DE Biology 101 — Resources by Unit
A dual-enrollment general biology course runs on a college syllabus inside a high school calendar, and the pieces a student needs sit in three different places. This page puts the reading, the interactive tools and the shape of each unit in one order: the eighteen units of NVCC BIO 101, with a free open-textbook chapter, the calendar window, the laboratory that falls inside it, and the Checkpoint that goes with it. Everything here is free and opens on a phone or an iPad.
Three places, and what lives in each
- Battlefield Canvas — slides, readings, the lab documents and the shared class data table. Course files are there, not here.
- NOVA Canvas — the Checkpoint questions, all of them, all year, and where a finished lab is uploaded from Lab 2 onward.
- This page — the reading and the interactive tools, arranged in the order the course meets them.
The Battlefield grade and the NOVA grade are the same grade: one piece of work, scored once, recorded in both.
And one more thing, which is yours rather than any of the three: Student-Authored Modules — what they are, and why you build your own, and what changes this year in SAMs, Version Two.
Start with the Checkpoint
Each unit's Checkpoint lists what you need to understand. Take it cold, list every question you missed or guessed on, and name the kind of gap. Then go to the tools for that kind of gap, which you will find under each unit below.
| What went wrong | What to do | Where to go |
|---|---|---|
| I didn't know the word or fact | Flashcards, then retake it cold two days later | Study guide and flashcards on Battlefield Canvas; the crosswords |
| I knew the words but couldn't explain why | Write a SAM from a stem, including why the wrong answer tempts people | Checkpoint Companion; the slides it names |
| I couldn't picture the structure or process | Use the tool, then draw it from memory | Carbon Check, Chemistry Check, the Membrane Patch, Functional Groups in 3D, the Energy Patch |
| I couldn't use it on new data or a new case | Work a new problem, then write a SAM at Checkpoint level | Checkpoint Companion, the CER one-pagers, your lab data |
| I was stuck between two answers | Build a SAM out of the two options you weighed | Your own Checkpoint |
Why it works, and how the talking fits in: SAMs, Version Two.
Jump to unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Any time
Unit 1 Course Overview; Introduction to Biology
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 1 — The Study of LifeCovers the same ground as the opening unit, with more room given to how scientific work gets published and reviewed.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 1, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Bio Tool #1 The Tree of Life — every organism this course names has a timeline and continues to evolve; find a few you already know Interactive · works on iPads
- Evidence #1 What Makes Science Good? Reaching for a Standard Nobody Ever Finishes
- Evidence #6 The Chain and the Rope — How Science Gets Confident Without Getting Proof
Unit 2 Chemical Context of Life
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 2 — The Chemical Foundation of LifeAtoms, bonding and the properties of water line up closely, and the chapter then runs on into carbon chemistry, which the course does not reach until Unit 3.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 2, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 1 Lab Safety, Scientific Method · Sep 14–Sep 25
- Due in this window Intro to Mastering Biology (4 pts)
- Chem Tool #1 Bond Budget — build seven molecules by spending each atom’s bonds to zero Interactive · works on iPads
- Chem Tool #2 Chemistry Check — eighteen questions that find where the chemistry stopped making sense Interactive · works on iPads
- Bio Tool #10 The Water Patch — hydrogen bonds, ice, the phase diagram, hydration spheres and boiling point elevation, one molecule at a time Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · Module 1, six steps, about 30 minutes · set the toggle to DE Bio
- Chemistry #1 Written in Carbonic Acid: The Chemistry of Virginia’s Natural Bridge
- Chemistry #2 Testing the Water: The Acid-Base Chemistry an 18-Year-Old Pool Manager Runs Every Morning
- Chemistry #4 The Chemistry of Lightning: Plasma, Excited Electrons, and the Miller-Urey Connection
Unit 3 Carbon and Molecular Diversity of Life
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 3 — Biological MacromoleculesThe four macromolecule classes are all here. Carbon skeletons, isomers and functional groups sit at the end of the chapter before it, in sections 2.18 through 2.22.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 3, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 1 Lab Safety, Scientific Method · Sep 14–Sep 25
- Lab 2 Macromolecules · Sep 28–Oct 9
- Due in this window Ch. 1 and 2 SAMs (12 pts)
- Bio Tool #2 Biochemistry Vocabulary Crosswords — the core biochemistry Chapter 3 builds on: water’s properties, the four macromolecules, and enzymes Interactive · works on iPads · three puzzles · review, not new Chapter 3 material
- Bio Tool #3 Carbon Check — twenty-one questions across the seven ideas Chapter 3 hides inside one word Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 18 minutes · maps to Checkpoint Chapter 3
- Bio Tool #4 DE Biochemistry Crosswords for Unit 3 — forty terms in four puzzles, one for each of the module’s learning targets Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes a puzzle · the vocabulary Checkpoint Chapter 3 assumes
- Bio Tool #9 Checkpoint Companion, Chapter 3 — thirty original questions in the shape of Checkpoint Chapter 3, and a SAM question to write from every miss Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · one question per Checkpoint item · slide numbers and the lab under every answer
- Bio Tool #17 The Macromolecule Patch — build each class by condensation and count the water, hydrolyze it with the enzyme that fits its linkage, flip α glucose to β and watch amylase fail, separate denaturing from hydrolysis, and run Lab 2’s spot plate with its controls Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · six steps, about 30 minutes · set the toggle to DE Bio · Campbell Chapter 3 · Lab 2
- Chem Tool #1 Bond Budget — the last three molecules are where functional groups begin Interactive · works on iPads
- Chem Tool #3 Functional Groups in 3D — rotate each of the seven groups and see where its lone pairs and its charges really sit Interactive · works on iPads
- Chemistry #3 What If the Genetic Code Ran Backwards? Chirality, Racemic Chemistry, and Mirror Life
Unit 4 Tour of the Cell
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 4 — Cell StructureOrganelles, the endomembrane system and the cytoskeleton follow the unit closely, and cell junctions get more attention here than the lecture gives them.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 4, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 2 Macromolecules · Sep 28–Oct 9
- Lab 3 Microscopy and Cells · Oct 13–Oct 30
- Bio Tool #1 The Tree of Life — prokaryote and eukaryote are two branches, not two lists of traits Interactive · works on iPads
- Bio Tool #9 Checkpoint Companion, Chapter 4 — eighteen original questions in the shape of Checkpoint Chapter 4, and a SAM question to write from every miss Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · one question per Checkpoint item · slide numbers and the lab under every answer
- Bio Tool #12 DE Cell Structure Crosswords for Unit 4 — eighty-four terms in six puzzles, one for each idea Checkpoint Chapter 4 tests, from microscopes to cell junctions Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes a puzzle · the vocabulary Checkpoint Chapter 4 assumes
- Bio Tool #13 Cell Check — eighteen questions across the six ideas Checkpoint Chapter 4 tests, each one answered with the reasoning and followed by something to draw for the ideas that come up short Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes · take it cold, before you study · six ideas, three questions each · set the tab to DE Bio 101
- Bio Tool #18 The Protein Route — preproinsulin from the INS gene to regulated secretion: SRP docking, folding and disulfide bonds in the ER lumen, M6P sorting at the trans Golgi, a pulse-chase you run at low and high glucose, and the bacterium that translates but cannot process Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · seven steps, about 30 minutes · set the switch to DE Bio · the route a protein takes, organelles with one job · Campbell Chapter 4; the Signal Patch continues the same cell in Chapter 5
- Biology #8 AlphaFold and the Fifty-Year Protein Problem
Unit 5 Membrane Transport and Cell Signaling
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 5 — Structure and Function of Plasma MembranesDiffusion, osmosis, tonicity and active transport align well. Signaling is a chapter of its own, 9: Cell Communication.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 5, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 4 Microbiology · Nov 2–Nov 20
- Bio Tool #5 The Membrane Patch — build a piece of plasma membrane one molecule at a time, turn it in three dimensions, and run its aquaporin, its Na⁺/K⁺ pump and its receptor Interactive 3D · works on iPads · nothing submitted · nine steps, about 25 minutes · set the toggle to DE Bio 101 · maps to Checkpoint Chapter 5
- Bio Tool #6 Four Classes, One Membrane — a tappable cross-section of the membrane with a class filter, animated passive and active transport, and a tonicity beaker Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes · five-question quick check
- Bio Tool #7 The Membrane, Built From All Four — the same cross-section drawn plainly, part by part, with an eight-question self-check on transport, tonicity, the fluid mosaic and junctions Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes · eight-question self-check
- Bio Tool #14 The Signal Relay — send a signal to the receptor it can actually use, then run the pathway one stage at a time and watch how far it gets amplified Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · about 15 minutes · three receptor types side by side · block any step and see what fails · maps to Checkpoint Chapter 5
- Bio Tool #15 The Signal Patch — GLP-1, exendin-4 and semaglutide at the same receptor: ligand binding from outside the cell, the protease that ends the signal, half-life on a live graph and the amplification counter Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · six steps · set the toggle to DE Bio · Campbell Chapter 5; enzymes, Chapter 6
Unit 6 An Introduction to Metabolism
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 6 — MetabolismThermodynamics, free energy and ATP cover the unit, and enzymes arrive at the very end, in sections 6.10 and 6.11.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 6, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 4 Microbiology · Nov 2–Nov 20
- Bio Tool #10 The Water Patch, Module 2 — fold a protein in water, then watch an enzyme bind its substrate by induced fit, split it by hydrolysis and reset Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · three steps, about 15 minutes · open the Enzyme Activity tab and set the toggle to DE Bio
Unit 7 Cell Respiration and Fermentation
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 7 — Cellular RespirationGlycolysis through oxidative phosphorylation match well. Fermentation is at 7.14, Metabolism without Oxygen, which the chapter’s own contents list skips past.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 7, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 5 Diffusion and Osmosis · Nov 30–Dec 18
- Due in this window Ch. 5 and 6 SAMs (12 pts)
- Bio Tool #11 The Energy Patch, Module 2 — glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain for one glucose, with every CO₂, NADH and ATP counted; then turn O₂ off and run fermentation Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · six steps, about 35 minutes · open the Mitochondrion tab and set the toggle to DE Bio · maps to Checkpoint Chapter 7
Unit 8 Photosynthesis
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 8 — PhotosynthesisOpens at the first section, because the chapter’s front page loads empty; the light-dependent reactions, the Calvin cycle, and C4 and CAM photosynthesis follow in order.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 8, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 5 Diffusion and Osmosis · Nov 30–Dec 18
- Bio Tool #11 The Energy Patch, Modules 1 and 3 — follow one electron from water through photosystem II, the cytochrome complex and photosystem I to NADPH, count CO₂, ATP and NADPH into the Calvin cycle, then run the chloroplast and the mitochondrion side by side Interactive · works on iPads · nothing submitted · seven steps, about 45 minutes · open the Chloroplast tab, then Both together, and set the toggle to DE Bio · maps to Checkpoint Chapter 8
Unit 9 The Cell Cycle
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 10 — Cell ReproductionInterphase, the mitotic phases and the internal checkpoints align well, and the chapter closes on proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, which the course comes back to in Unit 15.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 9, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 6 Enzymes · Jan 4–Jan 27
- Due in this window Biology Paper Topic 1 due before end of Q2
No reading filed here yet. This unit gets one as the course reaches it.
Unit 10 Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 11 — Meiosis and Sexual ReproductionMeiosis I, meiosis II and the comparison with mitosis match the unit. Crossing over is folded into the meiosis I section rather than standing on its own.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 10, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 7 Cellular Respiration and Fermentation; Photosynthesis · Feb 1–Mar 12
No reading filed here yet. This unit gets one as the course reaches it.
Unit 11 Mendel and the Gene Idea
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 12 — Mendel’s Experiments and HeredityRuns wider than the unit does: the monohybrid cross and the three laws, and then epistasis, lethal alleles and sex-linked traits.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 11, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 7 Cellular Respiration and Fermentation; Photosynthesis · Feb 1–Mar 12
- Lab 8 Mitosis and Meiosis · Feb 8–Mar 19
No reading filed here yet. This unit gets one as the course reaches it.
Unit 12 The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 13 — Modern Understandings of InheritanceThe shortest chapter in the book — karyotypes, aneuploidy, structural rearrangements and X-inactivation. Sex linkage stays back in 12.2E, Sex-Linked Traits.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 12, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 7 Cellular Respiration and Fermentation; Photosynthesis · Feb 1–Mar 12
- Lab 8 Mitosis and Meiosis · Feb 8–Mar 19
- Due in this window Ch. 10 and 11 SAMs (12 pts)
No reading filed here yet. This unit gets one as the course reaches it.
Unit 13 The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 14 — DNA Structure and FunctionReplication in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, telomeres and DNA repair all match, and sequencing methods are covered more fully than the lecture covers them.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 13, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 7 Cellular Respiration and Fermentation; Photosynthesis · Feb 1–Mar 12
- Lab 8 Mitosis and Meiosis · Feb 8–Mar 19
Unit 14 Gene Expression: From Gene to Protein
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 15 — Genes and ProteinsTranscription and the genetic code align closely. Translation is filed under the heading Ribosomes and Protein Synthesis, sections 15.10 through 15.12.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Checkpoint Checkpoint Chapter 14, on the NOVA Canvas Quizzes tab. Unlimited attempts, highest score kept, open all year.
- Lab 7 Cellular Respiration and Fermentation; Photosynthesis · Feb 1–Mar 12
- Lab 8 Mitosis and Meiosis · Feb 8–Mar 19
Unit 15 Development, Stem Cells, and Cancer
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 16 — Gene ExpressionThe closest match available, and a scattered one: stem cells and differentiation at 16.12 through 16.18, cancer at 16.19 through 16.23 framed as gene regulation. Oncogenes and tumor suppressors are back in 10.4, Cancer and the Cell Cycle.
No reading filed here yet. This unit gets one as the course reaches it.
Unit 16 Descent with Modification
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 18 — Evolution and the Origin of SpeciesDarwin, natural selection and the Galapagos finches open the chapter, and the evidence — fossils, homologous and vestigial structures, biogeography — fills section 18.5.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Lab 10 GMO Part 2, Evolution · Apr 12–May 10
Unit 17 Evolution of Populations
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 19 — The Evolution of PopulationsGenetic drift, gene flow, nonrandom mating and the modes of selection all match. Hardy-Weinberg is at 19.1C.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Lab 9 DNA Technology and Molecular Biology, GMO Part I · Apr 19–May 7
- Lab 10 GMO Part 2, Evolution · Apr 12–May 10
- Lab 11 Population Genetics · Apr 19–May 21
- Due in this window Ch. 16 and 19 SAMs (12 pts)
Unit 18 Origin of Species
Supplemental Textbook: Ch. 18 — Evolution and the Origin of SpeciesBack to the evolution chapter, at the sections on the biological species concept, reproductive isolation, allopatric and sympatric speciation, and hybrid zones.
Checkpoint, lab, and what is due
- Lab 9 DNA Technology and Molecular Biology, GMO Part I · Apr 19–May 7
- Lab 10 GMO Part 2, Evolution · Apr 12–May 10
- Lab 11 Population Genetics · Apr 19–May 21
- Lab 12 Biodiversity Presentations · May 3–Jun 17
- Bio Tool #1 The Tree of Life, kingdoms layer on Interactive · works on iPads
- Biology #5 Six Kingdoms Along a Virginia Streambank: A Field Guide to Life in a Riparian Zone
- Biology #2 Warming Seas, Dying Reefs: Coral Bleaching and Disease Along Florida’s Atlantic Coast
Worth reading at any point in the year
- Bio Tool #20 The Paper Idea Form: Your Question, Your Sources, Your Plan — start the semester paper here; downloads as a Word file you can load back in
- Teaching #20 Writing a Science Paper in DE Biology: From a First Question to Battlefield Science
- Careers #1 Beyond Pre-Med: Real Careers Built on a Biology Foundation
- Careers #4 The Real Runway: A STEM Timeline from Senior Spring to Sophomore Year
- Evidence #2 Finding Your Big Idea: A Real Method for Navigating the Hypothesis Space
- Evidence #5 Using AI Without Losing Your Own Insight
- Tools Chemistry Classroom Tools — the interactive activities, filed by the same units