BIOLOGY COURSE CHALLENGE
544 MHR • Course Challenge
Organize a Biology Symposium
In this culminating Course Challenge, you will
have an opportunity to prepare a paper or a poster
on a topic that integrates key knowledge and
skills you have acquired throughout your
Biology 12 course. With guidance from your
teacher, you and your classmates will organize a
simulated Biology Symposium. A symposium is
a forum or conference during which participants
share research results and ideas, usually through
the formal presentation of a paper or through a
less formal poster display. In fulfilling this
Course Challenge, you can base your research on
a wide variety of sources, and you can examine
your topic from various perspectives. However,
your symposium presentation should highlight
a relevant STSE (Science/Technology/Society/
Environment) issue or issues associated with
your chosen topic. As well, your work should aim
to demonstrate knowledge and understanding,
inquiry, and communication skills.A symposium provides an opportunity for experts in
a field of research to share findings and exchange
information.Challenge
Investigate a topic of interest in order to present
a research paper or a poster display at the
Biology Symposium. (A sample poster display
is shown on page 546.) For example, you might
decide to research a hereditary metabolic
disorder such as porphyria. You could approach
this topic from several perspectives, for instance:explaining how this disorder affects metabolic
pathways in cells to demonstrate your
understanding of those pathways
describing cellular functions in the body of
an individual affected by this condition and
strategies required to diagnose and treat the
condition
exploring genetic expression and control
of proteins
researching the development of medical
technologies related to treatment of disorders
such as porphyria
analyzing how porphyria affects the well-being
of an individual diagnosed with this disorder
examining how porphyria is distributed
among the population and how this
distribution affects societal decisions related
to medical research and patient support
In researching and creating your paper or
poster, do your best to make connections that
link the content to the various units you have
studied in your grade 12 Biology course. The
topic of porphyria, for example, is related to
content in Unit 1, Metabolic Processes; Unit 2,
Homeostasis; Unit 3, Molecular Genetics; Unit 4,
Evolution; and Unit 5, Population Dynamics.
Time permitting, you might highlight an STSE
relationship by conducting an interview with
a scientific researcher, a medical professional
such as a genetic counsellor, or, if appropriate,
a person suffering from porphyria.Possible Topics for the Course Challenge
In addition to the topic of porphyria, you might
choose one of the following topics, or another
topic approved by your teacher:
The conservation of biodiversity at a local
and/or global level has an impact on the human
population. How effective are strategies to
conserve species and what justifications exist
for these efforts? Other questions to explore
include: How can we better understand
metabolic pathways in cells, and how would
this understanding apply to species
conservation? How do pharmacological and
other business-based technologies benefit from
biodiversity conservation? How does species
diversity promote better understanding of
genetic expression? How might a smaller gene