I. Introduction a. The nature of science i. Comparison to art, math and theology ii. Scientific methods b.

The nature of biology II. Chemistry a. Atomic structure b. Ionic and covalent bonds c. Electronegativity and polar bonds d. Polar and nonpolar molecules e. Weak bonds f. Properties of water g. Role of weak bonds in biomolecules III. Biomolecules a. Carbon as the central atom b. Four classes of biological molecules i. Overview of structure and function ii. Carbohydrates iii. Lipids iv. Proteins v. Nucleic acids IV. Cells a. Diversity of cells and organisms b. Classification of living things c. Common characteristics of cells d. Prokaryotes i. Cell structure ii. General characteristics iii. Symbiotic bacteria e. Eukaryote cell structure and function i. The nucleus and ribosomes ii. The endomembrane system iii. Mitochondria iv. The cytoskeleton and extra cellular matrix v. Chloroplasts and other structures unique to plant cells V. Cell Membranes a. Molecular motion: diffusion and osmosis b. Models of membrane structure i. The Sandwich model ii. The Fluid Mosaic model c. Structure and function of cell membrane components i. Phospholipids ii. Carbohydrates iii. Proteins d. Selectively permeable membranes i. Facilitated diffusion

ii. Active transport VI. Enzymes a. Role of enzymes in biological reactions (energy profile) b. Enzyme action (the catalytic cycle) c. Factors affecting the rate of enzyme catalyzed reactions i. Enzyme concentration ii. Substrate concentration iii. pH iv. Temperature d. Regulation of metabolism i. Allosteric regulation ii. Competitive inhibition VII. Cellular Respiration a. Overview i. Why we breathe ii. Structure and function of NAD iii. Substrate level phosphorylation b. Glycolysis and fermentation c. Krebs cycle d. Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation VIII. Photosynthesis a. Properties of light b. Properties of pigments c. Plant cell structure d. Photooxidation e. Electron transport and photophosphorylation f. Calvin cycle IX. Cell Reproduction a. Overview: when, where, why? b. The cell cycle i. The life of a fibroblast ii. Control of the cell cycle and cancer iii. Mitosis X. Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles a. Overview: when, where, why? b. Meiosis c. Nondisjunction: monosomies and trisomies XI. Genetics a. History b. Mendels Principles of Heredity i. Monohybrid crosses and the Law of Segregation ii. Dihybrid crosses and principle of Independent Assortment c. Solving genetics problems: Punnet squares vs. the rules of probability d. The interaction of alleles i. Complete dominance ii. Incomplete dominance

iii. Codominance iv. Multiple alleles v. Epistasis XII. DNA a. History: The discovery of DNA as the hereditary material i. The appeal of proteins ii. Griffith and the transforming factor iii. Avery: the transforming factor = DNA iv. Chargraffs rules v. Hershey and Chase: DNA encodes proteins in viruses XIII. The Structure of DNA a. History: Pauling, Franklin, Wilkens, Watson and Crick b. The double helix: base-pairing, backbone, anti-parallel, 5 vs 3 XIV. DNA Replication a. Early predictions b. Meselson and Stahls experiments support the semiconservative model c. The steps of DNA replication i. Overview: when, where, why? ii. Initiation at the origin of replication iii. Leading vs. lagging strand synthesis iv. Proofreading XV. Gene Expression a. Transcription initiation: promoters and transcription factors b. Transcription: mRNA synthesis c. Processing mRNA d. Understanding the message: The Genetic Code e. Translation f. Mutations: causes and effects