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LouisianaBiology

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms (Biochemistry and Energy)

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does cellular respiration release the energy stored in glucose?

Use a model to illustrate how cellular respiration breaks the bonds of glucose and oxygen to release energy, and relate it to photosynthesis (Louisiana Student Standards for Science, High School Biology, HS-LS1-7).
A standard-level answer on cellular respiration for Louisiana LEAP 2025 Biology: the reactants and products, the role of mitochondria and ATP, aerobic versus anaerobic respiration, and how respiration relates to photosynthesis.
13 min answer →

How do enzymes speed up the chemical reactions of life?

Plan and conduct an investigation, and analyze data, to explain how enzymes lower activation energy and how temperature and pH affect enzyme activity (Louisiana Student Standards for Science, High School Biology, HS-LS1).
A standard-level answer on enzymes for Louisiana LEAP 2025 Biology: how enzymes lower activation energy, the lock-and-key model and specificity, and how temperature and pH affect enzyme activity and cause denaturation.
12 min answer →

How do the four classes of macromolecule build the structures of living things?

Construct and revise an explanation, based on evidence, for how carbon-based macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids) are built from smaller subunits and carry out the functions of life (Louisiana Student Standards for Science, High School Biology, HS-LS1-6).
A standard-level answer on biological macromolecules for Louisiana LEAP 2025 Biology: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, their monomers, and the functions each carries out in living things.
13 min answer →

How does photosynthesis transform light energy into stored chemical energy?

Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy in glucose (Louisiana Student Standards for Science, High School Biology, HS-LS1-5).
A standard-level answer on photosynthesis for Louisiana LEAP 2025 Biology: the reactants and products, the role of chlorophyll and chloroplasts, the word and balanced equations, and how light energy is stored as chemical energy in glucose.
13 min answer →

Why are the properties of water essential to life?

Construct an explanation, based on evidence, for why the chemistry of carbon and the properties of water make life possible (Louisiana Student Standards for Science, High School Biology, HS-LS1-6).
A standard-level answer on the chemistry of life for Louisiana LEAP 2025 Biology: atoms, elements, and bonds, why carbon is central to life, and the properties of water (polarity, cohesion, solvent action) that make it essential.
12 min answer →