School Without Walls Biology

Labs and Handouts

• Cells and Cell Membranes
  • Auto-Tutorial for Cell Organelles
    • Click here for the self-tutorial.
  • Building Cell Membranes
    • Click here for the handout.
  • Cell Races
    • Click here for the handout.
  • AP Bio Lab 1
    • Click here for the pre-lab quiz.
    • Click ap_bio_lab_diffusion_osmosis for our lab data!

• Cell Energetics and Metabolism
  • Enzyme lab
    • Get the handout in class!
  • Toothpickase lab
  • AP Bio Lab 5
    • Click here for the pre-lab quiz.
• Cell Communication
  • We will be using the materials found at the Genetic Science Learning Center.

Videos Watched in Class

• Video

Unit Objectives

• Cell Biology
  • Compare the relative size of various cells through modeling activity (agar cells) and microscopy; explain why cells remain small and identify tools of cellular study in biology.
  • Identify the structure, composition, and function of cell organelles through a self-guided activity.
  • Compare and contrast the structures of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells through self-guided activity.
  • Compare and contrast the structures of plant and animal cells through self-guided activity.
  • Identify major structural components of the cytoskeleton.
• Cell Membranes
  • Identify the components of the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane through a modeling activity.
  • Compare isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions, and predict the path of water and solutes in given examples through a lab.
  • Describe how solute size and molar concentration affects the process of diffusion through a selectively permeable membrane, through a lab.
  • Relate osmotic potential to solute concentration and water potential through a lab.
  • Describe the effects of water gain or loss in plant and animal cells through a lab.
• Enzymes
  • Distinguish between ender/exergonic reactions in terms of spontaneity and reaction delta G; anabolic and catabolic pathways; potential and kinetic energy and open/closed systems.
  • Describe the first and second laws of thermodynamics and relate them to reaction coupling.
  • Describe catalase in terms of its function in chemical reactions and substrate/product relationships through a lab.
  • Model enzyme function as in terms of active site, substrate, product, activation energy and catalysis (through toothpickase); induced fit, competitive and noncompetitive inhibition, reversible, irreversible and allosteric and feedback inhibition (through toothpickase and student-designed modeling). Describe the role of irreversible inhibition in poisoning.
  • Identify and characterize the changes to reaction rate produced by changes in temperature, pH, enzyme concentration and substrate concentration. through a lab and modeling activity.
• Cell respiration and fermentation
  • Relate structure of mitochondria to their function.
  • Write the summary equation for respiration, and compare to the reaction for photosynthesis.
  • Identify the major components of ATP and the role of energy-containing bonds in the structure of ATP.
  • Sequence the events of cell respiration, including major reactants and products of glycolysis, oxidation of pyruvate, the CAC and OxPhos, as well as major reactions, through a modeling exercise.
  • Compare the end products of aerobic and anaerobic respiration through a lab (yeast lab, possibly looking at yeast selectivity of food sources) and modeling exercise.
  • Understand the role of electron carriers in respiration.
  • Compare the efficiency of substrate-level phosphorylation to oxidative phosphorylation (and later to photophosphorylation).
  • Collect and interpret data related to the effects of temperature and germination on respiration rate and explain why oxygen consumption can be used to measure the rate of respiration through a controlled experiment.