NY Regents Life Science: Biology case studies
NY Regents Life Science: Biology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Life Science: Biology Regents is New York State's high school biology assessment, administered under the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS). It replaced the former Living Environment Regents and is typically taken by students who have completed a biology course, though anyone pursuing a Regents-endorsed diploma or demonstrating biology proficiency may sit for it. The exam blends multiple-choice items with constructed-response and extended constructed-response tasks built around real phenomena, data tables, and experimental scenarios rather than isolated vocabulary recall. Content spans cell structure and function, genetics and heredity, evolution and diversity, ecology and interdependence, human impact and sustainability, and scientific inquiry and engineering design. The NY Regents Life Science: Biology case studies are 5 cases and about 3,338 words.
1Potato Tissue and Sucrose: Finding the Isotonic Point
A student investigates osmosis in potato tissue. She cuts 24 cylinders, each 4.0 cm long and 0.8 cm in diameter, from one large potato.
683 words, about 3 min2Tomato Testcross: Independent Assortment or Linkage?
In a tomato genetics lab, true-breeding plants with purple stems and round fruit are crossed with true-breeding plants with green stems and elongated fruit. All F1 plants have purple stems and round fruit.
574 words, about 3 min3Deer Mice on Lava: Selection or Wishful Thinking?
A biologist studies deer mice in a desert preserve where fur color is controlled mainly by one gene with two alleles: D (dark) and d (light). On pale sand, light mice are camouflaged; on dark lava, dark mice are camouflaged.
717 words, about 4 min4Zebra Mussels, Clear Water, and Toxic Blooms
A lake used for drinking water and recreation has been monitored for eight years. In year 3, zebra mussels were first detected.
661 words, about 3 min5Nitrogen in the Estuary: Choosing a Reduction Plan
A town of 18,000 people discharges treated wastewater from a plant into an estuary. The plant releases 2.5 million gallons per day (about 9.5 million liters per day) with a total nitrogen concentration of 18 mg/L.
703 words, about 4 min