Biology Online Credit Recovery
Topics include the scientific method, characteristics of living things, energy, organic compounds, and water. Students review the structure and function of living things, the cell, genetics, DNA, RNA, and proteins. They review evolution and natural selection; digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive, and muscular systems; and ecology and the environment. Diagnostic tests assess students’ current knowledge and generate individualized study plans, so students can focus on topics that need review.
Semester 1
Unit 1: The Science of Biology
Students explore biology as one of the sciences and confront the concepts of scientific methods. After exploring scientific processes as they apply to biology, students examine what "life" means as they investigate the characteristics that all living things share. Students then look at the importance of energy, what kinds of energy are significant when considering living things, and the relationship of structures of living things to their functions.
• Biology and Scientific Methods
• Scientific Processes
• The Characteristics of Life
• Laboratory: Using a Microscope
• Energy and Life
• Structure and Function
Unit 2: The Chemistry of Life
Students explore the chemical basis for life by examining the most important groups of organic compounds: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Students then examine water and how it is important for living things. In each case, students focus on the relationship of the molecular structure of compounds to its function in living things.
• Chemistry Review
• Chemical Bonds
• Carbon and Life
• Water
• Laboratory: Investigating Biological Compounds
• Simple Carbohydrates
• Complex Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Amino Acids and Proteins
• Proteins as Enzymes
• Nucleic Acids
• ATP
Unit 3: Cell Biology
Students now are able to begin looking at the structure and function of living things. They begin with an exploration of the cell. They confront the structure of the cell, its membranes and organelles. In particular, they look at the processes by which cells gather and make energy available, focusing on the activities of the mitochondrion and the chloroplast. Students then proceed to look at cellular reproduction and study the processes of meiosis and mitosis.
• The Cell and Life
• Cell Structure
• Cell Organelles
• Two Types of Cells
• Cell Membrane Structure
• Movement Across Membranes
• Laboratory: Cell Shape and Size
• Chemical Energy and Life
• Respiration and Photosynthesis
• Laboratory: Factors Affecting Transpiration
• Reproduction and Development
• Mitosis
• Laboratory: Observing Mitosis
• Cell Differentiation
• Cell Specialization
• Sexual Reproduction
• Meiosis
Unit 4: Mendelian Genetics
Students learn about the work of Gregor Mendel as a way of studying modern genetics. They perform genetic crosses and begin to see how traits are inherited. As they examine Mendelian genetics more closely, they see the relationship between inheritance and chromosomes and between genes and alleles. This unit prepares students to go deeper into genetics at the molecular level. Then students learn how the process of proteins synthesis is controlled, a process called gene expression.
• The Work of Gregor Mendel
• Mendelian Inheritance
• Review: Mendel and Mendelian Inheritance
• Optional Laboratory: Genetic Crosses
• Chromosomes and Genes
• Genes and Alleles
• Review: Chromosomes, Genes, and Alleles
• Proteins Express DNA
• Review: Proteins Express DNA
Unit 5: Molecular Genetics
The chemical basis for genetics is one of the cornerstones of modern biology. In this unit, students explore the relationship between DNA, RNA, and proteins—and what this has to do with genes and inheritance. After establishing a firm basis in molecular genetics, students are able to understand modern applications of genetics, including biotechnology and genetic engineering.
• DNA, RNA, and Proteins
• Structure of DNA
• Structures of RNA
• DNA Replication
• Transcription
• Laboratory: Modeling DNA
• Laboratory: Modeling DNA Replication
• Translation
• RNA Makes Protein
• The Genetic Code
Semester 2
Unit 1: Gene Expression
Students learn about the concept of gene expression.
• Course Checkpoints
• Proteins Express DNA
• How Proteins Work
• Gene Expression 1
• Gene Expression 2
• Biotechnology
• Genetic Engineering
Unit 2: Evolution
Evolution is the central organizing principle of biology. Students learn about the concept of evolution and the underlying principles of natural selection. Once they have mastered the fundamental principles, they learn how modern evolution is a science that includes gene changes over time as the underlying mechanism for evolution.
• Evolution and Biology
• Evolution of Populations
• Variation in Populations
• Types of Natural Selection
• History of Evolutionary Thought
• Evidence for Evolution
• Evolution and Earth History
• Laboratory: Process of Natural Selection
• Genetic Basis of Evolution
• The Hardy-Weinberg Equation
• Geographic Isolation
• Genetic Isolation
Unit 3: Systems of Living Things 1
Students learn about the structure and function of living things by examining systems of living things, focusing on human biology. They explore the digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive, and muscular systems and see how these systems aid in responding to the organism's environment.
• Classification and Taxonomy
• Modern Classification
• Laboratory: Dichotomous Key
• Viruses and Prokaryotes
• Protists and Fungi
• Animals
• Three Representative Organisms
• Getting Energy
• Digestion
• Digestion in Humans
• Laboratory: Human Digestion Actions
• Waste Removal
• Waste Removal in Humans
• Obtaining Oxygen
• Oxygen and the Human Body
Unit 4: Systems of Living Things 2
Students learn about the structure and function of living things by examining systems of living things, focusing on human biology. They explore the digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive, and muscular systems and see how these systems aid in responding to the organism's environment.
• How Organisms Monitor Their Environment
• Human Nervous System
• Feedback Mechanisms
• How Living things Respond to Their Environment
• Muscular Systems
• How Muscles Contract
• Laboratory: Chicken Muscles
• Fern Reproduction
• Flatworm Reproduction
• Human Reproduction
• How Organisms Defend Themselves
• Human Immune Response
• Plant Defenses
Unit 5: Ecology and the Environment
As students have moved through this curriculum, they have learned about living things, their structure, and functions. In this unit, they confront organisms in relationship to their environments. Students study living things and the ecosystems in which they live, examining both the biotic and abiotic components of the world in which organisms exist.
• Individuals and Populations
• Communities
• Ecosystems
• Ecosystem Stability
• Biomes
• Biodiversity
• Energy Flow in Ecosystems
• Food Chains and Food Webs
• Succession
• Laboratory: Patterns of Succession
• Changes in Ecosystems
• Water and Nitrogen Cycles
• Carbon and Oxygen Cycles
• Laboratory: Fixation in Root Nodules
• Laboratory: The Effects of Acidity on Seed Germination
• Natural Resources
• Environment Challenges
• Global Temperatures
• Pollution