Course Description

This is two-semester, introductory biology course. First semester concepts include the nature of life, cell structure and function, energy transformations and photosynthesis, heredity, and ecology. Spring semester will include the study of the five kingdoms of living organisms, their structure and functions, and their ancestral relationships.

Textbook

Biology: Dynamics of Life (Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill 2002). Replacement cost: $55.95

*You must bring your textbook with you to class every test day and any other day that it is posted.

Materials

Three ring binder for current unit of study

Looseleaf paper

Composition book

Pens (dark blue or black ink for assignments) and #2 pencils

Colored pencils

Topics/Units

Unit	Chapters	AKS	Test Date
1 Evolution	14, 15, 16	16	January 14
2 Classification	17	17	January 21
3 Microorganisms	18, 19, 20	17	February 11
4 Plants	21, 22, 23, 24	17	March 4
5 Introduction to Animals	25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32	17	March 11
6 Nutrition, Digestion	35, 37	18	March 24
7 Gas Exchange and Excretion	37	18	April 2
8 Transport and Immunity	37, 39	18	April 22
9 Chemical and Nervous Control, Movement	35, 36, 34	18	April 29
10 Reproduction and Development	38	18	May 13
11 Vocabulary			May 20

NOTE: Test dates are subject to change!!!

Grading Scale:

A 90-100

B 80-89

C 74-79

D 70-73

F 0-69

Grades:

20% - Daily grades (class work/homework, daily quizzes, vocabulary quizzes, & reading assignments)

25% - Laboratory assignments (written and participation)

10% - Projects

25% - Tests

20% - Final Exam

You should spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day working on Biology outside of class. You will have weekly reading assignments, but you will not always have written assignments outside of class. However, this does not mean you do not need to study biology every day. Five question quick quizzes will be given at the beginning of class nearly every Mon.-Thurs. These quizzes are not intended to hurt your grade, but to encourage you to study a little every day as opposed to cramming the night before a test. The quizzes will cover notes, assignments, classwork, etc.

*Extra Credit*

All science students have the opportunity to earn up to 5 points on their final average by entering a science fair project in the PHS Science Fair. The science fair will be held in December 4th at 2:30 in the media center. Students must attend one of the two meetings about the Science Fair (September 3rd or 4th, 2:20, room 206) to be eligible to enter a project.

No other extra credit will be given!!! This extra credit offered by the science department is your only opportunity for extra credit. You are expected to work hard throughout the semester, and not wait till the end and ask for extra work to bring up your average.

Late Work will not be accepted!

Make up Work:

1. It is the responsibility of the student to inquire about make-up work on the day of return to class. All classwork and homework assignments are posted on the web.

2. Make-up work is due within five days following the student's return to school. For extended absences, the student's parent should request assignments through the attendance office.

3. For all prior assignments, the due date is the day of return from an excused absence.

4. Makeup work must be done outside of class. Test makeup days are Tuesday afternoons until 3:00. Help session days and times will be announced at a later date.

Classroom Rules:

All students are responsible for all school rules found in your student agenda.

1. Be prepared and prompt for class everyday. Students are expected to be on time to class and to be in class for the entire period. Passes will not be issued to leave class except for emergencies; take care of personal matters between classes.

Tardies: You are expected to be in class in your seat when the bell rings. Tardies to class will be handled according to the policy in the PHS student handbook.

The PHS attendance policy states that 3 tardies to class results in an unexcused absence for that class. Eleven unexcused absences from class results in no credit for the course unless appealed.

2. Be respectful of others and their property.

3. Absolutely no food, drink, candy, or gum are permitted!!

4. Follow all lab safety rules at all times.

Violations of the rules above will result in a warning, detention, parent conference, or possible referral to an administrator if a problem continues. The consequence will be based on the severity of the infraction and decided on by the teacher.

Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) Addressed:

The student will be able to:

1. Design and conduct scientific investigations.

2. Formulate questions and concepts which build and underlie scientific investigations.

3. Use technology to collect, manipulate, and communicate data and findings.

4. Use valid critical assumptions.

5. Regularly integrate new and prior knowledge using a variety of formats with an emphasis on writing.

6. Explain that biology is the science of life and has many different components.

7. Identify and illustrate the conservation of matter and energy as it exists in the living world.

8. Describe the influence of environmental factors on populations and communities within an ecosystem.

9. Recognizes that life has a chemical basis.

10. Analyze the needs of a cell for survival, reproduction, and growth.

11. Compare various methods by which materials move into and out of cells.

12. Analyze and describe the process of photosynthesis that stores light energy as chemical energy and cellular respiration that releases that same energy for use by living organisms.

13. Compare and contrast how cells grow and divide by mitosis and meiosis.

14. Explain how DNA controls heredity.

15. Analyze the process of gene recombination in production and variation in organisms.

16. Identify natural selection as a process that provides a scientific explanation for change over time.

17. Review the five kingdom classification system.

18. Compare and contrast the life processes in all kingdoms with a strong emphasis on humans.

ABOUT THE GATEWAY EXAM: All students must demonstrate knowledge of the Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) Curriculum. Students will be provided a booklet listing each of these AKS by course at the beginning of the school year. Ninth graders enrolling in 1998-1999 and beyond will need to pass the Gwinnett County Gateway Exam over the AKS before graduation. The Gateway Exam will measure students' ability to write effectively about the science and social studies AKS covered in ninth and tenth grades. The exam will be administered in the spring of the tenth grade year. Students will have several opportunities to retake the exam if they are not successful the first time