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FloridaBiology

Reporting Category 2: Classification, Heredity, and Evolution

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

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).
A benchmark-level answer on biotechnology for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: genetic engineering, GMOs, gene therapy, cloning, DNA fingerprinting, selective breeding, and weighing the benefits against the risks and ethics.
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).
A benchmark-level answer on DNA for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: the double helix and nucleotide structure, complementary base pairing, semiconservative replication, and why copying conserves genetic information.
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).
A benchmark-level answer on meiosis for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: halving the chromosome number, the difference from mitosis, and how crossing over and independent assortment create variation in gametes.
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).
A benchmark-level answer on inheritance for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: alleles, genotype and phenotype, dominant and recessive traits, Mendel's laws, and using Punnett squares to predict ratios and probabilities.
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).
A benchmark-level answer on inheritance patterns for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: incomplete dominance, codominance, multiple alleles (ABO blood type), sex-linked traits, and polygenic inheritance, with how to recognize each.
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).
A benchmark-level answer on gene expression for the Florida Biology 1 EOC: transcription of DNA to mRNA, the codon and the genetic code, translation at the ribosome, and why the code is universal.
13 min answer →