BIOL1 — Principles of Biology

This was a challenging course:  two labs a week, difficult exams, lots of Chemistry, and a good number of mathematical concepts covered as well (such as probability). There was almost no time to catch your breath.

Principles of Biology was not exactly relevant to my major, but serves as another example of a class provided a patchwork of sorts for the very incomplete education I received in high school. Also, in some ways I consider this class as being another Chemistry course, much in the same way as I regard my Materials Science class. Since I was unable to complete the Biology series (which includes Zoology and Botany), this class supplemented the strong foundation in Chemistry I had been developing at the time through General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, granting me an understanding as to how living systems receive and harvest energy through many incredibly complex chemical reactions and biological processes.

Aside from first semester Physics, this was perhaps the most intense and demanding lower division class I took.

Lab Reports

Cell Size Limits of the Six Kingdoms
Active-Passive Science Voice Exercise
Trends in Active and Passive Voice Use in Science Reports
Identification of Biological Molecules
Identification of Unknown Cake Mixes
Analysis of Carbohydrate Polymers
Analysis of Proteins
Rates of Osmosis and Membrane Surface Areas
Diffusion Through a Selectively Permeable Membrane
Comparison of Osmotic Potentials in Aquatic and Terrestrial Plants
Reactivity of Catalase Enzyme and Hydrogen Peroxide
Catalase Concentration Effects on Reactions
Reaction Rates of Varying Substrate Concentrations with Catalase
Effects of pH Levels on Catalase Enzyme Activity
Alcoholic Fermentation of Biological Sugars
Aerobic Respiration of Yeast
Effects of Malonic Acid on Kreb’s Cycle
Effects of NaCN and NaF on Kreb’s Cycle
Effects of NaCN and NaF on Glycolysis
Leaf Pigment Chromatography
Light Absorption of Leaf Pigments
Light Wavelength Absorption of Pigments
Photosynthesis and Respiration of Elodea
Non-Cyclic Photophosphorylation
Separation of Drosophila Eye Pigments with Chromatography
Dihybrid Crosses
Selective Mapping of the Drosophila Genome
Frequency of Mitosis Stages in Allium and Whitefish Cells
Genetics Problems
Frequency of PV92 Alu Insertion Among Biology Students
Observing Gene Frequency Behaviors