Honors Biology Syllabus Greenways Academy Syllabus Subject/Lesson pacing: Students shall complete a minimum of 1 lesson per week. The course shall be fully completed before the end of the school year. Honors Biology (online) Assignments: 36 lessons Units: 10 Grade Levels: 9-12 Format: online Learning Objectives: 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 Students know how prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells (including those from plants and animals), and viruses differ in complexity and general structure Students know cells are enclosed within semipermeable membranes that regulate their interaction with their surroundings Students know 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 Mutation and sexual reproduction lead to genetic variation in a population A multicellular organism develops from a single zygote, and its phenotype depends on its genotype, which is established at fertilization Students know how genetic engineering (biotechnology) is used to produce novel biomedical and agricultural products Students know biodiversity is the sum total of different kinds of organisms and is affected by alterations of habitats Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects Course Description: Honors Biology covers the full gamut of life on Earth, from bacteria, viruses, protists and fungi, --to evolutionary studies, and a tour of the plant and animal kingdoms. Students study concepts of biodiversity and then move to human biology from the cellular level to principles of genetics and the various systems of the human body. Students read articles, look at relevant pictures and answer questions in each lesson. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time Course Outline: Lesson One: What is Life? A) Introduction: history - figures - terms - questions B) Classification system - questions C) DNA overview - questions Lesson Two: Microbiology - Bacteria A) Department of Molecular Bioscience site: introduction - questions B) Bacteria: cellular DNA vs. bacterial DNA - E. Coli - questions Lesson Three: Microbiology - Viruses A) Introduction to viruses - questions Honors Biology Syllabus Page 1 of 5
B) Virus research assignment C) AIDS research & report Lesson Four: The Potential of Protists A) Protist overview - questions B) Definitions C) Image gallery - questions D) Green Algae - questions E) Research assignment Lesson Five: The Fascinating World of Fungi A) Kingdom Fungi - questions B) Anatomy of Fungi - questions Lesson Six: Changes Through Time A) The Fossil Record - evolutionary theory - questions B) Paleobiology - dinosaurs - questions C) Writing assignment Lesson Seven: Theories of Evolution B) le Mark - Darwin - questions C) Extinctions - Definitions D) Creationist thought - questions E) Response writing assignment Lesson Eight: Introduction to Plants A) Overview of plants - questions B) Kingdom Plantae - history & ecology - questions C) Morphology - mosses - lichens - questions D) Monocots & Dicots - questions & comparison assignment E) Ecosystem explorations - questions Lesson Nine: More About Plants A) Seed plants - questions B) Morphology - primary & secondary growth - leaf analysis report assignment C) Human uses for plants - questions & descriptive summaries D) Research assignment E) Plant Pathology - questions Lesson Ten: Ethnobiology & Ethnobotany A) Definitions - introduction to fields - questions B) Aborigines plant uses - Central & South America C) Folk medicine - foods - questions D) Alternative medicine & herbal medicine - questions & research assignment E) Summary assignment Lesson Eleven: Introduction to Animals A) Carolus Linnaeus - questions B) Classification: invertebrates - chordates - terminology & questions C) Primitive members of the animal kingdom - questions D) Phylum Cnidaria - questions Lesson Twelve: Incredible Invertebrates (Part I) A) Invertebrate overview - worms - questions Honors Biology Syllabus Page 2 of 5
B) Phylum Annelid - questions C) Hermaphroditism - questions D) Life history - ecology - fossil record - questions E) Polychaetes - questions F) Introduction to Echiura - questions G) Earthworms - worms as recyclers - questions H) Honors Biology term paper assignment Lesson Thirteen: Invertebrates (cont.) A) Echinoderms - questions B) Mollusks - questions C) Order Octopoda - questions Lesson Fourteen: Invertebrates (cont.) A) Insect anatomy - entomology introduction - questions B) Metamorphosis - questions C) Cockroaches - quiz - questions D) Arthropoda - questions Lesson Fifteen: The Fascinating World of Fish A) Fish - questions B) Bony fish - questions C) Species synopses - sharks - questions D) Mini term paper assignment - questions Lesson Sixteen: Amphibians A) Introduction - questions B) Virtual frog dissection - questions C) Weird frog facts - questions Lesson Seventeen: Reptiles & Birds A) Reptiles - questions & writing assignment B) Birds - life history & ecology - flight - questions C) Evolution of flight - questions D) Term paper due Lesson Eighteen: Mammals A) Mammals - questions B) Marsupial mammals - convergent & divergent evolution - questions C) Placental mammals - questions D) Eutheria - questions E) Marine mammals - questions Lesson Nineteen: Ecosystems A) Introduction - questions B) Mangroves & wetlands assignment C) Desert - Tundra - questions D) Chaparral - Temperate Forest - questions Lesson Twenty: Biodiversity B) Environmental issues - questions C) Conservation assignment Lesson Twenty One: The Earth & You Honors Biology Syllabus Page 3 of 5
A) Environmental Issues questions B) Environmental solutions questions C) Final questions & links Lesson Twenty Two: Introduction to Genetics B) Human Genome Project - questions C) Classic genetics - questions D) Mutations - questions Lesson Twenty Three: Genetics - Part Two A) Heredity - genotype & phenotype - questions B) Important figures in genetic research - Genetic engineering C) Human Genome Project assignment Lesson Twenty Four: Cells & Levels of Organization A) Cells - Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic cells - questions B) Mitosis - questions C) Membranes - questions D) Cell biology - questions Lesson Twenty Five: Tissues A) Tissue overview - questions B) Four types of tissues - questions C) Skin - questions Lesson Twenty Six: Metabolism B) Anabolism & catabolism - questions Lesson Twenty Seven: The Digestive and Excretory System A) The digestive system - questions B) Human digestive system - questions C) Production of digestive juices - questions D) The Excretory system - questions Lesson Twenty Eight: The Respiratory and Circulatory System A) Quiz - organ systems - questions B) Human systems - questions C) Respiratory assignment D) Circulatory system - questions E) Heart disease & risk factors - questions Lesson Twenty Nine: The Nervous System A) Overview - integral parts - questions B) Neuroanatomy - questions C) Male vs. female brain assignment D) Activities & experiments assignment Lesson Thirty: The Immune System A) Overview - Cancer research - questions B) Diseases & problems of the immune system - questions C) HIV & AIDS - questions Lesson Thirty One: The Endocrine System A) Overview - glands - questions Honors Biology Syllabus Page 4 of 5
B) Anatomy - pheremones - questions C) Diseases of the Endocrine System - questions Lesson Thirty Two: The Skeletal System B) Musculoskeletal system - questions C) Bones - questions D) Bone disease research assignment Lesson Thirty Three: The Muscular System B) Types of muscle tissue - anatomy - hands - questions C) Muscular disease - questions Lesson Thirty Four: Reproduction B) Reproductive System - gonads - questions Lesson Thirty Five: The Senses A) Overview - the brain s assumptions - questions B) Sensing change in the environment - questions C) Seeing the world assignment D) Hearing the world assignment E) Smelling the world assignment Lesson Thirty Six: Independent Study A) Writing assignment B) Survey Honors Biology Syllabus Page 5 of 5