Reading skills and knowledge acquired in studies

The ability to understand texts written in Italian/English of different nature and with different communicative purposes constitutes a transversal competence, given that all types of questions will be formulated in Italian, even using symbolic language.
The following capabilities will also be subject to specific verification:

• understand abstract, uncommon or specialized vocabulary in real contexts
• identify the phenomena of textual cohesion and coherence
• extract and infer specific information from the text.

These skills will be verified starting from short texts of scientific essays or classic and contemporary fiction, or from short current affairs texts published in newspapers and generalist or specialized magazines.

Always starting from short texts of various types and themes, the skills acquired in previous studies and the knowledge of general culture or topics subject to contemporary public debate will be tested. In particular, the questions will aim to ascertain:

• the ability to orient oneself in the space and time represented, or to place significant historical-cultural phenomena in space and time
• knowledge of the main national and international institutions
• the understanding of phenomena related to the juridical, economic and citizenship fields.

Biology

• The Chemistry of Living Things . Water and its characteristics, hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances. Chemical composition, structure and function of the main biological molecules.
  Carbohydrates: monosaccharides or simple sugars (glucose, fructose, ribose and deoxyribose); disaccharides (sucrose, lactose), polysaccharides (glycogen, starch, cellulose).
  Lipids (fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol).
  Proteins (amino acids, polypeptide chains, primary, tertiary and quaternary secondary structure).
  Nucleic acids (nucleotides, DNA, RNA)
• Cell organization . Prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Organization of the eukaryotic cell.
  General characteristics and fundamental functions of: plasma membrane, nucleus, ribosomes, endomembrane system (endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes), mitochondria, cytoskeleton.
  Differences between animal and plant eukaryotic cell: cell wall, chloroplasts and other plastids, vacuoles.
  Notes on the evolution of the eukaryotic cell: endosymbiotic theory
• Fundamentals of Genetics . Mendelian genetics. Structure of chromosomes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; genome definition. Coding of genetic information in DNA and RNA molecules. Genes and genetic code. Replication, transcription, translation and general information on the regulation of gene expression.
  Human genetics: transmission of mono- and polyfactorial characters; autosomal and X-linked hereditary diseases. Heredity and environment
• Mitosis and meiosis. Gametogenesis, fertilization and early stages of development . Cell division in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Mitosis and meiosis; cytokinesis; cell cycle. Gametogenesis and fertilization. Early stages of fertilized egg development (segmentation and gastrulation)
• Anatomy and physiology of animals and man . Hierarchy of multicellular organization: tissues, organs, systems and apparatuses. Structure and functions of the four main tissues (epithelial, connective, muscular and nervous).
  Structure and function of the main human systems and apparatuses: integumentary, muscular, skeletal, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, reproductive, nervous. Homeostasis
• Bioenergetics . Energy flows and biological significance of photosynthesis, respiration, glycolysis, fermentation.
  The energy currency of cells: ATP. Catabolism and anabolism. Autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism. Enzymatic catalysis. Energy content of main foods
• Elements of Biotechnology . traditional biotechnologies. Innovative biotechnologies (recombinant DNA technology). Applications of biotechnology in the medical field. Biotechnology for agriculture and the environment
• Elements of Biodiversity and Evolution . Characteristics that allow to distinguish Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Notes on the characteristics of Viruses.
  Mechanisms of evolution: mutations, genetic variability, natural selection, adaptation; speciation and extinction
• Elements of Ecology . Interactions between organisms and between organisms and the environment, at different levels of the biological hierarchy (individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems). Autotrophic trophic chains/primary producers and heterotrophic/secondary producers – consumers).
  Biotic interactions: differences between competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism and commensalism.

Chemistry

• Macroscopic properties of matter . Particle model of matter on a macroscopic scale and states of matter. Macroscopic properties of gases, liquids and solids and physical transformations (kinetic theory, fixed points, phase transitions). Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures and mixture separation techniques. Fundamental laws of chemistry (Lavoisier, Proust, Dalton, Gay-Lussac) and Avogadro’s number. Ideal gas laws (Boyle, Charles, Gay-Lussac)
• Microscopic properties of matter and composition of substances . Particle model of matter on a microscopic scale: the Dalton model of the atom. Elements, simple substances, compound substances. Molecules, ions, chemical formulas. Atomic mass and relative atomic mass (Ar), relative molecular mass (Mr).
  Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements: periods and groups. Atomic models and quantum numbers. Electronic configuration of atoms and periodic properties
• The chemical bond and intermolecular forces . The ionic, covalent and metallic bond. The electronegativity. Chemical bonds: the Lewis model. The VSEPR model and molecular geometries. Oxidation number. Intermolecular forces and hydrogen bonding
• Stoichiometry of Chemical Reactions . Balancing of reaction patterns. Definition of the concept of mole and Avogadro’s constant. Conversion of mass quantity to moles. Relationship between number of moles (chemical quantity) and mass in reaction schemes
• Chemical Reactions . Exothermic and endothermic reactions. The chemical balance. Reaction rate and factors affecting reaction rate
• Compounds . Properties and nomenclature of compounds. Nomenclature of substances and compounds (IUPAC and traditional). Properties of the main inorganic compounds. Properties of metals
• Properties of solutions . Conductivity, colligative properties, solubility. Concentration units (mol dm ^-3 , g dm ^-3 , percent composition) and related calculations
• The acid-base and redox reactions . Definition of acids and bases. Common acids and bases. Strength of acids and bases and definition of pH. Acid-base reactions and pH indicators. Definition of hydrolysis and buffer solution. Oxidations and reductions. Identification of the oxidant and the reductant in a simple redox chemical transformation or reaction scheme. Balancing of simple redox reaction schemes
• Organic Chemistry . Origins and characteristics of hydrocarbons. Alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes. Benzene and aromatic compounds. Carbon hybridization.
  Organic compounds: structure and nomenclature. Isomerism, relationship between structure and properties. Alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids. Amines and amino acids
• Applied Chemistry . Chemical transformations in daily life. Correct reading of the labels of commercial products (beverages, food products, medicines, chemical products). Main environmental issues (acid rain, greenhouse effect, smog…). Safety standards.

Physics

• Physical quantities and their measurement . Fundamental and derived physical quantities. International system of units of measurement. Multiples, submultiples and scientific notation. Scalar quantities and vector quantities.
  Vectors and operations on vectors: sum, dot product, vector product
• Kinematics . Motion description. Average and instantaneous speed and acceleration. Uniform rectilinear and uniformly accelerated motion. Motion in the plane.
  Uniform circular motion: angular velocity and centripetal acceleration. Harmonic motion: frequency and period
• Dynamics . Concept of force as interaction between bodies. Forces as applied vectors. The principle of inertia. Mass and the 2nd law of dynamics.
  Examples of forces: weight force, elastic force, static and dynamic friction.
  Action and reaction: the 3rd principle of dynamics. Impulse and momentum. Principle of conservation of momentum. Moment of a force and angular momentum. Work and kinetic energy. Conservative forces and potential energy. Principle of conservation of mechanical energy. Power. Practical units of measurement of energy and power
• Fluid Mechanics . Density and compressibility of fluids.
  Gases and liquids. Hydrostatics: pressure and principles of Pascal, Stevino and Archimedes. Commonly used unit of measurement for pressure.
  Dynamics of liquids: flow, flow rate and continuity equation.
  Ideal fluids and Bernoulli equation. Viscous forces in real fluids
• Thermodynamics . Balance, temperature concept, thermometers. Concept of heat and calorimetry. Heat propagation mode. Thermal capacity and specific heat. Changes of state and latent heats. Ideal gas laws. First and second law of thermodynamics
• Electrostatics , electric circuits and elements of electromagnetism. Forces between electric charges and Coulomb’s law. Electric field and potential. Electric fields in materials and dielectric constant. Capacity and capacitors. Equivalent capacitance of capacitors in series and parallel. Electromotive force generators. Potential difference, current, resistance and Ohm’s law. Equivalent resistance of resistors in series and parallel. Joule effect and dissipated power. Magnetic field and permanent magnets. Magnetic field generated by an electric current. Force acting on a charge and on electric currents in a magnetic field
• Optics . Geometric optics: reflection and refraction. Law of lenses. Image formation. Interference and diffraction phenomena.
  Microscopes: magnification and resolving power of an objective.
  Spectrum of electromagnetic radiation: from radio waves to X-rays.

Mathematics and reasoning

• Numbers . Operations of addition and multiplication between whole numbers, fractions, decimal numbers. Sorting. Properties of operations and ordering. Subtraction and division. Rational number concept. Representations of numbers in different forms (decimal, fractional, percentage, scientific,… positional notation) and on a line. Real numbers. Division with remainder between integers. Divisors and multiples of an integer; greatest common divisor (gcd) and least common multiple (lcm) of two or more positive integers. Raising a number to integer power and properties of powers. Positive integer root of a positive number. Power with rational exponent of a positive number. Estimates and approximations. Calculation and transformation of expressions
• Algebra . Literal expressions: manipulation and evaluation. Concept of solution and “set of solutions” of an equation, of an inequality, of a system of equations and/or inequalities. First and second degree equations and inequalities. Systems of equations and inequalities
• Geometry. Main figures in the plane and in space (segments, straight lines, planes, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, parallelepipeds, prisms, pyramids, cylinders, cones, spheres): properties that characterize them and their graphical representations. Pythagorean theorem. Properties of similar triangles. Elementary language of geometric transformations (symmetries, rotations, translations, similarities). Measurement of an angle in sexagesimal degrees and in radians. Sine, cosine and tangent of an angle, obtained as ratios between the sides of a right triangle. Perimeter and area of ​​the main plane figures. Volume of elementary solids. Calculation of area and volume by sum and difference of figures. Cartesian coordinates in the plane and description of subsets of the plane using coordinates. Midpoint of a segment. Slope of a segment and equation of the straight line. Equations of parallel lines and of lines perpendicular to a given line. Intersection between straight lines and representation of the solutions of a system of first degree equations. Distance between two points and equation of a circle with assigned center and radius
• Functions and Graphs . Language and notations for functions. Graph of a function. Composition of functions. Existence and uniqueness of solutions of equations of the type f(x)=a, invertible functions and inverse function.
  Characteristic properties, graph and behavior of the following families of functions of one real variable: power functions and root functions; polynomial functions of first and second order; functions of the type x↦1/(ax+b) with a and b assigned constants; absolute value function; exponential functions and logarithm functions in different bases; trigonometric functions. Equations and inequalities expressed by functions, for example of the type f(x)=g(x), f(x)>a
• Combinatorics and Probability . Representation and counting of finite sets. Disjointed events. Independent events. Probability of the union event of disjoint events. Probability of the event intersection of independent events. Description of events in simple paradigmatic situations (throwing a coin, throwing a dice, drawing from an urn,…). Tree diagrams. Conditional probability
• Means and variability . Qualitative and quantitative variables (discrete and continuous). Absolute and relative frequency. Representations of distributions (tables, bar graphs, pie charts, histograms,…). Mean, median and mode
• Understanding and Representing . Understand texts that use, even contextually, languages ​​and representations of different types. Depending on the situations and objectives, use different representations of the same object. Understand and use basic set language notations and terms such as: element, belongs, subset, union, intersection
• Argue . In a certain situation and given certain premises, establish whether a statement is true or false. Deny a given statement. Understand and be able to use terms and expressions such as: and, or, not, for each, all, none, some, at least one, if… then…, necessary condition, sufficient condition, necessary and sufficient condition
• Model , solve problems. Formulate a situation or problem in mathematical terms. Solving a problem, adopting strategies, combining different knowledge and skills, making logical deductions and calculations.