In Episode 3, Melanie draws the line between what you need to know and what you don’t.
In Episode 3, Melanie draws the line between what you need to know and what you don’t. Don’t worry about the extra information in your textbook! The eight units on the CED can be learned in any order and will often have math requirements. Biology begins with chemistry (1:55) which will influence how things function on a larger ecological scale (5:30) It is important to focus on the big picture (3:17).
The Question of the Day (6:12) asks “Which unit is most heavily weighted on the exam?”
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Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: Biology Edition. Today’s episode will recap an overview of the exam content
Let’s Zoom out:
The exam is organized into eight units and they each have differential weighting. So it's likely that your teacher will spend an uneven amount of time on each of these units. But what is a unit? And how does that differ from a chapter? EAch unit on the exam will likely going to encompass multiple chapters from whatever textbook you are using. Not all textbooks are created equal and they often have more information than you need to know on the exam. But wait, my teacher is teaching in a completely different order than these eight units. Thats ok - this a tomato tomahto situation. As long as you have all of the information covered in some order, you’re going to be in good shape. Each of these units is going to focus on the four big ideas which we covers din our last episode. Remember, the big ideas are evolution, energetics, information storage and transmission and systems interactions. THroughout these eight units, you will have to do some math. But you odn’t have to remember the equations themselves. There will be an equation sheet provided for you on the day of the exam. When you’re studying, its important to focus on how to apply these math concepts and equations instead of memorizing their function.
Alright - let's zoom in. What are each units title, the themes that you should cover in each unit, and whats excluded from the exam.
Unit 1 - chemistry of life. This is the shortests unit. But I thought this was biology podcast? It is! But most of biology starts with chemistry. And understanding how elements interact, the macromolecules that they form is crucial to how living things function. Another concept covered in this unit is water and the bonding patterns that it has. Excluded: you do not have to know the molecular structure of specific amino acids, carbohydrates or lipids. Note that this does not include nucleic acids. You will have to distinguish between nucleic acids and their functions for the exam.
Unit 2 is Cell Structure and Function. Big topics include, surface area to volume ratio, organelles and their cell types as well as different methods of transport. Some math in this unit will have water potential and solute potential calculations. Excluded from the exam are smooth ER functions. Rough ER is very important, but the smooth ER plays a lesser role for the cell.
Unit 3: Cellular Energetics. It's a fancy word for saying that the cells do a lot of things. Biggest functions in this unit include photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and enzymes. While you have to understand the way in which energy is used by living things, you do not need to apply the Gibbs free energy equation. Nor do you have to know specific steps or enzymes in the Calvin cycle, the Krebs cycle, or any intermediates. Additionally, you do not have to know any electron carrier names in the electron transport chain. When we look at diagrams for these processes they can be very overwhelming. You want to focus on the big picture ideas and not the minute steps throughout the entire cycle.
Uni 4 is Cell Communication and Cell Cycle. The topics of this unit cell communication pathways and signaling, the cell cycle and regulation, and mitosis. Exclusions include specific cyclin-CKSs or growth factors. You want to focus on the big picture story of communication, rather than specific players.
Unit 5 is heredity and it's the second shortests unit of all eight. Here you will cover meiosis, Mendelian and non mendelian inheritance, and some more math. The math you should focus on for unit 5 is the application of the law of probability as well as Chi-squared analysis for genetics problems. Excluded from unit 5 are specific sexual reproduction cycles in different animals and plants.
Unit 6 is gene expression and regulation. Here you want to focus on the difference between DNA and RNA, the central dogma including transcription and translation as well as gene expression, regulation, and mutations. Excluded from this unit are certain enzymes of replication and translation. Those that you are required to know are specifically stated in the CED. You also don’t have to know the codon chart. And by that I mean memorize the codon chart. How to use the codon chart to describe what mRNA transcripts code for which proteins, is a skill that you will be applying, not memorizing. You also don’t have to know any details on specific biotechnology processes. Big picture ideas will be sufficient.
Unit 7 is natural selection. The topics included here are natural vs artificial selection, patterns in evolution and population variation and some more math. Math in units 7 includesHardy-weinberg equilibrium and its applications. There are no specific exclusions for natural selection.
The final unit, unit 8, is Ecology. Big pictures ideas include energy flow, community interactions and biodiversity and disruptions. The math you’ll apply in unit 8 includes population growth and exponential growth, density dependent and independent factors with carrying capacity, as well as Simpson’s diversity index. Exclusions from unit 8: you do not have to know specific behavior or physiological response mechanisms or details of community behavioral communications.
To recap….
The eight units of study on the biology exam are weighted differently. They have different amounts of math incorporated and varying exclusions that you do not have to know.
Question of the day: Which unit is most heavily weighted on the exam?