College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Biology
Three major areas: i) Molecular and cellular biology ii)Organismal biology iii) Population biology
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| Exams |
No.of Questions: 115 questions
Time: 90 minutes
CLEP Biology Syllabus
i) Molecular and
Cellular Biology (33%)
a) Chemical composition of organisms
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Simple chemical reactions and bonds
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Properties of water
•
Chemical structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
•
Origin of life Chemical composition of organisms
•
Structure and function of cell organelles
•
Properties of cell membranes
•
Comparison of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
b) Enzymes
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Enzyme-substrate complex
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Roles of coenzymes
•
Inorganic cofactors
•
Inhibition and regulation
c) Energy transformations
•
Glycolysis, respiration, anaerobic pathways
•
Photosynthesis
d)Cell division
• Structure
of chromosomes
•
Mitosis, meiosis and cytokinesis in plants and animals
e) Chemical nature of the gene
•
Watson-Crick model of nucleic acids
• DNA replication
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Mutations
•
Control of protein synthesis: transcription, translation, post transcriptional
processing
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Structural and regulatory genes
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Transformation
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Viruses
ii) Organismal Biology (34%)
a) Structure and function in plants with
emphasis on angiosperms
•
Root, stem, leaf, flower, seed, fruit
•
Water and mineral absorption and transport
•
Food translocation and storage
b) Plant reproduction and development
•
Alternation of generations in ferns, conifers and
flowering plants
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Gamete formation and fertilization
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Growth and development: hormonal control
•
Tropisms and photoperiodicity
c) Structure and function in animals with
emphasis on vertebrates
• Major systems (e.g., digestive, gas exchange, skeletal,
nervous, circulatory, excretory, immune)
• Homeostatic mechanisms
• Hormonal control in homeostasis and reproduction
d) Animal reproduction and development
• Gamete formation, fertilization
• Cleavage, gastrulation, germ layer formation, differentiation
of organ systems
• Experimental analysis of vertebrate development
• Extraembryonic membranes of vertebrates
• Formation and function of the mammalian placenta
• Blood circulation in the human embryo
e) Principles of heredity
• Mendelian inheritance (dominance, segregation,independent
assortment)
• Chromosomal basis of inheritance
• Linkage, including sex linked
• Polygenic inheritance (height, skin color)
• Multiple alleles (human blood groups)
iii) Population
Biology (33%)
a) Principles of ecology
• Energy flow and productivity in
ecosystems
• Biogeochemical cycles
• Population growth and regulation
(natality, mortality, competition, migration, density, r- and K-selection)
• Community structure, growth,
regulation (major biomes and succession)
• Habitat (biotic and abiotic factors)
• Concept of niche
• Island biogeography
• Evolutionary ecology (life history
strategies, altruism,kin selection)
b) Principles of evolution
• History of evolutionary concepts
• Concepts of natural selection (differential reproduction,
mutation, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, speciation, punctuated equilibrium)
• Adaptive radiation
• Major features of plant and animal evolution
• Concepts of homology and analogy
• Convergence, extinction, balanced polymorphism,genetic
drift
• Classification of living organisms
• Evolutionary history of humans
c)Principles of behavior
• Stereotyped, learned social behavior
• Societies (insects, birds, primates)
d)Social biology
• Human population growth (age composition, birth and fertility
rates, theory of demographic transition)
• Human intervention in the natural world (management of
resources, environmental pollution)
• Biomedical progress (control of human reproduction,genetic
engineering)
CLEP Biology Text Books
- Audesirk, Audesirk, and Byers, Biology: Life on Earth (Benjamin Cummings)
- Brooker, Widmaier, Graham, and Stiling, Biology (McGraw-Hill)
- Cain, et. al., Discover Biology (W.W. Norton)
- Campbell and Reece, Biology (Benjamin Cummings)
- Campbell, Reece, Taylor, and Simon, Biology: Concepts and Connections (Benjamin Cummings)
- Enger et al., Concepts in Biology (McGraw-Hill)
- Freeman, Biological Science (Benjamin Cummings)
- Lewis et al., Life (McGraw-Hill)
- Mader, Essentials of Biology (McGraw-Hill)
- Sadava, et al., Life: The Science of Biology (W.H. Freeman)
- Solomon et al., Biology (Brooks/Cole)
- Raven et al., Biology (McGraw-Hill)
- Russell, Wolfe, Hertz, and Starr, Biology: The Dynamic Science (Brooks/Cole; Thomson Learning)
- Starr, Biology: Concepts and Applications (Brooks/Cole)
- Tobin and Dusheck, Asking About Life (Brooks/Cole)
