Wednesday, December 3, 2014

POWER POINTS: CELLULAR ENERGETICS

In November, our Biology classes began covering material on how cells obtain, store and release energy. 

Since that time, there have been several groups of notes of various sizes for students to access.

First, this Power Point (previously given) contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.




The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.



Photosynthesis, Part II provides much more detail about the light reactions, photosystems, the proton pumps that use the enzyme ATP synthase, the electron transport chains that help power those pumps. There is less detail about the 'dark reactions' of the Calvin cycle and other material which is not explicitly part of the state standards. This is covered in Section 8.3 of the Dragonfly Book.



You can download Photosynthesis, Part II here.

A third Power Point is somewhat brief, but has many helpful animations that help describe and explain the structure and function of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the main energy-carrying molecule used by living things.   This builds on material in Section 8.1 of the text.


The fourth and final Power Point in this unit contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:





You can download the Power Point for Cellular Respiration here.


HOUSEKEEPING:

SATURDAY SCHOOL will be held on Dec. 13th, in Room N-63, between 8:45 and 11:30. Students who SELECTED for Saturday School will recieve a packet of illustrations to color and label based on materials from chapters 7-9 (cell membrane, transport, animal and plant cells, photosynthesis) 


Thursday, November 20, 2014

UNIT 4 (CELLULAR ENERGETICS) BEGINS!

Students and Parents;

After discussion with my department, it has been determined that there will be only one more unit of instruction this semester.   

We have just finished the third unit on 'Cells and their Organelles', which covered material from chapters 7 and 19 in the textbook.  The fourth (and final) unit of this semester will cover photosynthesis (chapter 8), cellular respiration (chapter 9) and cell growth and division (chapter 10).

Students should be aware, however, that  previously-covered material from chapter 2 (chemical reactions and enzymes) and chapter 7 (cell membrane structure and function) will feature heavily in this final unit.   If students have not mastered that material, it is important that they review it prior to the final two weeks of instruction.

The new syllabus is found below:


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

UNIT 3 TEST TOMORROW

Parents and Students:

Our third Unit Test will occur tomorrow, on Thursday, November 13th.

Students were issued a Study Guide to this Test last week.   They have been given an opportunity to sign up for an After-School Study Session to be held TODAY, Wednesday, November 12th.

Students should come to class tomorrow with their Composition Books completed, including all drawings colored and labeled and all left-handed "output" pages completed.  They are allowed to use their Comp Books on their exam.   The Comp Books will be graded during the Exam period.

Students are allowed to come at lunch or after-school on exam days for additional time.   The guidelines for success on exams have been previously given IN THIS POST.

COME PREPARED!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

POWER POINT: CELLS AND THEIR ORGANELLES


Here's the link you need to download this Power Point, to use to complete your notes or the Lecture Guide based upon it.

CHANGES TO SYLLABUS:

Lab 9 ("The Time Required for Mitosis") will be attempted in a future unit.

The Unit 3 Test has been moved to Thursday, November 14th.

The After-School Study Session to prepare for the Unit 3 Test has been moved to Wednesday, November 13th.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

UNIT 3: THE CELL

Our second unit on 'The Chemistry of Life' is officially ended.   Some items on the Unit 2 syllabus have been folded into our next unit, which covers the "Structure and Function of the Cell" :


STUDENTS AND PARENTS:   Please note that Mr. Hatfield will be assigning students to SATURDAY SCHOOL on Saturday, Nov. 1st.

Monday, October 13, 2014

POWER POINT: THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

Here is the Power Point on 'The Chemistry of Life.'   Students received a Lecture Guide based on this Power Point in Friday's class, along with a Study Guide for their test.

STUDY SESSION AFTER SCHOOL on Tuesday, Oct. 14th, between 3:15 and 5:00.   The test is the following Wednesday.


Thursday, October 2, 2014

POWER POINT: ACIDS AND BASES

HEY!





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

Students should use this Power Point to make sure that their Interactive Notes are complete, and also to complete the Lecture Guide given in Thursday's class.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

POWER POINT: ATOMS AND MOLECULES



 Here are the notes on 'Atoms and Molecules.'




The Lecture Guide based on these notes was distributed in class on Thursday and available as a PDF file on-line.

Friday, September 19, 2014

VIDEO: THE LIVES OF THE STARS

;

The following episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos, 'The Lives of the Stars', forms the basis of a student homework assignment. Click on the icon below to play the video within the blog:





Wednesday, September 17, 2014

SYLLABUS: UNIT 2

Students:  Here is your Unit 2 Syllabus on 'The Chemistry of Life'.   While based on only one chapter of the text (Chapter 2), it is among the most challenging parts of the course.  Students who struggled toward the end of Unit 1 will need to 'raise their game' in order to be successful!




Tuesday, September 16, 2014

HOW TO 'COPE' WITH MR. HATFIELD's TESTS

Today, Biology students will have their first tests returned to them. Results of that test were mixed, and often not what they could have been, due to poor student CHOICES.

Students who earn a percentage score higher than that earned on the first test can not only expect to earn a higher grade, but they are eligible for grade change on their previous test.

To achieve that, students need to consider the following, using the anagram 'COPE'.

C....(ontent)

Students need to know what's on the test. To make sure that students know what content will be covered on the exam, they need to obtain a copy of the Study Guide, which becomes available the weekend before the test. The sooner they get this, the better!

O....(rganization)

Students need to plan their time. For the next test, there will be a Study Session after school on the day before the exam (date to be announced later this week). They earn points by attending, and get valuable feedback about what is likely to be covered. In addition to attending the Study Session, students need to consider using time on lunch or after-school on the day of their exam as needed to complete their test. Plan ahead, students!

P...(reparation)

Students need to provide evidence that they have prepared for the test. One way to do this is to attend the Study Session before the next test (date to be announced later this week). Another, powerful way is to make sure that they bring their COMPLETED Cornell Notes to class on the day of the exam. Cornell Notes, if completed, have questions and comments in the margins and summaries of the major sections. Students who have these items completed will be allowed to use them throughout the exam. Bring evidence that you have prepared for the test, students, and you will be rewarded!

E...(ffort)

Students need to finish what they start. There is nothing more important than giving our best effort, all of the time. On an exam day, a good effort means that students attempt everything, even if that means they need to come back at lunch or after school. Show a work ethic, students, and you will not only do better on the test....you will do better in every aspect of your life.

PARENTS, ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENT TO USE THESE STRATEGIES TO EXCEL!

Sunday, September 7, 2014

IMPORTANT DATES THIS WEEK

Many important dates and facts in this post, Biology students...and parents of Biology students!   Read on....


First and foremost, "Back-To-School Knight" happens on Monday, Sept. 8th, beginning at 5:30.   Mr. Hatfield's students and parents are encouraged to attend.   There will be a sign-in sheet for parents and guardians, and students will earn extra credit if they are represented.   Parents will receive information about Mr. Hatfield's expectations for Lecture (completing your Interactive Notes) and for doing homework (The RA).

Obviously, if these items are what Mr. Hatfield emphasizes at "Back-To-School Knight", then these are the items that are important for students to know as well.  

STUDENTS:  Make sure you have used the Lecture Guides and the Power Point Notes available on-line to complete the 'INPUT' which are to appear on the left-handed pages of your Biology notebook.  Make sure you know what 'OUTPUT' pages should be completed on right-handed pages, and how to answer questions on the Required Assignments!




On Wednesday, Sept 10th, there will be a Study Session after school in Room N-63, from 3:15 to 4:45.   Students who attend will receive extra credit in the course for participating, and have their questions answered about what to expect on their first Unit Test.   The Study Session is based on a Study Guide given in class on Monday, Sept. 8th, which includes this vocabulary list:



   A PDF of the FULL Study Guide is available here.

STUDENTS:  Please consider planning ahead and attending the Study Session.  It will be on a "first come, first served" basis and there will be a signup sheet.

On Thursday, Sept. 12th, Mr. Hatfield's Biology classes will have their first Unit Test.   The topics covered will included scientific method, the metric system, the hypothesis,  how to design experiments, scientific notation and the 'characteristics of life.'   Students may need additional time to complete the test.   On test days, Mr. Hatfield will be in his room during lunch and after-school so that students who need additional time can complete the test.  

STUDENTS:  Make sure you plan your time ahead and keep lunch or after-school "in play", so that if you need the additional time, you are prepared!

Finally....so that parents and students have a "road map" for the present unit, here is the syllabus for Unit 1.  Students previously received this in class but it is good for all of us to be "on the same page" where time management is concerned....








Saturday, September 6, 2014

POWER POINT: "A MARTIAN SAFARI"

Students:   During Friday's class, Mr. Hatfield gave out a handout entitled  'A Martian Safari'.

This is a RUBRIC EXERCISE and will be completed in your Composition Book, on the (left-hand-side) "output" page opposite a page of (right-hand-side) "input" that contains the 'characteristics of life' described in Section 1.3 of your textbook.



You can download the matching Power Point, which describes the scenario of 'A Martian Safari' as well as listing the eight 'characteristics of life.'   Either click on the graphic above or on this link, HERE.

Friday, September 5, 2014

POWER POINT: NATURE OF SCIENCE



Students! Here is the Power Point for the notes on 'The Nature of Science'. You received a Lecture Guide based on these Notes in Tuesday's class (Sept. 3rd) ! If you don't have Power Point on your computer, don't worry . . . you can download a free program, Power Point Viewer, to see the notes!

KEEP IN MIND...this year, in Mr. Hatfield's Classes, we will try to reduce the amount of class time spent taking notes. There are dozens of standards to cover, hundreds of vocabulary terms and other items to master. We need to decrease the amount of time spent in lecture so students can have more time to do activities. Remember: we want to engage as many different parts of the brain as possible, and to do that, we need to have more time to do things other than notes.






At the same time, your Cornell Notes must be complete (all the notes, original questions and comments in the margins, your name/date/course on every page, and summaries of major sections of notes). Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to download and complete any notes that they were not able to finish in class!!







THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

Thursday, August 28, 2014

SYLLABUS, UNIT 1

Students, here is the Syllabus for our first Unit, on the Nature of Science.   You should've received a copy of this, three-hole punched, in class.  But, for your convenience (and for your parents), here is a graphic image of the Syllabus:





 Click on it and you can make it larger and print it out, if you like.


Friday, August 22, 2014

COSMIC VOYAGE!

Biology students will be viewing a 36-minute IMAX video in class on Friday, August 22nd, and completing a worksheet based on part of the video. The film, 'Cosmic Voyage', was made in 1996 for the Smithsonian Institute and was clearly inspired by a classic science education film called 'Powers of Ten', originally produced in 1977 by the husband-and-wife team of Rae and Charles Eames.

'Cosmic Voyage' approaches the idea of using the metric system, which is based on powers of ten, to explore the question: "What is really large, and really small?" The film first zooms out from an acrobat's ring in St. Mark's Square in Venice, the place where Galileo first trained his telescope on the heavens.


Through 23 powers of ten, we leave first the Earth, then our solar system, then the Milky Way Galaxy behind, until we reach the limit of modern astronomy, where we can see images from about 13 billion years past.


Reversing course, the video then zooms in on drop of water in the Dutch town of Delft, where Antonie Van Leuuwenhoek first trained his early microscope to discover the hidden world of microbes.



As we zoom in on a paramecium, we penetrate its cell nucleus, then zoom in on a molecule of DNA.


Within that molecule is a carbon atom, and the world within that atom is mostly empty space! Within the atom, the atomic nucleus contains virtually all of an atom's mass, made of particles called protons and neutrons. These, in turn, are formed from even smaller particles called quarks.

The film continues with a discussion of the search for a fundamental theory in physics through the use of particle accelerators like Fermilab, along with an overview of the likely "recent" events that led to our sun, our solar system, the Earth and life itself.

Here, presented on YouTube, is the first segment (Chapter 1) of the film who wish to review the material or share it with others. As the narrator (Morgan Freeman) intones, 'we are all travelers on a voyage of discovery!' Chapter 2, and Chapter 3 can be assessed at YouTube directly or by clicking on the hyperlinks 

Friday, August 15, 2014

WELCOME TO MR. HATFIELD'S 2014-2015 BIOLOGY SECTIONS

Welcome to College Prep Biology(Bio) in the 2014-2015 school year!  As its name suggests, this course satisfies the UC (a-g) requirements for a lab course in the biological sciences.

This year I have five sections of Bio, with about 180 students.   I will be using this blog to communicate with my students in many different ways, including:
  • providing an on-line record of course Policies and Procedures
  • making classroom notes available as Power Points downloadable from the blog
  • placing videos shown in class available through Flash sites like YouTube
  • providing images of the course syllabus
  • making important announcements about major assessments
Students typically find this valuable.   I had more than 10,000 hits last year and over 4,000 downloads, mostly from Bullard students, so make sure you check this blog regularly.



Your first set of Biology notes, covering course Policies and Cornell Notes, is available HERE.

Students were previously asked in class to return a 'Course Contract' signed.   A copy of the Course Contract is available on-line HERE.


Monday, July 21, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAYS 9-11

The 'Cosmic Calendar' was due today (Monday, July 21st).   A Lecture Guide based on today's notes ("Darwin's Dangerous Idea") is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.   Students will be reviewing other applications of evolutionary theory, including primate evolution, in the morning session.   

In the afternoon, students will take their 200-point comprehensive course final.   Students are allowed to use their composition book notes, so make sure you not only bring your notes....but make sure they are complete!





Monday's Lecture Notes.

The title, incidentally, is taken from the Daniel Dennett book which also inspired a two-hour episode of the NOVA 'Evolution' series. We saw part of this episode in class yesterday, and will see another chunk on Tuesday morning, but I think students will benefit from watching the whole thing this evening.   

(For your convenience, I have embedded all 11 videos on this page, but these may not be visible on FUSD computers or on others that do not have recent versions of Java to run flash-based media.  If you are unable to open the individual videos on this post, go to the link above and watch them directly on YouTube)

Chapter 1. Prologue
Chapter 2. Common Ancestry









Chapter 3. Ecuador and the Tree of Life





Chapter 4. Natural Selection





Chapter 5. Mutation and HIV





Chapter 6. Complexity





Chapter 7. How The Eye Evolved





Chapter 8. God





Chapter 9. A Scientist Discusses Religion





Chapter 10. The Human Question





Chapter 11. Humans and The Tree of Life Chapter 12. Epilogue




Finally, here is the PBS web site that accompanies the entire series.
 
You can also watch parts of the videos there, but they are lower in resolution.






Thursday, July 17, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 8

THIS POST CONTAINS 2 (TWO) SECTIONS OF NOTES, EACH OF WHICH HAS A LECTURE GUIDE....

First up is the Power Point on "Diversity and Classification" can be uploaded here. The Lecture Guide, given in class today, based on the Power Point can be found as a PDF file here.




NEXT......The Power Point Lecture Notes on 'Deep Time' are available here. 



FACT: The fossil record (and other lines of evidence) show us that populations of living things have "changed over time" (evolved)....

QUESTION: How can we explain this pattern of change in terms of NATURAL causes?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The article ("The Cosmic Calendar") is due on Monday the 21st .   No late submissions will be accepted.


The concept  is to display a "month" in an imaginary calendar that represents the history of our 13.7-billion-year-old universe:

 The original article that inspired this assignment was adapted from Carl Sagan's "The Dragons of Eden" and is available here.   
SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENTS, PLEASE NOTE: you are not required to do a poster project based on this assignment, or submit any part to "Turnitin.com." In summer school, time does not permit that kind of detailed, multipart assessment. As discussed in class: read the article, answer the questions, do the math.   Get 'er done.

  




Wednesday, July 16, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 7

If Summer School Biology students, for any reason, miss getting the notes in class they are still expected to have all the notes.   For this reason, the notes are made available on-line.   Simply click on the text or images associated with the Power Point.   These contain embedded links that will take you to sites where you can either view the notes on-line or download them.

As an example, here is our newest Power Point, on Populations and Ecosystems:


Not every one has Power Point on a computer handy at their home all the time, of course.   Not to worry!   It turns out that you don't need to own the Power Point program, or spend money to get the program.  All computers on the BHS campus already have Power Point installed, for one thing.   And, if you prefer to do this off-campus at home or at a friend's home, you don't actually need Power Point.    All you need is access to the Internet!

Using a web browser, enter the following search term: 

 Power Point Viewer

"Power Point Viewer" is free software from Microsoft that allows you to open and view Power Points.    It costs nothing, and it is very small (around 60 MB), so it can be run by all systems.

Wednesday's class also featured excerpts from 'Extinction!', which is Episode 3 from NOVA's 'Evolution' series (2001).

The video begins with paleontologist Peter Ward hunting for Permian fossils in South Africa's Karoo Desert, and relates ecological pyramids (which are like a 'house of cards') to mass extinctions, which are believed to be rare but important events in the history of life.

It then follows the work of American Museum of Natural History researcher Michael Novacek in building the fossil record of small, shrew-like mammals from the Mesozoic, representative of the lineage that will survive the next mass extinction (the K/T event), which will claim the dinosaurs.

It concludes with an examination of the role of human activity in accelerating the rate of extinction, with important attention to conservationists like Alan Rabinowitz. I encourage students to watch the video in its entirety for themselves if there are points that they don't get in class. We simply do not have enough class time to review this, but I know many students will want to see the whole story again, either by going to Google Video or watching it here:







Tuesday, July 15, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 6



The Power Point with the Notes on Biotechnology is available here. All students will need to download the entire Power Point in order to finish the Lecture Guide, so make sure you do it!

Students who have lost their original Lecture Guide and need to get another copy can download the Guide as a PDF file here.


Monday, July 14, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 5


The Power Point Notes for Human Heredity are available here.


Students were given an activity that interprets diagrams like the one shown in the graphic above (a karyotype).   This is an online activity found at the University of Arizona.

Students were also given a worksheet based on the video below, shown in class in the afternoon session.   

It summarizes Mendel's discoveries, the work with fruit flies that demonstrated the role of the chromosomes, and 'connects-the-dots' between this early work and the next topic (biotechnology)....

 

Friday, July 11, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 4







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

During Friday's Biology classes, students were asked to complete a worksheet based on the video 'Cracking the Code of Life.'  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 wanted to make the whole thing available for students....

Thursday, July 10, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 3



The lecture notes for this were given on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.   The entire Power Point is available at this link. 

Students also watched part of a NOVA (PBS) documentary on meiosis and human reproduction today, entitled 'Life's Greatest Miracle':  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!






SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 2

Here is the (brief) Power Point discussing, and giving examples of some basic principles of probability. This is, of course, math....but an essential tool, also, for doing science.






Tuesday, July 8, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, 2nd SESSION, DAY 1

This is the first post from the first day of the second session of Summer School Biology (July 8-July 22).   Students began this session learning course policies and class rules, then had refresher notes on scientific method:




Students! Here is the Power Point for the notes on 'The Nature of Science'. You will receive a Lecture Guide based on these Notes sometime this week! If you don't have Power Point on your computer, don't worry . . . you can download a free program, Power Point Viewer, to see the notes!

KEEP IN MIND...this summer, in Mr. Hatfield's Classes, we will try to reduce the amount of class time spent taking notes. There are dozens of standards to cover, hundreds of vocabulary terms and other items to master. We need to decrease the amount of time spent in lecture so students can have more time to do activities. Remember: we want to engage as many different parts of the brain as possible, and to do that, we need to have more time to do things other than notes.






At the same time, your Cornell Notes must be complete (all the notes, original questions and comments in the margins, your name/date/course on every page, and summaries of major sections of notes). Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to download and complete any notes that they were not able to finish in class!!

Here are the Power Point notes on DNA and RNA from Chapter 12 of the text.   This material was previously covered in the last three days of the first session of Summer School Biology.   It is recapitulated in this session in part because it is very challenging, and in part because some aspects of DNA structure and function, as well as transcription and translation, is needed to understand aspects of genetics, biotechnology and evolution....

. These Power Point notes are available for download here.

Monday, June 30, 2014

SUMMER SCHOOL BIOLOGY, DAYS 9-10

The Power Point summarizing the Cell Cycle, based on the first two sections of Chapter 10, is available here:





These notes were given Monday in both the morning and afternoon sessions. These Power Point notes are available for download here.



Students are allowed to use their composition books on the day of the final, but they must be submitted in the final 20 minutes of instruction.  Students should strive to complete their notes, with questions and comments in the margins, underlining and/or highlighting of major points, color in any drawings or diagrams, etc.   This provides evidence that students both reviewed and personalized their notes.  

Students who provide this evidence will earn points on the final day of instruction, students who fail to do so will lose points.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

BIOLOGY SUMMER SCHOOL, DAYS 7 and 8

This Power Point contains an outline of photosynthesis, relating it to the 'Great Circle' of chemical reactions that all living things participate it (autotrophs and heterotrophs!), reactions which recycle the raw materials that life requires. Much of this material is covered in the first two sections of Chapter 8 in the Dragonfly Book.



The Power Point for Photosynthesis, Part I, is available here.

A PDF file of the Lecture Guide based on that Power Point can be downloaded here.

Cellular Respiration: This Power Point contains information about cellular respiration, including glycolysis (which takes place in the cytoplasm) and the Krebs Cycle (which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria). The electrons produced in the Krebs Cycle move through the inner membrane, or cristae, of the mitochondria. The motion of these negatively-charged particles attracts protons (H+), and eventually a high concentration of protons within the membrane is available to drive 'proton pumps' that power an enzyme, ATP synthase, leading to the production of more ATP:



You can download the actual Power Point here.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

BIOLOGY, SUMMER SCHOOL, DAY 6

The following post contains a link to the latest set of Cornell Notes in Mr. Hatfield's classes.  These include the structure and function of the neuron, the type of cell that makes up most of the tissues in the nervous system.

https://www.mediafire.com/?qe16imv74age7qe



Here are the notes on neuron structure and function.    Today's class built on yesterday's notes on cells and their organelles

The morning session focused on cell membrane structure and function, with special attention to how the neuron uses its membrane to create a difference in electrical potential, which becomes the basis of the nerve impulse.   At the end of class, students were shown a 20-minute video which describes some of the events that take place in the development of a human infant's brain.   A worksheet based on this video was distributed in class.

Here is that video, broken into a pair of segments:





Students who are interested in watching other videos in this series can find them on the following YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/user/flixwest?feature=watch



And, just in case you lose the worksheet given in class, a PDF file copy is available HERE.


Students: The ACTION POTENTIAL, covered on pages 898-900 of your text, is one of the more challenging topics in the course, but a very effective way of illustrating aspects of cell membrane function.

To assist with your understanding for Wednesday's class, here is a video, shown in class, that summarizes the events in a single action potential:




Notice that the resting potential is negative (-70mv) while the action potential is positive (+40mv).

Notice that the change in potential is generated by the motion of positively-charged sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) ions across the axon membrane.

Before the nerve fires, sodium is in high concentration OUTSIDE the axon membrane, while potassium is in high concentration WITHIN the membrane.  In the video, the sodium channel is shown in green while the potassium channel is shown in blue.   There are also 'leak' channels shown in purple.

The graph shown in the video is commonly used in college-level courses to convey a great deal of information about the various stages of the action potential (resting potential, depolarization, repolarization, hyperpolarization, etc.) and uses significant vocabulary and concepts not found in your text.   You will not be responsible for knowing the graph, but as it may help you to understand the concepts behind the video, I enclose a version of that graph here: