For today’s lesson, students were tasked with their first reading assignment from our official Biology textbook. The assignment called for students to read The Breath of Life essay on pages 236-239 in the textbook. After reading each paragraph, students were instructed to write a short summary sentence about the main idea of the paragraph. Students needing additional time will be able to complete the assignment after the quiz tomorrow. Students who finished early were instructed to continue reading the next essay in the textbook. Credit will be given to students who complete the notes by the end of class tomorrow.
Category Archives: Matter
Exercise Lab
For the second day of our new unit, students began class by answering the following entry task:
In your lab notebook, explain why you can’t hold your breath forever.
A class share-out of the entry task enabled students to reason through the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, learning new vocabulary to apply to the processes. Class notes are shown below:
Next, we discussed the connection between carbon dioxide and pH, and then students observed a demonstration for how to use probeware to measure pH and temperature. Students wrote down the following procedure in their lab notebooks:
After completing the lab, students processed their data and recorded it on the white board for everyone to see. Not everyone had time to record their data, so the class data sets pictured below will be revisited soon:
Introduction
We kicked off Unit 2 with the following entry task:
In your notebook, make three columns with the following titles:
Carbohydrate Lipid Protein
List as many foods as you can in the appropriate columns.
Next, students were shown an image of a traditional Thanksgiving meal and we discussed the components of the meal, placing each food item in the appropriate food category. Students then used this thinking as they took the Unit 2 Pre-Assessment which called on them to label the parts of a cheeseburger and place those food parts into the food categories from the entry task. The remainder of the Pre-Assessment asked students to explain the processes of digestion, absorption, and biosynthesis.
Students who completed the Pre-Assessment early were able to spend the remainder of the class period finalizing their Egg Lab reports (due tomorrow by midnight).
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Dissection Lab
Today marked the first day of dissections (thanks to our DonorsChoose grant award!), with students working in teams of three to dissect a cow eye and a pig heart. Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Students who were apprehensive at first quickly engaged with the hands-on lab. Many were surprised at how different the organs were compared with the stylized pictures they had seen in textbooks. I was very impressed with how respectfully students treated the organs. The dissections were performed with care and clear attention to detail. Many students were able to trace the flow of blood through the heart. Students who dissected the eye noted the beautiful blue coloration of the cow eye retina, and may students were surprised by the onion-like structure and marble-like consistency of the lens. The hardness of opacity of the lens are due to the dissection materials being stored in a chemical fixative. Exploratorium has a guide available for the dissection of fresh cow eyes for students feeling inspired to connect with their local butcher.
Update: 1/27/16
Students dissected frogs and sheep brains today:
For the final 20 minutes of class, we reviewed critical course content in preparation for the Unit 2 Exam scheduled for tomorrow. White board notes are shown below:
Energy, Matter, and Organization: PSSC Marine Tech Visit
Mr. Joe Weiss from the PSSC Marine Tech Lab visited with students today to share information about the Marine Science & Technology program he offers at the Marine Tech Lab down at Seahurst Park. Mr. Weiss explained the program (his PowerPoint presentation provides an excellent overview), answered student questions, and provided materials about PSSC for interested students to review and discuss with their counselors here at HHS. Students are also encouraged to visit the PSSC website to learn more about all of the different programs offered.
After, we reviewed the concepts likely to be included on the Unit 2 Exam scheduled for Thursday next week. Students may prepare one page of notes (notebook paper, front and back) to use on the exam. Specifically, students should review:
- the 4 classes of biomolecules (including the subunits and atoms comprising the subunits)
- negative feedback
- potential and kinetic energy
- the connection between matter and energy
- conservation of energy and matter
- inputs and outputs of cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and combustion
- how to write a scientific explanation using a claim, evidence (data), and scientific reasoning
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Unit Review
We began class with a reminder that the semester ends next Thursday, January 28. Students were informed that if they have a current grade of a C or better, they will be able to participate in an extra credit opportunity (the nervous system project) to be explained tomorrow. Student projects will determine which groups are able to dissect sheep brains next week. Students with a D or below will work in small groups with me this week to help them catch up. Students who still have a D or below as of Tuesday next week will continue to catch up on required classwork and will not participate in the dissection lab. There will be a Unit 2 Final Exam on Thursday (1/28).
Students then had the next 20 minutes to complete the take-home quiz from Friday (only about 1/4 of students in all of my classes used the three-day weekend to complete the quiz). After the quiz, we reviewed two of the more challenging questions, connecting the path that explains why excess fertilizer used by farmers near the Mississippi River ends up contributing to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Links to pictures shown in class, as well as pictures of the white board notes are provided below.
Map of the Gulf of Mexico showing bordering states
Image of the dead zone (red = very little oxygen, blue = normal oxygen) in the Gulf of Mexico
Map of the United States highlighting the location of the Mississippi River (in red)
White Board Class Notes:
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Nutrient Cycling Quiz
To conclude the biogeochemical cycle poster project, students each reviewed two posters from groups other than their own. The review consisted of a worksheet with one half containing key items that must be included on each poster for full credit (turned in for participation credit). The lower half of the worksheet included feedback questions that were left with the posters and provided to the groups for feedback. Students then received a take-home quiz consisting of an article about the 2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone and a quiz with questions connecting the nitrogen, carbon, and water cycles with photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and algal blooms. The quiz is due Monday.
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Biogeochemical Cycle Poster Project
This week, students will work in groups of three students each to create a poster representing biogeochemical cycling. For the project, students will receive a worksheet with 30 different components that must be included in their poster. Students will have access to the class textbook and the class set of laptops to conduct their research. Students will also receive the Nutrient Cycling POGIL worksheet packet that will provide them with additional information about the process of carbon (C), water (H and O), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling. Sulfur is often included as a component of the biogeochemical cycle, frequently appreviated as the CHNOPS cycle. To help keep student projects moving forward, a variety of resources will be posted here for review.
Crash Course: Carbon and Water Cycles
Crash Course: Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycles
Bozeman Science: Biogeochemical Cycles (includes the Sulfur Cycle)
The Global Carbon Cycle – a website with data about global carbon cycling with actual numbers that need to be added to the student posters.
Water Cycle – USGS website providing a robust review of hydrologic (water) cycle vocabulary, a presentation of the cycle itself, and data students will need to add the actual amount of water stored in various locations on Earth.
Texas A&M University has a website with pages devoted to explaining the Nitrogen Cycle. Additional in-depth information about the Nitrogen Cycle is available on the Nature Education Knowledge Project website.
Phosphorus Cycle – information about the cycle and a nice graphic from the Shmoop University website.
Sulfur Cycle – a presentation provided by North Carolina State University
Ocean acidification has become a major concern as the increasing concentration of carbon being produced has resulted in our ocean water become increasingly acidic. The movie Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification is freely available online for students who would like to learn more about the consequence of our hydrocarbon-based economy on life in the oceans.
Update 1/12/16: Whiteboard notes from today’s Entry Task connecting biomolecules and biogeochemical cycling (CHNOPS):
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration POGILs
For the next three days, students will learn about leaf structure, photosynthesis, and the connection between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Students will work in pairs to complete two worksheet packets, and those who finish early will have the opportunity to complete one or more related labs.
For day 1, the entry task called for students to answer (through writing) the following:
- What is photosynthesis?
- Why is photosynthesis important?
- Write the equation for photosynthesis (bonus: include pictures!).
Student work is pictured below:
After the share-out, students watched the Crash Course: Plant Cells video (below) which served as a refresher to plant cells and as an introduction to photosynthesis. After the video, students worked in pairs on the Photosynthesis POGIL worksheet packet.
For Day 2, students reviewed the vocabulary terms of exothermic and endothermic within the context of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and combustion. Notes from the entry task are pictured below.
After the entry task, we watched the video about photosynthesis by Bozeman Science. Students need to know the first 4.5 minutes of content, but the remaining content (which students wanted to watch) is beyond the scope of our class. After the video, students had the remainder of class time to work on the Photosynthesis POGIL Worksheet Packet from yesterday.
For Day 3, we connected the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration first through our entry task and then through a Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration POGIL worksheet packet. The entry task and white board notes answering the response are pictured below:
For students looking to dig into cellular respiration at the molecular level, the Crash Course and Bozeman Science videos are provided below:
Energy, Matter, and Organization: Complete Potato Catalase Lab Report with Extension
Students began the day with an entry task asking them to reflect back on the potato catalase lab from before the break, locate and/or recall how temperature was affected by the reaction, and then to use science thinking to come up with a “why” statement. Students successfully reasoned through the idea that the increased temperature observed during the reaction was attributed to the net release of energy from the bonds breaking from hydrogen peroxide and reforming to produce water and oxygen. Students were then introduced to the vocabulary terms of exothermic and endothermic. After the entry task, we briefly reviewed the Unit 2 calendar, clearly noting the scheduled quizzes, project deliverables, and dissection week. Students were then treated to a job posting showing the clear market demand for individuals skilled at dissection. Students were then released to:
- Work with their lab group to complete and turn in the lab report
- When finished with the lab report, repeat the potato catalase experiment with fresh potato, baked potato, and frozen potato.
Science with Swart 
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