Unit 3: Cell Structure, Function & Transport

The learning outcomes for this unit is cell oriented. Cells are the most basic unit of life, and have obvious important implications for the rest of biology, especially in the human systems that we study (nervous, endocrine, and immune systems). 

I feel that I was able to fulfill science practice #4 in this unit via the osmosis/diffusion lab. This lab empirically taught me how water diffused between cells by moving from an area of lower concentration gradient to one of a higher consternation gradient. This is why drinking salt water harms you; it the salt in the water can't enter the cells, so it creates a higher concentration gradient on the outside of the cell, which actually forces the water to leave the cell, thus making a person more thirsty. 

I additionally was able to apply SP7. Unit 1 was about evolution, and how different creatures and bacteria evolved into what they are today. The Endosymbiotic cell theory is the theory that the mitochondria was actually a prokaryote that for some reason or another entered a modern eukaryote and helped it. This gave it an advantage, and the characteristic spread until eventually it spread to the extent that it has today.

• All organism require a constant input of free energy which is stored and used to grow, reproduce, and maintain organization.
• Cell membranes create different environments across which some molecules will move to maintain homeostasis and respond to environmental changes.
• Internal membranes create specialized regions within the cell.

AP Science Practices

• SP1:The student can use representations and models to communicate scientific phenomena and solve scientific problems.
• SP2: The student can use mathematics appropriately.
• SP3: The student can engage in scientific questioning to extend thinking or to guide investigations within the context of the AP course.
• SP4: The student can plan and implement data collection strategies appropriate to a particular scientific question.
• SP5: The student can perform data analysis and evaluation of evidence.
• SP6: The student can work with scientific explanations and theories.
• SP7: The student is able to connect and relate knowledge across various scales, concepts and representations in and across domains.