Lab "U"

The bead lab is here.

W32 Stuff

Notes for W32D1 - Darwin and Wallace.

Syllabus and grading rubrics for W32.

By popular demand

A quick way to get to the links for assignment R.

A good place to get started for the land biomes.

Other sites:

For the deep ocean - read down a bit for adaptations.

Good info for coral reef organisms.

How oysters survive in the changing conditions in estuaries. (Also look at the general estuaries page)

More good coral reef info.

But wait, there's more!

Here's a copy of Assignment R.

And here's the biome info sheet - remember you'll need one for each biome (you can also just write this info on note paper; just be sure to include everything from this sheet.)

And here's a blank world map to put the biomes on.

Welcome to Block VI!

Monday's notes can be found here. (Don't forget to read the "speaker's notes!")

Syllabus for this week can be found here.

Checklist for Science portfolio.

If you didn't get a copy of the Science portfolio checklist, you can pick one up from my desk tomorrow (Tuesday). If you can't wait to get started organizing your work, you can also get it here. Enjoy.

I'll be checking portfolios through Thursday, and possibly Friday morning, but the sooner you can get your portfolio to me the better.

Peer Review

Here's what we're going to be doing with the rough drafts on Friday (4/3). If you're out tomorrow, please do this at home, using a parent or sibling as the "reviewer." It should make your finished product that much better.

Stuff for W29

W29 Syllabus

Assignment P, including the checklist for evaluating web pages.

Rubric for Assignment Q, the genetics articles summary.

A bunch of good places to look for genetics news articles

Greetings!

As you know, on Tuesday, you'll be turning in Assignment O, where you pick a topic having to do with genes, genetics, DNA, genetic engineering, genetic research, genomes, genomics etc. (Hey look! I just gave you a good list of search terms!). For assignment O, you'll turn in an explanation of the topic, why you think it's interesting, and citations for two news articles about that topic. (You'll be finding even more articles on the topic next week.)

To help you find articles, here are some good places to look:

• Search Google News or Yahoo News for any of the search terms above
• Science News, the weekly science magazine.
• Articles collected by the NPR science news show Science Friday.
• Biology news from Scientific American.
• Science Daily.
• Science stories from the New York Times. (Try the "browse topics" menu on the right - the "genetic engineering" topic has lots of good stuff!)
• Articles from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

This week's stuff

Syllabus for this week.

Assignment N.

Notes for Monday - Protein synthesis.

A good animation showing protein synthesis

Here's a good video of protein synthesis. Make sure you listen to the narration.

Another one, with more realistic molecule shapes and showing the process in real time, can be seen here.

If you lost this week's syllabus, here's a copy.

The extra credit song...

...is called "That Spells DNA" by Jonathan Coulton and you can stream it for free (and it looks like you can download it for free, at least for now on his home page. Just look for DNA on the page.

Look ye here for notes

W27D2 notes, reprising yesterday's research. Enjoy, and don't forget to check the speaker notes for extra info.

Web Pages to Use for W27D1

Overview of Avery's work and the Hershey-Chase experiment.

Good quick overview of the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Another overview of the same material.

Info on Miescher.

A biography of Rosalind Franklin.

If you look at Dec. 11 and 12th in this blog, you'll find a nice overview of Chargaff's discoveries.

An extremely detailed online timeline can be found here.

And, last but not least, a summary timeline from PBS. This is a good one to look at if you're confused!

Meiosis handout

Can be found here.

Possible help for the cartoon?

Fun, at any rate:

Tuesday's notes

W26D2 notes on the stages of mitosis are available here.

Mitosis movies!

No, not movies of the digits at the end of my feet - movies of cell division. All of them are speeded up: mitosis takes many minutes.

This one shows the spindle (green) that pulls the chromosomes (red) apart.

The fifth movie on this page is a movie showing multiple cells undergoing mitosis as a sea urchin embryo grows. The spindles show up as white.

Rat kidney cells undergoing mitosis are visible if you look for the heading "Chromosomes and the spindle" on this page, and then open the movie.

ANIMATIONS

A good animation of mitosis, with explanations, is here.

Here's a nice 3D animation, with a "zoom in" to the nucleus at the start (and ridiculous music).

A simplified, step-by-step animation (with a quiz afterwords) can be found here. Great if you're having trouble following the other animations.

W26 Syllabus and D1 assignment.

Welcome to Week 26.

The syllabus for this week is here, and the graphic organizer for today is here.

W25D5 Notes

Notes are here.

Punnet Square Worksheet

Punnet Square Worksheet available here.

A good site to explore

The University of Utah has a great site to reinforce your genetics learning. If you were confused by the lessons today or yesterday, you should check out the first two presentations on this page.

W25 Notes

Notes from the first two days of this week are to be found here. Enjoy.

Due date change

Also sent out via snapgrades:

Greetings. In order to stay consistent with the handout, I'm changing the date of the cell analogy assignment from tomorrow (Friday) to Monday. Cell analogies - complete, and typed, are due at the start of the day on Monday, W24D1. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

W23 and W24

Only two assignments to focus on this week (syllabus for the week is here.)

The Cell Analogy (Assignment "Archibald") is due at the end of the day Friday. Students will have all day Thursday and Friday to work on their analogies and get help from me.

The directions for assignment Archibald were passed out to students, and are also available here.

The cell model, assignment B, is due at the end of next week. Students will work on this assignment in class next week, and should have all the materials they need to work on the model by Monday. Directions for this assignment are here. (Students also have this as a handout.)

For W22D4 - in-class Webquest.

To start with: use this web page to learn about cell membranes and answer the questions on your handout. I'll be coming around to help you out.

(Notice that there's some good basic information about other organelles on this page.)

After you've answered the questions on the handout, watch the animation that I'll show you. (It's from this web page.) Take notes, and be prepared to answer: what is endocytosis? What is exocytosis?

Another good site, if you're having trouble visualizing the membrane. Click through the animations!

Good animations of protein transport through a membrane can be found on this page.

After that, you can start researching - and taking notes - on what the different cell organelles do.

Some sites to try include this one from the University of Cincinnati 

This site (which has some good analogies to get you thinking) from a junior high in Utah. (Notice how I'm linking to sites that are from schools and universities? This is a good way to find reliable information - though it's not foolproof.)

There's an interactive animation of a cell here with some good explanations.

Using these sites, write out your own explanation of what each organelle's function in the cell is. Then, talk to me about what kinds of analogies might work for your analogy project.

Notes for W22D3 are here.

Information for the Cell Analogy project is here.

Petunia

Information for Imaginary Animal Final Project.

Assignment Q

The pig dissection guide, if you want a sneak preview of Monday and Tuesday's activity.

Today's notes

Today's notes on reproductive systems.

Group presentation notes

I've only received three groups' notes so far (see below). 

I need the remaining three ASAP!

The brain.

Another brain.

Kidneys.

Liver 1 should be available here.

Study Guide for Test

Study Guide for W21D1 Science Test - Open-Note Test

Be able to:

• Explain and define diffusion and osmosis.
  
• Explain which animal phyla can get oxygen to their cells using only diffusion/osmosis and why.
  
• List the major phyla of animals, and be able to give two examples of animals (common names OK) from: annelids, mollusks, arthropods, and chordates. 
  
• Know which of the following animals have a hydrostatic, external, or internal body skeleton: arthropoda, cnidarians, platyhelminthes, nematoda, annelida, chordata, and mollusca.
  
• Define each type of skeleton above, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  
• Be able to explain the primary differences between the digestive systems of cnidarians as opposed to nematodes, chordates, arthropods and annelids.
  
• Explain the different ways that different animal groups get oxygen: focus on the platyhelminths, cnidarians (coelenterates), mollusks, arthropods (remembering that insects have their own, distinctive system - know this system!), and different chordates - fish, amphibians, and mammals. (Know which of these groups have circulatory systems!)
  
• Define nematocysts, and explain their importance to the feeding strategies of cnidarians such as hydra.
• Compare sexual and asexual reproduction, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. Explain how and why the hydra uses both systems.
  
• Compare internal and external fertilization, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  
• Define the amniotic egg and explain its importance.
  
• Explain the special features of mammalian reproduction, and their advantages and disadvantages.
  

• Trace the blood flow through the human body, including the chambers of the heart, in the correct order. 
  
• Label the chambers of the heart correctly on a diagram
  
• Explain the major parts of the human digestive tract in order, giving the primary function or importance of each, from esophagus to rectum.
  
• Label the major parts of the human digestive system on a diagram.
  
• Label the liver, kidneys, brain and spinal cord correctly on diagrams
  
• Label the three major regions of the brain correctly on a diagram, and explain the major function of each
  
• Explain the difference between afferent, efferent, and intraneurons
  
• Explain the difference between the Central Nervous System, the Peripheral Nervous System, and the Autonomic nervous system, and explain the major function of each
  
• Explain some of the most important functions of the liver. 
  
• Define one major disease of the liver, including its causes and treatment.
• Define one major disease of the kidneys, including its causes and treatment.
  
• Define nephrons and explain their importance.
• Explain why urea forms in the body, and how it is removed.
• Explain what a nerve synapse is, and how signals cross a nerve synapse. (For extra credit, how do anti-depressants drugs relate to this?)
• Explain some of the most important functions of the kidneys
  
• Be able to explain the structure of the human respiratory system; define and explain the function/importance of the trachea, bronchi, bronchia, and alveoli.
  

Computer Class Information

UPDATE: Due to illness, computer class will begin next week (W21). Thanks.

I'll also be using this blog to post information for the upcoming computer classes (once a week) for the 7th graders.

Some good starting places that we'll be looking at:

http://www.geekycomputerteacher.com/

http://www.wmms.net/walters/student/computer_skills_vocabulary.htm

W20

Syllabus for W20.

W19 Work links

The syllabus for W19 Science.

"Natasha," group project - research and prepare a computer presentation.

The grading rubric I'll be using for Natasha; use this for reference while you're preparing the project - one copy must be turned in to me by each group on Monday.

(NOTE - Grading rubric changed as of 1:00 p.m. Thursday!)

The revision sheet each group will use to note any changes needed after the teacher review.

Tuesday's links

Assignment "Mortimer"

A good animation of blood flow through the heart (thx to C.G. for finding this one!)

W18 Stuff

Notes for this week are here.

(When viewing the notes presentation, don't forget to turn on speaker notes for extra information!)

And syllabus is here.

Enjoy.

Notes for W17D2

Today's notes can be found at:

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dc4vgvtd_0dnpfs9dq

Stuff for W17

Happy New Year!

Due to computer problems, I was unable to give the students their assignment sheets for this week; they will get these sheets tomorrow.

The information is also on the web:

Notes to fill in for for W17D1 and 2:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddsm58ms_30drdk45f3

Syllabus for W17:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddsm58ms_29gp6f75fm

Grading rubric for Assignment K

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddsm58ms_27ctj4jkqc

Assignment K, due Friday.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddsm58ms_26fpt5dvdk

I’ll also publish these links on the science class website: http://sterlingsci.blogspot.com/

Thanks,

Matthew T.

Kallisto - human circulation

Kallisto: Human circulatory system

Imagine you’ve been shrunk down to the size of a red blood cell and injected into Kim's bloodstream. Describe, in order, the blood vessel types, parts of the heart, and any other important circulatory system features you’ll be passing through.

Use the following terms correctly: vein, artery, atrium, ventricle, alveoli, capillary, oxygen, carbon dioxide, red blood cell, hemoglobin, aorta, valve. Make sure that you explain the function or importance of each of the items on this list!

Note when the blood would be blue in color and when it would be red, and why. Start your journey in the right atrium and make sure you explain both circuits - lungs and body.

Example: “I’m in the right atrium of the heart, surrounded by red blood cells. But none of them are red right now - they’re all blue, because they’re not carrying oxygen. There's a lot of dissolved carbon dioxide in the blood around me. After a second, the muscular walls of the atrium squeeze in on us, so we’re all pumped through the heart valve into the right ventricle. As soon as we’re through, the valve closes behind us so we can’t go back.”

The attached grading rubric must be attached to your assignment when you turn it in, or I won’t grade it!

Some good circulatory system resources:

A good explanation of open circulatory systems.

A silly but informative video on the human heart. (We'll watch & discuss this in class)

Easier to download versions of assignments

Jethro

Iago

Interesting Science Post

If you want to read about parasites that control fish brains - forcing the fish to swim in a way that makes it easy for birds to catch and eat them - look here.

Some websites for hydra and daphnia

Hydra:

http://www.virtuallaboratory.net/Biofundamentals/lectureNotes/Topic6-1_Communities.htm (look towards the bottom of the page)

http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/cnidarians.htm

and Wikipedia (as of this moment) is good on hydra:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(genus)

Daphnia:

Wikipedia is good again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphnia

Another daphnia page:

http://lhsfoss.org/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/daphnia.html

Last week's notes on skeleton types, available here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddsm58ms_16hddw97fb

Notes from today available at:http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=ddsm58ms_10cvfbhhfq

W16 Syllabus

Block III, W16 Science Syllabus

Note: The dates for this week's assignments are not set - we will have to arrange the work schedule based on when we receive the materials for the hydra-daphnia lab.

In-Class Work	Homework
"Iago" - Hydra-daphnia lab report Part One: Pre-lab questions. These will not be graded, but must be complete before you may begin the lab!
Part Two: Lab participation - your participation in the lab - including appropriate use of equipment, being on-task, listening to directions and (last but not least) cleaning up after the lab, will significantly affect your participation grade!	Part Three: Lab Report - notes and answers to lab questions must be typed in full sentences. Pictures from your notes can be attached separately. This will be due the day after completion of the lab.
	"Jethro" - human and hydra digestion comparison.

Iago - Daphnia Hydra

“Iago”
- Daphnia and Hydra Lab

Prelab
questions:

Use
classroom researches to answer these questions on a separate sheet of
paper. Prelab questions must be complete before you can begin the
lab!

What
is a Daphnia? What phylum does it belong to? What do they eat?

Sketch
a Daphnia below, labeling anterior and posterior ends.

What
phylum do Hydra belong to? What do hydras eat?

What
are nematocysts and how do hydras use them?

Sketch
a hydra below, and label the oral and aboral ends. Show where the
mouth of the hydra is.

What
do you predict will happen when a hydra and a daphnia are introduced
into the same dish? Explain your reasoning.

Feeding
the Hydra!

Answer
all questions and make all drawings on your own paper - you will be
using these notes and sketches for you typed lab report.

In
this lab, you’ll observe the feeding behavior of the brown
hydra. The brown hydra is a predator; it uses it tentacles, lined
with stinging cells called nematocysts,
to capture prey. In this case, we’ll be feeding them tiny
aquatic crustaceans called daphnia.

Procedure

1. Use
   a pipette to carefully take a hydra from the shipping container and
   place it on a microscope slide. (You may need to use the pipette to
   shoot a gentle stream of water at the hydra and then suck it into
   the pipette while it’s floating loose.)

   
   

2. Let
   the hydra settle down and observe it for a few minutes under the
   microscope. (Do not
   use the highest power!) Use your notebook to
   record careful, detailed notes describing
   the behavior of the hydra. (What parts of it are moving? How are
   they moving? How fast or slow?

   
   

3. Draw
   a picture of the hydra.
   The hydra sits on a strong muscle called the basal disk. At the
   other end, the tentacles surround the hydra’s mouth. Label the
   basal disk, tentacles. Also label the oral and aboral ends.

   
   

4. Get
   a separate dish and use a pipette to carefully take a daphnia from
   the shipping container and place it on a microscope slide. Try to
   get the smallest daphnia you can.

   
   

5. Observe
   the daphnia for a few minutes and
   make notes about its
   appearance and behavior.

   
   

6. Draw
   a picture of the daphnia.
   

   
   

7. Use
   the pipette to re-capture the hydra and add it to the dish
   containing the hydra. Watch carefully what happens when the hydra
   and daphnia touch. Take
   good notes - you will be writing up your observations. (Watch
   the daphnia’s heartbeat - you can see the heart of the hydra
   through its skin.) In your notebook, describe what happens every 30
   seconds from first contact for at least 10 minutes or until the
   daphnia is completely eaten. Draw a few sketches to show what the
   daphnia and hydra look like.

   
   

Post-Lab

Hydras
have only a single opening to their gut - the mouth. Does a hydra
have a stomach? Explain your answer.

What
will happen to the parts of the daphnia that the hydra cannot digest?
How does this differ from the human digestive system?

Would
the hydra have been able to capture the daphnia without nematocysts?
Explain your answer.

Lab
Report

Your
completed typed lab report on this part of the lab should have all
your drawings and observations, as well as answers to all questions.
The lab report must be typed
and in complete sentences with correct grammar and spelling. It
should describe the actions you observed in
detail.

Be
careful not to use the word “it” if there’s any
doubt about what “it” means. Use correct terminology.

Your
report should also include the labeled drawing of the hydra and your
sketches of what happened as it attempted to capture the hydra.

BAD:
It’s grabbing it
with the things.

GOOD:
The hydra is using its tentacles to grab the daphnia.

BETTER:
The hydra is stretching out three of its tentacles to grab the
daphnia. The daphnia is struggling and kicking, but it’s
kicking more and more slowly and weakly.

Jethro - hydra vs human digestion

Last Initial: ____________ First Name: _______________________________________________________

Assignment "Jethro"
Human and Hydra digestive systems compared.

Type all answers on a separate paper and attach it behind this sheet.

Questions marked with a ** are optional, but must be answered if you want to get an "A" on the assignment. If you satisfactorily answer all the other questions, you will get a B+.
Many of the answers will be given during lecture. For extra helps, see the textbooks and/or:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/digestive_system.html (basic, but helpful)
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/running-through-the-human-digestive-system.html (a bit more detailed - quite good!)
http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/body/pg000126.html (cutesy, but good facts)
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/

1. What are the three things that any digestive system must do?
2. What do the jaws, tongue and teeth do to aid the human digestive process?
3. Does a hydra have any structures that serve the same function as the human mouth? Explain.
4. **In the human digestive system, what is amylase, and what function does it serve?
5. What does the esophagus do in the human digestive system?
6. **What is peristalsis? Define and describe.
7. A hydra has no esophagus. What structures in the hydra carry out a similar function and how?
   
8. The human stomach contains strong acid; but it is NOT strong enough to dissolve the food. What IS the primary purpose of this acid?
9. How does the human stomach protect itself against being damaged by its own acid?
10. **What happens to the stomach acid when food passes into the duodenum?
    
11. What nutrients are broken down and absorbed in the human stomach?
12. What is the chemical that breaks down proteins
    
13. What are some of the most important differences between the human stomach and the gastro-vascular cavity of the hydra?
14. What are the main things that happen in the small intestine? (What materials are broken down?)
15. **What are villae?
16. How long is the long intestine? Why is it so long?
17. **Think about the previous question. What does the answer to that question suggest about a possible problem with the hydra's digestive system?
18. **What are villae, and how are they important to digestion? (I'll be especially happy if you use the concept of surface area in your answer.)
19. What happens in the large intestine? (What gets absorbed?)
20. **What part do bacteria in the large intestine play in digestion? Be specific?
    
21. What's a key difference between how a hydra and a human get rid of post-digestion waste?
22. Label the human digestive tract below. Label the mouth, esophagus, stomach, liver, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. (**Label the gall bladder, pancreas and appendix.)
23. Label the hydra on the next page. Label the mouth, gastro-vascular cavity, and tentacles. (**show where the nematocysts are.)
    
24. Explain how the liver aids digestion.
    
25. Can you eat a new meal while still digesting a previous meal? Can a hydra? Explain your answer fully.