Biology 30

Unit 1: Nervous & Endocrine Systems

The two great control systems of the body — the fast, wired nervous system and the slower, chemical endocrine system — and how they sense the world and hold the body in balance.

• Neurons and the action potential
• Central & peripheral nervous systems
• Nerves and reflex arcs

• Structure and function of the eye
• Structure and function of the ear
• Other human senses

• The principal endocrine glands
• Hormones and feedback
• Metabolic roles of hormones

• Sensing the internal environment
• Comparing endocrine and nervous control
• Consequences of hormone imbalance

Unit 2: Reproduction & Development

How humans reproduce — the anatomy of the reproductive systems, the hormones that regulate them, and the journey from fertilization to birth.

• The female reproductive system
• The male reproductive system
• Gametes and supporting structures

• Chromosomes, hormones and sex determination
• STIs and fertility

• Hormones and sex characteristics
• Hormones of the menstrual cycle
• Male reproductive hormones

• Fertilization, pregnancy and birth
• Stages of development
• Germ layers and tissue differentiation
• Environmental factors in development
• Reproductive technologies

Unit 3: Cell Division, Genetics & Molecular Biology

How cells divide to pass on chromosomes, how traits are inherited through the rules Mendel discovered, and how DNA itself stores, copies and expresses the code of life.

• Chromosome number
• The cell cycle and mitosis
• Meiosis
• Comparing mitosis and meiosis

• Crossing over and nondisjunction
• Fraternal and identical offspring
• Diversity of reproductive strategies

• Mendel's evidence and laws
• Genotype and phenotype ratios
• Gene linkage and crossing over
• Number of genes and variability
• Sex-linked inheritance

• Discovery of DNA structure
• DNA information and replication
• Transcription and translation

• Restriction enzymes and ligases
• Cell transformation
• Mutation and genetic variability
• DNA evidence for relationships

Unit 4: Population & Community Dynamics

How gene pools change across generations, how species interact within communities, and how populations grow, level off and crash — the mathematics and ecology of change.

• The Hardy-Weinberg principle
• Factors that change the gene pool
• Applying Hardy-Weinberg
• Molecular basis of gene-pool change

• Species interactions and symbiosis
• Defence mechanisms
• Ecological succession

• Factors in population growth
• Carrying capacity and growth math
• Population growth patterns
• r-selected and K-selected organisms