Biology: At a Glance Course Guide

Quarter One Unit 1: What Does Science Have To Do With It? The Nature of Science and Experimental Design
This unit provides students with the skills needed to design and implement inquiry-based experiments and exposes them to the impact that science has on everyday life in our society. Students will be introduced to broad themes of inquiry, collaboration, and the nature of science through engaging in classroom discussions, designing and implementing scientific investigations.

Unit 2: What Does It Mean To Be Alive? The Characteristics, Origins, and Diversity of Life on Earth
In this unit, students will explore what it means to be alive. Students will also examine current scientific hypotheses on the origins of life, identify evolutionary relationships between organisms using phylogenetic trees and cladograms, and use the characteristics of the six kingdoms to appropriately classify organisms.

Unit 3: What Are We Made Of? Water, Macromolecules, and Enzymes* *

Starts in Quarter 1 and finishes in Quarter 2 In this unit, students will investigate the types of molecules that are a necessity for all life on Earth. Students will design investigations to identify the nutrients found in the foods we eat and the factors that affect the enzymes that regulate all chemical processes in our bodies.

Quarter Two Unit 4: The Cell, Function Over Fashion Cell Structure & Function.
In this unit, student will investigate the relationship between cell structure and function. Students will focus on the interdependence of the unique structures within the cell that help the cell function as a whole.

Unit 5: The Way I Work. Cell Homeostasis and Energetics

In this unit, student will describe how cells carry on many functions to sustain life. They will also explain the relationship between cellular respiration and photosynthesis and investigate the dynamic processes involved in maintaining cell homeostasis.

Unit 6: Germs Make Us Sick Infectious Disease

Disease has shaped the course of human history. In this unit students will study the research that led to the understanding that microscopic organisms and viruses are the agents that cause disease. Additionally students will investigate contemporary public health issues related to antibiotic resistance, zoonotic diseases, and implications of a pandemic outbreak with the emergence of the global community.

Quarter Three Unit 7: It All Starts With A SINGLE Cell. The Cell Cycle, Cancer, and Meiosis
In this unit students will explore cell division and gamete formation through the lenses of cancer and nondisjunction disorders respectively.

Unit 8: Its in Our Genes! DNAHistory, Structure, and Function

In this unit, student will appreciate the significance of key experiments and theories in the study of DNA. They will also compare and contrast the structures and functions of DNA and RNA.

Unit 9: My Mom and Dad Gave Me New Pairs of Genes! Mutations, Genetics, and Biotechnology
In this unit, student will describe how organisms pass on their genetic information to the next generation. They will also explain how mutations affect protein function. Quarter Four

Unit 10: Do Your Genes Fit? Evolution and the Theory of Natural Selection.
In this unit, student will use scientific evidence and models to illustrate how organisms change over time and explain how adaptations help organisms survive in their environment.

Unit 11: Why Cant We All Just Get Along?

Ecology In this unit, student will understand how living organisms interact with their environment; describe how humans impact nutrient cycles in the environment, and describe ecological levels of organization in biology. Students will also analyze how human population growth and activities, both locally and globally, are having an impact on the environment.

Unit 12: The Hip Bones Connected to the Leg Bone. Anatomy
In this unit, student will describe how body structures affect body functions. Students will understand how the various body systems work together to make life possible.