VIDEO: GREATEST DISCOVERIES IN GENETICS

On Tuesday, Jan. 28th, Mr. Hatfield was at a district meeting that lasted until nearly 7:00 in the evening.   His colleague Mr. Moore covered the class and students were asked to compete a handout based on a video hosted by Bill Nye, entitled "Greatest Discoveries in Genetics".

For students who were not in class on Tuesday and would like to complete the same handout, I am making the video available on-line here at the class blog.  In the spring semester it will often happen that videos will be shown in class but also made available here on the blog.

SYLLABUS, UNIT 6: MENDELIAN GENETICS

Students:

Please note an important 70-point project in this Unit that must be completed before the Unit Exam.

FINALS WEEK IN BIOLOGY

Parents and Students:
Monday (Dec. 16th) began the final week of instruction for the Fall Semester.  

This is a post to give everybody one last 'heads-up' about Finals week in Biology! 

First of all, 'A Twist of Fate', an important 100-point project, was due on Friday (12/13), and no late work of any kind will be accepted after Wednesday (12/18)

This assignment is based on a reading describing the scientific detective story that led to the discovery of DNA's structure. The reading is adapted from an article by Michael Lemonick that appeared in the Feb. 17, 2003 issue of Time. That article can be read in its entirety on-line here.   Students have been given an edited version of that article with terms to be defined and questions to address.   The entire assignment can be found as a PDF file here.

Students are expected to define terms underlined in the article, and to answer four discussion questions according to the usual guidelines: complete sentences that refer to the original question and provide supporting evidence for the student's opinion.  Responses should be typed or word-processed.   It is not, however, necessary to submit the assignment to "Turnitin.com". (The district is no longer supporting this valuable resource, alas)

Secondly, students received a Study Guide for their 200-point Semester Final on Friday (12/14)

Students should be reviewing it and using it to identify any weaknesses, as well as working to submit any other outstanding work in the course by the end of instruction (Wednesday, 12/17).   Should the student lose this Study Guide, the entire three pages of it can be found as a PDF file here.
 
Next, there will be a Study Session for BIOLOGY after-school on TUESDAY (12/17).

This Study Session will take place in my classroom (N-63). It will begin at 3:15 and end at 5:15 that evening.   I realize it will be dark by the time this session is completed, but I assure parents and students that those who attend these session typically do better on the exams.  And, if that's not enough of an incentive, students who attend not only receive valuable feedback as to what to expect on the test, but can earn up to 20 points of extra-credit.

The Biology Final will be given Wed. (the 18th) through Friday (the 20th)

There is no significant makeup period.  Students need to attend their final exam period if they want significant time for their Final. Those who fail to attend without having their parent or guardian reach a prior understanding with Mr. Hatfield will be given an 'incomplete' in the course.


Finally, the Power Point with notes on DNA and Protein Synthesis is available on-line here:
The Power Point notes are available for download here.

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

POWER POINT: CELLULAR RESPIRATION

 

****NOTES NOT COMPLETE?  READ ON!****

You'll find links to the most current set of Notes down here.   The first 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.

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.


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.

 

 

THIS WEEK IN BIOLOGY: CELL UNIT NOTES, DEADLINES

PARENTS AND STUDENTS:

As of Monday morning, only slightly more than half of Mr. Hatfield's Biology students had handed in their 100-point project, the "Travel Brochure to the Cell."   This was due on Friday, Nov. 8th.   This item will NOT be accepted after Monday, Nov. 18th....which is also (not coincidentally) the date of the Cell Unit Test.  

A study guide has been given in class today to prepare for Monday's exam, and a Study Session to prepare for that test will occur after school on Thursday, Nov. 14th.

Since quarter progress reports are being lifted from district servers this afternoon (Wednesday the 13th), students who have yet to complete their Project may see a drastic downtick in their grade, because their Project will show as a 'zero' and they do not yet have a test grade on ATLAS.

To help students prepare for the test, I am attaching the recent sets of Power Points.   Students should use these to complete their Cornell Notes, which they are allowed to use on the day of the exam---if completed (summaries, questions and comments in the extended margin, other evidence of work).


For students who still need to complete the previous Unit notes, please look at the previous post on 'Cells and Their Organelles" as well as this one. CLICK ON THE IMAGE IF YOU NEED THESE NOTES!


POWER POINT: THE FLUID MOSAIC MODEL OF THE CELL MEMBRANE
The Power Point summarizing the Cell Cycle, based on the first two sections of Chapter 10, is available here:

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.

The Power Point slides for ATP are available here.

A PDF file of the Lecture Guide based on these last two Power Points can be downloaded here.

 

THIS WEEK IN BIOLOGY: BROCHURE, SATURDAY SCHOOL

Students:   your "Travel Brochure" is due on Friday, November 8th.   This is a 100-point project intended to help you raise your grade.   Please take advantage of this project.   

The instructions can be found below, should you need them.  Click on the graphics to enlarge.

And....for some students....Saturday School will be held in Room N-63 on the Bullard campus for Mr. Hatfield's Biology students, on Saturday, November 9th, between 8:30 and 11:45.   

Students assigned Saturday School will receive opportunities to raise their grade.  If you have been assigned Saturday School, your parent or guardian must return a signed permission slip.

FOLLOWING LAB PROTOCOLS

Our Biology classes were completing a lab on plant and animal cells on Thursday, Oct. 31.  Four periods were able to complete the lab without incident, and without a single example of student misconduct requiring correction.   Unfortunately, one period did not.

During 5th period, there was a significant violation of lab safety procedures and defiance by multiple students during lab.   As a result, Mr. Hatfield suspended lab for the entire class and asked for administrative support, in which it was explained in very clear terms what was unsafe and inappropriate.

Unfortunately, when there are many students not following safety procedures, there really is no alternative but to suspend lab privileges for the class as a whole.   An instructor can not run a lab properly if he has to refer multiple students for misconduct, and the unsafe behavior of one group could affect another group, or even the entire class.

To help give student an opportunity to complete the lab paperwork, Mr. Hatfield has created some graphics that show Elodea (plant) and human cheek cells (animal) at 100x and 400x magnification, respectively:

 

To be clear:  Mr. Hatfield wants to help students receive opportunities to raise their grades, but he is not obligated to allow classes to go to lab if he feels that significant numbers of students can not follow safety protocols.   At some point, it simply makes more sense to cover the content in ways that, while lacking the excitement of hands-on lab work, do not create significant risks for the instructor and students.