What Incoming Students Are Expected to Know

BIOLOGY 121, Section 123

Ecology, Genetics, & Evolution

September 2006

Biology 121 students have a range of backgrounds (not just Biology 12 in a BC high school), but we must begin with the expectation that all students will share basic knowledge of certain topics (such as the basic principles of chemistry and physics which underlie modern biology) as they enter the course. The table below provides textbook chapters (Freeman, 2^nd ed.) for Biology 121 background.

The chapters listed below are the ones in which suitable background material is to be found – but the chapters also contain a lot of extra material you are not expected to know. You will need to grasp the significance of the “Topic Areas” as they apply to course coverage. Start by reading all the chapter summaries. For help with any of this, you approach me during office hours rather than asking in lectures.

You are not meant to be expert in these topics to the point of being able to write out memorized lists of points, and you would never be asked to provide the details of any biochemical or cell-biological data on an exam. However, since much of what we will cover in Biology 121 builds on basic knowledge as outlined below, it seems reasonable to provide you with a summary. If you can look down the Specific Topics column and be confident that you “know what’s involved” – say, that you could describe each point to a non-scientist in a sentence or two – you should be in a good position.

This page should be read in conjunction with the Lecture Topics, Readings, and Textbook Questions page, which outlines text coverage for planned 121 (new to you) content.

Topic Area:	Specific topics:	Covered in Freeman chapter(s):
Biological Chemistry and Energetics	- what is an atom? an element? a molecule? a bond?
	- endergonic and exergonic reactions	2
	- equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions
	- the nature of oxidation and reduction reactions
	- aerobic and anaerobic metabolism - ATP, the “energy-currency” of organisms - basics of respiratory and photosynthetic reactions	9, 10
	- classes of biomolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids - and their main uses/functions	3-6
	- enzyme proteins as catalysts; why shape determines functionality, and how shape changes	3
Cell Structure and Division	- names & functions of parts of plant and/or animal cells
	- (examples: nucleus, cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondrion, chloroplast, ribosome, cytoskeleton, cell wall, contractile vacuole, centriole, cilium/flagellum, lysosome, nucleolus, etc.)	6-8
	- key features, & differences between, mitosis and meiosis	11, 12
Membranes and Communication	- structure, permeability and selectivity of membranes
	- osmosis, diffusion, and active transport of substances	6, 8
	- basic cell-cell interactions and signalling
Basic Information Flow	- DNA Þ RNA Þ protein
	- how new copies of DNA are made	4, 14-16
	- how “DNA data” turns into “protein function”, generally
“Natural History”	- abiotic/biotic factors which may influence organisms
	- the role of climate in determining what lives where	50
	- the “basic patterns” of nature (ecosystem types, etc.)
Basic Structure and Function of Animals	- utilizing your (Biology 12) knowledge of the human body as a “typical” example; information found in all chapters dealing with animal organ systems	41 (basic), 42-49 (detail)