"CRACKING THE CODE OF LIFE"

Here's a link to our recent notes on 'Mutation!'

A PDF of the Lecture Guide based upon the Power Point is available here.

The video viewed in class, and thus the handout based on it, can be viewed on-line here:



There is an entire PBS-sponsored web site to accompany this program. It's truly excellent, and since I can't show the entire program within a regular class. I can, however, assign a segment of it along with Section 14.3 of our text to help students understand the material and complete the worksheet. So, read that section, watch video segments 4-8 and complete your work, students!

STUDY HALL AND SATURDAY SCHOOL

Dear Students, Parents and Guardians:

As per the Course Contract, Mr. Hatfield is currently assigning both noon-time Study Hall and Saturday School to Biology students who are failing the course, and need opportunities to make up previously-assigned work.

If a student is assigned to either and fails to attend without a parental contact, they will be referred to administration for discipline. Students will receive notices AT SCHOOL for noon-time Study Hall, and parents/guardians will receive a TAKE-HOME notice of Saturday School today. Parents and guardians are asked to fill out the notice and return it to Mr. Hatfield prior to Friday, March 2nd.

The first Saturday School session will take place on Saturday, March 3rd, between 8:30 AM and 11:45 PM, in Room N-63. Failure to attend as assigned will be treated as defiance. Students who arrive late or who leave early without permission will also be referred to administration.

Students who are NOT assigned noon-time Study Hall or Saturday School may attend, but Mr. Hatfield requires a note from the parent or guardian from such students for Saturday School.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: WATER NOTES

This post contains the final section of notes on water resources (from Ch. 11). These notes, and the previous notes on abiotic cycles and properties of water are all fair game for our first Unit Test this semester, which will be on Wednesday, Feb. 29th (LEAP DAY!)

Students will receive a Study Guide in-class on Friday, Feb. 24th. They should use this Guide and the blog posts to make sure that their Cornell Style Notes are complete.

Students are allowed to use their Notes during their scheduled Unit Test, but they should be aware that Mr. Hatfield will review their notes to see if they are completed: 3-4 questions or comments in an extended margin on each page, proper headings, underlining/highlighting, original summaries at the end of sections.

If the Notes are complete, students will receive an above-average grade on the Notes and be allowed to use them throughout the Exam. If they are below a certain minimal standard of completion, the Notes will be confiscated and receive a lower grade----and of course students will not be able to employ these Notes for the rest of the Exam.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ADDITIONAL TIME IS AVAILABLE on the date of the Unit Text (Wednesday, Feb. 29th), either at lunch or after school. Students who do not plan their schedules to take advantage of the additional time, or who miss the scheduled exam date for whatever reason, will be assigned a Makeup Test when they return to class.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: PROPERTIES OF WATER (ACIDS AND BASES)

HEY!

Here is the link to the Power Point on acids, bases and the pH scale.

LIFE'S GREATEST MIRACLE

Students watched the opening two segments of the NOVA program 'Life's Greatest Miracle' in class on Tuesday. This is helpful for understanding the special form of cell division called meiosis, and how the 'crossing-over' of chromosomes helps generate genetic variation.
You can watch it online here!

POWER POINT: PROBABILITY AND GENETICS

The lecture notes for the present unit on Genetics is available at this link. Students have been assigned a 70-point Project, a "Mendelian Genetics" booklet. They may find the notes, as well as their text (Chapter 11) are very helpful in completing this project, which is due on Friday, Feb. 3rd. They have also received a Lecture Guide in Mendelian Genetics that covers this material, which will be due on Monday.

Students who fail to hand in their BOOKLET by Monday, Feb. 6th, may have the home contacted.