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.