Cell Biology
1.
The fundamental life processes of plants and
animals depend on a variety of chemical reactions that occur in specialized
areas of the organism’s cells. As a basis for understanding this concept
students know:
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a.
cells are enclosed within semipermeable membranes that regulate their
interaction with their surroundings. |
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b.
enzymes are proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions without altering the
reaction equilibrium and the activities of enzymes depend on the temperature,
ionic conditions, and the pH of the surroundings. |
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c.
how prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells (including those from plants and
animals), and viruses differ in complexity and general structure. |
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d.
the central dogma of molecular biology outlines the flow of information from
transcription of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the nucleus to translation of
proteins on ribosomes in the cytoplasm. |
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e.
the role of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus in the secretion of
proteins. |
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f.
usable energy is captured from sunlight by chloroplasts and
is stored through the synthesis of sugar from carbon dioxide. |
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g.
the role of the mitochondria in making stored chemical-bond energy available
to cells by completing the breakdown of glucose to carbon dioxide. |
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h.
most macromolecules (polysaccharides, nucleic acids, proteins, lipids) in
cells and organisms are synthesized from a small collection of simple
precursors. |
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i.*
how chemiosmotic gradients in the mitochondria and chloroplast store energy
for ATP production. |
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j*
how eukaryotic cells are given shape and internal organization by a
cytoskeleton or cell wall or both. |
Genetics
2. Mutation and sexual
reproduction lead to genetic variation in a population. As a basis for
understanding this concept students know:
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a.
meiosis is an early step in sexual reproduction in which the
pairs of chromosomes separate and segregate randomly during cell division to
produce gametes containing one chromosome of each type. |
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b.
only certain cells in a multicellular organism undergo meiosis. |
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c.
how random chromosome segregation explains the probability that a particular
allele will be in a gamete. |
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d.
new combinations of alleles may be generated in a zygote through the fusion
of male and female gametes (fertilization). |
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e.
why approximately half of an individual’s DNA sequence comes from each
parent. |
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f.
the role of chromosomes in determining an individual’s sex. |
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g.
how to predict possible combinations of alleles in a zygote from the genetic
makeup of the parents. |
3. A
multicellular organism develops from a single zygote, and its phenotype depends
on its genotype, which is established at fertilization. As a basis for
understanding this concept students know:
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a. how to predict the
probable outcome of phenotypes in a genetic cross from the genotypes of the
parents and mode of inheritance (autosomal or X-linked, dominant or
recessive). |
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b.
the genetic basis for Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent
assortment. |
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c.*
how to predict the probable mode of inheritance from a pedigree diagram
showing phenotypes. |
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d.*
how to use data on frequency of recombination at meiosis to estimate genetic
distances between loci and to interpret genetic maps of chromosomes. |
4. Genes
are a set of instructions encoded in the DNA sequence of each organism that
specify the sequence of amino acids in proteins characteristic of that
organism. As a basis for understanding this concept students know:
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a. the general pathway by
which ribosomes synthesize proteins, using tRNAs to translate genetic
information in mRNA. |
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b.
how to apply the genetic coding rules to predict the sequence of amino acids
from a sequence of codons in RNA. |
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c.
how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may or may not affect the expression
of the gene or the sequence of amino acids in an encoded protein. |
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d.
specialization of cells in multicellular organisms is usually due to
different patterns of gene expression rather than to differences of the genes
themselves. |
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e.
proteins can differ from one another in the number and sequence of amino
acids. |
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f.*
why proteins having different amino acid sequences typically have different
shapes and chemical properties. |
5. The
genetic composition of cells can be altered by incorporation of exogenous DNA
into the cells. As a basis for understanding this concept students know:
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a. the general structures
and functions of DNA, RNA, and protein. |
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b.
how to apply base-pairing rules to explain precise copying of DNA during
semiconservative replication and transcription of information from DNA into
mRNA. |
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c.
how genetic engineering (biotechnology) is used to produce novel biomedical
and agricultural products. |
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d.*
how basic DNA technology (restriction digestion by endonucleases, gel
electrophoresis, ligation, and transformation) is used to construct
recombinant DNA molecules. |
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e.*
how exogenous DNA can be inserted into bacterial cells to alter their genetic
makeup and support expression of new protein products. |
Ecology
6. Stability in an ecosystem
is a balance between competing effects. As a basis for understanding this
concept students know:
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a. biodiversity is the sum
total of different kinds of organisms and is affected by alterations of
habitats. |
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b.
how to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in climate,
human activity, introduction of nonnative species, or changes in population
size. |
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c.
how fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are
determined by the relative rates of birth, immigration, emigration, and
death. |
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d.
how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic
matter in the ecosystem and how oxygen cycles through photosynthesis and
respiration. |
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e.
a vital part of an ecosystem is the stability of its producers and decomposers. |
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f.
at each link in a food web some energy is stored in newly made structures but
much energy is dissipated into the environment as heat. This dissipation may
be represented in an energy pyramid. |
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g.*
how to distinguish between the accommodation of an individual organism to its
environment and the gradual adaptation of a lineage of organisms through
genetic change. |
Evolution
7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a
population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time. As
a basis for understanding this concept students know:
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a. why natural selection
acts on the phenotype rather than the genotype of an organism. |
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b.
why alleles that are lethal in a homozygous individual may be carried in a
heterozygote and thus maintained in a gene pool. |
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c.
new mutations are constantly being generated in a gene pool. |
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d.
variation within a species increases the likelihood that at
least some members of a species will survive under changed environmental
conditions. |
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e.*
the conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a population and why these
conditions are not likely to appear in nature. |
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f.*
how to solve the Hardy-Weinberg equation to predict the
frequency of genotypes in a population, given the frequency of phenotypes. |
8. Evolution is the result
of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis
for understanding this concept students know:
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a. how natural selection
determines the differential survival of groups of organisms. |
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b.
a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some
organisms survive major changes in the environment. |
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c.
the effects of genetic drift on the diversity of organisms in a population. |
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d.
reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation. |
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e.
how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic
speciation, and mass extinction. |
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f.*
how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence comparisons, and
other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram)
that shows probable evolutionary relationships. |
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g.*
how several independent molecular clocks, calibrated against each other and
combined with evidence from the fossil record, can help to estimate how long
ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another. |
9. As a result of the
coordinated structures and functions of organ systems, the internal environment
of the human body remains relatively stable (homeostatic) despite changes in
the outside environment. As a basis for understanding this concept students
know:
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a. how the complementary
activity of major body systems provides cells with oxygen and nutrients and
removes toxic waste products such as carbon dioxide. |
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b.
how the nervous system mediates communication between different parts of the
body and the body’s interactions with the environment. |
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c.
how feedback loops in the nervous and endocrine systems regulate conditions
in the body. |
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d.
the functions of the nervous system and the role of neurons in transmitting
electrochemical impulses. |
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e.
the roles of sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons in sensation,
thought, and response. |
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f.*
the individual functions and sites of secretion of digestive enzymes
(amylases, proteases, nucleases, lipases), stomach acid, and bile salts. |
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g.*
the homeostatic role of the kidneys in the removal of
nitrogenous wastes and the role of the liver in blood detoxification and
glucose balance. |
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h.*
the cellular and molecular basis of muscle contraction, including the roles
of actin, myosin, Ca+2, and ATP. |
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i.*
how hormones (including digestive, reproductive, osmoregulatory) provide
internal feedback mechanisms for homeostasis at the cellular level and in
whole organisms. |
10. Organisms have a variety
of mechanisms to combat disease. As a basis for understanding the human immune
response students know:
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a. the role of the skin in
providing nonspecific defenses against infection. |
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b.
the role of antibodies in the body’s response to infection. |
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c.
how vaccination protects an individual from infectious diseases. |
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d.
there are important differences between bacteria and viruses with respect to
their requirements for growth and replication, the body’s primary defenses
against bacterial and viral infections, and effective treatments of these infections. |
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e.
why an individual with a compromised immune system (for example, a person
with AIDS) may be unable to fight off and survive infections by
microorganisms that are usually benign. |
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f.*
the roles of phagocytes, B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes in the immune
system. |
11. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful
questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding
this concept and addressing the content in the other four strands, students
should develop their own questions and perform investigations.
It should be noted that
asterisked (*) standards found in the Science Content Standards for
California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade 12, are not assessed
on the California Standards Tests in Science