§-Module

Unit 3: How do cells maintain life?

8 dot points across 2 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do cells communicate?

the stimulus-response model and the role of signalling molecules, receptors and signal transduction in coordinating cellular responses, including the role of apoptosis as a regulated cellular response

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on cell signalling and apoptosis. Covers the stimulus-response model, hydrophilic and hydrophobic signalling molecules, surface and intracellular receptors, signal transduction cascades, apoptosis versus necrosis, and the role of regulated cell death in development and disease.

12 min answer →

How do cellular processes work?

the inputs, outputs and locations of glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain in aerobic cellular respiration, and anaerobic fermentation in animal and plant cells

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on cellular respiration. Covers glycolysis in the cytosol, the Krebs cycle in the mitochondrial matrix, oxidative phosphorylation at the inner mitochondrial membrane, and anaerobic respiration to lactate or ethanol.

13 min answer →

the role of enzymes and coenzymes in facilitating biochemical reactions, including factors affecting enzyme activity (temperature, pH, substrate concentration) and the effect of competitive and non-competitive inhibitors

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on enzymes. Covers active site and induced fit, factors affecting rate (temperature, pH, substrate concentration), competitive vs non-competitive inhibition, and the role of coenzymes and cofactors.

11 min answer →

the expression of a gene to form a functional protein in a eukaryotic cell, including transcription, RNA processing (5' capping, polyadenylation and splicing) and translation, and the role of mRNA, tRNA and ribosomes

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on gene expression. Covers transcription, the three RNA processing steps (5' cap, poly-A tail, splicing), and translation at the ribosome with mRNA and tRNA.

12 min answer →

the structure of genes including exons, introns and promoters and the role of regulator genes, including the role of the trp operon as an example of a regulatory process in prokaryotes

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on gene structure and regulation. Covers exons, introns, promoters, regulator genes, and the trp operon as a worked prokaryotic example.

11 min answer →

nucleic acids as information molecules that encode instructions for the synthesis of proteins: the structure of DNA, including nucleotide composition and the role of complementary base pairing, the three main forms of RNA (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA)

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on nucleic acids. Covers nucleotide composition, the antiparallel double helix, complementary base pairing, and how mRNA, tRNA and rRNA differ in structure and role.

10 min answer →

the inputs, outputs and locations of the light-dependent and light-independent stages of photosynthesis in plants (C3); the factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis; differences between C3, C4 and CAM plants

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on photosynthesis. Covers the light-dependent reactions in the thylakoid (photolysis, ATP and NADPH), the Calvin cycle in the stroma (RuBisCO, G3P), factors that affect rate, and how C3, C4 and CAM plants differ.

13 min answer →

amino acids as the monomers of a polypeptide chain and the resultant hierarchical levels of structure that give rise to a functional protein

A focused answer to the VCE Biology Unit 3 dot point on protein structure. Covers amino acids, the four levels of protein structure (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary) and the link between structure and function.

10 min answer →