Structure + Function
9-20%of exam
Matter + Energy
9-16%of exam
PhotosynthesisRespirationFood WebsCarbon CycleATP
Ecosystem Relationships
14-27%of exam
BiodiversityCarrying CapacityLimiting FactorsHuman ImpactStability
Inheritance + Variation
14-27%of exam
DNAMeiosisMutationsGene ExpressionPedigrees
Natural Selection
14-24%of exam
AdaptationVariationFitnessCommon AncestrySpeciation
Earth Systems
2-9%of exam
CarbonClimateAtmospherePhotosynthesisOxygen
Investigations + Engineering
2-11%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- Life Science Biology
- Legacy
- Living Environment
- Time
- 3 h
- Pass
- 65 scale
- Items
- 45-55
- Clusters
- 9-11
- Split
- 60% MC / 40% CR
- Calculator
- Four-function/scientific
- Labs
- Investigations required
Biology Concept Picker
- Internal balance→Homeostasis(Feedback)
- Body interaction→Systems(Structure-function)
- Sugar made→Photosynthesis(Chloroplast)
- ATP released→Respiration(Mitochondria)
- Trait inherited→Genetics(DNA)
- Population shifts→Evolution(Selection)
- Organisms interact→Ecology(Relationships)
- Solution judged→Engineering(Criteria)
Cell Structures
- Membrane
- Selective boundary
- Nucleus
- DNA storage
- Ribosome
- Protein assembly
- Mitochondrion
- ATP release
- Chloroplast
- Sugar production
- Vacuole
- Storage
- Enzyme
- Reaction catalyst
- Receptor
- Signal binding
- Stem cell
- Unspecialized cell
Homeostasis
- Stimulus
- Detected change
- Receptor
- Detects stimulus
- Control center
- Compares setpoint
- Effector
- Makes response
- Feedback
- Response loop
- Negative feedback
- Restores balance
- Insulin
- Lowers glucose
- Guard cell
- Controls stomata
- Thermoregulation
- Temperature balance
Human Systems
- Circulatory
- Transport system
- Respiratory
- Gas exchange
- Digestive
- Breaks food
- Excretory
- Removes wastes
- Nervous
- Fast signals
- Endocrine
- Hormone signals
- Immune
- Defense system
- Reproductive
- Makes offspring
Energy + Matter
Energy flows; matter cycles
Energy: one-wayMatter: recycledHeat: lost
Photosynthesis vs Respiration
Photosynthesis
- Stores energy
- Uses CO2
- Makes glucose
Respiration
- Releases energy
- Uses glucose
- Makes ATP
Store vs release
Matter + Energy
- Photosynthesis
- CO2 -> glucose
- Respiration
- Glucose -> ATP
- Glucose
- Stored chemical energy
- ATP
- Cell energy currency
- Chlorophyll
- Captures light
- Autotroph
- Makes food
- Heterotroph
- Consumes food
- Decomposer
- Recycles matter
- Biomass
- Living matter
Matter vs Energy
Matter
- Cycles
- Atoms reused
- Carbon moves
Energy
- Flows
- Heat lost
- Needs input
Recycle vs flow
Ecology Core
- Population
- Same species
- Community
- Many populations
- Ecosystem
- Living + nonliving
- Niche
- Organism role
- Carrying capacity
- Maximum support
- Limiting factor
- Growth restriction
- Biodiversity
- Variety of life
- Succession
- Community change
- Symbiosis
- Close interaction
- Invasive species
- Disruptive newcomer
Central Dogma
DNA -> RNA -> Protein -> Trait
DNA: codeRNA: messageProtein: functionTrait: result
Mitosis vs Meiosis
Mitosis
- Body cells
- Same DNA
- Growth/repair
Meiosis
- Gametes
- Half DNA
- Variation
Copy vs vary
Genetics Core
- DNA
- Genetic code
- Gene
- Trait instruction
- Allele
- Gene version
- Chromosome
- DNA package
- Codon
- Three-base code
- Protein
- Folded product
- Mutation
- DNA change
- Mitosis
- Body-cell division
- Meiosis
- Gamete formation
- Zygote
- Fertilized cell
Genotype vs Phenotype
Genotype
- Alleles
- DNA basis
- Can be hidden
Phenotype
- Observable trait
- Environment affected
- Expressed result
Code vs trait
Inheritance Patterns
- Genotype
- Allele combination
- Phenotype
- Observed trait
- Homozygous
- Same alleles
- Heterozygous
- Different alleles
- Dominant
- Expressed allele
- Recessive
- Masked allele
- Carrier
- Hidden allele
- Pedigree
- Family inheritance
- Punnett square
- Offspring probability
Selection
Variation plus pressure changes populations
Variation: raw materialPressure: filterFitness: reproduction
Individual vs Population
Individual
- Does not evolve
- Has traits
Population
- Evolves
- Allele frequencies shift
Organisms survive; populations evolve
Evolution Core
- Variation
- Trait differences
- Adaptation
- Inherited advantage
- Fitness
- Reproductive success
- Selection pressure
- Environment filter
- Common ancestry
- Shared origins
- Fossil
- Past-life evidence
- Homologous
- Shared structure
- Speciation
- New species
- Bottleneck
- Reduced variation
Adaptation vs Acclimation
Adaptation
- Inherited
- Population-level
- Selected
Acclimation
- Individual response
- Within lifetime
- Not inherited
Inherited vs temporary
Earth + Engineering
- Carbon cycle
- Carbon movement
- Fossil fuels
- Stored carbon
- Climate
- Long-term patterns
- Atmosphere
- Gas layer
- Criteria
- Solution goals
- Constraints
- Solution limits
- Trade-off
- Benefit lost
- Prototype
- Test model
CER
Claim, evidence, reasoning
Claim: answerEvidence: dataReasoning: mechanism
Control vs Constant
Control
- Comparison group
- Baseline
Constant
- Kept same
- Fair test
Compare vs hold
Evidence Picker
- Graph included→Trend(Axes first)
- Table included→Compare values
- Experiment described→Variables
- Family chart→Pedigree
- Trait ratio→Punnett square
- Fossil series→Common ancestry
- Food web→Energy flow
- Design problem→Trade-offs
Lab Design
- Independent variable
- Changed factor
- Dependent variable
- Measured outcome
- Control group
- Comparison baseline
- Constants
- Kept same
- Sample size
- Number tested
- Trend
- Data pattern
- Claim
- Answer statement
- Evidence
- Data support
- Reasoning
- Biology link
Lab Response Picker
- Changed factor→Independent variable
- Measured result→Dependent variable
- Fair comparison→Control group
- Same conditions→Constants
- More confidence→Larger sample
- Answer prompt→Claim
- Use data→Evidence
- Connect biology→Reasoning
Data Skills
- Graph
- Visual data
- Table
- Organized values
- Model
- Simplified system
- Validity
- Tests intended claim
- Reliability
- Repeatable results
- Outlier
- Unusual data
- Error
- Measurement uncertainty
- Inference
- Evidence conclusion
Regents Vocabulary
- Explain
- Use mechanism
- Identify
- Name from evidence
- Describe
- State pattern
- Compare
- Find similarities
- Contrast
- Find differences
- Support
- Use evidence
- Evaluate
- Judge trade-offs
- Predict
- Apply trend
Common Traps
Organisms vs populations
Organisms adapt physiologically ≠ Populations evolve genetically
Energy vs matter
Energy flows ≠ Matter cycles
Mitosis vs meiosis
Mitosis copies ≠ Meiosis halves
Trait vs adaptation
Trait may vary ≠ Adaptation improves fitness
Control vs constant
Control compares ≠ Constant stays same
Data vs opinion
Data supports ≠ Opinion distracts
Food web arrows
Arrow shows energy ≠ Not eating direction
Last Minute
- 1.Scale 65 passes
- 2.Read stimulus before choices
- 3.Axes before trends
- 4.CER for written responses
- 5.Energy flows; matter cycles
- 6.Individuals do not evolve
- 7.Mitosis copies; meiosis varies
- 8.DNA codes proteins
- 9.Controls compare; constants match
- 10.Use evidence, not recall
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