Florida · FLDOESyllabus
Biology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Florida Biologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Reporting Category 1: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Module overview →- How do cells release the energy stored in glucose, and what is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?Identify the reactants, products, and basic functions of aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.8; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- How do enzymes speed up reactions, and why do temperature and pH change how well they work?Explain the role of enzymes as catalysts that lower the activation energy of biochemical reactions, and identify factors such as pH and temperature that affect enzyme activity (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.11; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- What are the four main types of biological molecule, and what does each do in a living thing?Describe the basic molecular structures and primary functions of the four major categories of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.1; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- How are photosynthesis and cellular respiration linked, and why do they form a cycle?Explain the interrelated nature of photosynthesis and cellular respiration (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.9; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).11 min answer →
- How do plants capture light energy and use it to make food, and what goes in and comes out?Identify the reactants, products, and basic functions of photosynthesis (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.7; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- What makes water so well suited to supporting life on Earth?Discuss the properties of water that contribute to Earth's suitability as an environment for life (NGSSS SC.912.L.18.12; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).11 min answer →
Reporting Category 2: Classification, Heredity, and Evolution
Module overview →- How and why do scientists sort living things into domains and kingdoms, and why does the system change?Discuss the distinguishing characteristics of the domains and kingdoms of living organisms, and explain how and why organisms are hierarchically classified by evolutionary relationships (NGSSS SC.912.L.15.6 and SC.912.L.15.4; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).12 min answer →
- What lines of evidence support the scientific theory of evolution?Explain how the scientific theory of evolution is supported by the fossil record, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, biogeography, molecular biology, and observed evolutionary change (NGSSS SC.912.L.15.1; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).13 min answer →
- Besides natural selection, what other forces change the genetic makeup of a population?Discuss mechanisms of evolutionary change other than natural selection, including genetic drift, gene flow, non-random mating, and mutation (NGSSS SC.912.L.15.14; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).12 min answer →
- How do mutations and genetic recombination create the variation that evolution acts on?Describe how mutation and genetic recombination increase genetic variation, and the possible effects of mutations (NGSSS SC.912.L.15.15; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).12 min answer →
- What conditions are required for natural selection, and how does it drive evolution?Describe the conditions required for natural selection, including overproduction of offspring, inherited variation, and the struggle to survive, that result in differential reproductive success (NGSSS SC.912.L.15.13; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).13 min answer →
Reporting Category 2: Classification, Heredity, and Evolution
Module overview →- What can biotechnology do, and how do we weigh its benefits against its risks and ethics?Evaluate the impact of biotechnology on the individual, society, and the environment, including medical and ethical issues (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.10; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).12 min answer →
- What is the structure of DNA, and how is it copied so each new cell gets a complete set?Describe the structure of DNA and the basic process of DNA replication, and how it relates to the transmission and conservation of genetic information (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.3; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- How does meiosis make gametes with half the chromosomes, and where does the variation between offspring come from?Describe the process of meiosis and explain how it results in genetic variation in gametes (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.4; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).12 min answer →
- How do Mendel's laws let us predict the genotype and phenotype ratios of a genetic cross?Use Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment, with Punnett squares, to analyze patterns of inheritance and predict the genotype and phenotype ratios of monohybrid crosses (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.1; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).13 min answer →
- Besides simple dominant and recessive, what other patterns can inheritance follow?Discuss observed inheritance patterns caused by various modes of inheritance, including dominant, recessive, codominant, incomplete dominance, sex-linked, polygenic, and multiple alleles (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.2; Reporting Category 2, Classification, Heredity, and Evolution).13 min answer →
- How does the information in a gene become a protein, and why is the genetic code nearly universal?Explain the basic processes of transcription and translation and how they result in the expression of genes, including the universal nature of the genetic code (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.5 and SC.912.L.16.9; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).13 min answer →
Reporting Category 1: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Module overview →- How does the structure of each organelle suit the job it does in the cell?Relate structure to function for the components of plant and animal cells, including the major organelles (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.2; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).13 min answer →
- What does cell theory say, and how does its history show the way science actually works?Describe the scientific theory of cells (cell theory) and relate the history of its discovery to the process of science (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.1; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- How are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells alike and different, and what does a nucleus let a cell do?Compare and contrast the general structures of plant and animal cells and of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.3; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- What kinds of microscopes do biologists use, and how do we measure their power to magnify and resolve?Compare and contrast the structure and function of major types of microscopes, and apply magnification to interpret cell images (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.4; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).11 min answer →
- How does a cell divide in an orderly cycle, and what happens when that control breaks down?Explain the cell cycle and mitosis, and the relationship between mutation, the cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth that can result in cancer (NGSSS SC.912.L.16.5; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).12 min answer →
- How does the cell membrane control what enters and leaves, and which kinds of transport need energy?Explain the role of the cell membrane as a highly selective barrier through passive transport (diffusion and osmosis) and active transport (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.2; Reporting Category 1, Molecular and Cellular Biology).13 min answer →
Reporting Category 3: Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems
Module overview →- How does the body keep its internal conditions steady, and how does feedback make that work?Explain how organisms maintain homeostasis through feedback mechanisms, and how body systems work together to keep internal conditions stable (NGSSS Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- How do the organs and tissues of a plant carry out transport, support, reproduction, and photosynthesis?Relate the structure of plant organs and tissues to their function, including transport, support, reproduction, and photosynthesis (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.7; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).11 min answer →
- How does the cardiovascular system move blood around the body, and what affects how it flows?Describe the structure and function of the cardiovascular system and the factors affecting blood flow through it (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.36; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- How does the immune system defend the body, and how do vaccines and antibiotics help?Explain the basic functions of the human immune system, including specific and nonspecific immune responses, vaccines, and antibiotics (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.52; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- How does the nervous system detect and respond to changes, and what do the main parts of the brain do?Describe the structure and function of the nervous system, including the major parts of the brain, and its role in responding to stimuli and maintaining homeostasis (NGSSS SC.912.L.14.26; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).11 min answer →
Reporting Category 3: Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems
Module overview →- Why does biodiversity matter, and how do human activities affect ecosystems and sustainability?Recognize the consequences of the loss of biodiversity, and predict the impact of human activities on ecosystems and the need for sustainability (NGSSS SC.912.L.17.8 and SC.912.L.17.20; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- What makes one biome different from another, and what shapes life in aquatic systems?Compare and contrast the characteristics of major biomes, describe what determines the distribution of life in aquatic systems, and explain ecological succession (NGSSS SC.912.L.17.6, SC.912.L.17.2, and SC.912.L.17.4; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- How do carbon, nitrogen, and water cycle through living things and the environment?Explain how matter cycles through ecosystems, including the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles, and the roles organisms play in them (NGSSS SC.912.L.17; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- How does energy move through an ecosystem, and why is so little left at the top of a food chain?Use a food web to identify producers, consumers, and decomposers, and explain the transfer of energy through trophic levels and the reduction of available energy at each level (NGSSS SC.912.L.17.9; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).12 min answer →
- What determines how big a population grows, and what is carrying capacity?Analyze how population size is determined by births, deaths, immigration, and emigration, and how limiting factors (biotic and abiotic) determine the carrying capacity of an environment (NGSSS SC.912.L.17.5; Reporting Category 3, Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems).13 min answer →