Class Description USABO Open

As the premiere biology competition for high school students in the United States, the USA Biolympiad (USABO) enriches the life science education of nearly 10,000 talented students annually. It provides the motivation, curricular resources, and skills training to take them beyond their classroom experience to the level of international competitiveness.

USABO

Round 1: USABO Online Open Exam

• Is a 50-minute, online nationwide multiple-choice exam available to any high school biology student (Grades 9 to 12) who is registered by a school or one of the select authorized USABO Centers. US Citizenship and green card are not required for the Open Exam, but are required for students to progress to the Semifinal Exam.
• Structured with multiple choice questions with one response.
• NO Penalty for guessing.
• The Open Exam recognition will include Honorable Mention Certificate (Top 20%) and Certificate of Merit (Top 30%).

Round 2: USABO Online Semifinal Exam

• Is a 120-minute online exam containing three parts available only to high school students (Grades 9 to 12) who are US citizens or are legal permanent US residents (green cards):
  1. Part A is primarily multiple choice questions with one answer.
  2. Part B is Multiple True False questions
  3. Part C may be short answer and/or essay focused on the topics of the current International Biology Olympiad’s hosts Practical Topics.
• Taken by students who score in the top 10% of the Open Exam and who are US Citizens or a legal US residents (green cards).
• NO Penalty for guessing. For Part B multiple choice questions with more than one answer, the question value will be 2 points if all correct responses are selected.
• Part C contains Multiple/True False (MTF) Questions. MTF questions will be scored as follows: 4 correct responses = 1 point; 3 = .6; 2 = .2; and 1 or 0 = 0.
• Part D will consist of four Short Answer and or Essay questions at 15 points each on the topics of the current International Biology Olympiad’s host’s Practical Topics.
• The Semifinal recognition will include Recognition of Academic Excellence (Top 50 scores), Honorable Mention (Next 75 scores), Certificate of Merit (Next 100 scores).

Class Description: Momentum Learning’s USABO Open Course offers a unique competitive biology curriculum that couples USABO-targeted lectures from National Finalists with fun & challenging problem sets to develop critical skills for the USABO Open exam. In addition to providing comprehensive lectures and homework sessions, students will receive personalized advice and guidance from successful USABO alumni as they grow throughout their high school journey.

Recommended Grades: 9-11

Prerequisite: Completion of Pre-AP Biology

Homework: Homework will be assigned after each class and we will discuss the previous class’s homework at the beginning of each class.

Recommended Book:

Campbell Biology (Campbell Biology Series) 11th Edition
ISBN-13: 978-0134093413

Structure:

• 10 weeks with 2, 2h 20m sessions per week
• First 30 minutes: Homework review
• Following 1 hour 50 minutes: Lecture + questions

Infrastructure:

• Canvas classroom: announcements, recordings, slides, homework
• Discord server: introductions, quick reminders

Overall Goal:

• Teach general & important concepts
  • Propel students to the USABO Open and Semifinal level
• Give ample space & inspiration to explore further
  • Propel students to the National Finals level

Expectations:

• Attend lecture regularly and actively participate
• Complete the assigned reading and homework before the start of the following lecture

The goal of this course is to teach challenging concepts and develop problem-solving skills useful for the USABO exams. Thus, lectures are designed to supplement the assigned reading chapters from Campbell and will focus on problem-solving and content that may not be covered in Campbell.

Topic List (subject to modification):
Cell Biology:
1. Intro, Carbon, Water, and Macromolecules
2. Macromolecules and Cell Organization – Tour of the Cell, Cell Membrane, Cell Transport
3. Metabolism – Energetics, Enzymes, Cellular Respiration, Fermentation, metabolic regulation
4. Photosynthesis, Cell Cycle, Mendelian genetics
Genetics:
5. Non-mendelian genetics + statistical tests
6. DNA Replication, Transcription
7. Translation, Regulation of Gene Expression
8. Viruses, Biotechnology
Evolution:
9. Evolution, Basic biosystematics, Phylogeny
Plant Anatomy & Physiology:
10. Plant History, Plant Structure and Growth, Plant Reproduction,
11. Plant Hormones, Plant Nutrients
Ethology:
12. Ethology + Intro to animals & homeostasis
Animal Anatomy & Physiology:
13. Endocrine System and Cell Signaling
14. Neurons, Nervous system
15. Sensory Systems
16. Musculoskeletal System + Cardiovascular System
17. Respiratory System + Digestive system
18. Immune System
19. Excretory System/Osmoregulation + Wrap up