Unit 1

Living Environment Curriculum

(Foundations/Year One)

(Class SL41/SL42)

Page Bookmarks:
September October November December January February March April May June

The living environment is a study of living things. In this course we will strive to understand the basics of the living world and how we are an integral part. It is our wish to make this years experience both educational and engaging. This is the first year of a 2 year course. The first year will emphasizes the learning of science skills and have a heavy emphasis on science literacy. Science has its own language both reading and writing scientifically. The second year will implement the strategies learned in the first year plus laboratory technique. The students are required by the state of New York to complete a total of 1200 minutes of lab activities and turn in lab reports for qualification to take the living environment regents exam.

            Students are expected to come to school prepared with a notebook, working pen and pencil. A textbook will be provided for reading and homework assignments. Students are not expected to carry this book back and forth every day.

Textbooks Used:

            Home use -

§         The Living Environment – Glencoe Science – Mc Graw Hill.



Classroom Use -

§         Reading Essentials for The Living Environment – Glencoe Science – Mc Graw Hill.

§         Science Notebook for The Living Environment – Glencoe Science – - Mc Graw Hill.

Highlight of course of study:

Embedded within ALL of these topics and activities will be reading and writing assignments from the Living Environment textbooks. The purpose of these assignments is to increase the literacy of the students not only in the English language but also in the language of science.

September

            First few days:

è    General outline of class expectations (1 Day)

è    Class contract

è    Laboratory contract/ safety- students must sign and have their parents sign the lab contract outlining proper conduct and laboratory rules.

è    Metric System (1 week)- measurement system based on the base-ten numeration system and used in most countries around the world. This is the measurement system used by scientist around the world.

o        Scientific Measurement Lab- a lab designed to familiarize the students with the types of equipment they will be expected to use in all science classes.

Ex. Triple-Beam Balance, Graduated Cylinder, etc.

è    Study of life (1-2 weeks)- origin of life what is life what are some of the characteristics that all living things share? How living things function and how all living things share these functions.

o        Life characteristics lab - a laboratory activity based on separating living and non living, and once living things.

§         Reading essentials:

·         The Study of Life - Pgs 1 – 3

October

è    Scientific Method (3-4 weeks)- the study of the systematic methods used in scientific investigations of the natural world, which include designing controlled experiments, gathering data, and developing and testing hypotheses.

§         Reading essentials:

è    Scientific Method Labs- there will be two separate labs outlining the steps and procedures of the scientific method

November

è    Ecology (6-7 weeks)- the study of the relationships between living things and their environment. This unit will contain multiple labs as well as current reading assignments from magazines, books and articles from The New York Times (Science Times).

o        Organisms and Their Relationships

§         Levels of organization

·         Organisms à Population à Community à Ecosystem à Biomes à Biosphere

o        Succession

§         Changes in an ecosystem when one community replaces another due to changing abiotic and biotic factors.

o        Symbiosis

§         Close association between two or more species that live together.

·         Parasitism, Commensalisms, Mutualism.

o        Nutritional Relationships

§         One way to study the interaction of organism in an ecosystem is to follow the energy flow.

·         Food Chains / Food Webs

§         Energy Pyramids/Flow of Energy through and Ecosystem

·         Autotrophs Vs. Heterotrophs

·         Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore, Detritivores

December

o        First two Weeks

§         Habitat

·         An area where organisms live

§         Material Cycles

·         Water, Carbon, Nitrogen

o        Last Week

§         Biodiversity

·         Number of different species in an area

January

è    Organization of life/ Chemistry of life (First week)- the study of the organization of life and the chemicals that it is composed of. This unit is intended to introduce the cell as the basic unit of all known life.

è    Cell Theory (Second week) - the theory that all organisms are made of cells, and that all cells come from pre-existing cells. Cells are the structural and functional units of life.

è    Plant and Animal Cells (Last two weeks) - this is a comprehensive unit outlining the function of all cell organelles, the structure of plant and animal cells, the difference between plant and animal cells as well as similarities between the two. This unit will include multiple labs and reading assignments.

Spring Term

Spring term starts with the overview of human body systems. The emphasis is placed on the interactions between the systems in the maintenance of HOMEOSTASIS.

Homeostasis and Immunity
Jan.30-Feb.8

1)      Body Systems Overview
This unit focuses on the structure and function of all the human body systems and describes some diseases.

-Digestive System -     Chapter 21 pages 610-621
    Chapter 39 pages 899-911 (Bilingual)

        - Circulatory System- Chapter 20 pages 582-589
            Chapter 38 pages 872-884 (Bilingual)

        - Excretory System-    Chapter 20 pages 595-599
            Chapter 39 pages 912-916 (Bilingual)

        -Respiratory System- Chapter 20 pages 590-594
            Chapter 38 pages 855-890 (Bilingual)

        -Skeletal and                    Chapter 18 pages 531-541


        Muscular                           Chapter 37 pages 850-859 (Bilingual)

        -Immune System- Chapter 23 pages 664-685
            Chapter 40 pages 924-937 (Bilingual)

        - Nervous System –           Chapter 19 pages 550-573
            Chapter 41 pages 944-966 (Bilingual)

        -Endocrine System – Chapter 21 pages 621-629
            Chapter 42 pages 974-988 (Bilingual)

        -Reproductive System – Chapter 22 pages 636-657
            Chapter 23 pages 996-1010(Bilingual)

     2)      Homeostasis and Feedback Mechanisms

Regulation of an organism’s internal environment to conditions needed for life.

Aim: How does the body maintain a constant internal environment?

Textbook pages: Chapter 5 pages515-523

                            Chapter 42 pages 980-981

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

            Feb.11-Mar.7 (15 days)

S4 K4

THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE IS SUSTAINED TROUGH REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.

How can we identify some types of ASEXUAL reproduction?

(636, 276, 247, 252)

·         Define reproduction

·         Asexual vs. sexual

·         Binary fission, budding, sporulation, regeneration…

How can we describe the events and the results of MITOSIS?

(248-252)

Mitosis- cell division involved in asexual reproduction

Events, results

How can we describe human male reproductive system?

(638-639)

    4. How can we describe human female reproductive system?

            (640)

·         Identify the site of fertilization

How can we describe the events and results of MEIOSIS?

(270-276)

·         MEIOSIS-cellular division involved in sexual reproduction

How can we compare MITOSIS with MEIOSIS?

(275-276)

·         Compare the two cellular divisions by number of new cells, chromosome content in new cells, and the role each plays in organisms…

How can we describe MEIOSIS in humans?

(641)

·         Oogenesis

·         Spermatogenesis

How can we describe the events and goals of FERTILIZATION?

(644-645)

·         Fertilization restores diploid number of chromosomes

How can we describe the early stages of embryo development?

(645-646)

·         Zygote formation: union of two haploid cells (sperm egg) restores diploid number of chromosomes

·         Mitotic divisions of zygote

·         Differentiation

How can we identify the role of PLACENTA during fetal development (pregnancy)?

(646-649)

·         Stages of pregnancy

·         Diffusion of molecules from mother’s blood to embryo

·         The impact of mother’s health on the health of developing embryo

How can developmental abnormalities be detected?

(650-651)

·         Amniocentesis

·         Karyotyping

·         Chorionic villi sampling

How can we describe hormonal regulation of human reproductive functions?

(641-643)

·         Menstrual cycle

·         Feedback mechanism

·         The role of testosterone in male reproductive functions

Why sexual mode of reproduction provides species with better chances of survival?

(274-276)

·         Sexual reproduction (meiosis) provides genetic variation

·         Crossing over

·         Independent assortment

·         Random fertilization

Genetics and Biotechnology March 10-Apr.4

                   Every organism requires a set of coded instructions for specifying its traits. For offspring to resemble their parents there must be a reliable way to transfer information from one generation to the next. Heredity is the passage of these instructions from one generation to another.

A. Mendel Overview                                      March 10-14

            1. Test Experiments

            2. Punnett Square

            3. Probability

AIM: How do we explain the significance of Mendel’s experiments to the study of genetics?

AIM: How is the phenotype of an organism determined?

Textbook pages: Chapter 10 pages 277-282

B. Complex Patterns of Inheritance

            1. Incomplete Dominance

            2. Multiple Alleles

            3. Sex-linked Traits

AIM: How do we explain traits that do not show complete dominance?

Textbook pages: Chapter 11 pages 302-303

AIM: How do we explain traits with multiple phenotypes?

Textbook pages: Chapter 11 page 304

AIM: How do we explain traits that are inherited together?

Textbook pages: Chapter 11 pages 307-310

AIM: How do genetic abnormalities occur?

Textbook pages: Chapter 11 pages 311-315

C. Modern Genetics                                                                March 17-20

1.      DNA – The Genetic Material

-          structural organization of DNA

-          relation of structure to function

2.      DNA Replication

3.      Protein Synthesis

-          RNA and Protein

-          Transcription

-          Translation

AIM: How does DNA store hereditary information?

Textbook pages: Chapter 12 pages 326-331

AIM: How does DNA replication occur?

Textbook pages: Chapter 12 pages 333-335

AIM: How is the formation of DNA interpreted?

AIM: How does DNA code translated into messenger RNA and utilized to make a particular protein?

Textbook pages: Chapter 12 pages 336-341

D. Mutations                                                                           March 24-31

            1. Types

            2. Causes

AIM: How does mutation take place?

Textbook pages: Chapter 12 pages 345-346

E. Genetics and Biotechnology

1.      Applied Genetics

-          Selective Breeding

-          Hybridization

-          Inbreeding

AIM: How is selective breeding used to produce organisms with desired traits?

Textbook pages: Chapter 13 pages 360-361

2.      DNA Technology

-          Genetic Engineering

-          Recombinant DNA Technology

-          Biotechnology

AIM: How does genetic engineering manipulate recombinant DNA?

AIM: How can genetic engineering be used to improve human health?

Textbook pages: Chapter 13 pages 363-367

            3. Human Genome Project                                          April 1-4

            - Sequencing the genome

            - DNA Fingerprinting

            4. Genetic Disorders

AIM: How can information from the human genome be used to diagnose human diseases?

Textbook pages: Chapter 13 pages 372-374

                            Chapter 11 pages 296-298

4.      Pedigree Chart

AIM: How do we construct human pedigrees from genetic information?

Textbook pages: Chapter 11 pages 299-301

Evolution (Apr.7-May 3)

   Individual organisms and species change over time.

A. Aim: How can the process of the Natural Selection be explained?

Darwin’s process of Natural Selection (April 7- 11)

Natural Selection

Overproduction

Competition

Survival of the fittest

Reproduction

Speciation

Adaptive Radiation

Text book: The Living Environment

        Chapter 15, Section 1

         Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, Page 418 – 422

         Biologia pages 276 – 280

B. Aim: How do organisms evolve?

Evidences for evolution (April 14 – 18)

The basic idea of biological evolution is that the earth’s day species developed from earlier, distinctly different species.

Fossil ( petrified, frozen, amber, molds, prints, bones)

Morphological (Homologous, Analogous, and Vestigial structures)

Biochemical (Genetic, Enzymatic)

Cytological ( Cell comparison – Animal vs. Plant, Eukaryotic vs. Prokaryotic)

Cladograms

Text book: Living Environment: 423-428

Biologia: pages 283-287

C. Aim: How do adaptations help organisms survive? (April 14-15)

A great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive in the face of large changes in the environment.

     1. Biological adaptations.

     2. Geographic and reproductive isolation.

     3. Speciation

Text book: Living Environment pages: 431-434

Biologia: 288-297

D. Aim: How does evolution occurs in the Modern Times? (April 17-18)

      1. Peppered Moth

      2. DDT

      3. Antibiotics resistance Bacteria

Text book: Living Environment pages: 429,672-673, 435-436

Biologia: pages: 391, 396, 449

E. Aim: How are organisms classified (April 28-30)

Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related.

Reasons for classification

Method for classification

Scientific Names

Text book: Living Environment pages 483-505

Biologia pages: 300-305, 307-310

F. Aim: How are humans classified? (May 2-3)

       1. Origin of life

       2. Common characteristics shared by humans and primates.

Text book: Living Environment pages: 450-475

Human Influence on Environment (May1-30)

Aim: How can humans help protect our environment?

Positive Influence

a.       Environmental Law

b.      Human Efforts

Aim: How are humans changing our environment?

Negative Influence

a.       Global Warming

b.      Pollution

c.       Deforestation

d.      Industrialization

e.       Ozone Depletion

Pages 122 – 135

Bilingual

Pages 385-400

The remainder of the term (about 2 weeks in June) will be devoted to topic by topic review in preparation to the Regent Examination.