See… being a scientist can be fun.

We started watching a documentary today about the science being used to figure out the evolutionary path that led to the domestication of dogs. It’s one of my favorite PBS videos, and you can check it out on YouTube if you like. Enjoy!

 

Week of Jan 20, 2015

Standard Classes are working on Punnett Squares this week and learning all about how traits are inherited by offspring. We will have a quiz on Friday covering the vocabulary words given on Tuesday plus maybe a few words from past quizzes that we’ve had since Christmas break. The format will be multiple choice instead of matching. We will also have a few Punnet Square problems on the test.

Honors Classes finished their essay quiz on Tuesday covering inheritance. Wednesday we’ll learn a bit about how DNA is used to identify human remains and then start a unit on biotechnology on Thursday. No more quizzes this week, but we’ll do a little Punnett review on Friday for points.

January 12

*If you have not turned in your CH 10 index cards, it’s not too late. Bring them in next week for partial credit. You can find the words here: http://quizlet.com/64052363/bio-ch-10-flash-cards/*

Standard Classes this week are covering CH 11 and focusing on the differences between mitosis and meiosis. On Friday we’ll have a quiz covering the vocabulary words for this unit and maybe a few questions about the process of meiosis. There is no quizlet for the vocabulary words this time since we are covering them explicitly in class. Here are the words:

genetics, fertilization, trait, hybrid, gamete, allele, phenotype, genotype, dominant, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous, polygenic trait, codominance, hybrid, diploid, tetrad, crozzing over zygote

Honors Classes this week are covering CH 14 which covers the topic of human heredity. Mostly we will focus on the first two sections of the chapter. The quiz on Friday will be in the form of an essay question. You may bring notes on a single 4×6 index card (or smaller) to help you compose your essay. Do NOT bring a pre-written essay to class. Here is the question so that you may ponder it in advance.

I expect your answer to be at least 5 well-formed paragraphs. Give examples of each pattern of inheritance and describe them fully. Be sure to discuss how mutations can affect phenotypes and how mistakes like non-disjunction during meiosis can affect offspring. Start working on your answer now so that you can ask questions in class before Friday!

Thursday, Jan 8

Honors classes watched the video below:

For homework, develop a question from something you heard in the video and then look up the answer. Your question needs to be somewhat sophisticated — no one-word answers allowed. Also, make sure you consult a reliable source to find your answer. Here’s a rubric of how your homework will be graded.

Rubric for Question Assignment

Standard Classes reviewed the process of cell differentiation today. The link to the quizlet for the CH 10 vocabulary words is found here:

http://quizlet.com/64052363/bio-ch-10-flash-cards/

Quiz tomorrow!

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a relaxing break, because we have a lot of work ahead of us this semester.

Standard Classes will have a chapter 10 vocabulary quiz on Friday, Jan 9. You can study the words using this quizlet:

http://quizlet.com/64052363/bio-ch-10-flash-cards/

Honors Classes will be reviewing mitosis and meiosis on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, you will present and turn in your science fair display board.

See you all on Wednesday.

Mid-Year Exam

Exam week begins Dec 15 and all the bio classes at Clay High will be taking the same mid-year exam that is being given county wide. The chapters covered will be 1,2,7,8 & 9. Here are a couple of items to help you study:

Quizlet

Mid-Year Study Guide

We’ll have quizzes all week to help you stay on track with your studying. On Tuesday, we’ll quiz on flashcards #1-12 from the quizlet. On Wednesday, we’ll take a quiz on flashcards #13-25. On Thursday, we’ll take a quiz on flashcards #26-36. On Friday, we’ll take a quiz covering flashcards #37-49. The quizzes will be multiple choice and will count 25 points each.

Standard Bio Re-test for Unit 2

Standard Bio Students –

We’re going to take a short test on Wednesday to re-test your Unit 2 vocabulary. If you score 100%, I will add 10 points to your unit 2 test grade. There will also be a bonus short essay question. The question will be:

Explain in your own words the relationship between the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

I will add an additional point for each relevant fact you include in your response!

Here is a link to a quizlet covering the vocabulary:

http://quizlet.com/57431550/unit-2-re-test-vocabulary-flash-cards/

Test Delayed

Standard Bio Students —

Good job on the test prep work today. We’ll do more practice questions and review on Monday. Please look over your study guide this weekend, and if there is something you want to discuss further on Monday, I’ll go over it with you then. Otherwise, we’ll just keep working on the practice questions like we did today. Let’s plan on taking the test Tuesday.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs. H

Fresh Start

The second nine week’s grading period starts now! Our first major test will happen late next week, most likely. It will cover everything we have learned so far, so you’ll need to study for a few days to be ready for this one. Did I mention that it is worth 200 points? I’ll give you a study guide to help you prepare, but there won’t be a practice test for this one.

Rescheduled

We’ll be taking our chapter 2 test on Tuesday of next week. Enzymes were our last thing to cover, so we’re ready to go! We’ll do our lab on Friday testing to see if the canning process destroys active enzymes that are naturally present in fresh pineapple. Tomorrow (Thursday) I will be absent. You will be doing a practice, open book quiz on that day that should help you to prepare for the test on Tuesday.