National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) | Class XII Syllabus - Biology
Economics Syllabus Class XII
Sr Secondary Course (Biology)
CURRICULUM
RATIONALE
Biology arose in a two fold manner - firstly, as a
practising art towards exploring and improving a
variety of usable plant and animal products as well
as towards maintaining good health; secondly, as an
academic pursuit out of human curiosity to know
about themselves and other living beings and to
understand the position of humankind on the planet
Earth. In other words, the storehouse of knowledge
about living beings started building up only when
humans were curious to know about life. In order to
respect and appreciate the great diversity in living
things at all levels of organisation, and to understand
the impact of biological development on our life style,
an attempt has been made in the present syllabus to
bring out the different facts of
Life. Hence, the themes that highlight the contribution
of biology to the analysis and solution of problems
of daily life like growth, health, nutrition, and
environment, have been chosen as components of
the content. The topics based on these themes will
be dealt at the individual and community levels. Efforts
have been made to reflect biology as not merely a
correlational science but also as an experimental
discipline by dealing with different tools and
techniques used in biological studies. However, the
vastness of knowledge has delimited the scope of
each topic included in the syllabus. Besides integrating
the content and the depth at which it could be dealt,
modernity of the concepts as well as emerging areas
like Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Immunology
have also been introduced. The syllabus includes
some optional modules to help the students to enrich
in areas of their choice which should facilitate them
to choose a career or pursue higher education.
The course would enable the learner to :-
- acquire knowledge of biological terms, facts,
concepts, principles, and processes in order to
understand the living world as a whole.
- appreciate diversity in the living world as also
inter-relationships of various living organisms,
ecological balance in nature, and the role of
biology in human welfare.
- visualise the hazards of nuclear weapons and
environmental pollution, and to create an
awareness for ecological use of natural resources
in the service of humankind.
- develop insight into the role and impact of
Biology in various allied professions such as
medicine, agriculture forestry, biotechnology,
veterinary sciences and pharmacology.
- Develop interest in the living world with an aim
to respect life.
As a part of this process, the syllabus also aims
at developing the following abilities in the
students to:
--(i) apply knowledge and understanding of
biology in situations which are novel and
unfamiliar by developing abilities to analyse,
hypothesise, draw conclusion and predict
results.
--(ii) develop skills in handling, improvising and
manipulating scientific apparatus, and
recording observations and data.
--(iii) develop scientific attitude through the mode
of curiosity and evidence for proof.
COURSE CONTENT
The syllabus contains 8 core modules and 4 optional
modules which are as follows:-
CORE MODULES Marks
1. Diversity and evolution of life 6
2. Cell, Cell functions and Tissues 10
3. Functional morphology and Life
processes in plants 11
4. Functional morphology and Life
processes in animals 11
5. Reproduction and Development 10
6. Heredity and Genetics 10
7. Population Explosion and Family
Planning 4
8. Environmental Biology 8
OPTIONAL MODULES Marks
1. Tools and Techniques in Biology 10
2. Economic Biology 10
3. Health Science 10
4. Emerging Areas in Biology-
Biochemistry, Biotechnology
and Immunobiology 10
DISTRIBUTION OF MARKS
The core modules are compulsory for all learners.
From the list of optional modules the learner can take
any 1 course of his/her choice. Thus, each learner
takes 9 modules in all.
Core Modules 70
Optional Modules 10
Practical Examination 20
Grand Total 100
MODULE 1: DIVERSITY AND
EVOLUTION OF LIFE
Study Time : 25 hours Marks : 6
Approach
This module is intended to enable the learner to visualize the origin of life on earth and the vast
diversity in the living world from simple to more
complex and to attempt to group them together at
various levels of classification. In addition, it points
out that studies of fossils and changes in population
in time and space provide evidence that evolution
has occured and is still occurring and provides an
explanation for the mechanism of these changes.
- Unit 1 Classification of organisms
l Principles of classification and taxonomic
categories.
l Linnaeus and binomial nomenclature, general rule
for naming, writing and printing of scientific
names of organisms.
l Taxonomic categories (taxa) from, species upto
phylum.
- Unit 2 Viruses
l Characteristics of viruses, taking examples of
TMV, Polio, HIV, bacteriophage T2.
- Unit 3 Scheme of five kingdom classification
of organisms.
- Unit 4 Kingdom Prokaryotae (Monera)
l Chemical nature, general structure and
characteristics of bacteria with common
examples.
l Mention of useful and harmful bacteria like
Lactobacillus, Rhizobium, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, Clostridium tetani,
Cornybacterium diphtheria
- Unit 5 Kingdom Protista
l General characteristics and classification upto
phyla with examples of Amoeba, Entamoeba,
Plasmodium, Euglena & Diatoms
- Unit 6 Fungi
l General characteristics of fungi, useful and
harmful fungi, examples-Rhizopus.(Breadmould), Yeast, Penicillium notatum, Puccinia graminis (wheat rust)
- Unit 7 Kingdom Plantae
Algae- Chlamydomonas, Spirogyra
Bryophyta (Liverworts and Mosses), Pteridophyta
(Ferns), Spermatophyta (Gymnosperms and
Angiosperms), General morphological features of
flower and fruit and some common examples of the
following families: Poaceae (Graminae), Brassicaceae
(Cruciferae) and Leguminosae (only Papilionaceae).
- Unit 8 Kingdom Animalia
Main characteristics, classification upto phylum and
common examples of Porifera, Coelenterata,
Platyhelminthes, Nemathelminthes, Annelida,
Arthropoda, Mollusca and Echinodermata; Chordata
upto classes, classification of Mammalia upto
subclasses, with important examples for all.
- Unit 9 Origin and Evolution of Life
a) Origin of life : Views, spontaneous generation,
experiments of Pasteur, Abiogenesis
hypothesis, Oparin’s hypothesis of origin of life,
Miller’s experiment.
b) Organic evolution, progressive and retrogressive
evolution, evidences of evolution.
Theories of evolution - Lamarckism, Darwinism,
Mutation Theory, Neo Darwinism.
Suggested Teaching/Learning Hints While
explaining taxonomic categories of classification
examples should be given (in a tabular form, e.g. complete classification of the house of cat and man.)
While discussing plant and animal groups, their
characteristics, levels of organisation and other
features should be given in a tabular form. The fact
that evolution is a continuous process should be
highlighted.
Suggested extended learning Find out what
microbiology deals with. Read articles on the studies
made by evolutionists regarding the history of
development of mankind in magazines and
newspapers. Read and see films on Civilization.
