Mrs. Willis’

Biology Handbook

Spring 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biology B Syllabus

Mrs. Willis, Spring 2009

Description of Course:

Welcome to Biology! In this class, you will learn all about the various concepts of biology, the study of life.  This is a year-long class required by the state to graduate from high school. During the second semester, we will study three major concepts: evolution, ecology, and human physiology. We will also be performing many lab experiments on your way to discovering these ideas.

 

California State Standards:

6.   Ecology: Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects.

7.      Evolution: The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends upon many factors and may be stable or unstable over time.

8.      Evolution: Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments.

9.      Physiology: As a result of the coordinated structures and functions of organ systems, the internal environment of the human body remains relatively stable (homeostasis) despite changes in the outside environment.

10. Physiology: Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease.

 

Grade Assessment:

Tests and Quizzes: 33 %

Homework: 33 %

Classwork and Labs: 33 %

 

Grade Ranges:

89-100 % = A     79-88 % = B    69-78 % = C     55-68 % = D    54% or below = F

If your grade falls between two grades, I will determine which grade you shall receive by your participation in class.

 

Classroom Policies:

-Please, keep all food and drinks, except for water, outside the classroom.

-You will need a lab folder for this class. In this folder, the class syllabus will be stored, as well as all lecture notes, homework assignment and laboratory activities.

-Please remain in your seats unless given permission to move out of them. We will be working in lab stations, and movement causes accidents.

-Bathroom breaks will be permitted. However, ask to go during appropriate times, such as during break or when you are done with your activity. Inappropriate times would be during lecture or when lab instruction is occurring.

-Try to attend as many classes as possible. The more you attend and participate, the more you will succeed in biology.

-If you miss a class, the assignment or make up work will be due the following day you return. You can always find out what you missed by asking a friend in the class, asking me before or after class, or checking the class website. Please, try to refrain from asking me during class. Late work is not accepted.

-Any cheating in the class will be reported to the dean as well as receiving a zero on the assignment.

-Last but not least, be respectful to all members of the class, including myself.

 

Class Website and Tutoring:

-Our class website is www.geocities.com/hotspur311 . At this website you can access:

• Homework assignments
• Lecture notes
• Class Activities
• Grades (updated bi-monthly)
• Absences/Tardies
• Class Syllabus
• State Standards

-Please, take advantage of this website. If you are sick, finding out what you missed is a click away! If you need to contact me, my email is [email protected].

 

-Tutoring is available! I am free anytime during lunch or nutrition in A9. To ensure that I will be there, tell me before you are coming.

 

Outline of The Course:

Concept	Week Number	Standard (s)
Evolution: Intro to Darwin, Fossils, and Natural Selection	1 and 2	7a, 8e, 8f
Evolution:Natural Selection and Darwinian Fitness	3	7a, b, c, d, 8a, 8b,
Evolution: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium	4	7 e, f
Evolution: Speciation	5	8 c, d, e, f
Ecology: Introduction	7	6a
Ecology: Biomes and Energy Systems	8	6 e, f
Ecology: Biogeochemical Cycles	9	6 d
Ecology: Population Fluctuations and Factors controlling them	10 and 11	6 a, c
Ecology: Interactions within Pop’s and Communities	12	6 a, b, c, g
Physiology: The Nervous system	13	9 b, c, d, e
Physiology: The Endocrine System and Waste removal	14	9 a, c, g
Physiology: Digestive and Muscular Systems	15	9 f, h
Physiology: The Immune System	16 and 17	10 a, b, c, d, e , f

**Note** This is a rough overview of the course. The concepts we are covering will not vary. However, the week number may differ if I feel we need to spend more or less time on a subject. Also, a week is given at the end of the summer for intense review and the final.

 

Lab Write-Up Information

 

-Labs will be given on a regular basis in biology. Before a lab is given in class, I require you to write up a pre-lab. The Pre-lab should include the following items:

 

• Title Section-includes your name, the title of the lab, the date, and your class period.
• Background: Summary of the Background.
• Purpose: A written statement of what the purpose is (copy from the lab)
• Procedure: Outlines the procedure for each step of the experiment. Should be detailed enough for you to use during the experiment, without looking at the original lab handout.

Note: If you do not have the pre-lab done before you come to class, you will not be permitted to join in the lab.

 

-After I check that you have done the pre-lab, you may begin on the experiment. During this time, you will add sections to your pre-lab. Those sections that you will add are:

 

• Data: All of the data and observations from each step of the experiment. Data tables and graphs should be included in this section.
• Conclusion: Discuss your data and results in this section. What conclusions can be drawn from the experiment? What can you say about what happened in the lab? This is your chance to briefly summarize the results of the lab in YOUR OWN WORDS, and discuss any implications of your results.
• Analysis/Extension: Often, in a lab, I add a couple questions to see if you can go beyond what was asked. Answer these questions in complete sentences. You do no need to write down the question.

 

-The completed lab will be turned in to me at the end of the experiment. The lab will be graded on an 8-point lab rubric attached to this handbook.

 

Conclusion Prompt

1^st Paragraph: Analyze your data.

Some questions to answer:

                -What do your observations mean?

                -What did you find?

                -What does your numerical (number) data mean, if there was any?

                -Are you observations valid?

                -How sure are you of your results?

 

2^nd Paragraph: Comparison.

Some questions to answer:

                -How did your data compare within your group?

-How did your data compare within the class? (This might require asking a neighboring group what they observed.)

 

3^rd Paragraph: Knowledge Learned.

-What did you learn from this lab? Please, make sure to tie in the knowledge gained in the lab to previous knowledge acquired in the classroom lecture setting.

 

 

California Biology Standards:

Ecology
6. Stability in an ecosystem is a balance between competing effects. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know biodiversity is the sum total of different kinds of organisms and is affected by alterations of habitats.

b. Students know how to analyze changes in an ecosystem resulting from changes in climate, human activity, introduction of nonnative species, or changes in population size.

c. Students know how fluctuations in population size in an ecosystem are deter-mined by the relative rates of birth, immigration, emigration, and death.

d. Students know how water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle between abiotic resources and organic matter in the ecosystem and how oxygen cycles through photosynthesis and respiration.

e. Students know a vital part of an ecosystem is the stability of its producers and decomposers.

f. Students know at each link in a food web some energy is stored in newly made structures but much energy is dissipated into the environment as heat. This dissipation may be represented in an energy pyramid.

g.* Students know how to distinguish between the accommodation of an individual organism to its environment and the gradual adaptation of a lineage of organisms through genetic change.

Evolution
7. The frequency of an allele in a gene pool of a population depends on many factors and may be stable or unstable over time. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know why natural selection acts on the phenotype rather than the genotype of an organism.

b. Students know why alleles that are lethal in a homozygous individual may be carried in a heterozygote and thus maintained in a gene pool.

c. Students know new mutations are constantly being generated in a gene pool.

d. Students know variation within a species increases the likelihood that at least some members of a species will survive under changed environmental conditions.

e.* Students know the conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a population and why these conditions are not likely to appear in nature.

f.* Students know how to solve the Hardy-Weinberg equation to predict the frequency of genotypes in a population, given the frequency of phenotypes.

8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.

b. Students know a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment.

c. Students know the effects of genetic drift on the diversity of organisms in a population.

d. Students know reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation.

e. Students know how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction.

f.* Students know how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence comparisons, and other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram) that shows probable evolutionary relationships.

g.* Students know how several independent molecular clocks, calibrated against each other and combined with evidence from the fossil record, can help to estimate how long ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another.

Physiology
9. As a result of the coordinated structures and functions of organ systems, the internal environment of the human body remains relatively stable (homeostatic) despite changes in the outside environment. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know how the complementary activity of major body systems provides cells with oxygen and nutrients and removes toxic waste products such as carbon dioxide.

b. Students know how the nervous system mediates communication between different parts of the body and the body's interactions with the environment.

c. Students know how feedback loops in the nervous and endocrine systems regulate conditions in the body.

d. Students know the functions of the nervous system and the role of neurons in transmitting electrochemical impulses.

e. Students know the roles of sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons in sensation, thought, and response.

f.* Students know the individual functions and sites of secretion of digestive enzymes (amylases, proteases, nucleases, lipases), stomach acid, and bile salts.

g.* Students know the homeostatic role of the kidneys in the removal of nitrogenous wastes and the role of the liver in blood detoxification and glucose balance.

h.* Students know the cellular and molecular basis of muscle contraction, including the roles of actin, myosin, Ca⁺², and ATP.

i.* Students know how hormones (including digestive, reproductive, osmoregulatory) provide internal feedback mechanisms for homeostasis at the cellular level and in whole organisms.

10. Organisms have a variety of mechanisms to combat disease. As a basis for understanding the human immune response:

a. Students know the role of the skin in providing nonspecific defenses against infection.

b. Students know the role of antibodies in the body's response to infection.

c. Students know how vaccination protects an individual from infectious diseases.

d. Students know there are important differences between bacteria and viruses with respect to their requirements for growth and replication, the body's primary defenses against bacterial and viral infections, and effective treatments of these infections.

e. Students know why an individual with a compromised immune system (for example, a person with AIDS) may be unable to fight off and survive infections by microorganisms that are usually benign.

f.* Students know the roles of phagocytes, B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes in the immune system.

Downtown Magnets High School

Homework and Classwork Rubric

Mrs. Willis

 

	4	3	2	1
Assignment Completeness	All items attempted	Most of Items Attempted	At least ½ of the items attempted	Less than ½ of all items attempted
Accuracy	All items are correct	Most of the items are correct	Between ½ and 3/4 of items are correct	Less than ½ of items are correct
Demonstrated Knowledge	Shows complete understanding of the questions, mathematical ideas, and processes.	Shows substantial understanding of the problem, ideas, and processes.	Response shows some understanding of the problem.	Response shows a complete lack of understanding of the problem
Requirements	Goes beyond the requirements of the problem	Meets the requirements of the problem	Does not meet the requirements of the problem
Legibility	Legible handwriting, typing, or printing	Marginally legible handwriting, typing, or printing	Writing is not legible in places	Writing is not legible

 

Lab Write Up Rubric

 

	4	3	2	1
Title, Background, Problem (Purpose), and Hypothesis	Shows complete understanding of all 4 objectives	Definite sign of Hypothesis, problem and heading	Hypothesis and problems present, but not clear	Hypothesis not found, and problem not stated. Heading and title missing
Materials and Procedure	Materials and Procedure section clearly present. They are nicely represented and easy to read.	Materials and Procedure section present. Items are in order.	Materials and procedure section present. Shows some understanding.	No Materials and procedure section.
Data	Data is clearly present. There are graphs and tables	Data is present. Thoughts are organized and represented.	Data is present, yet understanding is lacking.	No data is present. Shows little effort
Conclusions and Analysis	Conclusion and analysis present. All questions answered are correct.	Conclusions were present, and all posed questions were 90% right	Conclusions were present, yet no questions were answered.	No conclusions were present.
Neatness, Grammar, and Adherence to Format	Lab is free of errors, and is neat and in order	Lab contains a few grammar errors, and is neat and in order	Student shows some neatness, legibility and order	Lab is messy, not legible, and out of order.