Bio Tool #30 SOL Biology: A Biochemistrypedia Resource Guide by PWCS Unit
Biochemistrypedia is a free biology site from Prof. Christopher Deppmann’s lab at the University of Virginia. Its high school Biology course has 33 lessons written to the Virginia Biology Standards of Learning, BIO.1 through BIO.8, and much of their data comes from Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. The course runs in seven units of its own; each lesson is filed here under the Prince William County unit where it belongs, with a note on what it is good for and a few lessons one step easier and one step harder. Nothing needs a login.
Before you assign one
- Open it on a school iPad first. The site is new, and a district filter may not have seen it yet.
- Every lesson opens with a phenomenon, then a short film, a simulation, real data, eight self-test questions with each answer explained, and a closing claim-evidence-reasoning task.
- A supports switch adds word banks, sentence frames and labelled diagrams without changing the task. It suits ELL and General sections.
- The films use an AI narrator voice reading text written from the lesson, and some figures on the college lessons were drawn with AI help; the site names who checked each one. If you find a mistake, its error form goes straight to the authors.
- Nothing a student does there comes back to the teacher. Collect the CER or a screenshot in Canvas, the same way as the tools on this site.
How the labels read
- Teach with ita lesson that covers the unit's standard at the level the unit is taught
- Fills a gapcovers something students find hard, or something this site has no tool for yet
- Review and Flexgood for reassessment, Flex remediation and spaced review before the test
- One step downthe same idea at an easier reading level, for a student who needs the words first
- One step upthe college version of the idea, for a student ready to go further
- Stretchdeeper than the course asks, for a student who wants more
- Teacher referencebackground for planning, not a student assignment
At a glance
| PWCS unit | Topic | Lessons for the unit | Of those, fill a gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Biochemistry | 3 | 1 |
| Unit 2 | Cell Structure & Function | 4 | 2 |
| Unit 3 | Cell Energetics | 2 | 1 |
| Unit 4 | Nucleic Acids & Protein Synthesis | 4 | 2 |
| Unit 5 | Cell Growth, Division & Specialization | 3 | 3 |
| Unit 6 | Genetics & Heredity | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 7 | Evolution | 3 | 1 |
| Unit 8 | Classification & Biodiversity | 3 | 3 |
| Unit 9 | Bacteria & Viruses | 4 | 4 |
| Unit 10 | Ecology | 5 | 3 |
Jump to unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Teachers
Unit 1 Biochemistry
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.2a water chemistry has an influence on life processes
- BIO.2b macromolecules have roles in maintaining life processes
- BIO.2c enzymes have a role in biochemical processes
Three lessons line up one to one with the three standards. Unit 1 is taught in the first weeks of school and tested again in June, so the best use of these now is spaced review and reassessment.
Hard spots: why water is polar, monomers and the word parts that name them, and how temperature and substrate amount change an enzyme’s rate. Statewide, 41% of students answered the 2026 released inhibitor item correctly, and 42% the macromolecule-function item.
- Teach with itWater and LifeOpens on Chesapeake Bay temperatures, then a side-by-side heating simulation of water and sand. A clean way back into hydrogen bonding and heat capacity before the June test.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2a · pairs with Bio Tool #10
- Teach with itWhat Am I Made Of?Follows a sandwich into the body; the simulation joins small units into big molecules, which is the monomer–polymer idea students lose first.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2b · pairs with Bio Tool #17
- Fills a gapEnzymes at WorkThe pineapple-and-gelatin case, then a simulation where students change temperature and substrate and watch the rate. Those are the two enzyme factors that went untested this fall; use it for a Flex warm-up or a reassessment station.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2c, BIO.1 · pairs with Bio Tool #10, module 2
- One step downReleasing Energy from FoodThe grade 7 lesson on what food does for a cell. Useful for a student who needs the vocabulary before the ninth-grade enzymes lesson makes sense.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions
- One step upBasic Concepts of Enzyme ActionThe college lesson on how an active site lowers activation energy, with real enzyme structures to turn in 3D. For an Advanced student who finished early.Biochemistry · about 22 min · short film, 2 simulations, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 1
Unit 2 Cell Structure & Function
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.3a cell theory is supported by evidence
- BIO.3b structures in unicellular and multicellular organisms work interdependently to carry out life processes
- BIO.3d the structure and function of the cell membrane supports cell transport
Four lessons cover the unit. Two of them happen to follow the same stories this site already tells: a pancreas cell making insulin, and a cucumber slice losing water in salt.
Hard spots: osmosis and tonicity (32% correct statewide on the 2026 released item) and the evidence behind the cell theory (38%).
- Fills a gapThe Cell Theory and Its EvidenceAsks why it took 175 years to get from Hooke’s cork to the cell theory, and the zoom-and-resolve simulation shows what better lenses made possible. The evidence side of BIO.3a is the part students skip.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3a
- Teach with itOrganelles as a SystemTracks one insulin shipment from nucleus to cell edge, the same route Bio Tool #18 animates, and lets students switch off one organelle to see where the route stops. Run the two back to back.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3b · pairs with Bio Tool #18
- Fills a gapCrossing the MembraneA model cell in adjustable salt, a pump that stops when its ATP is taken away, and real cucumber mass data. It ends by having students plan a potato osmosis test, which is the trials-and-means practice the unit needs.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3d, BIO.1 · pairs with Bio Tools #5 and #25
- Review and FlexHomeostasis in ActionA step-through feedback loop built on heart rate during exercise. Short and concrete, and a good reassessment station for BIO.3b.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3b
- One step downDiffusion and OsmosisThe grade 7 version of osmosis, with easier reading and the same idea underneath.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions
- One step upTransport Across MembranesThe college lesson on channels, carriers and pumps, for the student who asks how the pump actually works.Cell Biology · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 2
Unit 3 Cell Energetics
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.2e photosynthesis and respiration include the capture, storage, transformation, and flow of energy
Two lessons, one for each process. The Virginia standard leaves out the multistep pathways, and these two lessons stay at that level; the college pathway lessons are listed for the teacher.
Hard spot: what happens to energy when oxygen is missing. 46% of Virginia students answered the 2026 released fermentation item correctly.
- Teach with itCapturing SunlightVan Helmont’s willow tree, then a leaf-disk float race students can run in the simulation before they run it on the bench. A ready-made anchor for the unit’s rate lab.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2e, BIO.1 · pairs with Bio Tool #11
- Fills a gapRespiration and ATPSprinting legs, rising bread and the Bay’s summer dead zone in one opening, then an energy-budget simulation that shows how much less ATP a cell gets without oxygen. That is the fermentation idea the state item tests.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2e · pairs with Bio Tools #11 and #26
- One step downPhotosynthesis Feeds the WorldThe grade 7 lesson on where food energy starts.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions
- Teacher referencePhotosynthesis: The Light ReactionsThe college lesson on photosystems and the electron chain. Beyond what the SOL expects; useful background for answering the student who asks what actually happens in the thylakoid.Biochemistry · about 24 min · short film, 2 simulations, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
- Teacher referenceOxidative Phosphorylation: The Electron-Transport ChainThe college lesson on the electron transport chain, the same mechanism Bio Tool #26 animates. Teacher background only for this course.Biochemistry · about 26 min · short film, 2 simulations, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 3
Unit 4 Nucleic Acids & Protein Synthesis
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.2d protein synthesis forms proteins, which influences inheritance and evolution
- BIO.3c DNA replication
- BIO.5a DNA has structure and is the foundation for protein synthesis
- BIO.5b the structural model of DNA has developed over time
- BIO.5e synthetic biology has biological and ethical implications
Four lessons, and between them every bullet in the heaviest unit of the first semester. The protein-synthesis lesson is built on sickle cell, which is also the unit’s CER context.
Hard spots: what tRNA does (34% correct statewide in 2026), base-pairing percentages (49%), and matching biotechnology tools to their uses (52%). Synthetic biology is usually the thinnest part of the unit.
- Teach with itDNA: Structure and CopyingHow a cell copies two metres of DNA and gets nearly every letter right, with a copy-a-strand simulation. Covers structure, base pairing and replication together.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5a, BIO.3c
- Teach with itHow the DNA Model Was BuiltFranklin and Gosling’s photograph, the model-building, and the fall in sequencing cost. This is the history BIO.5b asks for, with a model-comparison simulation.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5b
- Fills a gapFrom DNA to ProteinOne changed letter turns a hemoglobin into the sickle form; the simulation lets students transcribe, translate and then mutate. The tRNA step is where the state item catches students, and the lesson makes students do it by hand.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 45 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.2d, BIO.5a · pairs with Bio Tool #27
- Fills a gapEngineering GenesStarts from the switch from pig and cow insulin to human insulin made by bacteria, then has students cut, join, select and check a gene on a gel in the simulation, and weigh a real application’s benefits, risks and ethics. It gives BIO.5e real material.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5e · pairs with Bio Tool #28
- One step downDNA: The Code of LifeThe grade 7 lesson on DNA as instructions, for students who need the words first.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upThe Genetic Code and TranslationThe college lesson on codons and the ribosome, for the student who wants to know how the code was cracked.Genetics and Molecular Biology · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 4
Unit 5 Cell Growth, Division & Specialization
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.3c cell structures and processes are involved in cell growth and division (mitosis)
- BIO.3e specialization leads to the development of different types of cells
- BIO.5d meiosis has a role in genetic variation between generations
This site has almost nothing for Unit 5 yet, and Biochemistrypedia has a lesson for each bullet. The mitosis lesson’s phase counter is the onion-root count students would do at the microscope.
Hard spot: the order and timing of the cell cycle. Virginia students answered the two 2026 released cell-cycle items at 31% and 37%, among the lowest on the test.
- Fills a gapThe Cell Cycle and MitosisA healing cut and a growing root tip open it; a mitosis stepper and a phase counter let students estimate how long a cell spends in each phase from a count. That count is exactly the data reasoning the state items use.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3c, BIO.1 · pairs with Bio Tool #19
- Fills a gapOne Cell or ManyA Paramecium doing every job alone against a body that splits the jobs among many cell types. The division-of-labour simulation makes specialization concrete.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.3e
- Fills a gapMeiosis and VariationWhy siblings differ. The meiosis shuffler shows crossing over and independent assortment producing new combinations.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5d
- One step downHow Cells DivideThe grade 7 lesson on why cells divide.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upCheckpoints and Irreversible TransitionsThe college lesson on cell-cycle checkpoints, which connects to the cancer project.Cell Biology · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 5
Unit 6 Genetics & Heredity
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.5c the variety of traits in an organism results from the expression of various combinations of alleles
Two lessons, and nothing on this site for the unit yet. The cross-and-count simulation sets predicted Punnett ratios beside real counts, which is the comparison the unit’s anchor lab makes.
Hard spot: telling incomplete dominance from codominance, and reading a cross that does not follow simple dominance.
- Fills a gapMendel and Punnett SquaresMendel’s missing white flowers, then crosses students run and count. Predicted against observed, in one place.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5c, BIO.1
- Fills a gapBeyond Dominant and RecessivePink snapdragons beside roan cattle, with a switch that changes the inheritance pattern on the same cross. It separates incomplete dominance from codominance by what students see.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.5c
- One step downPredicting Traits with Punnett SquaresThe grade 7 lesson on predicting offspring.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upExtending Mendel: Dominance, Multiple Alleles and Gene InteractionThe college lesson on multiple alleles and genes that interact.Genetics and Molecular Biology · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 6
Unit 7 Evolution
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.7a evidence is found in fossil records and through DNA analysis
- BIO.7b genetic variation, reproductive strategies, and environmental pressures affect the survival of populations
- BIO.7c natural selection leads to adaptations and may lead to new species
- BIO.7d biological evolution has scientific evidence and explanations
Three lessons covering all four bullets, each built on a well-documented real case: walking whales, tuskless elephants in Mozambique, and the Grants’ finches.
Hard spots: analogous against homologous structures (43% correct statewide in 2026) and punctuated equilibrium (48%).
- Teach with itEvidence for EvolutionFossil whales with legs and the small hip bones living whales still carry; the simulation lines up rock layers with DNA. Fossil and DNA evidence together is the practices anchor for this unit.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.7a, BIO.7d · pairs with Bio Tool #1
- Teach with itVariation and SurvivalPoaching pressure and the rise of tuskless elephants. The population-pressure simulation shows selection without anyone choosing.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.7b
- Fills a gapNatural Selection and New SpeciesA drought on Daphne Major and deeper finch beaks, then a river that splits a population. A good place to separate gradual change from fast bursts.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.7c, BIO.7d
- One step downNatural Selection in ActionThe grade 7 lesson on selection.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upSpeciationThe college lesson on how species split.Ecology and Evolution · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 7
Unit 8 Classification & Biodiversity
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.6a organisms have structural and biochemical similarities and differences
- BIO.6b fossil record interpretation can be used to classify organisms
- BIO.6c developmental stages can be used to classify organisms
- BIO.6d Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya are domains based on characteristics
- BIO.6e protists, fungi, plants, and animals can be compared by their functions and processes
- BIO.6f systems of classification adapt to new scientific discoveries
Six bullets in six blocks, with few materials to teach them. Three lessons cover all six, and the cladogram builder works as the unit’s practices anchor.
Hard spots: classifying an unfamiliar organism (32% correct statewide in 2026) and knowing what modern classification is based on (40%).
- Fills a gapBuilding a Tree of LifeWhy a whale’s closest living relatives are hippos. Students build a cladogram from traits, which covers structural, fossil and developmental evidence in one task.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.6a, 6b, 6c · pairs with Bio Tool #1
- Fills a gapDomains and KingdomsA drop of pond water with all three domains in it, and a classify-the-unknown simulation. Practice with exactly the kind of item students miss.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.6d, 6e
- Fills a gapClassification ChangesHow one molecule moved some “bacteria” into their own domain. The tree-remodeling simulation shows a classification changing with evidence.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.6f
- One step downDomains, Kingdoms and DNAThe grade 7 lesson on domains and kingdoms.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upReading Phylogenetic TreesThe college lesson on reading trees, including the common misreadings.Ecology and Evolution · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 8
Unit 9 Bacteria & Viruses
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.4a viruses depend on a host for metabolic processes
- BIO.4b modes of reproduction and replication can be compared
- BIO.4c structures and functions can be compared
- BIO.4d bacteria and viruses have a role in other organisms and the environment
- BIO.4e germ theory of infectious disease is supported by evidence
A new module this year, with no earlier materials behind it. Biochemistrypedia has a lesson for every bullet, and the germ-theory lesson opens on Semmelweis, who is already one of the Which Paw? scientists.
Hard spot: how a virus replicates inside a host compared with how a bacterium divides. 50% of Virginia students answered the 2026 released viral-replication item correctly.
- Fills a gapLiving or Not? Viruses and BacteriaIs a cold virus on a light switch alive? A sorting simulation that sets viruses beside bacteria and cells.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.4a, 4c
- Fills a gapHow Microbes MultiplyOne bacterium to millions in an afternoon, and a cold sore that heals and returns. The simulation compares bacterial doubling with lytic and lysogenic cycles.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.4b
- Fills a gapMicrobes in Bodies and EcosystemsThe nodules on soybean roots and what the plant would lose without them. Students switch off a microbe group and watch the system respond.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.4d
- Fills a gapGerms, Vaccines and AntibioticsTwo maternity clinics in Vienna and the hand-washing that closed the gap, then a simulation of vaccination and antibiotic resistance. Germ-theory evidence is the practices anchor for the unit.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 45 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.4e, BIO.1 · pairs with Bio Tool #16
- One step downLiving Together: SymbiosisThe grade 7 lesson on living together, including disease.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions
- One step upBacterial and Phage Genetics: Conjugation, Transduction and TransformationThe college lesson on how bacteria and their viruses swap genes.Genetics and Molecular Biology · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 9
Unit 10 Ecology
Virginia SOL for this unit
- BIO.8a populations interact through carrying capacity, limiting factors, and growth curves
- BIO.8b nutrients cycle with energy flow through ecosystems
- BIO.8c ecosystems have succession patterns
- BIO.8d natural events and human activities influence ecosystems and may affect the flora and fauna of Virginia
Five lessons, all set in Virginia: Chesapeake blue crabs, ospreys, a Piedmont field left unmowed, and the Bay’s summer oxygen. Unit 10 has four fewer days than last year and overlaps SOL review, so these double as review.
Hard spots: succession had the lowest score of any 2026 released item (29% correct statewide); released pets and invasive species were at 38%, and the nitrogen cycle at 47%.
- Teach with itPopulations and Carrying CapacityWhy the Bay’s blue crab count swings by a hundred million in a winter. Students grow a population, then add limits and read the growth curve.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.8a, BIO.1
- Teach with itEnergy in EcosystemsHow much of the plankton’s sunlight reaches an osprey. Building an energy pyramid makes the ten-percent idea visible.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.8b
- Fills a gapMatter CyclesWhere the atoms in a crab were before the crab. Students follow carbon and nitrogen atoms through the system, with Keeling’s curve as the evidence.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.8b
- Fills a gapSuccession in VirginiaA hundred years of an abandoned Piedmont field in a time-lapse simulation. This is the state’s weakest item; follow it with Biology #18, on Fairfax County’s clump planting, or the pioneer species reading for primary succession.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.8c · pairs with Biology #18
- Fills a gapThe Chesapeake Under PressureFertilizer far upstream and oxygen loss at the bottom of the Bay, then students design a watershed fix. Human impact on Virginia flora and fauna, with real data.Biology (grades 9–10) · about 40 min · short film, simulation, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions · SOL BIO.8d · pairs with Twelve Feet Down in the Chesapeake
- One step downBig Changes: Dead Zones, Storms and ClimateThe grade 7 lesson on how ecosystems change.Life Science (grade 7) · about 40 min · short film, 3D molecules, 8 self-test questions
- One step upDiversity, Disturbance and SuccessionThe college lesson on disturbance and succession.Ecology and Evolution · about 24 min · short film, simulation, 5 self-test questions
Tools on this site for the unit: Biology Classroom Tools, Unit 10
For the teacher, any time
- Teacher referenceResources for Teachers: Fast Tools, Slow ThinkingThe talk from the October 2026 UVA teacher workshop, a one-page checklist for judging any AI tool in a classroom, a do-it-yourself guide with a privacy checklist, and the workshop’s shared folders of Virginia standards resources.Biochemistrypedia · for teachers
- Teacher referenceHow the Biology course is builtThe course’s own notes on its depth ladder, its supports switch, and what is planned but not built yet.Biochemistrypedia · for teachers
- Review and FlexThe whole Biology course, in its own orderAll 33 lessons on one page with a search box. For June review, the eight self-test questions on each lesson make a ready retrieval set for the units taught in the fall.Biochemistrypedia · 33 lessons