Weeks 13 and 14, Unit 2 Exam

Goals for Weeks 13 and 14

1. Correctly use the vocabulary DNA, gene, chromatid, centromere, cell cycle, mitosis, cytokinesis, interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, benign, malignant, metastasis

2. Give reasons why cells divide

3.  Summarize what happens during the interphase, the 4 stages of mitosis and cytokinesis.

4.  Describe the development of cancer and how it can be fought.

The Unit Exam will be on Dec. 14.  I am distributing review material Dec. 7 in class.

Here is a final link to flashcards for the unit.

URL: http://www.flashcardmachine.com/2321256/z2i7 

Week 11-12

 Here's a link to flashcard practice for the vocabulary for these two weeks and the last two week period.

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/2297926/5f2e

I'll collect notebooks and give a quiz on Friday 11/30

Goals:

1. Describe key ways the human immune system works.
2. Describe pros and cons of ways diseases spread.
3. Describe the structure of bacteria and viruses.
4. Describe how viruses reproduce.

The quiz will also review the goals and vocabulary from the last unit as review for the upcoming unit test.

Notebook Contents:

1. Spread of Diseases Simulation
2. Reading Guide for Chapter 37
3. Viruses
4. Lab: The Cells of 3 kingdoms
5. Notes on antibiotics

Weeks 8, 9 and 10

Yikes this is late.

The quiz will be tomorrow and I'll collect notebooks too.  Here's what should be in the notebooks.

      1. Infectious Diseases – Viruses, Bacteria, Protists

2. Test Corrections – Write the correct answers to matching questions you missed

3.  Lab- Using Microscopes

4. Domain and Kingdom Table/Organelle Speed Dating

5. Presentation –Cell Parts

6. Cells Online

7.  Cell Analogy Poster Project – Handout

8.  Protist Lab   

Here are the goals that the quiz will cover.

1.Identify key characteristics of prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells
2. Name distinguishing features of protists, including methods of movement and how they get energy.
3. Describe the structure and function of the major organelles
4. Describe how to use a microscope using vocabulary properly
5. Name sample diseases that are caused by protists, bacteria and viruses.

Ecology unit Flashcards

Here's a link to the Flashcard Machine Website where I've made a set of vocab cards for you to practice with.

You can use the study session option or Quiz me.

Weeks 6-7 Oct. 8-19 End of Ecology and Populations Unit

Week Goals

1. Give and explain examples of the Tragedy of the Commons.

2. Make data tables and graphs with trend lines.

3. Review all unit material.

Notebook Contents

1.     Duckweed Data Table

2.    The Tragedy of the Commons

3.    Duckweed analysis

4.      Unit Review

Unit Test will be on Oct. 19.  Review Material will be provided on Oct. 10.

Weeks 4-5 Sept.24-Oct 5

Goals

1.     Know and correctly use the terms:  Trophic Level, Consumer, Producer, Decomposer, Food Web, Niche, Invasive Species, Carrying Capacity, Biome

2.    Use concepts of feedback and carrying capacity to explain population growth patterns.

3.    Predict effects of invasive species on an ecosystem

4.    Describe multiple types of connections within an ecosystem:

Food webs,  Trophic levels, Predator-prey interactions.

5.    Describe steps in the water, nitrogen and carbon cycles, including multiple paths for carbon cycling.

Assignments in Notebook

1.  Duckweed Data Table

2.  Notes on Food Webs

3.  Food Webs, Populations and Invasive Species

4.  Population Size and Feedback

5.  Hmwk read 82-84.  Q (p84) 3-5 due Monday

6.  Notes on Biomes 7.Week 4-5 Review Worksheet   Finish as homework due Friday.

Weeks 1-3 Goals and Assignents.

Apologies for getting this up late.

Here were the goals for the first three weeks.

1.   Define and use the following terms:  ecosystem, element, atom, molecule, pure substance, mixture, compound, model, abiotic, equilibrium, reinforcing feedback and balancing feedback.

2.   Describe what elements are essential for life.

3.   List biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.

4.   Describe natural biogeochemical cycles:  H₂O, Carbon, Nitrogen

5. Describe what growth patterns result from reinforcing feedback and balancing feedback.

The notebook should have had the following things

1. Duckweed data table

2. Lecture Notes

3. Population Models – Guided Notes

4. HMWK Read pages 103-107 in text Answer Q 1,2,5  due Monday

5. Notes on Atoms Molecules, Compounds and Elements

6. HMWK  Read pages 90-93.  Answer Q (p93) 1,2,5,6

Unit 1: Populations and Ecosystems

Unit 1: Populations and Ecosystems

Related Chapters in Biology Textbook: 3-6

Vocabulary: element, pure substance, mixture, compound, atom, molecule, cycle, ecosystem, biome, population, niche, carrying capacity, growth pattern, feedback, equilibrium, biogeochemical cycle, invasive species, food web, trophic level, model, producer, consumer, abiotic, tragedy of the commons

Unit Goals

· Define unit vocabulary and use appropriately.

· Describe what elements are essential for life.

· List biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems.

· Describe natural biogeochemical cycles: H2O, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorous.

· Describe how equilibrium is achieved and give examples of equilibrium in natural systems.

· Use concepts of feedback and carrying capacity to explain population growth patterns.

· Distinguish between observations and inferences.

· Make Data tables and graph data with trend lines.

· Describe multiple types of connections within an ecosystem:

o Food webs

o Trophic levels

o Predator-prey interactions.

· Describe and assess human impact on  populations.

· List and describe key features of major biomes.

· Describe and give examples of the impact of invasive species on an ecosystem.

Quizzes and Tests

Friday Quizzes: 9/21, 10/5 Unit Test: 10/19

Class Routines and how Parents May Best Support Their Kids

The class is divided into two week segments.  At the end of each segment the students will turn in their notebook and take a short quiz.  Students will also take major unit tests three times a semester, and will turn in occasional projects outside of the regular notebook.

Notebooks are the key to staying organized.  The first page in the students’ notebooks will their current assignment sheet.  On it they will list the work that they are doing during each two week period and the goals for those weeks.   Everyday when they come to class they will see on the board, new assignment titles to add and a warm-up.  They get stamps for completing the warm-up on time.  On Monday the warm-up is to copy the new goals.  Thursday nights before the quiz are a good time to check with students to make sure their notebooks are complete and that they are confident about the material that will be on the quiz.

On the Monday after a quiz, I will return the notebooks and quizzes and post the grades on the wall using a code for their names.   They should be able to show you their notebook and quiz or test scores. They may retake the quiz or test if they did not do well, and recover half of the points that they missed.  Late notebooks are only accepted the next day and penalized 20 points.

Welcome and Class Description 2012-13

Welcome to Grant's N Community Biology class.

Biology is the study of life in its many forms. In this introductory class for 9^th graders we will undertake this study in 5 units. The first is on populations and ecosystems. In this unit we will look at large scale phenomena, including what affects population sizes and what are the many interconnections among species in a community. The second unit will focus on viruses and bacteria. In this unit we will study cells, the spread of infectious diseases and human immune system. The third and fourth units are on genetics and evolution respectively. We will go from the small to the large here – from how DNA codes for characteristics and how genes are passed through generations to how life has spread over the earth in its myriad forms. The final unit is on energy flow through living systems. In this unit we will consider photosynthesis, respiration and how we gain and store energy in our body, but also fossil fuels and our society’s energy habits.

Biology, like all science, is a way of thinking, and we will focus on what distinguishes that way of thinking throughout the year. We will generate and use data to test hypotheses. We will develop and test models. We will look for evidence constantly, and we will struggle with just how strong of conclusions our data will support.

Supplies:

Students should bring a three ring notebook and pencil to class every day. They may leave their text book at home for studying and homework.

Weeks 10-11, Evolution Unit Test

The unit test will be Friday April 27.
Notebooks will also be collected then.

Week 10-11 Notebook Contents

1.How Life Begins
2. Homework: Read 447-449 and 454-460. Answer questions: 1-3 on p449 and 1-4, 6 on p459
3. Evolutionary Timeline
4. Evolution Review - Homework due Wednesday


This is the review information that I provided them on Monday.

 

Evolution Unit Review

Unit Test:   Friday April 27

Goals:

• ·         Describe historical development of the theory of evolution  (multiple choice questions strongly related to this goal – 4)
• ·         Describe common patterns of evolution (8)
• ·         Describe key characteristics of evolution by natural selection (8)
• ·         Create a phylogenic tree for hominids (3)
• ·         Describe major changes that occurred in hominid evolution (4, including chromosomal changes)
• ·         Identify human hominid ancestors and locate them in our phylogeny (3)
• ·         Describe scientific theories about how the molecules necessary for life and the first cells developed. (2)
• ·         Identify and place in chronological order major developments during the Precambrian era, including prokaryotes, the atmosphere and simple eukaryotes. (4)
• ·         Identify and place in order the dominant organisms during Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic  eras. (0)
• ·         Know and correctly use the vocabulary of the unit. (8, lots of overlap with other questions)

Sections to read from the Textbook

Chapter  16  (almost all of it is important), Chapter 17 (some of it, mostly in sec. 17.2), Chapter 19 (lost of important stuff),  and finally Section 32-3.

Extended Answer Questions 

Three of the following extended answer questions will be on the test.   As on previous tests, you will be expected to write a short paragraph response which will be graded on clarity, accuracy, relevance and completeness.

1. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria show powerful evidence for ongoing evolution.  Describe how bacteria are developing this resistance and what may be done about it.
2. Choose four traits that have shown notable change during the evolution of hominids.  Describe the nature of these changes and speculate on what selection process could have caused them to develop
3. Many events occurred in the first two billion years of the Earth’s existence.  Choose four of the most important of them.  List them in order and explain why you considered these to be on the most-important list.
4. Darwin developed his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection with no knowledge of chromosomes, DNA, or the mechanisms of genetics.  Explain how genetics fleshed out Darwin’s theory and how evolution works on the level of DNA.
5. Many lines of thinking and personal experience helped Darwin develop his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.  Chose both an experience from Darwin’s life and a prominent scientific, social or economic theory from Darwin’s time that influenced him.  Describe the event  and how it influenced him, then name and describe the theory and how it influenced him.
6. Describe the four key elements for Evolution by Natural Selection that we identified in class.  Use an example of evolution to show how they work together.
7.  Darwin and Lamarck had differing views on how evolution worked.  Describe the key differences of the theories and who proposed which view. 
8.  In class, we examined the evidence for human evolution by looking at skull replicas and at chromosome representations.  Describe how each showed evidence for human evolution.  Which form of evidence was most convincing for you?  Explain why.

weeks 6-7

Goals
1. Describe historic development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
2. Describe common patterns of evolution
3. Describe key characteristics of evolution by natural selection.

Notebook Contents


1. Reading – History of the Theory and
2. page of notes/summaries of readings
3. The evolution of the Egyptian Papyrus Bird
4. Powerpoint- Evolution/Great Transformations Video
5. The Chromosome Connection 2 --- Distributed on Thursday

Weeks 3-5

I've had a number of absences and the flow of activities is a little off target.
There will be no quiz on this unit. Students will do some summative writing in class on Thursday and turn in their notebook.

Notebook Contents
1. Ethical Group Discussion: The lifeboat
2. GATTACA reflection
3. Case Study #1: The Down Syndrome
4. Galapogos Film Notes
5. Notes from Mr Doltar on Darwin and Natural Selection
6. Natural Selection Lab
7. Group Case Studies and Reflection