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50 things every biologist should know
Hi, Plantbio members. Like many Biology departments in universities across=
Canada, our university, the University of New Brunswick at Saint John, h= as decided to phase out the comprehensive exam in favour of a proposal de= fense/qualifying exam as part of the requirements for completion of a Ph.= D. The rationale for this, as we understand it, is that students should= not be expected to have a detailed understanding of the entire disciplin= e of biology. A proposal defense/qualifying exam is only expected to tes= t a student on areas relevant to their Ph. D. research. This is a concep= t we support, but it does raise the concern that students could graduate = with a Ph. D. in Biology without understanding some very basic biological= concepts if those concepts are not relevant to their project. For examp= le, students doing research that has no explicit evolutionary context cou= ld graduate without knowing the difference between evolution and natural = selection. Our discussion group has suggested that one way to deal with = this is to develop a list of ‘The 50 things every biologist shoul= d know=E2=80=99 and make those 50 topics fair game in a qualifying exam/p= roposal defence. Thus, our goal is to put together such a list. We have= put together a preliminary list of 60 different questions (maybe) every = biologist should be able to answer (see that list below), but we are look= ing for broader input. We would love to hear from anybody who would like= to add a question or questions to the list, or make some comment about t= he questions that are already on the list. Ultimately, we will be puttin= g together a survey to rank the suggestions we get and identify the =E2= =80=9950 things every biologist should know=E2=80=99 as ranked by survey re= sponses. We will distribute that list to this group when the survey is c= omplete. Thanks for any comments you can provide on this. The UNBSJ Ecology discussion group A.=09CHEMISTRY 1.=09What is an atom? 2.=09What is a molecule? 3.=09What causes water to be green? 4.=09What are the two laws of thermodynamics? 5.=09What are the four unique properties of water? 6.=09What three elements define organic compounds? 7.=09What is an element? 8.=09What is a protein 9.=09What is a carbohydrate? 10.=09What is a lipid? B.=09MOLECULAR 11.=09What is DNA? 12.=09What is a gene? 13.=09What is natural selection? 13b. Are evolution and natural selection synonymous terms? 14.=09What is a chromosome? 15.=09What are the four principles of Mendelian genetics 16.=09What is a genome? 17.=09How is DNA replicated? 18.=09What is epistasis? 19.=09What are the sources of genetic variation? 20.=09What is epigenesis? C.=09EVOLUTION 21.=09What does the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium predict, and what is the imp= ortance of the model assumptions? 22.=09How have continents moved and how has that affected the formation and= distribution=20 of species? 23.=09What is evolution? 24.=09What is the difference between micro and macro-evolution? 25.=09Can you read a phylogenetic tree? 26.=09What are the kingdoms of living organisms? 27.=09Finish the following Kingdom, Phylum=E2=80=A6 28.=09What is the =E2=80=9CEvolutionary Synthesis=E2=80=9D? 29.=09Is evolution progressive? 30.=09What comes first: the adaptation or the selective pressure? 31.=09What is meant by the =E2=80=9Cinheritance of acquired traits=E2=80=9D= , who made this claim, and why was he wrong? 32.=09What is the object of natural selection? 33.=09Are cladogenesis and anagenesis synonymous terms? 34.=09What is a phenotype? D.=09CELLULAR 35.=09What is osmosis? 36.=09What are the key differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes 37.=09What is mitosis and what happens during mitosis? 38.=09What is meiosis and what happens during meiosis? 39.=09What are the ? cell organelles and what are their functions? 40.=09What are the key differences between plant and animal cells? 41.=09What is a cell? E.=09ENERGY/MATTER 42.=09What is photosynthesis? 43.=09What is glycolysis? 44.=09What is the Kreb=E2=80=99s cycle? 45.=09How does energy flow and matter cycle? 46.=09What is a trophic level? 47.=09How does water cycle? 48.=09Can you describe the cycles for key nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, = carbon) 49.=09What is biomagnification? F.=09ECOLOGY 50.=09What is the Theory of Island Biogeography? 51.=09What are r and K selected life histories? 52.=09What is an ecosystem? G.=09GENERAL 53.=09What are Newton=E2=80=99s Laws? 54.=09What are the key organs in the human body and what are their function= s? 55.=09What are Theories, hypotheses and predictions and how do they differ? 56.=09What are the important plant structures and their functions? 57.=09What is homeostasis and why is it important? 58.=09What is the scientific method? 59.=09What is a confidence interval? 60.=09What is an ANOVA? Excuse the cross posting =E2=80=93 we are trying to get a diverse group of = opinions. --- |
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