Honors Biology
Bergen County Academies
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601 (201) 343-6000
1. Course Description
The Honors Biology course at the Bergen Academies is comprised of a comprehensive and
challenging curriculum that supplies a solid scientific foundation for the student to build on in
future science classes. Social and ethical issues are explored, as the student develops critical
thinking and problem solving skills, while investigating how Biology relates to the student’s life
and community. During this year long course, students will have many opportunities for hand-on
exploration through weekly laboratory assignments, modeling activities, media and technology
and assigned readings.
2. Course Goals
Themes are major concepts that link facts and ideas together. They act as the support beans of a
cognitive framework, on which the facts, theories and other elements of scientific knowledge are
assembled and organized.
This course focuses on six major themes:
Unity and Diversity
Chemical Basis of Life
Scale and Structure
Energy Transformations
Systems and Interactions
Stability
3. Course Outline
Chapter 1 Biology: Exploring Life
 The Scope of Biology
 Evolution, Unity, and Diversity
 The Process of Science
 Biology and Everyday Life
Chapter 2 The Chemical Basis of Life
 Atoms, Elements and Molecules
 Water’s Life Supporting Properties
 Chemical Reactions
Chapter 3 The Molecules of Cell
 Introduction to Organic Compounds
 Carbohydrates
 Lipids
 Proteins
 Nucleic Acids
Chapter 4 A Tour of the Cell
 Introduction to the Cell
 Organelles of the Endomembrane System
 Energy Converting Organelles
 Cytoskeleton and related structures
 Cell Surfaces and Junctions

Functional Categories of Organelles
Chapter 5 The Working Cell
 Energy and the Cell
 How Enzymes Function

Membrane Structure and Function
Chapter 6 How Cells Harvest Chemical Energy
 Introduction to Cellular Respiration
 Stages of Cellular Respiration and Fermentation
 Interconnections Between Molecular Breakdown and Synthesis
Chapter 7 Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food
 An Overview of Photosynthesis
 The Light reactions: Converting Solar Energy to Chemical energy
 The Calvin Cycle: Converting Carbon dioxide to Sugars
 Photosynthesis Reviewed and Extended
 Photosynthesis, Solar Radiation and the Earths Atmosphere
Chapter 8 The Cellular Basis of Reproduction and Inheritance
 Connections between Cell Division and Reproduction
 Eukaryotic Cell Cycle and Mitosis
 Meiosis and Crossing Over
 Alteration of Chromosome Number and Structure
5. Methodology
The various methodologies used in this course include:
 Laboratory exercises
 Discussions
 Audio visual materials
 Lecture
 Computer technology
 Peer teaching
 Individual and group projects
6. Instructional Material
Reference Textbook: Biology Concepts and Connections (5th Edition) Pearson