Biology, Grade 12 (Biology 40S)

Unit 1: Understanding Biological Inheritance

Classical genetics: Mendel's principles, genotype and phenotype, Punnett squares, non-Mendelian patterns, sex determination and sex-linkage, pedigrees, meiosis and variability, and chromosome mutations.

• Outline Gregor Mendel's principles of inheritance, stating their
• Explain what is meant by the terms heterozygous and homozygous
• Distinguish between genotype and phenotype, and use these terms

• Use Punnett squares to solve a variety of autosomal inheritance
• Describe examples of and solve problems involving the inheritance of

• Explain the basis for sex determination in humans
• Describe examples of and solve problems involving sex-linked genes
• Use pedigree charts to illustrate the inheritance of genetically
• Discuss ethical issues that may arise as a result of genetic testing

• Discuss the role of meiosis and sexual reproduction in producing
• Explain how chromosome mutations may arise during meiosis
• Identify monosomy and trisomy chromosome mutations from karyotypes

Unit 2: Mechanisms of Inheritance

Molecular genetics: the discovery, structure, and replication of DNA, DNA versus RNA, protein synthesis, gene mutation and its consequences, and issues in gene technology.

• Outline significant scientific contributions/discoveries that led to
• Describe the structure of a DNA nucleotide
• Describe the structure of a DNA molecule
• Describe the process of DNA replication

• Compare DNA and RNA in terms of their structure, use, and location in
• Outline the steps involved in protein synthesis

• Relate the consequences of gene mutation to the final protein product
• Discuss implications of gene mutation for genetic variation
• Investigate an issue related to the application of gene technology in
• Investigate an issue related to the application of gene technology in

Unit 3: Evolutionary Theory and Biodiversity

Evolution and its mechanisms: what evolution is, Darwin's discovery and theory, fitness and natural selection, types of selection, genetic equilibrium and how gene pools change, reproductive isolation, convergent/divergent evolution, and the pace of change.

• Define the term evolution, explaining how evolution has led to
• Describe and explain the process of discovery that led Charles Darwin
• Outline the main points of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural
• Demonstrate, through examples, what the term fittest means in the

• Explain how natural selection leads to changes in populations
• Describe how disruptive, stabilizing, and directional natural
• Distinguish between natural selection and artificial selection
• Outline how scientists determine whether a gene pool has changed
• Discuss how genetic variation in a gene pool can be altered

• Describe how populations can become reproductively isolated
• With the use of examples, differentiate between convergent evolution
• Distinguish between the two models for the pace of evolutionary

Unit 4: Organizing Biodiversity

Classifying life: defining biodiversity and species, the dynamic nature of classification, evidence for evolutionary relationships, the domains and eukaryotic kingdoms, and investigating an evolutionary trend.

• Define the concept of biodiversity in terms of ecosystem, species
• Explain why it is difficult to determine a definition of species

• Describe the dynamic nature of classification
• Describe types of evidence used to classify organisms and determine

• Compare the characteristics of the domains of life
• Compare the characteristics of the kingdoms in the Eukarya domain
• Investigate an evolutionary trend in a group of organisms

Unit 5: Conservation of Biodiversity

Why and how biodiversity is conserved: reasons for maintaining it, conservation strategies, tools for monitoring biodiversity, and investigating a conservation issue.

• Discuss a variety of reasons for maintaining biodiversity
• Describe strategies used to conserve biodiversity
• Select and use appropriate tools or procedures to determine and
• Investigate an issue related to the conservation of biodiversity