Exam Topics
1 Chemistry of Life (8–11%)
1.1 Structure of Water and Hydrogen Bonding
1.2 Elements of Life
1.3 Introduction to Biological Macromolecules
1.4 Properties of Biological Macromolecules
1.5 Structure and Function of Biological Macromolecules
1.6 Nucleic Acids
2 Cell Structure and Function (10-13%)
2.1 Subcellular Components
2.2 Cell Structure and Function
2.3 Cell Size
2.4 Plasma Membranes
2.5 Membrane Permeability
2.6 Membrane Transport
2.7 Facilitated Diffusion
2.8 Tonicity and Osmoregulation
2.9 Mechanisms of Transport
2.10 Cell Compartmentalization
2.11 Origins of Cell Compartmentalization
3 Cellular Energetics (12-16%)
3.1 Enzyme Structure
3.2 Enzyme Catalysis
3.3 Environmental Impacts on Enzyme Function
3.4 Cellular Energy
3.5 Photosynthesis
3.6 Cellular Respiration
3.7 Fitness
4 Cell Communication and Cell Cycle (10-15%)
4.1 Cell Communication
4.2 Introduction to Signal Transduction
4.3 Signal Transduction
4.4 Changes in Signal Transduction Pathways
4.5 Feedback
4.6 Cell Cycle
4.7 Regulation of Cell Cycle
5 Heredity (8-11%)
5.1 Meiosis
5.2 Meiosis and Genetic Diversity
5.3 Mendelian Genetics
5.4 Non-Mendelian Genetics
5.5 Environmental Effects on Phenotype
5.6 Chromosomal Inheritance
6 Gene Expression and Regulation (12-16%)
6.1 DNA and RNA Structure
6.2 Replication
6.3 Transcription and RNA Processing
6.4 Translation
6.5 Regulation of Gene Expression
6.6 Gene Expression and Cell Specialization
6.7 Mutations
6.8 Biotechnology
7 Natural Selection (13-20%)
7.1 Introduction to Natural Selection
7.2 Natural Selection
7.3 Artifcial Selection
7.4 Population Genetics
7.5 Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
7.6 Evidence of Evolution
7.7 Common Ancestry
7.8 Continuing Evolution
7.9 Phylogeny
7.10 Speciation
7.11 Extinction
7.12 Variations in Populations
7.13 Origin of Life on Earth
8 Ecology (10-15%)
8.1 Responses to the Environment
8.2 Energy Flow Through Ecosystems
8.3 Population Ecology
8.4 Effect of Density of Populations
8.5 Community Ecology
8.6 Biodiversity
8.7 Disruptions to Ecosystems
Exam Format
Section I: Multiple choice, 69 questions, 1 hour 30 minutes, 50% weight
Section II: Free response, 8 questions, 1 hour 30 minutes, 50% weight