1st Nine Weeks Topics
Introduction to Biology
Introduction to Biology/Nature of Life**
A.
What is Biology
B.
Science in the real world
Ecology
Ecosystems (17.5)
A.
Review of community
Interactions**
B.
Distribution of life in aquatic systems (17.2)
C.
Succession and changes (17.4)
D.
Predict impact from catastrophic events: Climate change, Human activity,
Invasive species (17.8)
Populations in an ecosystem
(17.5)
A.
Population dynamics and graphs
B.
Carrying capacity
C.
Limiting Factors
Energy Flow (17.9)
A.
Food Chains and Food Webs
B.
Trophic levels and energy reduction
C.
Biogeochemical Cycles: water and carbon (E.7.1, 18.12)
Human Impact on Environment
(17.20)
A.
Costs and benefits of renewable and non-renewable resources (17.11)
Division of Academics and Transformation – Department of Science
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Parent Resources
Biology Topic Highlights
Questions to ask your child
Introduction to Biology
Topic I Question to learner : What is biology and what are the central themes that make up this field of study?
Sample Response : Biology is the study of life. The study of biology revolves around several interlocking big ideas: the cellular basis of life; information and heredity; matter and energy; growth, development, and reproduction; homeostasis; evolution; structure and function; unity and diversity of life; interdependence in nature; and science as a way of knowing.
Ecology
Topic II Question to learner : Describe the various interactions/relationships that can exist within a biological community.
Sample Response : The various interactions/relationships that can exist within a community include mutualism, predations, parasitism, competition, and commensalism. Mutualism is symbiotic relationship in which both parties benefit from the relationship. Predation is an interaction in which one organism (the predator) captures and feeds on another organism (the prey). Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it. Competition is relationship where individuals from multiple species are competing for the same resources. Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped.
Topic III Question to learner : Describe how carrying capacity and limiting resources affect populations of organisms.
Sample Response : The carrying capacity is the largest number of individuals of a species that a particular environment can support. This level is determined by amount of limiting resources available. Limiting resources include available food sources, sources of water, habitat, predators, competition from other species, and natural disasters.
Topic IV Question to learner : Describe the difference between a food chain and a food web and describe the movement of energy through both.
Sample Response : A food chain is a series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten, it is linear with only one connection between levels. A food web is a network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various
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B.
Sustainability and environmental policy (17.11)
Evolution
Origins of Life (15.8)
A.
Law vs. theories in science
B.
Contribution of scientists
(Pasteur, Oparin, Miller and
Urey, Margulis, Fox)
C.
Endosymbiotic theory
(conceptual)
D.
Role of amino acids and proteins (18.1)
Theory of Evolution (15.1)
A.
Evidence for the theory of evolution
B.
Trends in human evolution: brain size, jaws, tools
(15.10, 14.26)
C.
Brain structures (14.26)
Mechanisms of Evolution
(15.13)
A.
Darwin’s Natural Selection
Introduction to other Mechanisms
(15.14, 15.15)
Division of Academics and Transformation – Department of Science
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Parent Resources
Biology Topic Highlights organisms in an environment, it is not linear and can have multiple connections between levels.
Topic V Question to learner : Describe human impacts on the environment, specifically focusing on renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Sample Response : Nonrenewable resources are resources that cannot be replenished by a natural process within a reasonable amount of time (fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal). Renewable resources are resources that can be produced or replaced by health ecosystem functions (sustainably harvested plants, wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy). Generally the use of nonrenewable resources caused negative impacts to the environment (pollution, global warming, habitat destruction) while the use of renewable resources does not have much negative impact on the environment.
Evolution
Topic VI Question to learner : Describe the endosymbiotic theory and how it helps explain how life came to be as we know it today.
Sample Response : The endosymbiotic theory states that eukaryotic cells formed from a symbiotic relationship among several different types of prokaryotic cells. The theory proposes that simple prokaryotic cells with special functions joined together to make a more complex cell (a prokaryotic cell with a tail for locomotion combine with a prokaryotic cell that had a thick cell membrane to create a eukaryotic cell with thick cell membrane and a tail). This combination of simple cells to more complex cells slowly built up more complex organisms over millions of years.
Topic VII Question to learner : Describe the various sources of evidence for the theory of evolution.
Sample Response : The sources of evidence for the theory of evolution include the fossil record, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, biogeography, molecular biology, and observed evolutionary changes.
Topic VIII Question to learner : Describe the mechanisms for evolution.
Sample Response : Mechanisms for evolution are divided into microevolution and macroevolution. Microevolutions pathways include natural selection (directional, stabilizing, and disruptive selection),
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Parent Resources
Biology Topic Highlights mutations, non-random mating, genetic drift (bottleneck and found effect), and gene flow (migration). Macroevolution patterns include extinction
(background vs. mass), speciation (reproductive, geographic, temporal isolation), adaptive radiation, convergent evolution, and coevolution.
Division of Academics and Transformation – Department of Science
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