Biology Regents Review Notes PDF

TESTING TOPICS (and the percentage they make of the test) ​ Structure & Function: 9-15% ​ Matter + Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems: 18-29% ​ Interdependent Relationships In Ecosystems: 14-24% ​ Inheritance And Variation Of Traits: 14-24% ​ Natural Selection & Evolution: 14-24% ​ Eart...

TESTING TOPICS (and the percentage they make of the test) ​ Structure & Function: 9-15% ​ Matter + Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems: 18-29% ​ Interdependent Relationships In Ecosystems: 14-24% ​ Inheritance And Variation Of Traits: 14-24% ​ Natural Selection & Evolution: 14-24% ​ Earth’s Systems: 5-11% ​ Engineering, Tech, And The Application Of Science: 3-11%  ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ JOSE ​ ​ (first 2 bullet points)​​ ​ ​ ​ 🧬 Living Environment Regents: Structure & Function – Full Review ✍️ Unit Summary: This unit focuses on how living things are organized, from cells to systems, and how their structures help them survive. It explores the structure of cells, organelles, body systems, and how they work together to maintain life. Understanding structure and function is key to explaining health, growth, energy use, and response to the environment. 🔬 1. Cells: The Basic Units of Life 🔹 Summary: All living things are made of cells, the smallest unit of life. Cells carry out all life processes. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Cells are the building blocks of all life. There are two main types: prokaryotic cells (no nucleus, like bacteria) and eukaryotic cells (with a nucleus, like plant and animal cells). Inside a eukaryotic cell are tiny structures called organelles, each with a specific job. The nucleus controls the cell, the mitochondria provide energy, and the cell membrane controls what enters or leaves. In plant cells, the cell wall adds support, and chloroplasts help with photosynthesis. Cells carry out all life functions—like growth, reproduction, and metabolism—through these organelles. Cells must maintain homeostasis, or internal balance, to stay alive. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Cell – Basic unit of life​ ​Organelle – A tiny cell part with a job​ ​Nucleus – Controls the cell, holds DNA​ ​Mitochondria – Makes energy (ATP)​ ​Cell membrane – Controls what enters/exits​ ​Homeostasis – Keeping internal conditions stable​ ⚙️ 2. Cell Organelles and Their Functions 🔹 Summary: Each organelle has a structure that fits its function in the cell, just like organs in the body. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Organelles are like organs for cells. Each one has a special shape and job. The nucleus holds genetic material and gives instructions. The ribosomes build proteins. The mitochondria break down food and release energy (ATP). The vacuole stores water and waste. In plants, the chloroplasts use sunlight to make sugar through photosynthesis. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) helps move materials inside the cell, and the Golgi body packages and ships proteins. All these organelles work together like a team to keep the cell alive. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Ribosome – Makes proteins​ ​Vacuole – Stores materials​ ​Chloroplast – Does photosynthesis (in plants)​ ​ER – Moves materials inside the cell​ ​Golgi body – Ships proteins​ 🧍 3. Levels of Organization in Living Things 🔹 Summary: Life is organized in levels: cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Living things are organized into a hierarchy that goes from smallest to largest. The cell is the smallest unit. A group of similar cells working together forms a tissue. Tissues combine to make organs (like the heart), and organs that work together form an organ system (like the circulatory system). All the systems together make up the organism. For example, red blood cells (cells) carry oxygen in blood (tissue), which flows through the heart (organ) in the circulatory system. This structure helps the body work properly and maintain life. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Tissue – Group of similar cells​ ​Organ – Group of tissues working together​  ​Organ system – Group of organs doing a big job​ ​Organism – Whole living thing​ ❤️ 4. Body Systems and Their Functions 🔹 Summary: Body systems are groups of organs that work together to carry out major functions like breathing, digestion, or movement. 🧠 Body Paragraph: The human body has many organ systems, each with a unique function. The digestive system breaks food into nutrients. The circulatory system moves blood, oxygen, and nutrients to cells. The respiratory system brings in oxygen and removes carbon dioxide. The nervous system sends messages throughout the body using the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. The excretory system removes waste like urine and sweat. Each system works with others. For example, the digestive system gives nutrients to the circulatory system, which delivers them to every cell. Together, they help keep the body in homeostasis. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Digestive system – Breaks down food​ ​Circulatory system – Moves blood and oxygen​ ​Respiratory system – Brings in O₂, removes CO₂​ ​Nervous system – Sends and receives messages​ ​Excretory system – Removes waste​ ⚖️ 5. Homeostasis and Feedback Mechanisms 🔹 Summary: Homeostasis is when your body stays balanced inside, like keeping the same temperature or water level. Feedback mechanisms help keep this balance. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Homeostasis means the body keeps a steady internal environment. Even when the outside world changes, your body tries to stay balanced. For example, when you get too hot, you sweat to cool down. When you get cold, you shiver to warm up. These are called feedback mechanisms—body reactions that fix a change. Another example is blood sugar: if it’s too high, the hormone insulin lowers it. If it’s too low, your liver releases sugar. These responses happen automatically and are key for survival. When homeostasis fails, the body gets sick or shuts down. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Homeostasis – Stable internal condition​ ​Feedback – Body’s response to change​ ​Insulin – Lowers blood sugar​ ​Stimulus – A signal that causes a response​ ​Response – What your body does to fix it​ 🧪 6. Comparing Single-celled and Multicellular Organisms 🔹 Summary: Single-celled organisms do everything in one cell, while multicellular organisms have specialized cells working together. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Single-celled organisms, like bacteria or amoeba, have just one cell that does all life functions—eating, breathing, reproducing, and moving. In multicellular organisms (like humans), different cells have different jobs. Red blood cells carry oxygen. Nerve cells send signals. Skin cells protect the body. This cell specialization allows the whole organism to survive, but it means that all cells must work together. If one group of cells fails, the whole body can be affected. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Single-celled – One cell does everything​ ​Multicellular – Many specialized cells​ ​Specialization – Each cell has a specific job​ ​Organism – A living thing 🔁 Matter and Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems (Full Explanations, Summaries, Vocabulary, Examples) ✍️ Unit Summary: This unit explains how energy flows and matter cycles through living things and the environment. Organisms use energy from food or sunlight to survive. Matter (like water, carbon, nitrogen) is recycled through ecosystems. The focus is on photosynthesis, cellular respiration, food chains, and nutrient cycles.  🌞 1. Photosynthesis 🔹 Summary: Photosynthesis is the process plants use to make food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Photosynthesis occurs in plant cells inside chloroplasts, using light energy from the Sun to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) into glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and oxygen (O₂). This process stores energy in chemical bonds of sugar. Plants then use this sugar for energy or store it for later. Photosynthesis is essential because it starts almost all food chains and produces oxygen for animals to breathe. 🔬 Equation: CO₂ + H₂O + sunlight → C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ 📘 Vocabulary: ​Photosynthesis – Making food using light​ ​Chloroplast – Organelle that does photosynthesis​ ​Glucose – Sugar (energy source)​ ​CO₂ – Carbon dioxide (used)​ ​O₂ – Oxygen (made)​ 🔋 2. Cellular Respiration 🔹 Summary: Respiration is how all organisms release energy from food. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Cellular respiration happens in the mitochondria of both plant and animal cells. It breaks down glucose with oxygen to release ATP, the energy cells use for work. This process is the opposite of photosynthesis. The leftover products are carbon dioxide and water, which are reused by plants during photosynthesis. This cycle connects all living things. 🔬 Equation: C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O + ATP 📘 Vocabulary: ​Cellular respiration – Releasing energy from food​ ​Mitochondria – Organelle that makes ATP​ ​ATP – Usable energy for cells​ ​Aerobic – Needs oxygen​ ​Anaerobic – Without oxygen (makes less energy)​ 🌱 3. Producers and Consumers 🔹 Summary: All organisms either make their own food or eat others. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Producers (like plants and algae) make their own food using photosynthesis. Consumers (animals, fungi) eat other organisms for energy. Consumers can be herbivores (eat plants), carnivores (eat animals), omnivores (eat both), or decomposers (break down dead matter). All organisms rely on producers, directly or indirectly, to get energy. Decomposers return nutrients back into the soil, helping matter recycle.  📘 Vocabulary: ​Producer – Makes own food (plant)​ ​Consumer – Eats other organisms​ ​Herbivore – Plant eater​ ​Carnivore – Meat eater​ ​Decomposer – Breaks down waste/dead things​ 🔗 4. Food Chains and Food Webs 🔹 Summary: Food chains show energy flow. Food webs are many connected chains. 🧠 Body Paragraph: A food chain shows the order of who eats whom. It starts with a producer, followed by primary consumers (herbivores), then secondary and tertiary consumers (carnivores). A food web is many food chains linked together. Arrows point in the direction energy flows—from the eaten to the eater. Energy pyramids show that energy decreases as you go up levels—only about 10% of energy is passed on, and the rest is lost as heat. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Food chain – Path of energy transfer​ ​Food web – Connected food chains​ ​Energy pyramid – Shows energy loss​  ​Trophic level – Each step in a food chain​ ​10% Rule – Only 10% of energy moves up each level​ ♻️ 5. Matter Cycling in Ecosystems 🔹 Summary: Matter like water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles through the environment. 🧠 Body Paragraph: In ecosystems, matter is never lost—it is recycled through different processes. The water cycle moves water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The carbon cycle involves CO₂ moving through photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition. The nitrogen cycle moves nitrogen from the air into soil and into organisms, with help from bacteria. These cycles are important because living things need water, carbon, and nitrogen to survive. Human actions like pollution and burning fossil fuels can upset these natural cycles. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Water cycle – Movement of water through Earth​ ​Carbon cycle – Movement of CO₂ through living things​ ​Nitrogen cycle – Bacteria help move nitrogen into organisms​ ​Decomposition – Breaking down dead matter​ ​Nutrient – Substance needed for growth​  ⚠️ 6. Human Impact on Ecosystems 🔹 Summary: Humans can damage ecosystems by overusing energy, polluting, and disrupting natural cycles. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Humans affect matter and energy flow by cutting down forests, polluting water, burning fossil fuels, and overfishing. These actions reduce the number of producers, disrupt food webs, and add too much CO₂ to the atmosphere. This causes problems like climate change, loss of biodiversity, and unbalanced ecosystems. Humans can help fix this by protecting natural areas, reducing pollution, and using renewable energy sources. 📘 Vocabulary: ​Ecosystem – All living + nonliving parts of an area​ ​Biodiversity – Variety of life​ ​Renewable energy – Energy that doesn’t run out (solar, wind)​ ​Pollution – Harmful substances in air/water​ ​Conservation – Protecting the environment​ ​ --------------------------------------------------------------------- CRISTIAN (next 3 bullet points) 🌱 Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (14–24%) 🔑 Core Idea: All living things are connected. Organisms interact with each other and with non-living parts of the environment. These interactions determine who survives and how energy flows. --- 🧬 Key Terms & Concepts: ➤ Producers Also called autotrophs. Make their own food using sunlight (photosynthesis). Example: plants, algae. ➤ Consumers Also called heterotrophs. Eat other organisms. Primary consumer: eats producers (herbivore) Secondary consumer: eats herbivores (carnivore) Tertiary consumer: eats carnivores ➤ Decomposers Break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil. Example: bacteria, fungi ➤ Food Chain vs Food Web Food chain: One straight line of energy (grass → rabbit → fox) Food web: Interconnected chains (more realistic) ➤ Energy Pyramid Shows how energy flows from producers to top predators. Only ~10% of energy passes to the next level — 90% is lost as heat. ➤ Carrying Capacity Max number of organisms the environment can support. If a population exceeds this, resources run out → population decreases. ➤ Limiting Factors Things that control population growth: Food, water, space, disease, predators. ➤ Symbiosis – Close relationships between different species: --- 🧬 Inheritance and Variation of Traits (14–24%) 🔑 Core Idea: Traits are passed from parents to offspring through genes. There’s variation (differences) because of DNA mixing and mutation. --- 🧬 Key Terms & Concepts: ➤ DNA The molecule of heredity. Double helix. Made of bases: A-T, C-G ➤ Genes A section of DNA that codes for a trait. Each gene has 2 alleles (versions). ➤ Alleles Dominant: Shows up even if there’s only one (A) Recessive: Only shows if both alleles are recessive (aa) ➤ Genotype vs Phenotype Genotype = gene combo (AA, Aa, aa) Phenotype = physical appearance (tall, short) ➤ Homozygous vs Heterozygous Homozygous: AA or aa Heterozygous: Aa ➤ Punnett Squares Used to predict trait probabilities. If Aa x Aa: Genotype: 1 AA, 2 Aa, 1 aa Phenotype: 3 dominant, 1 recessive ➤ Mutations Random changes in DNA. Can be harmful, helpful, or neutral. If in gametes (sperm/egg), can be passed on. ➤ Sexual Reproduction Mixes DNA from two parents → genetic variation. Sperm (23 chromosomes) + egg (23) → zygote (46) ➤ Asexual Reproduction One parent → clone No variation (same DNA) 🧬 Natural Selection & Evolution --- (14–24%) 🔑 Core Idea: Evolution is how species change over time. The main driving force is natural selection — organisms with helpful traits survive and reproduce. --- 🧬 Key Terms & Concepts: ➤ Variation Individuals in a species are not identical. Comes from mutations & sexual reproduction. ➤ Adaptation Trait that helps an organism survive. Example: Camouflage in arctic animals. ➤ Natural Selection (Darwin) "Survival of the fittest." Those with best traits → survive → reproduce → pass on genes. Over time: favorable traits become more common. ➤ Fossil Evidence Shows gradual changes over time. Older fossils = deeper in the ground. ➤ Speciation When a group becomes so different it becomes a new species. Often happens from geographic isolation (separation). ➤ Extinction When a species can’t adapt fast enough, it dies out. Often caused by: Climate change New predators Human impact ➤ Artificial Selection Humans breed animals/plants for specific traits. Example: Dog breeds, crops. --- 🔁 Summary Chart Category​ Must Know Concepts Ecosystems​ Food chains/webs, energy pyramid, carrying capacity, symbiosis Inheritance​ DNA, alleles, dominant/recessive, Punnett squares, mutations Evolution​ Natural selection, variation, fossils, adaptations, extinction ---------------------------------------------------------------------  AMINUR (last 2 bullet points) 🌍 Living Environment Regents: Earth’s Systems – Complete Detailed Review ✍️ Unit Summary: Earth's systems work together to support all life. These include the biosphere (life), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and geosphere (land). In biology, we focus on how human actions and natural processes affect ecosystems, climate, and biodiversity. Key themes include climate change, energy flow, carbon cycle, and human impact on Earth’s resources. 🌿 1. The Four Earth Systems (Spheres) 🔹 Summary: Earth is divided into 4 systems that interact: the biosphere (living things), geosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). Changes in one system affect all the others. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Earth is a complex system made of four interconnected "spheres": the biosphere, which includes all living things; the geosphere, which includes rocks, soil, and the Earth’s surface; the hydrosphere, which is all water on Earth; and the atmosphere, which is the layer of gases that surrounds our planet. These spheres constantly interact. For example, a volcanic eruption (geosphere) can release ash into the atmosphere, change the climate, pollute rivers (hydrosphere), and kill plants and animals (biosphere). Understanding how these systems connect helps us predict natural disasters, understand climate change, and protect life on Earth. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Biosphere​ ​Geosphere​ ​Hydrosphere​ ​Atmosphere​ ​Interaction​ 🌡️ 2. Human Impact on Earth’s Systems 🔹 Summary: Human activities like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and pollution change natural systems, affecting air, water, and life on Earth. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Humans have a large impact on Earth’s systems. Activities like burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) release carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere, which traps heat and causes global warming. Deforestation, or cutting down forests, removes trees that absorb CO₂, making climate change worse. Factories and cars also pollute the hydrosphere, harming fish and water quality. Over time, this affects the biosphere, leading to species extinction and ecosystem destruction. Scientists study these effects to develop solutions like renewable energy, reforestation, and conservation programs to protect Earth’s future. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Fossil fuels​ ​Greenhouse gases​ ​Deforestation​ ​Climate change​ ​Ecosystem disruption​ 🔄 3. The Carbon Cycle 🔹 Summary: The carbon cycle shows how carbon moves between the air, land, water, and living things. Human actions are speeding it up unnaturally. 🧠 Body Paragraph: The carbon cycle is the natural process that moves carbon through Earth’s systems. Plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and use it to grow. Animals eat the plants and use carbon to build their bodies. When organisms die or breathe out, carbon returns to the air or soil. In a balanced system, carbon moves in and out smoothly. But humans have added extra carbon by burning fossil fuels, causing more carbon to build up in the atmosphere than nature can handle. This leads to global warming, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers. To help, we can plant trees, reduce fossil fuel use, and protect carbon-absorbing environments like oceans and forests. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Carbon cycle​ ​Photosynthesis​ ​Respiration​ ​Combustion​ ​Global warming​ 🔥 4. Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect 🔹 Summary: Climate change is the long-term change in Earth’s temperature and weather due to increased greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect traps heat in the atmosphere. 🧠 Body Paragraph: The greenhouse effect is a natural process where gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat, keeping the planet warm enough to support life. However, burning fossil fuels adds extra greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This makes the Earth trap too much heat, causing climate change. As a result, we see stronger storms, rising sea levels, hotter temperatures, and droughts. This affects animals and humans by damaging habitats and making food and water harder to find. Scientists agree that slowing climate change requires reducing emissions and switching to clean energy sources like solar and wind power. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Greenhouse effect​ ​Greenhouse gases​ ​Climate change​ ​Global warming​ ​Renewable energy​ 🌀 5. Natural Disasters and Feedback Loops 🔹 Summary: Natural events like volcanoes, hurricanes, and floods affect Earth’s systems. Some changes create feedback loops that make problems worse. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Natural disasters like hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires are powerful forces that change Earth’s systems. A volcanic eruption adds gas and ash to the atmosphere, affecting climate and blocking sunlight. Hurricanes destroy land and pollute water. These events affect the biosphere by killing organisms and changing ecosystems. In some cases, these changes lead to feedback loops—chain reactions that make a situation worse. For example, melting Arctic ice (caused by global warming) reduces the Earth’s ability to reflect sunlight, which causes more heat to be absorbed, melting even more ice. These feedback loops are why climate change is hard to stop once it starts. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Natural disaster​ ​Feedback loop​ ​Volcanic eruption​ ​Hurricane​ ​Ice melt​ 💧 6. Maintaining Biodiversity and Sustainability 🔹 Summary: Biodiversity and sustainability are essential to keeping Earth’s systems balanced. Humans must protect species, ecosystems, and resources to ensure a healthy planet. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Biodiversity is the variety of living things in an ecosystem. Healthy ecosystems need lots of different plants, animals, and microbes to function properly. But human actions—pollution, overfishing, deforestation—are reducing biodiversity. Sustainability means using Earth’s resources in a way that doesn’t harm future generations. That includes saving water, protecting forests, and using renewable energy. Protecting biodiversity helps stabilize food chains, clean air and water, and reduce the impact of diseases. Without sustainability, Earth’s systems can collapse, leading to food shortages and natural disasters. Science and technology can help us create cleaner energy, grow food more responsibly, and recycle waste to support a more sustainable planet. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​Biodiversity​ ​Sustainability​ ​Renewable resources​ ​Conservation​ ​Extinction​ 🔵 Unit: Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science ✍️ Unit Summary: Biological engineering and modern technology have allowed scientists to change and improve life through manipulating DNA, solving medical issues, and increasing food production. This unit focuses on biotechnology tools like genetic engineering, cloning, gene therapy, and DNA fingerprinting. Students learn not only how these tools work but also their ethical issues, benefits, and impact on human life and the environment. 🧬 1. Genetic Engineering 🔹 Summary: Genetic engineering is the process of changing an organism’s DNA to give it new traits or correct genetic issues. It uses biotechnology tools to cut, move, and insert DNA between organisms. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Genetic engineering is one of the most powerful tools in modern biology. It allows scientists to directly manipulate the DNA of an organism to give it a desired trait. For example, scientists can take the human gene that codes for insulin and insert it into bacteria. These bacteria then act like tiny factories, producing insulin that can be collected and used to treat people with diabetes. This process uses restriction enzymes to cut DNA at specific spots and plasmids (small circular pieces of DNA in bacteria) to carry the gene into the organism. The result is a transgenic organism, which contains DNA from another species. This technology is used in medicine, agriculture, and industry. However, some people worry about unknown side effects, genetic mistakes, and the ethics of changing DNA. Even so, genetic engineering has greatly improved health care and food production. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ Genetic engineering​ ​ Recombinant DNA​ ​ Plasmid​ ​ Transgenic organism​ ​ Restriction enzyme​ 🧬 2. Cloning 🔹 Summary: Cloning is making a genetically identical copy of a gene, cell, or entire organism. It can be used in medicine, agriculture, and research. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Cloning is the process of creating exact copies of living things with the same DNA. In 1996, a sheep named Dolly became the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. In the lab, scientists remove the nucleus from an unfertilized egg cell and replace it with a nucleus from the organism to be cloned. The egg is then stimulated to divide and develop like a normal embryo. Eventually, the embryo can grow into a full organism that is an exact genetic copy. Cloning is used to copy animals with helpful traits or to grow identical organs for transplants. However, many cloned animals have health problems or shorter lifespans, and cloning raises ethical questions. Despite the risks, cloning remains a powerful tool in research and genetics. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ Clone​ ​ Nucleus transfer​ ​ Somatic cell​ ​ Embryo​ 🌽 3. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) 🔹 Summary: GMOs are living things that have been given new traits through genetic engineering, especially used in crops to improve resistance and growth. 🧠 Body Paragraph: A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is an organism whose DNA has been altered using biotechnology. This is mostly done in crops to improve food supply. For instance, corn can be genetically modified to produce a natural pesticide so it doesn’t get eaten by insects. This helps farmers grow more food while using fewer chemicals. GMOs can also be made to grow faster, resist drought, or contain extra nutrients. Although GMOs improve farming and food security, there are concerns that they might cause allergies, harm biodiversity, or escape into the wild and outcompete native species. As a result, some countries require labeling of GMO foods, while others ban them. Scientists continue to study their long-term safety. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ GMO​ ​ Biotechnology​ ​ Crop resistance​ ​ Genetic trait​ 🧬 4. Gene Therapy 🔹 Summary: Gene therapy is the treatment of diseases by replacing faulty genes with healthy ones using viruses as delivery systems. 🧠 Body Paragraph: Gene therapy is an exciting area of medical research where scientists try to cure genetic disorders by fixing or replacing broken genes. The idea is to deliver a normal, working version of a gene into a patient’s cells. To do this, scientists often use a virus vector, which carries the gene and inserts it into the patient’s DNA. For example, in patients with cystic fibrosis—a disorder caused by a defective gene affecting the lungs—a working gene can be added to help the body function normally. While this method has potential to cure many inherited diseases, it is still being tested. The body may reject the virus, or the gene might not be inserted correctly. Even so, gene therapy offers hope for many people with previously untreatable conditions. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ Gene therapy​ ​ Vector​  ​ Virus​ ​ Genetic disorder​ 🧬 5. DNA Fingerprinting / Gel Electrophoresis 🔹 Summary: DNA fingerprinting uses patterns in a person’s DNA to identify them. It is used in crime cases, paternity tests, and biology research. 🧠 Body Paragraph: DNA fingerprinting is a method used to identify people based on their unique DNA. No two people (except identical twins) have the same DNA pattern. Scientists take a sample of someone’s DNA and use gel electrophoresis, a lab technique that separates DNA pieces by size using electricity. The DNA fragments create a pattern of bands, like a barcode. This can then be compared to other samples to see if they match. This method is used in forensics to match crime scene evidence to a suspect, or in paternity tests to find a child’s parent. It’s also used in animal conservation and research. DNA fingerprinting is very accurate and only needs a tiny sample, but it must be handled carefully to avoid contamination or error. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ DNA fingerprinting​ ​ Gel electrophoresis​ ​ Band pattern​ ​ Fragment​ ⚙️ 6. Engineering Design Process in Biology 🔹 Summary: Scientists and engineers follow a step-by-step process to solve problems using biology, such as creating vaccines or solving food shortages. 🧠 Body Paragraph: The engineering design process is how scientists and engineers solve real-world problems using a step-by-step method. The process starts with identifying a problem—for example, how to deliver vaccines to remote areas. Scientists research the problem, brainstorm ideas, and create a model or prototype. Then they test their design, analyze what works, and make improvements. This method is used in biology to develop gene therapies, new medicines, vaccines, and farming technology. For example, mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were developed using this exact process. The key to success is testing and improving repeatedly until the solution is safe and effective. This process encourages problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking. 📘 Key Vocabulary: ​ Engineering design process​ ​ Prototype​ ​ Innovation​ ​ Application​ --------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS: CHATGPT Last Thing! If You See This, GOOD LUCK ON TOMORROW'S TEST!!! YOU GOT THIS!