APhigh school
Biology Systems
A systems-level biology course exploring how cellular respiration, DNA replication, ecosystem energy flow, and immune response work as interconnected biological systems. Emphasizes process-level thinking and misconception-targeted diagnostics.
4units
4topics
60questions
~2hours
Course Units
Learning objectives
- Describe the four stages of aerobic cellular respiration and identify where each occurs in the cell
- Calculate the net ATP yield from each stage and the total yield per glucose molecule
- Explain how the electron transport chain uses NADH and FADH2 to generate a proton gradient and drive ATP synthesis via chemiosmosis
- Compare aerobic respiration with anaerobic fermentation in terms of inputs, outputs, and ATP efficiency
- Explain how the body switches between aerobic and anaerobic pathways during exercise and why oxygen debt occurs
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Explain the semiconservative model of DNA replication and describe the evidence from the Meselson-Stahl experiment
- Identify the roles of helicase, primase, DNA polymerase, ligase, topoisomerase, and SSBs at the replication fork
- Compare leading and lagging strand synthesis, explaining why Okazaki fragments form on the lagging strand
- Describe the three layers of replication fidelity and calculate how each reduces the error rate
- Explain the consequences of telomere shortening during repeated DNA replication and its connection to cellular aging
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Trace the path of energy from sunlight through producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem
- Apply the ten percent rule to calculate energy available at each trophic level
- Distinguish between gross primary productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP)
- Explain why energy flows one way through ecosystems while matter cycles
- Compare energy flow in photosynthetic ecosystems with chemosynthetic ecosystems found at hydrothermal vents
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Compare and contrast innate and adaptive immunity in terms of speed, specificity, and memory
- Explain how B cells produce antibodies and form memory cells to provide long-term immunity
- Describe the roles of helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells in coordinating and executing immune responses
- Explain how vaccines exploit immunological memory to prevent disease without causing infection
- Explain how autoimmune diseases and allergic reactions result from immune system dysfunction and overactivation
Topics in this unit