group 4 project

Hello class,

As you know, we will be doing a group project with other science students. The form of this project will be a public service announcement / media campaign / ad campaign about how to encourage sustainability.

We will be having a contest to see which group designs the best campaign to encourage sustainability. The groups that are in the top 5 will have their campaigns posted so another school may view them and vote on the best one. We are looking into prizes for the best groups, too.

We will begin work on this on january 5th. To prepare you for this projecct, there's two things I'd like you to do over break.

1. Goto frontline and watch the video on heat. (120 minutes)

2. review the questions in the discussion area of the frontline site.

3.  Sign on to the Group 4 moodle and respond to the video.  You have been assigned groups that I shared in class.  This last point can be done as homework on January 4th if you're not sure how to use moodle.  (I'm right there with you!)

Have a relaxing break, class.

osmosis potato lab

The write up should include the following:
Purpose
procedure
data
processed data

conclusion and evaluation

The conclusion and evaluation will be evaluated using the IB rubric distributed in class today.  Attach that to your lab report.  You have until the exam period to finish the write-up.  Do not skimp on this assignment.  It will count as a test grade (hurrah!)

Periood 1 data:

	Initial length	Initial Mass	Final length	Final Mass
5%	4.60 cm	1.77 g	4.37 cm	1.45 g
2.50%	4.85 cm	1.89 g	5.00 cm	2.08 g
7.50%	4.93 cm	1.86 g	4.61 cm	1.60 g
Control	5.03 cm	1.93 g	5.34 cm	2.43 g
Trial Two	Initial length	Initial Mass	Final length	Final Mass
5%	4.10 cm	1.51 g	3.89 cm	1.10 g
2.50%	4.25 cm	1.66 g	3.98 cm	1.27 g
7.50%	4.03 cm	1.42 g	3.99 cm	1.18 g
Control	4.21 cm	2.28 g	4.60 cm	2.75 g
Outliers Trial One	Initial Length	Initial Mass	Final length	Final Mass
1%	4.22cm	1.33g	4.52 cm	1.65 g
10%	3.1cm	1.99g	3.98 cm	1.94 g
Outlier Trial 2	Initial length	Initial Mass	Final length	Final Mass
1%	4.1cm	2.1g	4.50 cm	2.37 g
10%	4.6ccm	1.33g	4.49 cm	1.29 g

how do we think about numbers?

Here's a cool radiolab that will make you rethink numbers.

osmosis at your fingertips

Class,

Here's the wikipedia article about water transport that explains the finger wrinkling that we see in the tub.

Scientific American has another response, although I find the lack of wrinkles in people with nerve damage a compelling argument against this.

Osmosis lab write-up.

Class, I'd like you to write up this osmosis lab.  Here's the data for 1st period
egg in water for 24 hours                   egg in syrup for 24 hours
61.94g to 69.04g                                60.13g to 56.51g
58.05g to 67.62g                                59.79g to 56.00g
58.30g to 75.52g  -eggshell broke      71.31g to 55.19g

7th period data

1.     Original mass: 74.63 grams

New mass: 85.07 grams

2.     Original mass: 69.34 grams

New mass: 78.38 grams

3.     Original mass (karo): 61.13 grams

New mass: 50.67 grams

8th period data

Corn Syrup

Before                After         

60.60g------------- 49.23g

63.8 g--------------56.8 g

70.21g--------------45.95g

Water

Before                After 

63.17g-------------69.59g

65.86g------------71.06g

Lab write up expectations:
Purpose
Brief procedure
egg data
explanations for changes in elodea (water plant), egg, and onion
Conclusion about osmosis

Have a nice weekend!  :-)

Class,

Here's the link to the Chapter 5 quiz .  The quiz scores are on the powergrade website so you can check in on this.  Please email this to me by Thursday.  (my email - worloff@uaschools.org)

By the way, there is not a problem with the question number 3.  I got confused because of all the negatives.  The question is actually correct (although there is still a problem with it that I'l speak to you later about).

Dr. Gallo's legacy

Another chapter in Gallo's story unfloded last year.  Here's the story .

AIDS, cell parts

Hello class,

The quickwrite for tomorrow will ask you a couple of questions.
1.  You saw a patient with Kaposi's sarcoma today.  This is an example of an opportunistic infection.  What is Kaposi's sarcoma and what is an opportunistic infection?

2.  What organelle is visible in this electron microscope image (in the lower half - about 10 microns long)?  What is its function?

Also, for those of you eagerly waiting, here's the link to the harvard video.  The 8 minute version is edited with dialogue to explain what is happening

endosymbiosis

The word of the day is:

ENDOSYMBIOSIS!!

please find the definition for this.

size animations

here are the two cool scale animations I found for you.

cells alive

Utah site

Plus, here's the quickwrite questions:

1A.  Compare prokaryotes with eukaryotes.  (2 points)

1B.    Compare autotrophs with heterotrophs.

2A. Why are all cells about the same size?

2B.  Why are prokaryotes’ DNA more likely to mutate?

RATS!!!

Class,

Aren't the insides of rats cool?

Here's the list of questions I want you to answer:
Digestive:  1,3, and 5
Urogenital:  1,2, and 3
Circ.: 1,2
Respiratory:  1,2, and 3
Nerve:  ???(havent decided yet)

by the way, there are a lot of good resources for rat dissections  out there.  Here's one I found helpful.

Pumpkin lab Write up due Thursday
1.  size vs seed count:  please graph this data.  You should include teh following:  title, axes labeled, data plotted correctly, brief explanation.  Use graph paper.
2.  water transport:  Explain why the pumpkins did what they did.  Use the term osmosis in your answer.  PLEASE NOTE:  I WILL ASK AN OSMOSIS QUESTION TOMORROW (on quiz).
3.  Biological time bombs:  Show your work and make sure all numbers are labeled.

By the way, heres the link to that cool animation Henry Randle found:

In class research questions

These are the questions I asked you to find in class.  Please have these answers for me tomorrow (if you don;t finish it today in class)

1.  What is the lytic cycle?  the lysogenic cycle?

2.  Describe the stages of progression from initial infection to AIDS.

3.  Describe one blood screening method for the presence of HIV?

4.  What segment of the American population is showing the most rapid growth of HIV infections.

5.  describe other methods viruses use to enter cells, besides the method used by HIV

Class,

Tonight I assigned page 28 from the orange book.  The last question is asking you to make a graph.  You do not need to do this question.  Sorry that i missed this in class.

immunity

Here's the links to the videos we used in class:
slo-mo sneeze
sneeze etiquette

Please read section 48.3 and the article handed out in class.

remember:  49.00 tomorrow for the workbooks.

immunity

Class,

today's homework includes:
1.  read the first part of section 48.4.  I will be assigning the entire section, but please do not read all of it in one sitting.  It is too complicated to cover like that.

2.  This friday we'll be taking our short field trip to the bookstore to but the new funbooks (its biology, so its not work!).  The cost is 49.00 exactly.  The preferred method of payment is by check (made out to "bear essentials").  Please have payment ready on Friday.

Here's an interesting twist on conventional wisdom.  This study was done at Duke University.

I mentioned in class how the autumn leaves are so beautiful this time of year.  Red is a special color, unlike the ohter leaf colors.  This article explains why.

enzyme lab write-up

Hopefully by now you have analyzed your enzymes and can draw some conclusions,  The lab write-up will be due on Monday.  Here are the components:
title
purpose
variables section
procedure
data (graphs only, no data tables needed)
Conclusion
   What does this indicate about how enzymes work?
Evaluation
    possible sources of error and suggestions for improvement.

The yellow parts of the lab write up can be the same for you and your partners.  The components in black should be different

This week's assignments.

Digestive system:  please read sections 43.2 and 43.3 in the book. Have this done by monday.

Data Manipulation quiz/homework:  The thing I want you to test is whether my 1st period class is more likely to do homework earlier than my afternoon classes.  You will need to write a null hypothesis, figure out how to approach this data (something of a puzzle), run a t-test to check significance, calculate mean time of homework and standard deviations.  Here are the links for t-tests:  website, chart
Have this write-up for me by Monday.  remember, it is OK to work in groups, but then it should be graded as homework, rather than a test.  Good luck.

Times that 1st period e-mailed me the Ch. 2 quiz: 10:19pm, 7:40AM, 10:20pm, 7:48pm, 10:33pm, 11:12pm, 4:34pm, 7:55pm, 6:55pm, 11:00pm, 9:21pm, 3:40pm, 10:14pm, 6:34pm, 6:42pm, 9:31pm, 4:35pm, 4:38pm, 10:14pm, 9:50pm,3:53pm, 7:23pm.
Times that 7th period e-mailed me the Ch. 2 quiz: 7:26am, 11:35am, 3:37pm, 7:26pm, 8:55pm, 8:09pm, 9:29pm, 9:14am, 9:45pm, 8:09pm, 7:09pm, 4:32pm, 5:12pm, 6:55pm, 6:30pm
Times that 8th period e-mailed me the Ch. 2 quiz: 4:18pm, 9:26pm, 11:00pm, 12:04am, 8:05pm, 4:36am??,  9:47pm, 9:57pm, 4:13pm, 9:28pm, 8:11pm, 5:26pm, 8:35pm, 5:09pm, 6:10pm, 10:14pm, 9:30pm, 10:29pm, 11:05am.

Enzyme lab

Guidelines for the enzyme lab:
title
purpose (generally, it is to investigate some aspect of hydrogen peroxidase -or catalase- function)  You need to have a purpose specific to your investigation.
Variables: divide into the following three categories.
independent: the one that you manipulate
dependent: the one that you watch
other factors to remain constant
procedure:  This should be a detailed list of steps for your experiment.  You should
-explain the equipment (loggerpro, vernier pressure or O2 probes)
-explain the parameters needed for sampling
-explain amounts of various substances needed
-explain the amount and kinds of data collected.

Class,  when in doubt about something (sample amounts, sampling size, method, etc...) just make p something.
Bad: 'cut a small piece of apple' or 'record some data'
Good:  'get three grams of apple' or 'record data for two three minute trials'

enzyme lab

Notes for the H2O2 lab.

1.  open Loggerpro software and plug in the interface.  Plug in the pressure probe also.

2.You should be getting a reading on the screen.  goto experiment menu and choose data collection.  set for a five minute trial.  Set sample rate at anything other than 1/second.

Instructions for the lab:

1.  Fill a test tube with 2ml of H2O2.  Come get a 0.5cm cube adn add to test tube.

2.  Place the probe in the top of the tube and wait 20-30 seconds.  Do not start recording yet.

3.  Begin recording.

food source:  apples
enzyme name:  hydrogen peroxidase
substrate: 

Hello class.  Here's our protein/enzyme goals for today:

1.  Go through this animation .  This will provide all goals listed in #2 except specific inhibitors.

2.  be able to explain:  substrates, active sites, induced fit model of enzymes, inhibitors (both types with examples), and end-product inhibition.

3.  Find a recipe for seafood ceviche, 1000 year old eggs, or kimchee. Be able to explain how the proteins within these foods are "cooked".

This is our homework for today.

Enzyme reading

Class,

Hopefully you now know the forces at play when you fold proteins.  I wnt to remind you to read section 8.2 in the book on enzymes.

Carbohydrate lab

The lab write-up for our carb lab should include the following:

Title

purpose

procedure-keep it simple. just an outline of how to do the two tests

Benedict’s solution test:

1. add two ml of water.

2. Add 10 drops of sample to be tested

3. Add 10 drops of Benedict’s solution

4. Heat in hot water bats for 1:45 to 2 minutes.

5. Record results

Iodine tests:

1. Place sample to be tested into a ceramic well

2. Add 2-3 drops of iodine solution (IKI).

3. Record results.

.

Day 1 data

day 2 (today) data

Conclusion - be sure to explain day one's results, as well as the food table.

Evaluation - this should only include statement of weaknesses and suggested improvements.

Attention 7th, 8th period:  I retested egg whites with Benedict's solution.  The test was negative (the liquid remained blue).  Our classroom sample was somehow contaminated.  Please reflect on this in your lab write-up (potential source of error).

Protein reading: Our next reading in the book will be section 3.2 pages 39 to 45. although this is a larger assignment, it isn't due until monday.

Class,

Just a reminder: We will be having a quiz this week over the following:
molecule
characteristics of life
organic molecules
carbohydrates
lipids.

The quickwrite questions for today were:
1. What is Olestra? (Molecular components, please)

2. Why are there some problems with Olestra?

3. List three carbohydrates (one mono, one di, one poly)

4. What are the building blocks of lipids?

5. Structurally, how are trans- and cis- fats different?

6. What is meant by referring to a fatty acid as monounsaturated?

upcoming week

Good upcoming info for you to know:

1.  The assignment for the weekend:  find out what olestra is and why there is some controversy about it.

2.  Quiz on Tuesday.
The content will be characteristics of life, important atoms, lipids, and carbohydrates.

3.  Reason that Science is awesome!  Here's a great link to a fantastic radiolab file on parasites.  If this doesn't surprise/impress you then I don't know what will.  Please note:  the photo is a happy view of hookworms on an intestine wall.

Class, the link for our book website is at raven 7. Please e-mail me the chapter two self quiz results.

SHOP N C supermarkets

SHOP N C supermarkets. Everything a body needs....

Now with Cafe Na' for your pastry needs...

Actually, These are the elements a body needs. S...H...O...P...N...C... and Ca...Fe... Na...

Your task...find out two biological needs of S, P, Ca, Fe, and Na.  You may (should) work with your table so you only have to do a part of that goal.  I will give you time in class tomorrow to teach each other.

T-test and memory data

Hello class. your assignment for today involves the write-up for the memory experiment. I would like you to produce the following:
Title
Purpose
brief explanation of procedure

Null Hypothesis
Data (reorganize accordingly)
Data analysis (see below)
Conclusion
-think about what this means to you and your success in biology.
Evaluation
-accept or reject the null, explain the stats, reflect on weaknesses and possible ways to resolve those weaknesses in the future.

Data analysis: I would like for you to run basic statistics on these results. I'd like the mean and standard deviation from each group. I also want you to run a t-test on this data. I'll explain t-test at the beginning of class. Don't worry. Its easy. I've found a couple of sites that will be helpful to you.

here's a great site that will do all the work for you.
(http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/stats/t-test.html)

You'll need a t-table to compare results. You will want to look at the two-tailed data column. (specifically, the 0.05 column) Here's a good site for that.
(http://www.siliconfareast.com/t-dist.htm)

Thanks and have fun.

Welcome to IB biology!!

Hello new IB students and welcome.

Attention blindness and Owl pellets!

Attention blindness:

Here's the link to the videos that I showed in class (compliments of Nathan Malkin)

 

http://viscog.beckman.illinois.edu/djs_lab/demos.html

People that missed the owl pellet have two things to do:

A.  define what an owl pellet is.  Write a food chain that includes an owl.

B.  Schedule a time to do the owl pellet dissection.  We can do this after school or during 5th period lunch.  If you don;t schedule it, I'll give you an excused grade for the lab, but it will lower your point total (making all other points more valuable)

Get some sleep!!!!!!

The big night.  Remember, at this point sleep is more valuable to you than study time.

One parting shot:  I forgot to cover assessment statement 5.5.3 about classification of plants.  Goto click4biology.info and look at the answer.   Don;t worry it's easy.

Remember, as Benamin Spock says:  

Trust yourself. you know more than you think!

last minute instructions

Pointers for taking the test:

1.  bring a calculator whose memory can be cleared.

2.  bring a small metric ruler.

3.  go to the right place.  Here's a link

Special Prom edition

Prom weekend blog edition!

Here's the great link I promised for Type 2 diabetes.  The animation is really helpful to I'd recommend it to you.

Also, click4biology.info has excellent material for review.

By the way, in the more-than-you-want-to-know catergory:  if a person isn't making enough insulin, what does your body do with all the useless glucose????  Why, pee it out, of course.  Hence the meaning of the term diabetes mellitus

Kidneys and mitosis review

Hello class.

Here is a picture of kidneys like the one that I used (or tried to use) in class today.  You should be able to draw this image.  

Also, a helpful website for mitosis review is the university of Arizona.  We went here for the online root tip lab.  It has pretty good info on mitosis and meiosis if this is what you would like to review tonight.

kidneys

Here's the link to the kidney animation.  go through this and take the quiz t the end.  Take note of the differences between ascending and descending loops of Henle (as well as proximal and distal tubes.

This is also a nice kidney animation.  it may be helpful to you.

Have fun  :-)

Suggested review topic for tonight:  Hormonal control of reproductive systems.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Kidneys.  Our homework for tuesday is to read section 49.3 to page 1054.   The homework for wednesday is to complete this section.  

Some people had questions about the command terms for IB tests.  Here is a link to the definitions.   

Plant questions for friday

Hello class, 

Here's the plant questions I used in class on Thursday.  The Ones labeled 1. are directly from the video.  The others take care of the last of our plant statements.

1.  Of the numerous symbiotic relationship in the video, describe one mutualistic and one parasitic one

1.  Yesterday, it was mentioned that some pollinators have learned to chew through flower bases to reach the nectar pits.  Reflect on the implications of this strategy.

–

2.  Some plants trigger flower opening by Pr levels, rather than Pfr.  Why are their flowers usually white?

3. Why is so important that plants pump protons out of their roots?

4.  Outline events for seed germination

(gibberellin and amylase)

5.  How are auxins related to phototropism

6.  What is the function of abscisic acid?

By the way, Here's the link to the sleep article I mentioned.  But remember, I want to own those ten minutes, not History or Calculus or whatever.  I staked my claim!

We have reviewed plant structure. We've gone over assessment statements 9.1.4 about specialization of leaves, stems, and roots. We also reviewed adaptations of desert plants (xerophytes)

Flower structure and seed structure were reviewed. Be sure to identify The micropyle of the seed.

Assignments from the orange book include:

p. 371-371 flower structure
p375-376 seed germination and distribution
p. 365-366 photoperiodism in plants

Plant stuff and review

Please read section 35.5 in the book (to page 773) and do questions in the orange workbook on pages 342 and 343.

A very good overall review site for us can be found here.  It has brief explanations for ALL assessment statements.

Also, look over the diagrams for the light Rx and the calvin cycle from chapter 9.  I will be using graphics from the book on Friday's quiz.

Photosynthesis review:

Please go to this site and work through the review.  Once you are done, show me your score on the self quiz for EXCITING CLASS POINTS!!!!!

Animations for Photosynthesis

The animations from today's classes:

light reaction (fewer calories...ha-ha)

Calvin cycle animation

Hey gang,

As promised, here's the links to the muscle websites I used in class today:

1.  A nice overall review of muscles can be found here.

2.  This site covers the stimulus and the way calcium is used on the molecular level.

3.  This is a nice animation for how sarcomeres (overlapping muscle proteins) contract.  It is a bit annoying though, because it keeps asking for you to set-up a trial membership

Gang, here's the link to the Chi square site that I found helpful when reviewing.

Happy spring break!

I hope you're enjoying yourself over break.  Rest up and have fun.

I heard a great radiolab about learning and delayed gratification that you might enjoy.  Here's the link.

Don't forget, I'd like you to do the reading in the book about muscles (section 42.6).

See you soon.

Hello troopers.

Here's a couple of things that might be of interest to you.

The heart animation I used in class is here. This is an excellent review of anatomy for us

This is a pretty cool novel treatment for ligaments, cartilage, and the like. A good application of our knowledge of blood components.

Here's the link to the site on foraging behavior.  Please review this and be prepared to explain how bluegill change their behavior as the environment changes.

Don't worry.  Its really simple.

Please read this section on the genetics of honeybees. How does this help to explain altruistic defense by the workers?

freaky proprioception story

To hear the story I referenced in class, goto the Radiolab site (specifically the Where am I? episode). The butcher's assistant is the story about a person with no propioception. I guarantee this will be worth your time.

Feel free to post your reactions/questions about this story.

eye anatomy

The assignments for today are as follows:

Do page 296 in the orange book.  this will help to reinforce our understanding of eye anatomy for tomorrow's dissection.

Read section 46.1 and do pages 297-298 in orange book for Friday.   

I thought this site was particularly good as an eye review.  there are a lot of good sites out there, however.

Eye dissections tomorrow!

Quiz day????

Because many of you exercised your option to delay the quiz, I want to remind you that I'd like you to read section 46.4 on the eye for Wednesday. (I might forget after I set you late-takers up with your quizzes.)

On another note, ever wonder what you would look like as an Australopithecus? Nathan Malkin found a helpful link. Just upload your photo and enjoy!

neurobiologist with a stroke

Here's the link for the compelling neurobiology speaker.  Sorry to those classes that did not get to see all of this in class.

Several of you hev recommended other speakers on this site.  If you see something cool, feel free to leave a note.

Aaditya Shidham recommended Bill Gates' entry.

remember, the quiz will cover the following statements:

all the E.4 statements

E.5.1 to E.5.5

E.1.3

images, and the future

Images: one of the problems with brain studies is just understanding what's happening inside the skull. I'd like you to learn more about this. Specifically, PET scans and MRIs. (our assessment statements are about MRIs only). There are many useful sites for this goal. Here's one that I like.

We will have a quiz some time this week. (Thursday or Friday). I'll let you know.

Content:
Brain anatomy
neurotransmitters
drugs (cocaine and THC in particular)

Robin Moore found an excellent brain review site.  I think you'll find this helpful.

Brain anatomy

There are several nice links for brain anatomy. First of all, all the wikipedia pages have realy good diagrams (blasphemy!!!).

There is a nice PBS site that shows a 3-D brain. Pretty cool stuff :-)

I'll add more links as we find good stuff.

Remember to read section 45.4 for tomorrow. I'm going to have a quickwrite tomorrow.

Evolution in reverse???

Here's a cool article from Newsweek.  We've seen this effect in fish populations for some time now.  Interesting to apply this to animals

images from class

Hello class,

here's a link to the spinal cord image I showed you from earlier today. Here's another site with an image, also

Remember to label your slides in your diagrams.

Lindsay Gardner found a great site for myelinated axons. press the link on slide 80 to see different magnifications of this image.

Here's a great interactive review of action potential

Your assignment for today is as follows:

microscope component:
1. Diagram a neuron from the multipolar nerve slide. Label glial cells, nerve cell bodies, and extensions.
2. Diagram the point of contact between nerve and muscle. This is labeled muscle spindle, or neuromuscular junction, or motor end plate. Be sure to diagram the axon as well as the muscle cells.
3. Diagram the spinal cord slide. IMPORTANT: you should place your thumb over the light source to create a dark-field illumination of the side. The color difference is subtle between the parts of the spinal cord.
4. Be sure to list magnifications on all diagrams.

Internet component:
1. Use the following sites to explain the anatomical effects of the listed drugs:
sites of use:
mouse party
neuroscience for kids (I know this sounds insulting, but give it a try. its pretty good.)
alcohol chemistry and you


Drugs to explain:
Cocaine
THC (marijuana)
alcohol
nicotine
your choice

nerve cell behavior

Class,
Homework reminder: read section 45.3 for wednesday.

The totals that we reported for understanding (10 = great, 0 = confused) this content by class are 

3rd period:  4.9

4th period:  4.1

6th period:  5.1
These are a few of the web sites that you might find helpful to increase your personal ranking:

movement of ions in action potential (used in class)  Remember, there is no sodium potassium pump here.  Here's a helpful reveiw of resting potential, also.

I sure like this site!

Welcome IB bears!
Today's homework:

review climate change information for tomorrow's presentations. Goto google and type in "GLOBAL WARMING FACTS". select the link to the Koshland museum site. Review the impacts of change.

Also, read the first two pages in 45.2 of the book on resting potential of nerve cells.

overview of second semester

content we'll cover:
neurobiology
immunity
muscles
plant physiology

Welcome to the IB blog for UA schools. Lets review some content :-)