Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: evaluate how the basic units of matter interact to produce the complex macromolecules that imbue living systems with the many properties that constitute the living state; interpret the scientific basis for declaring the cell as the basic unit of life; understand the scientific method and develop critical thinking in seeking to solve problems; analyze the nature of the different processes involved in cell metabolism, cellular respiration, fermentation and photosynthesis; describe the processes of the cell cycle, genetics, meiosis, the chromosomal basis of Inheritance, the molecular basis of inheritance from gene to protein, and the regulation of gene expression; describe the life processes carried out by plant and animal life forms as well as human biological processes; and evaluate the different forms of ecology and ecosystems and how they apply to life on planet.