Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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LEARNING FROM TEXTBOOKS 209

CONTENT

Directions: Read the following passages from different academic text-

books and, in the space provided, construct a complete representa-

EXERCISE 8.3: CONSTRUCTING DIFFERENT

REPRESENTATIONS IN ACADEMIC

tion for the material.

Cells are composed of chemicals. The chemicals of life

(biochemicals) tend to be large and are therefore called

macromolecules. The macromolecules that make up and

fuel cells include carbohydrates (sugars and starches),

lipids (fats and oils), proteins, and nucleic acids. Cells

need vitamins and minerals in much smaller amounts,

but they are also vital to health.

Carbohydrates provide energy. Lipids form the basis of

several types of hormones, produce insulation, and serve

as an energy reserve. Proteins have many diverse func-

tions in the human body. They participate in blood clot-

ting, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction. Pro-

teins called enzymes are especially important, because

they speed, or catalyze, biochemical reactions so that

they occur swiftly enough to sustain life.

Most important to the study of heredity are the nucleic

acids deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid

(RNA). DNA and RNA form a living language that converts

information from past generations into specific collections

of proteins that give a cell its individual characteristics.^3

Representation:

Stocks and Bonds

Our discussion of the earnings of an investor in corporate

securities introduces a subject of interest to millions of

Americans—stocks and bonds, the financial instruments

that provide funds to the corporate sector of the economy.

(^3) From Lewis, R. (1997). Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications (2nd ed.). Dubuque,
IA: Brown, p. 18.