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Reporting Category 4: Biological Processes and Systems

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

How do cells release the energy stored in glucose to power their activities?

Identify cellular respiration as the process that releases energy from glucose, describe its reactants and products, and distinguish aerobic respiration from fermentation (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; cause and effect).
A TEKS-level answer on cellular respiration for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: the reactants and products, the role of mitochondria and ATP, the overall equation, and the difference between aerobic respiration and fermentation.
11 min answer →

How are photosynthesis and cellular respiration related, and why are they often described as opposites?

Compare the reactants, products, and energy flow of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, and explain how they form a connected cycle of energy and matter (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; systems and system models).
A TEKS-level answer comparing photosynthesis and cellular respiration for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: how their reactants and products mirror each other, the contrast in energy flow, and how together they cycle energy and matter.
10 min answer →

What are the main building-block molecules of life, and how do enzymes speed up the reactions that use them?

Identify the four major classes of biological macromolecules and their functions, and explain how enzymes act as biological catalysts affected by temperature and pH (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; structure and function; cause and effect).
A TEKS-level answer on biomolecules and enzymes for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids and their functions, and how enzymes catalyze reactions and are affected by temperature and pH.
11 min answer →

How does the body detect a change and act to bring conditions back to normal?

Describe how feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis in the human body, using examples such as the regulation of body temperature and blood glucose, and identify factors that disrupt homeostasis (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; stability and change; cause and effect).
A TEKS-level answer on feedback and homeostasis for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: how negative feedback keeps body temperature and blood glucose stable, the detect-respond-restore loop, and factors that disrupt homeostasis.
11 min answer →

How do the systems of the human body work together to keep the organism alive?

Investigate and explain how the major human body systems interact to carry out vital functions and maintain the organism (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; systems and system models; structure and function).
A TEKS-level answer on human body systems for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: the functions of the major organ systems and, above all, how systems such as the digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems work together.
11 min answer →

How do plants capture light energy and use it to make food, and what goes in and comes out?

Describe the reactants, products, and energy transformation of photosynthesis, and explain its role in capturing light energy as chemical energy in glucose (TEKS Biology, Reporting Category 4; energy and matter; cause and effect).
A TEKS-level answer on photosynthesis for the Texas STAAR Biology EOC: the reactants and products, the role of light and chlorophyll in chloroplasts, the energy transformation from light to chemical energy, and the overall word and balanced equation.
11 min answer →