.
c. Explain that further understanding of scientific problems relies on the design and execution of
new experiments which may reinforce or weaken opposing explanations.
SCSh2. Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field
investigations.
a. Follow correct procedures for use of scientific apparatus.
b. Demonstrate appropriate technique in all laboratory situations.
c. Follow correct protocol for identifying and reporting safety problems and violations.
SCSh3. Students will identify and investigate problems scientifically.
a. Suggest reasonable hypotheses for identified problems.
b. Develop procedures for solving scientific problems.
c. Collect, organize and record appropriate data.
d. Graphically compare and analyze data points and/or summary statistics.
e. Develop reasonable conclusions based on data collected.
f. Evaluate whether conclusions are reasonable by reviewing the process & checking against other
available information.
SCSh4. Students use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating scientific
equipment and materials.
a. Develop and use systematic procedures for recording and organizing information.
b. Use technology to produce tables and graphs.
c. Use technology to develop, test, and revise experimental or mathematical models.
SCSh5. Students will demonstrate the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing
data and developing reasonable scientific explanations.
a. Trace the source on any large disparity between estimated and calculated answers to problems.
b. Consider possible effects of measurement errors on calculations.
c. Recognize the relationship between accuracy and precision.
Summa
Project
d. Express appropriate numbers of significant figures for calculated data, using scientific notation
where appropriate.
e. Solve scientific problems by substituting quantitative values, using dimensional analysis and/or
simple algebraic formulas as appropriate.
SCSh6. Students will communicate scientific investigations and information clearly.
a. Write clear, coherent laboratory reports related to scientific investigations.
b. Write clear, coherent accounts of current scientific issues, including possible alternative
interpretations of the data.
c. Use data as evidence to support scientific arguments and claims in written or oral presentations.
d. Participate in group discussions of scientific investigation and current scientific issues.
SCSh7. Students analyze how scientific knowledge is developed.
Students recognize that:
a. The universe is a vast single system in which the basic principles are the same everywhere.
b. Universal principles are discovered through observation and experimental verification.
c. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how the world works. More often,
however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications
of prior knowledge. Major shifts in scientific views typically occur after the observation of a new
phenomenon or an insightful interpretation of existing data by an individual or research group.
d. Hypotheses often cause scientists to develop new experiments that produce additional data.
e. Testing, revising, and occasionally rejecting new and old theories never ends.
Resources
Vocabulary
SCSh8. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific inquiry.
Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices:
a. Scientific investigators control the conditions of their experiments in order to produce valuable
data.
b. Scientific researchers are expected to critically assess the quality of data including possible
sources of bias in their investigations’ hypotheses, observations, data analyses, and
interpretations.
c. Scientists use practices such as peer review and publication to reinforce the integrity of
scientific activity and reporting.
d. The merit of a new theory is judged by how well scientific data are explained by the new theory.
e. The ultimate goal of science is to develop an understanding of the natural universe which is free
of biases.
f. Science disciplines and traditions differ from one another in what is studied, techniques used,
and outcomes sought.
NOTES: Scientific Method & Metrics (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Picking out Parts of the Experiment Practice WS
Picking out Parts of the Experiment Extension WS
Metrics Practice WS
Safety & Equipment Scavenger Hunt
Measuring Volume (to accompany Safety & Equipment Scavenger Hunt)
Safety Cartoon (to accompany Safety & Equipment Scavenger Hunt)
Bean Scene Investigation (Measure a Bean file)
AlkaSeltzer Lab
NOTES: Characteristics of Life (PPT file & Cornell guide)
That’s life or is it Activity & Extension
 Adaptation
 Development
 Independent
 Response
variable
 Anabolism
 Energy
 Scientific Method
 Inference
 Asexual
 Environment
 Sexual
reproduction

Measurement
reproduction
 Evolution










Balance
Base unit
Beaker
Biology
Catabolism
Cells
Conclusion
Constant
Control
Dependent
variable









Experiment
Forceps
Genetic code
Graduated cylinder
Graph
Graph title
Growth
Homeostasis
Hypothesis










Metabolism
Metrics
Microscope
Multi-cellular
Organ system
Organism
Organs
Problem
Procedure
Reproduction









Stimuli
Tare
Test tube
Tissues
Trend Statement
Uni-cellular
Unit
X-axis
Y-axis
Name: Unit 2
Time: 36 days/yr
(18 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
Assessment
Standards
Resources
Cells
This unit will discuss the importance of the internal processes and compartmentalization of cells with
respect to their overall contribution to the ability of an organism (multicellular or unicellular) to
maintain homeostasis.
 How can you determine if something is living?
 How do enzymes function as catalysts?
 How do the four major macromolecules support life?
 What does “you are what you eat” really mean?
 Why do restaurants always serve ranch or blue cheese dressing with hot wings?
 How is water essential to life processes?
 How do cells maintain homeostasis?
 How do the organelles function together to sustain life?
 How are the photosynthesis and cellular respiration interdependent?
Students will understand
 Common elements found in living things
 Role of each type of macromolecule
 The importance and processes involved in cellular homeostasis
 The historical development of microscopes
 Compartmentalization of cells
 Stages of the Cell cycle
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions, problems);
Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SB1. Students will analyze the nature of the relationships between structures and functions in
living cells.
(a) Explain the role of cell organelles for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including the cell
membrane, in maintaining homeostasis and cell reproduction.
(b) Explain how enzymes function as catalysts.
(c) Identify the function of the four major macromolecules (i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, lipids,
nucleic acids).
(d) Explain the impact of water on life processes (i.e., osmosis, diffusion).
Basic Chemistry WS
Periodic Tables (Generic & Pictures)
NOTES: Basic Chemistry (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Ion Formation Practice WS
NOTES: Biological Importance of Water (PPT file & Cornell guide)
LAB: Understanding the pH Scale
NOTES: Macromolecules (PPT file & Cornell guide)
LAB/GIZMO: Identifying Nutrients
“Macromolecules Gone Wild (Bio Style)” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9u7CfVoc4
Macromolecule Concept Map
NOTES: Enzymes (PPT file & Cornell guide)
LAB: Liver Enzymes
Organelle Scavenger Hunt
NOTES: Homeostasis & the Plasma Membrane (PPT file & Cornell guide)
LAB: Maintaining Water Balance (Egg Lab)
Cell Membrane & Trafficking Packet
LAB: Microscope Mania (Understanding Field of View)
LAB: Identifying Prokaryotes & Eukaryoes (microscope and computer based)
Summ
Quizz
Vocabulary
Advanced
Vocabulary
LAB: Shipwrecked!!
 Active transport
 ADP
 Amino acid
 Anaphase
 Atom
 ATP
 Carbohydrate
 Catalyst
 Cell cycle
 Cell organelles
 Cell theory
 Cell wall
 Chemical reaction
 Chlorophyll
 Chloroplast
 Chromatin
 Chromosome
 Cilia
 Acid
 Activation energy
 Base
 Benedict's solution
 Biuret reagent
 Cancer
 Compound
 Covalent bond
 Compound light
microscope
 Cytokinesis
 Cytoplasm
 Cytoskeleton
 Diffusion
 DNA
 Element
 Endocytosis
 Endoplasmic
reticulum
 Enzyme
 Eukaryote
 Exocytosis
 Facilitated diffusion
 Flagella
 Fluid mosaic model
 Golgi apparatus
 Homeostasis
 Electron microscope
 Iodine
 Ion
 Ionic bond
 Isomer
 Isotope
 pH
 Polar
 Hydrogen bond
 Hypertonic
 Hypotonic
 Interphase
 Isotonic
 Lipid
 Lysosome
 Macromolecules
 Metabolism
 Metaphase
 Microfilament
 Microtubule
 Mitochondria
 Mitosis
 Nucleic acid
 Nucleolus
 Nucleus
 Polymer
 Solute
 Solution
 Solvent
Substrate
 Organelle
 Osmosis
 Passive transport
 Plasma membrane
 Prokaryote
 Prophase
 Proteins
 Ribosome
 RNA
 Selective
permeability
 Telophase
 Transport protein
 Vacuole
Name : Unit 3
Time: 30 days/ yr
(15 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
Assessment
Standards
Resources
Genetics
This unit will discuss the processes involved in cellular reproduction (sexual and asexual) as well as
how genetic information is passed on from one generation to the next. Further, the unit will cover
mistakes in the inheritance process and the impact of those impacts as well as technologies used by
scientists to research and evaluate genetic processes.
 Why MUST eggs and sperm be haploid, and how do they get that way?
 What happens if eggs and sperm are NOT true haploid (i.e. there are extra or too few
chromosomes)?
 How might genetics and/or cell regulation impact me or someone I care about?
 Why don’t I look EXACTLY like my siblings or parents?
 How do the structures and functions of DNA & RNA compare and contrast?
 How do cells make more cells?
 What role does DNA play in storing and transmitting information?
 How can the process of meiosis allow for reproductive variability?
 How can a change in DNA result in the appearance of new traits?
 How can environmental factors alter the DNA code?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of asexual versus sexual reproduction?
 How is DNA technology applied to the fields of forensics, medicine, and agriculture?
Students will understand
 why cell division must be regulated
 how cells divided
 how gametes are formed
 why Mendel is the Father of Genetics
 how pedigrees are used to track traits
 moral/ethical Biotechnology issues related to DNA Technologies and Applications
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions,
problems); Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SB2. Students will analyze how biological traits are passed on to successive generations.
(a) Distinguish between DNA and RNA.
(b) Explain the role of DNA in storing and transmitting cellular information.
(c) Using Mendel’s laws, explain the role of meiosis in reproductive variability.
(d) Describe the relationships between changes in DNA and potential appearance of new traits
including:
- Alterations during replication (Insertions, Deletions, Substitutions)
- Mutagenic factors that can alter DNA (High energy radiation and Chemical)
(e) Compare the advantages of sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction in different situations.
(f) Examine the use of DNA technology in forensics, medicine, and agriculture.
Case of the Dividing Cell
NOTES: Cellular Reproduction (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Online Lab: Determining the Time Spent in the Cell Cycle
Meiosis Square Dance (link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaf4j19_3Zg)
Cellular Reproduction Reinforcement Packet
NOTES: Control of the Cell Cycle - Cancer (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Cellular Reproduction Concept Map
Cancer Colorcoded Wordsearch
Online Lab: How can cancer cells be recognized?
NOTES: Nucleic Acids - Cancer (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Have your DNA & Eat it Too
Summ
Proje
Vocabulary
DNA Replication Enzyme SuperHero Assignment
Simulating Protein Synthesis
Eyes of Nye Video Questions: Genetically Modified Foods & Cloning
Protein Synthesis WS
NOTES: Gene Expression & Mutations (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Mutations WS
NOTES: Inheritance (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Genetics of a Cartoon Baby
Genetics Packet
NOTES: Genetic Disorders (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Mystery Diagnosis
Genetic Disorders Crossword
NOTES: Pedigrees (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Pedigree Practice WS
NOTES: Karyotyping (PPT file & Cornell guide)
Human Karyotyping – Explorelearning Gizmo Guide
NOTES: DNA Technologies (PPT file & Cornell guide)
DNA Fingerprinting Application
 Achondroplasia
 Egg
 Karyotype
 Allele
 Fertilization
 Klienfelter’s
Syndrome
 Anaphase
 Fetus
 Law of
 Autosome
 Gamete
independent
 Cancer
 Gene therapy
assortment
 Carrier
 Genetic
 Law of segregation
engineering
 Cell cycle
 Meiosis
 Genetic
 Chromosomal
 Metaphase
recombination
mutations
 Mitosis
 Genetics
 Clone
 mRNA
 Genotype
 Co-dominant
 Multiple alleles
alleles
 Germ cells
 Mutagen
 Codon
 Haploid
 Mutation
 Crossing over
 Heredity
 Nitrogen base
 Cystic Fibrosis
 Heterozygous
 Nondisjunction
 Cytokinesis
 Homologous
chromosomes
 Oogenesis
 Diploid
 Homozygous
 Pedigree
 DNA
 Human genome
 Phenotype
 DNA replication
 Hybrid
 Point mutation
 Dominant
 Inbreeding
 Polar body
 Double helix
 Polygenic
 Down’s Syndrome  Incomplete
dominance
inheritance
(trisomy 21)
 Interphase
 Prophase

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







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



Recessive
Recombinant DNA
Restriction enzyme
RNA
Sex chromosome
Sex-linked trait
Sexual
reproduction
Sperm
Spermatogenesis
Tay Sachs
Telophase
Test cross
Trait
Transcription
Translation
tRNA
Turner’s Syndrome
Zygote
Name: Unit 4
Time: 24 days/yr
(12 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understanding
Assessment
Standards
Resources
Vocabulary
Evolution & Classification
Evolution is fundamental to the study of biology, linking areas such as genetics, molecular biology,
reproduction, anatomy and classification. This unit will include the history of the theories of
evolution and the process of natural selection.
 How do scientists define and support the theory of evolution?
 How does natural selection affect the evolution of species on earth?
Students will understand
 Scientific evidence of biological evolution uses information from geographical, geological,
physical, chemical, and mathematical applications.
 Molecular, morphological, and genetic information of existing and extinct organisms add to our
understanding of evolution.
 Biochemical and genetic similarities, in particular DNA nucleotide and protein sequences, provide
evidence for evolution and ancestry.
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions, problems);
Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SB5. Students will evaluate the role of natural selection in the development of the theory of
evolution.
(a) Trace the history of the theory.
(b) Explain the history of life in terms of biodiversity, ancestry, and the rates of evolution.
(c) Explain how fossil and biochemical evidence support the theory.
(d) Relate natural selection to changes in organisms.
(e) Recognize the role of evolution to biological resistance (pesticide and antibiotic resistance).
 http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS06/LS06.html
 http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/E07/E07.html
 Adaptation
 Derived traits
 Gradualism
 Plate tectonics
 Allelic frequency
 Directional selection
 Hardy-Weinberg
 Primate
principle
 Allopatric
 Divergent evolution
 Punctuated
speciation

Homologous
equilibrium
 Diversifying selection
structures
 Analogous
 Radiometric dating
 Domain
structures
 Reproductive
 Endosymbiotic theory  Kingdom
 Ancestrial traits
 Law of superposition
isolation
 Era
 Artificial selection

Mimicry

Speciation
 Family
 Biogeography
 Natural selection
 Species
 Founder effect
 Bottlenect effect

Order
 Stabilizing selection
 Gene pool
 Cambrian explosion  Genetic drift
 Pangea
 Survival of the fittest
 Camouflage

Period
 Sympatric speciation
 Genetic equilibrium
 Cladogram
 Phylogeny
 Taxa
 Genus
 Class

Phylum
 Taxonomy
 Geological time scale
 Comparative
 plate tectonics
 Vestigial structures
embryology
 Convergent
evolution
Name : Unit 5
Time: 26 days/ yr
(13 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
Assessment
Standards
Resources
Vocabulary
Organisms
This unit will explore the diversity and complexity among organisms in different kingdoms. Structural
similarities and differences can then be used to determine ancestral relationships among the
kingdoms.
 How do organisms (simple and complex) carry out life processes?
 Why would organisms in different kingdoms have similar or different characteristics?
 How does multi-cellularity develop in embryos?
 Why do some organisms eat and some don’t?
Students will understand
 Organisms carry out common life processes differently.
 Invertebrates and vertebrates share similarities in their embryonic development.
 General physiological characteristics allow classification of animals and supports evolutionary
theory.
 Specialized adaptations allow species to survive in their environments.
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions, problems);
Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SB3. Students will derive the relationship between single-celled and multi-celled organisms and the
increasing complexity of systems.
(a) Explain the cycling of energy through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration.
(b) Compare how structures and function vary between the six kingdoms.
(c) Examine the evolutionary basis of modern classification systems (archaebacteria, eubacteria,
protists, fungi, plants, & animals).
(d) Compare and contrast viruses with living organisms.
 http://www.newpathlearning.com/MML/PHOTOSYNTHESIS/files/BubbleLab.swf
 http://www1.cbsd.org/sites/teachers/hs/ESCOTT/Documents/Unit%205%20%20Photosynthesis%20and%20Respiration/Exercise_Cellular_Respiration_lab.pdf
 http://www.uen.org/themepark/habitat/animal.shtml
 Algae
 Colony
 Hypha
 Pollen
 Alternation of
 Conjugation
 Invertebrate
 Pollen tube
generations
 Cotyledin
 Kingdom
 Porifera
 Angiosperm
 Deciduous
 Lichen
 Protozoan
 Annelidia
 Dicot
 Lysogenic cycle
 Rhizome
 Anther
 Domain
 Lytic cycle
 Root
 Arthropoda
 Echinodermata
 Molluska
 Sessile
 Asexual reproduction  Ecosystem
 Monocot
 Species
 Asymetry
 Embryo
 Multicellular
 Spirella
 Bacilli
 Endoskeleton
 Mycelium
 Sporophyte
 Bacteria
 Endospore
 Mycorrhiza
 Sporozoan
 Bacteriaphage
 Exoskeleton
 Nematode
 Stigma
 Bilateral symmetry
 Family
 Nitrogen fixation
 Style
 Binary fission
 Fertilization
 Nonvascular plant
 Symmetry
 Binomial
 Filter feeder
 Order
 Taxa
nomenclature
 Flagellate
 Ovary
 Taxonomy
 Budding
 Fruit
 Ovule
 Tropism
 Cellular Respiration
 Gametophyte
 Peptidoglycan
 Unicellular
 Chitin
 Genus
 Phloem
 Vascular tissue
 Chordate
 Gymnosperm
 Photosynthesis
 Vertebrate
 Class
 Hermaphrodite
 Phylum
 Virus
 Classification
 Host cell
 Platyhelmenthes
 Xylem
 Cnideria
 Cocci
Name: Unit 6
Time: 22 days/yr
(11 days/sem)
Description
Essential
Questions
Enduring
Understandings
Assessment
Standards
Resources
Vocabulary
Ecology
This unit will describe the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and
matter within their ecosystems, the difference between food chains and webs, the transfer of energy
and matter through ecosystems, and the impact of man’s activities on the environment.
 How can change in one part of an ecosystem effect change in other parts of the ecosystem.
 How do matter and energy link organisms to each other and their environments?
 Why does energy only flow in one direction in an ecosystem?
 How is a food web different from a food chain?
 What are some changes that occur in an ecosystem caused by the activities of humans?
 How can the human race help prevent causing negative changes within the ecosystems of the
biosphere?
 How do human activities interrupt the stability of ecosystems?
Students will understand
 Energy from the Sun flows through ecosystems and is conserved as organisms use and transform
it.
 Matter needed to sustain life is continually recycled among and between organisms and the
environments.
 Humans can alter the living and non-living factors within an ecosystem, thereby creating change
to the overall system.
Formative: Student Participation; Practice & Application Worksheets (reading, questions, problems);
Laboratory Activities
Summative: Formal Laboratory Reports; Projects; Quizzes; Test(s); Lab Practical(s)
SB4. Students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy
and matter within their ecosystems.
(a) Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and
biomes.
(b) Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by:
- Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.
- Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
- Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P).
(c) Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems.
(d) Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such as global
warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption.
(e) Relate plant adaptations, including tropisms, to the ability to survive stressful environmental
conditions.
(f) Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful environmental
conditions.
 http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078695104/383916/BL_03.html
 http://www.coolclassroom.org/cool_windows/home.html
 Abiotic Factor
 Ecology
 Predation
 Limiting Factor
 Biosphere
 Ecosystem
 Predator
 Mutualism
 Biotic Factor
 Energy Pyramid
 Prey
 Niche
 Carnivore
 Exponential Growth
 Primary Succession
 Omnivore
 Carrying Capacity
 Food Chain
 Producer
 Parasite
 Commensalism
 Food Web
 Respiration
 Parasitism
 Community
 Habitat
 Secondary
Succession
 Photosynthesis
 Competition
 Herbivore
 Pioneer Species
 Species
 Consumer
 Host
 Population
 Symbiosis
 Decomposer
 Transpiration
Advanced
Vocabulary

 Emigration
 Immigration
