Course Description
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are the foundations of life on our planet. Plants use photosynthesis to convert light energy from the Sun into chemical energy and oxygen, while animals use this chemical energy and oxygen to generate ATP for cellular function. This course emphasizes cellular bioenergetics to better understand carbon cycling through plant and animal cells with a focus on genetic and environmental variables.
Athena Title
Bioenergetics Plant & Animal
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be offered exclusively through a Study Away program in Innsbruck, Austria: Plant and Animal Cellular Bioenergetics Study Away Program in Innsbruck, Austria. Lecture days and times will vary.
Prerequisite
VPHY 3100 or VPHY 3100E or VPHY 3107-3107D or CBIO 2210-2210L or CBIO 3710 or EHSC 2100 or POUL 4175 or POUL 4200/6200-4200L/6200L or WILD 4400/6400 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course students will be able to illustrate how oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between living organisms and the environment by constructing a model of reactants and products of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
- By the end of this course students will be able to predict how genetic and environmental variables will affect photosynthesis and cellular respiration, and subsequently plant and animal homeostasis.
- By the end of this course students will be able to verify the accuracy of Primo Levi’s “Carbon” with regards to carbon cycling and plant and animal cellular respiration.
- By the end of this course students will be able to explain the carbon cycle on planet Earth and carbon’s central role allowing for organic life.
- By the end of this course students will be able to summarize key points of selected scientific literature relating to photosynthesis or cellular respiration.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to describe scientific approaches to assess leaf chlorophyll content and type, rates of oxygen production via plant photosynthesis, and rates of oxygen consumption via mitochondrial respiration.
Topical Outline
- Carbon cycling
Foundations of carbon cycling
Chemistry
Forms and reservoirs
Natural vs anthropogenic
Major carbon reservoirs and fluxes
Atmospheric
Terrestrial
Oceans
Geologic
Cyrsophere
Processes driving carbon cycle
Photosynthesis and respiration (primary focus)
Fluxes between reservoirs (minor)
Decomposition and microbial activity (minor)
- Photosynthesis
Introduction
Structure of chloroplasts
Light-dependent reactions
Role of light and pigments
ATP and NADPH
Photosystems I and II
Light-independent reactions
Carbon fixation
ATP and NADPH utilization
Regulation and variation in photosynthesis
Photorespiration
Environmental variables
- Cellular respiration
Introduction
Mitochondria
Energy reservoirs and transfer pathways
Carbon storage, electron carriers, proton motive force, ATP
Dehydrogenases, electron transport system, complex V
Regulation and variation in cellular respiration
Cell types
Genetic diseases
Environmental variables
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
