Life science is the study of living things. It is the largest part of the test: about four in ten questions. Read the Start Here page first. Then work through the study guides in order; under each guide are the apps and quizzes that go with it.
- What Makes Something Alive
The signs of life, and how scientists decide hard cases like viruses.
With it: Alive or Not? (room one) this week · Quiz 8, What Is Life?
- How Life Is Organized
The levels of life, from atom and molecule to cell, tissue, organ, organism, and ecosystem.
- Cells: The Building Blocks of Life
The parts of a cell and their jobs, plant and animal cells, the three domains of life, and how things move in and out of a cell.
With it: Two Kinds of Cells (room two) this week · Made to Order (room three) this week · Quiz 9, The Cell · Quiz 10, The Membrane
- The History of Cell Theory
How people learned that all living things are made of cells, from the first microscopes to the 1850s.
- Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration
How plants store the sun’s energy in sugar, and how every cell spends it.
With it: Quiz 11, Photosynthesis · Quiz 12, Cellular Respiration
- Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration: Going Further
The same two processes, stage by stage. Goes past what the test asks; read the guide above first.
- Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis
Mitosis and meiosis, step by step, and why the test asks about both.
With it: Quiz 13, Cell Division · Growing It Back (room four) new
- Genetics: From DNA to Traits
DNA, genes and alleles, Punnett squares, and genetics in society. The parts past the test are marked “Going further.”
- The Human Body, Part 1: Homeostasis and Feedback
How the body keeps its inside steady.
With it: Quiz 19, Homeostasis · the Feedback Loop, a handout that prints
- The Human Body, Part 3: Health, Disease, and Reading the Evidence
How diseases spread, what raises the risk, and how to read health studies.
With it: Quiz 18, The Immune System · Quiz 20, Food and Health · The Body: its lessons on diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, menopause, and mood new
- Evolution, Natural Selection, and Ecosystems
How populations change over generations, and how energy and matter move through living things.
- The Life Science Flash Cards
Two hundred cards in five sets, written to the test’s own standards. For checking yourself once a topic is read.
Beside the guides, the two books: Kaplan GED Test Prep, Unit 4, Science; and the McGraw-Hill Education Science Workbook for the GED Test, practice questions that match the test’s style and difficulty.
Your checklist for this subject is the Map of the Terrain, Parts II to VI.
Homework and Bulletins!
Assignments and notices for every class are posted out front, on the GED page.