SBI3U - Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Living Things
Unit 1: Understanding Inheritance Patterns
Key Concepts
DNA as Universal Code: DNA is essential for transmitting hereditary information and influences an organism's characteristics with environmental factors.
Meiosis and Inheritance: Understanding how meiosis explains inheritance patterns and why certain patterns appear.
Overall Expectations
Develop scientific investigation skills, including planning, recording, and communication.
Evaluate recent genetic research contributions and understand social/ethical implications.
Investigate genetic processes, especially meiosis, and solve genetic problems.
Understand hereditary transmission processes and technologies.
Long-term Goals
Ability to efficiently use energy and resources is a major selection pressure on life.
Essential Questions
How does meiosis explain inheritance patterns?
Why do we see the patterns that we see?
Chapter 13 - Meiosis
Comparison: Sexual vs. Asexual reproduction.
Purpose: Importance of meiosis for genetic diversity.
Stages: Key events in interphase, prophase I, metaphase I, anaphase I, and II.
Chromosomes: Homologous vs. non-homologous pairs; significance of crossing over.
Variation and Inheritance: Contribution of meiosis.
Chapter 14 - Mendel and the Gene Idea
Vocabulary: Genes vs. Traits, dominant vs. recessive, homozygous vs. heterozygous, genotype vs. phenotype.
Laws: Mendel's laws of segregation and independent assortment explained through meiosis.
Chapter 15 - Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Karyotyping: Its usefulness in genetics.
Pedigree: Usage in genetic studies.
Genetic Abnormalities: Nondisjunction effects, chromosome structure changes like inversions and deletions, and terms like trisomy, monosomy, polyploidy.
Solve genetic problems using Punnett squares and probability.
Assessments
Genetics mini-tests on Meiosis, DNA, and Inheritance Patterns.
Presentations on genetic disorders focusing on inheritance, symptoms, treatment, and ethical issues.
Genetic Disorder Presentation Guidelines
Research and present on a genetic disorder from a provided list.
Focus on inheritance characteristics, symptoms, prognosis, and ethical issues.
Demonstrate clear communication skills using tools like cue cards and visual aids.
Key Terms
Genetics: Study of heredity.
Chromosome: DNA-containing structure in cells' nuclei.
Genome: Total genetic content.
Gene: DNA segment coding for traits.
Meiosis vs. Mitosis
Meiosis involves two divisions, crossing over, and results in four genetically diverse haploid cells.
Mitosis involves one division and results in two identical diploid cells.
Practice and Problem Sets
Engage with questions on inheritance patterns, single vs. multiple trait crosses, and the application of Mendel's laws to understand genetic inheritance.
Exercises include Punnett squares, dihybrid crosses, and chi-squared analysis for genetic hypotheses.
Variations to Dominance
Explore incomplete dominance, codominance, and multiple alleles through examples like blood types and genetic disorders.
Chi-Squared Analysis
Utilize chi-squared tests to assess hypotheses on genetic inheritance patterns and variability in observed vs. expected results.