High+School+Biology



Welcome to the wikispaces page for High School Biology. I am looking forward to making your Biology a deeply rewarding and enjoyable experience.Welcome aboard to each one of y'all ! Let's get started.

The North Carolina Standard Course of Study Goals and Objectives can be found at LearnNC.org. There are five Goals in Biology:
 * **Goal 1:** **TLW develop the abilities necessary to do and understand scientific theory**
 * Goal 2: TLW develop an understanding of the physical, chemical and cellular basis of life
 * Goal 3: TLW develop an understanding of the continuity of life and the changes of organisms over time
 * Goal 4: TLW develop an understanding of the unity and diversity of life
 * Goal 5: TLW develop an understanding of the ecological relationships among organisms.

For those of you going on to college, the hope is that you will //progress satisfactorily through this course//, and at the end //pass the States EOC// (End of Course) Exit Exam. As you know this is one of the two course you need if you are on the college track. For those of you not going on to college, the hope is that you will come to appreciate the biological issues of the past and present, biological discoveries and scientific practices in biology that will influence your lives for decades to come. Hopefully each of you will //take away information from the course that will be beneficial in your lives//. You must take every opportunity to ask questions, find answers, while accepting nothing as absolutely definitive, but as a process or step along the way to deeper and deeper truth and understanding.

Truth does not come from one solitary place, it does not come from the words of one person, nor does it come from just one source. NO! It comes from many places, from many people, and from many sources. Below are some GREAT places, people and sources worth checking out as you study biology (more will be added over time).
 * 1) Glencoe Biology: The Dynamics of Life 2004
 * 2) Biology4kids.com
 * 3) Chemistry4Kids.com
 * 4) Geography4kids.com
 * 5) CellsAlive

So then, looking at Goal 1, you might ask yourself these questions, among others:
 * What sort of abilities or skills do I/you need as a scientist or biologist?
 * What abilities or skills are absolutely necessary and how do I develop them?
 * Which abilities or skills will help me do and understand //scientific theory//?
 * What is Scientific Theory?
 * Is there only one //scientific theory// in biology or are there more?
 * How or will studying biology help me understand //scientific theory//?

= = =Theme #1 - Cells= =Theme # 2 Organization=
 * =One source says that all living things have these common characteristics:=
 * All living things are composed of one or more cells. Different types of cells have different "jobs" within the organism. Each life form begins from one cell, which then will split. These cells split, and so on. After this has happened several times, differentiation is undergone, when the cells change so that they are not the same thing anymore. Then they are used to begin to put together the final organism, some cells, for example, as the eyes, some as the heart, etc. The only arguable exception to this is viruses. They are not composed of cells, but are said to be "living."** ||  ||

=Theme#3 - Energy Use= =Theme#4 - Homeostasis= =Theme#5 - Growth= =Theme#6 - Reproduction= Ref: http://www.essortment.com/all/characteristics_rbrc.htm || ||** ** The 7 Characteristics of Life ** Definition: **__ Organism __** = a living thing You are an organism, and so are a tree, worm, and bacterium. All organisms carry out all of these life functions. A car can do several but not all; thus it is non-living. All organisms: 1. __ Reproduce __ ; all organisms can copy themselves if they are only one cell in size or can copy the DNA (the genetic material) to a cell that can grown into a complete organism. 2. __ Grow __ ; growing is just a single cell reproducing or copying itself by the process of __mitosis__. The whole organism grows by adding cells through this process. 3. __ Have cells __ ; their life material is assembled in little organized units built mostly out of proteins. 4. __ Have DNA __ ; this genetic material is a chemical code which assembles chemicals to make the proteins that your cells are made of. The DNA molecule can also copy itself, making growth and reproduction possible. 5. __ Need energy __ ; all organisms need energy for all life activities. Even thinking requires a considerable amount of energy. Plants get energy through photosynthesis, and animals get energy from cellular respiration. 6. __ React to their environment __ ; all organisms can sense their environment and react to it. Even a tree grows up while the roots grow down. And leaves always grow toward the light. 7. __ Carry out homeostasis (maintain a constant internal environment) __ ; even though the environment around a cell can change a lot (example: hot to cold), the inside of the cell needs to stay the same. Keeping a constant internal environment is called __homeostasis__. For example, when you exercise, your body heats up. You then sweat to cool down to get the cell environment back to normal. Reference: http://www.qacps.k12.md.us/cms/sci/life/Characteristics.htm ||  ||
 * All organisms use energy . The sum of the chemical energy they use is called metabolism. This energy is used to carry out everything they do. Autotrophs (plants) use energy from the sun for photosynthesis, to make their own ‘food’ (glucose). Heterotrophs (animals and humans) must ingest food for this purpose.**
 * All organisms have stable internal conditions which must be maintained in order to remain alive. These include temperature, water content, heartbeat, and other such things. In a way, this has to do with energy use, because a certain level of energy must be kept within the body at all times. For this, obviously, humans must then ingest food on a regular basis. Not all conditions are for the body to maintain itself; though most are.**
 * All organisms grow and change. Cells divide to form new, identical cells. Differentiation happens, as well, when cells mutate into other types of cells, making a more complex organism. Organisms growing, changing, and becoming more complex is called development. Single-celled organisms do grow as well, but they will only become slightly larger – this is nearly unmeasurable.**
 * All organisms reproduce in order to continue the species' life. This is combining genetic information (in sexual reproduction) or splitting into two organisms (in asexual reproduction) in order to create another of the same species. In sexual reproduction, the new organism will have some characteristics from the mother, and some from father. It may look like either of them, or it may not. In asexual reproduction, the new organism is an exact copy of the first. Sometimes, not every member of a species is able to reproduce. As long as others are (which we know they can, if they still exist today) then it does not threaten the species. (Except for mules, but don't worry about them, they are a bizarre anomoly.)
 * =Another source states all living things have these seven common characteristics.=


 * =Chromosome= || = = ||
 * [[image:http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t051/T051454A.jpg width="216" height="167" caption="Chromosome"]]This photomicrograph shows the fruit fly’s unusual giant chromosomes, called polytene chromosomes. Polytene chromosomes occur in many similar species of flies. They are formed when chromosomes undergo numerous rounds of replication without separating from one another, as typically occurs during cell division. The bundles of linked chromosomes, which can be 1000 times the width of a single chromosome, are almost perfectly aligned, making the tiny dark bands on each chromosome more visible, as seen here. In fruit flies, each band contains several genes. Scientists study the banding patterns to detect abnormalities in chromosome structure and to understand the patterns of heredity in fruit flies.

[|Chromosome numbers of different species:]
||
 * [[image:http://encarta.msn.com/xImages/trans.gif width="1" height="10"]]=== === ||