Synoptic Biology
Synoptic biology is the ability to select and apply general principles
to unfamiliar situations/data.
Modules 5 and 8 will have questions that test your understanding of
modules 1,2,3 and 4. This is called the synoptic assessment.
The synoptic element of modules 5 and 8 is worth more marks that the
actual module content. This means you have to get to grips with the
synoptic element in order to do well. This booklet is designed to help
you to do so.
How much of module 5 and 8 is synoptic?
50% of the marks on the module 5 paper are synoptic and 70 % of the
module 8 paper is synoptic.
In what form are the questions?
Module 5: general questions just like you are used to but they require
information from other modules to answer
Module 8: some general questions…but also data handling & experimental
techniques questions and an essay. Watch out for these!
So there are 3 main types of synoptic questions in the exams:
· synoptic knowledge
· data and investigations
· essay
1. Synoptic knowledge
Which Synoptic subject knowledge topics are going to be assessed?
You have to be able to show the ability to select or apply general
principles to unfamiliar data/situations. These are the main topics
you need to revise:
· Tertiary structure of proteins
· Membrane receptors
· Movement across membranes
· Enzymes
· SA/Vol ratio
· DNA/genetic code
· Translation/transcription
· Basic genetics
· Genetic engineering
· Transport principles
· Use of tracers
· Photosynthesis/respiration
· Stimulus/response
· Negative feedback
· Variation
· Natural selection
Sometime between Easter and Half Term you should prepare your own
individual 1side of A4 summaries for each one of these topics to help
you with your revision.
Deciding exactly what level to learn these topics in is pretty tricky.
Looking at past paper questions will help.
ABSTRACT: Chloroplasts carry out photosynthetic processes to meet the metabolic demands of plant cells (Alberts, 2008). They consist of an inner thylakoid membrane and a stroma. (Parent et. al, 2008).In this experiment we demonstrate the unique protein compositions of isolated thylakoid and stromal fractions from broken and whole spinach chloroplasts. Because these compartments carry out different metabolic processes, we confirm our hypothesis that performing SDS-PAGE on these fractions will result in distinct patterns on the gels. In isolating and analyzing nucleic acid from broken, whole, and crude chloroplast samples we demonstrate that genes for photosynthetic protein psbA are found in chloroplast DNA, while genes for photosynthetic enzyme
The respective areas of science and religion always seem to be overlapping, or stepping on the other area’s toes. In his book, Stephen Jay Gould addresses the topic of Non-Overlapping Magesteria, or NOMA. Gould examines the principles of NOMA as a solution to the supposed false conflict between religion and science. (Pg. 6) He starts off his argument on NOMA by telling a story of “Two Thomas’s.” The first Thomas is from the bible, of which he makes three appearances in the Gospel of John. The second Thomas, is a Reverend Thomas Burnet. Thomas the Apostle defends the magesteria of science in the wrong magesteria of faith, while the Reverend Thomas proclaims religious ideas within the magesteria of science.
The process of photosynthesis is present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and is the process in which cells transform energy in the form of light from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds and gaseous oxygen (See Equation Below). In photosynthesis, water is oxidized to gaseous oxygen and carbon dioxide is reduced to glucose. Furthermore, photosynthesis is an anabolic process, or in other words is a metabolism that is associated with the construction of large molecules such as glucose. The process of photosynthesis occurs in two steps: light reactions and the Calvin cycle. The light reactions of photosynthesis take place in the thylakoid membrane and use the energy from the sun to produce ATP and NADPH2. The Calvin cycle takes place in the stroma of the chloroplast and consumes ATP and NADPH2 to reduce carbon dioxide to a sugar.
Ghosh, Paramita. "Importance of Photosynthesis." Buzzle. Buzzle.com, 14 Apr. 2008. Web. 19 May 2014. .
ABSTRACT: In this article I present H. R. Maturana's work as an alternative that reinforces pragmatism in the task of thinking philosophy through the evolution of biological species. I try to demonstrate how Maturana's biology dilutes the principal argument against American Neo-pragmatism. This criticism uses the argument of performative contradiction as it has developed in the European Neo-Kantian philosophy. Thus, I begin by presenting Apel. s arguments which are contrary the perspective of the detranscendentalization of the Post-Nietzschenian philosophy. I conclude that analytical philosophy is a fecund point of contact between Maturana's biology and American Pragmatism, and that analytic arguments help convince others of our own theoretical preferences.
1. What is the difference between Introduction 2. What is the difference between History 3. What is the difference between a's Planning / Preparation 4.
The start of any evolutionary story told about us lies within the origin of the eukaryote cell. This remarkable event consisted of a revolution of cell type matched in momentousness by the arrival on the biological scene of the prokaryote (O’Malley). Bacteria had a couple billion years head start on eukaryotes and have given rise to many biochemical processes that are essential to the ecosystem (Wernergreen). One organism living within another defines endosymbiosis. Nobody can say the exact origin of the eukaryote cell. The endosymbiosis theory dates back to the earliest 20th century and devotion to different models of its origins is strong and adamant (O’Malley).
Photosynthesis is a series of light driven reactions that convert energy poor compounds such as carbon dioxide and water to energy rich sugars [1] such as glucose. The process generate an electron gradient across the membrane of a chloroplast, which is used for ATP synthesis, and simultaneously produces electrons used to make NADPH, using NADP+ as an energy carrier[2]. Crudely put, it is the method by which autotrophic plants make their own ‘food.’
The ongoing scientific investigation of how exactly evolution occurred and continues to occur has been an argumentative idea amongst society since Darwin first articulated it over a century ago. The scientific basis of evolution accounts for happenings that are also essential concerns of religion; both religion and science focus on the origins of humans and of biological diversity. For instance, in the reading “Truth Cannot Contradict Truth,” Pope John Paul II, addressing the Pontifical Academy of Science, discussed the matter of God as creator of man. The Pope explains that men cannot relate to animals because men are superior. The reasoning for that is because God created humans under his likeness. What the church is saying about mankind contradicts with the scientific evidence scientists have found on human evolution. By analyzing the different scientific approaches, one will be able to grasp a clear understanding that the theory of evolution by natural selection conflicts with the Judeo-Christian worldview of God as creator.
There is no debate that the world's first power of surviving relies on evolution, to a point where one does not have to look outside the box to witness it ... they're sitting on it. Many have mistaken the term "Evolution" with a state of randomness, an improvement or even a biogenesis. Others have related it to the origins of the universe, a social Darwinism that resulted in a massive diversity regarding theory and ideology. While people choose to rest their bodies on a chair in attempt to find an answer to its definition, some have rested their minds and accepted the fact that it only means change over time. It's no question that life on earth is related through common descent and has been changing for a long time, yet the real conflict resides within the people's reactions: Are they or are they not with the change? Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist once said "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change". What is normal for a spider for the butterfly might seem insane, hence the diversity amongst all earthly environments witness different opinions, problems and solutions. With people evolving comes the evolution of thoughts, add to that the evolution of the ways of living. However, one does not grow in a stable environment. This is where architecture made space for innovation before becoming one, and in order to be timeless, you need to live timelessly.
The video, “What Darwin Never Knew”, is a stunning time line that details the theory of evolution formed by Charles Darwin, and the recent advancements made that answers some of the questions he simply could not. Darwin 's theory explained why today there are 9,000 kinds of birds, 350,000 kinds of beetles, 28,000 kinds of fish, and at least 2 million kinds of living species and counting. Darwin figured out that all species are connected, and he also realized that species evolved and adapted, but he did not know how.
Photosynthesis, undoubtedly, is one of the most beneficial chemical reactions, for one simple fact. It keeps us alive. It is a simple, unassuming reaction, 6 CO2+ 6 H2O → C6H12O6+ 6 O2. So, it is just carbon dioxide and water reacting and turning into glucose and oxygen. “But,” you may ask, “Why is it so important?” It is because it takes our used air (CO2) and turns it back into the air we breathe (O2). Photosynthesis also turns our extra carbon dioxide into oxygen, reducing global warming's effects.
The biological approach emphasizes physical and biological bases of behaviour. It looks at how brain functions influence different behaviours and personality. The study of nervous system has played a major role in the development of biological approach to psychology. On the other hand, the psychoanalytic approach explains personality, motivation and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious motives and conflicts. This essay attempts to explain biological and psychoanalytic approaches to psychology with focus on their core assumptions, key features, similarities and differences.
Everyone inherits their genes from their parents. James Nasmyth once said that “Our history begins before we are born. We represent the hereditary influences of our race, and our ancestors virtually live in us.” This is true because we are made of cells and each cell contains inherited DNA. Our DNA carries genetic information we inherited from our ancestors, but the environment we live in can affect this DNA. Nonetheless, testing our genomes can provide information for differentiating between the traits we have inherited from our ancestors and those that the environment shaped.
Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace's concept of natural selection and descent with modification helped shape the theory of evolution which holds as much weight as the theory of relativity per se. Evolutionary biology is the science devoted to understanding how populations change through time in response to modifications of their environment and how new species come into being by studying adaptation and diversity (Freeman and Herron 2004). Evolutionary biology has proved that all organisms have evolved from a common ancestor over the last 3.5 billion years. There is a common misconception that evolution is only a theoretical or abstract science with little or no relevance to the real world (Halliburton, 2004). This common misperception arises because most people assume that all the important scientific questions about evolution have already been answered. Some think that this is a science that only deals with history or the study of fossils, whereas creationists even dispute the reality of evolution. Some perceive it as a threat to the foundation of organized religion making evolution appear controversial and taboo. Biological evolution is one of the most important concepts of modern biology and is essential to understanding key aspects of living organisms in the past, present and future. Evolutionary biology also offers alternative solutions to problems in medicine and agriculture while providing insight and answers on how to deal with the problem of antibiotic exploitation occurring within these fields.