What are DNA, chromosomes, and genes? How are their terms similar? How are they different?

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150 words

1. What are DNA, chromosomes, and genes? How are their terms similar? How are they different?

150 words

2. What is the process of meiosis and mitosis?

150 words

3. What are the life cycles of sexually reproducing organisms?

Diffusion, Osmosis and Enzymes

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Lab 5 – Diffusion, Osmosis and Enzymes

Objective: The objective of this lab is to introduce you to the concepts of diffusion, osmosis and enzyme activity.

Reading Assignment: Read 4.9 and 5.4; Diffusion and Osmosis and How Enzymes Work from the textbook Essentials of the Living World.

For this lab you will need to supply the following materials:

Camera or cell phone (you will upload pictures of your experiment)

Kitchen scale (food scale, it can weigh in either ounces or grams)

Microwave

Liquid measuring cup

Teaspoon

Tablespoon (3 Tsp = 1 Tbs)

Several Drinking cups (1 needs to hold at least 2 cups of liquid)

1 Potato

Knife

Blender or Potato masher

Zip lock sandwich bag (not a freezer bag)

Pancake syrup

Salt

Sugar

Vinegar

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2)

Solutions to prepare

Sucrose solution – add one tablespoon of sugar to 1 cup of water

Exercise 1 – Diffusion

· In this exercise you will observe the diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane (a plastic bag)

Step 1. Place ¼ of a cup of pancake syrup into a plastic zip lock bag and seal the bag.

Step 2. Weigh the bag using a small kitchen scale and record the weight on your worksheet.

Step 3. Fill larger cup (2 cup measuring or equivalent) with 1 cup of water. Record the time.

Step 4. Place the syrup bag in the larger cup and leave overnight (12+ hours).

Step 5. Remove the bag, dry it off and weigh it using a small kitchen scale. Record weight on your worksheet and the time you ended the experiment. (Hint: The bag should gain weight. If it loses weight you may have had a puncture. You must redo this exercise).

Step 6. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name and a photo ID.

Exercise 2 – Osmosis

· In this exercise you will determine the result of putting cells into solutions of various tonicity.

Step 1. Cut (2) potato slices: 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, 0.5 inches thick.

Step 2. Prepare two coffee cups with the following solutions:

Cup 1 = add one cup of water

Cup 2 = add one cup of water and 1 teaspoon of salt

Step 3. Add one potato slice to each cup and let stand for 1 hour.

Step 4. Remove potato slices and determine if the slice is crisp or limp. Record your observations of the slices on the data sheet.

Step 5. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name, and a photo ID.

Exercise 3 – Enzyme Activity

· In this exercise you will observe factors that affect the enzyme activity of catalase. Catalase is found in potato cells.

H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) 2 H2O + O2 (oxygen gas) when catalase is present.

Step 1. Place the remaining amount of potato in a blender with two tablespoons of water. Blend to a paste. If you don’t have a blender use a potato masher to make the paste.

Experiment 3-1

Step 2. Transfer one tablespoon of the paste to a small cup and add 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.

Step 3. Mix together by gently rotating the cup clockwise and record your observations on the data sheet

Step 4. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name and photo/student ID.

Experiment 3-2

Step 5. Transfer one tablespoon of the paste to a small cup and add 1 tablespoon of sucrose solution.

Step 6. Mix together by gently rotating the cup clockwise and record your observations on the data sheet.

Step 7. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name and photo/student ID.

Experiment 3-3

Step 8. Transfer one tablespoon of the paste to a small cup and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar (an acid).

Step 9. Next add 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.

Step 10. Mix together by gently rotating the cup clockwise and record your observations on the data sheet.

Step 11. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name and photo/student ID.

Experiment 3-4

Step 12. Transfer one tablespoon of the paste to a small cup and add 1 tablespoon of water.

Step 13. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Step 14. Remove from microwave (careful it’s hot) and allow 5 minutes to cool.

Step 15. Next add 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.

Step 16. Mix together by gently rotating the cup clockwise and record your observations on the data sheet.

Step 17. Take a picture of the completed exercise and upload to the worksheet. Make sure it includes the date, your name and photo/student ID.

Evaluate and analyze the arguments in the presentation “Biblical Basis of Life’s Significance,” found in the Reading & Study folder of Module/Week 1.

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BIOL 101

Individual Assignment 1 Instructions

Many of you have spent hours thinking about why human beings exist. Most of you are very satisfied with the biblical answers to that question. However, entertain this question for a few moments: Why do all the life forms other than man exist? Why are they all here?

Evaluate and analyze the arguments in the presentation “Biblical Basis of Life’s Significance,” found in the Reading & Study folder of Module/Week 1. Construct a single sentence of 40 words or less. Include within it 4 carefully crafted and concise phrases that argue that life forms other than man are significant—they were worth creating. Start your sentence with the words:

“Life forms are significant because…”

Then add the 4 phrases, separating each with a comma. Order your phrases such that the most significant comes first and the least significant comes last.

Your assignment:

1. Write out your masterful sentence.

2. The sentence must be submitted through the appropriate assignment link and must not be submitted as an attached document, but entered into the text box provided.

Submit this assignment by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 1.

Discuss your opinion on how research on this topic should be funded. State whether you think taxpayer monies should support research on this topic or whether such research in this area should be funded by the private sector.

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Assignment 1: Biology Article

Use the Internet to research aspects of biology.

Select an article from a magazine or newspaper that has something in it that pertains to biology. This will serve as the “target article” for this assignment. For instance, you can select an article about medicine, invasive species, nature, conservation, genetic technology, ecology, or any other topic that is related to biology. One purpose of this assignment is to help you become aware of how biology is related to your everyday life.

Write a one to three (1-3) page paper in which you:

  1. Summarize the article in one (1) or more paragraphs, using your own words. Be sure to identify the article using an in-text citation in the body of the paper, as well as a reference in the reference section.
  2. Explain how the article relates to this course. Identify which biological concepts from the course and / or text are relevant to the topic covered in the article. Citing the course text, discuss the ways in which this course does (or doesn’t) provide background information to help you understand the article and the larger issues surrounding it.
  3. Explain why the article caught your attention. Relate the article to your life and to issues that are important to you. Discuss how or if the scientific knowledge about the topic covered in the article affects you directly or indirectly.
  4. Discuss your opinion on how research on this topic should be funded. State whether you think taxpayer monies should support research on this topic or whether such research in this area should be funded by the private sector. Rate the importance of research on this topic, relative to other areas of research.

In addition to the target article, you should use at least one additional resource, such as your textbook or another article. You must have a reference section which contains an APA reference to your chosen article and all other sources. Additionally, you must provide in-text citations (in APA format) to your references in the body of the text. Integrate all sources into your paper using proper techniques of quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing, along with your in-text citations.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in biology.
  • Write clearly and concisely about biology using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills.

Textbook:

Starr, C., Evers, C. A., & Starr, L. (2013). Biology today and tomorrow without physiology (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks / Cole Publishing Co. (Cengage Learning)