Science 10 – Astrobiology Unit Core Learning Checklist

Ranking: 1 - I’m clueless. 2 - I’m starting to get it. 3 - I’m almost there. 4 - Go ahead, test me on it!
Key vocabulary words are in bold.
Topic Concept What I should be able to know, do, and use: Ranking
Diversity of Domains of Life  Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryota are 3 Domains of Life
Life  5 kingdoms fit within 3 Domains (Plants, Fungi, Protista are all
Eukaryota)
Major Groups of  Bacteria- autotrophic or heterotrophic, important roles in ecosystems
Life  Archaea- extremophiles found in harsh environments
 Protista- single celled eukaryotes, auto- or heterotroph; protozoans
(animal-like) versus algae (plant-like)
 Fungi- saprotrophs, uni- or multicellular, important in ecosystems
 Plantae- multicellular autotrophs with cellulose cell walls; all terrestrial
life dependent on them
 Animalia- multicellular heterotrophs
Extremophiles  Extremophiles are Archaeans that can withstand extremes in
temperature, pH, salinity, & other conditions
Metabolic  Autotrophs (chemo- & photo-), heterotrophs, and saprotrophs
Diversity  Classification of nutritional mode using key (energy and carbon
sources)
Unity of Life Cell structure  Distinguish prokaryotes from eukaryotes
 Identify structures and functions of structures:
- Prokaryote organelles: cell membrane, ribosomes,
- Eukaryote organelles: cell membrane, ribosomes, nucleus,
mitochondria, chloroplasts, cytoskeleton, endoplasmic reticulum
Life  All life is made of cells, the basic units of life
characteristics  All cells come from pre-existing cells
 All cells use DNA to store information & make proteins
 All cells need energy for many different purposes (homeostasis,
movement, growth, metabolism, etc.)
Cell Membranes  Cell membrane is double layer of phospholipids
 Phospholipids have hydrophilic (point outwards) & hydrophobic ends
(point inwards)
 Small molecules H2O, CO2, and O2 can diffuse across cell membrane
 Large or charged (+ or -) substances cannot diffuse across cell
membrane
Cell Membrane  A variety of proteins are embedded in membrane with different roles
Proteins like enzymes, transport, structural proteins
 Protein pumps like Na+ / K+ pumps
 Channel proteins like aquaporins
Proteins  Proteins are made of amino acids (20 different)
 Proteins fold to take on a shape that determines their function
 Protein shape can be disrupted by pH and temperature (they have an
optimum pH and optimum temperature)
 Enzymes catalyze reactions- substrates fit into active sites
 Cytoskeleton proteins support shape & movement (for example,
tubulin)
 Motor proteins move things around in cells with ATP & shape changes
(for example, dynein & kinesin)
 Proteins functions: enzyme, motor, structural, transport, storage
 Different proteins are found outside of the cell, versus in the
membrane, versus inside of the cell
DNA & RNA  DNA is made of nucleotides (sugar, phosphate, 1 of 4 nitrogenous
bases- Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) in DNA and
Uracil (U) rather than T in RNA
 RNA nucleotides have different sugar & Uracil replaces thymine
 Genes (DNA segments) code for proteins that produce traits
 DNA double helix structure (hydrogen bonds join nitrogenous bases)
  Complementary base pairing: A to T and G to C in complementary
“base pairs” (if sequence of 1 side is known, sequence of the other is
known)
 DNA Polymerase is the enzyme that makes DNA
Protein Transcription  Genes (DNA) are transcribed into mRNA by RNA polymerase
Synthesis  Complementary base pairing to copy DNA into mRNA
 mRNA is single stranded; U replaces T
 mRNA moves out of nucleus to cytoplasm
Translation  Ribosome attaches to mRNA
 Ribosomes has spaces exposing 3 nucleotides that code for amino
acids
 Growing protein is released after all nucleotides are “read”
Inheritance Genes and  Define gene, chromosome and allele.
Chromosomes  State that different chromosomes that carry different genes.
 State that alleles differ from each other by 1 or a few bases.
 State that new alleles are formed from random mutations.
 Describe homologous chromosomes.
 Distinguish between sex chromosomes and autosomes.
 State that body cell nuclei have both homologous chromosomes.
 State that sex cell nuclei have one chromosome of each pair.
 Explain how sex is determined.
 Distinguish between sex chromosomes and autosomes.
 A karyogram is an image of chromosomes arranged in homologous
pairs of decreasing length
Genotypes,  The observable characteristics of a gene in an individual is known as
Phenotypes and their phenotype
Genetic Crosses  When a cell has a full set of chromosomes (2 of each pair) it is known
as a diploid cell.
 The process of making reproductive cells or gametes (sperm/egg cells)
is known as meiosis.
 When a cell has half a set of chromosomes (1 of each pair) it is known
as a haploid cell.
 The set of alleles that determines the expression of a particular
characteristic (the phenotype) is known as a
 genotype.
 If siblings can only receive genetic information from their parents, why
are they not all identical? What decides which traits we show?

What I need to do to be prepared for this test: (check off what applies to you)
Dates I will do this:
 Complete notes from presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Review the key concepts (read over notes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Review the key vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Do practice questions to check for my understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
 Ask my teacher questions that I still have about the content . . . . . . . . . . . . . .