Unit 8 - Energy and Nutrient Flow through Ecosystems

In the last unit we began a study how energy cycles between autotrophic organisms and heterotrophic organisms through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. In this unit we extend our study of energy flow and look at energy flow through an entire ecosystem by way of food chains. In the process we will come to understand how major nutrients (C, O, H, N, and P) flow and recycle through and ecosystem as well.

SB4b: Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by

• Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
• Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P)

Assignment 1: Food Chains -- mini-lecture. Take notes and fill-in the definitions of the terms listed in the Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycling worksheet as we go. (Click here to view worksheet)
Click here to view power point version of the mini-lecture.

Assignment 2: Food Chain Poster (project). Obtain a copy of the directions and grading rubric from your instructor. Complete the poster on a half sheet of poster board as per the instructions. Attach the grading rubric to your poster when you turn it in for grading.

Assignment 3: Energy Pyramids -- mini-lecture. Take notes and participate in class discussion.
Click here to view power point version of the mini-lecture.

Assignment 4: Nutrient Cycling -- mini lecture. Draw a simple diagram of each nutrient cycle in the space provided in the Energy and Nutrient Flow helpsheet.
To review...
The water cycle, click here.
the carbon cycle, click here.
the nitrogen cycle, click here.
the phosphorous cycle, click here.

Assignment 5: Watch the video movie "Happy Feet." Take note of any illustrations of food chains and energy and nutrient flow through the Antarctic ecosystem portrayed in the movie.

Unit Quiz: Energy and Nutrient Flow through ecosystems. (paper test)

Unit 4 - Organization of Life -- populations communities ecosystems and biomes)

In the last unit we looked has how life on earth is classified or grouped by similarities and structure and function from the simplest organisms to the most complex. In this unit we will take a close look at relationships between the organisms of the various groups and how they are further organized into populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.

SB4a. Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.

Assignment 1: View the video below on "Environment, Ecosystems,and Habitat" with your class. Participate in class discussion and complete the definitions of the vocabulary terms on Environment and Ecology worksheet on the as you go. Click here to view worksheet.
(Note: below you can view the video again on your own if you need to)


Watch the following video to obtain the definitions of the terms"Biotic and Abiotic."


Assignment 2: Populations -- mini-lecture. Take notes and continue to define the vocabulary words on the worksheet.

Click here to view a video version of the lecture.

Finally, watch the following video entitled "Populations - Biotic Potential."


Assignment 3: Relationships between Populations in a Community --power point lesson. View lesson together as a class. Participate in class discussion. Complete applicable sections of the Environment and Ecology worksheet as you go. Click here to see power point lesson.

Assignment 3: Ecological Succession -- power point. Take notes and participate in class discussion afterwards. Complete the Ecological Succession worksheet as you go. (Click here to view worksheet) (Click here to begin power point)

Watch this video to review the difference between Primary vs. Secondary Succession.




Assignment 4: View the two videos below entitled "Biomes - introduction" and "Biomes." Learn about the major terrestrial biomes. Fill in the appropriate information in the Biome worksheet as you go. Click here to see worksheet.





Assignment 5: Mini-lecture on the Aquatic Biomes. Take notes and fill-in new vocabulary on your Environment and Ecology Worksheet.

Watch the following video entitled "Aquatic Ecosystems" to recap what you have learned about aquatic biomes.



To help review what you have learned about biomes, click here to see a photo quiz on biomes. Your goal is to be able to identify the biome pictured on each slide by the animals, plants and climate you observe in the photograph. Be prepared to match biomes with their corresponding climate, animals, and plants in a practice exercise later in the week. Use the worksheet and photo quiz as a study guide.



Quiz: Quiz will cover what we learned about the interactions between the populations, communities, and environment within ecosystems, biomes and during ecological succession.

Fundamentals of Scientific Inquiry

Biology, the study of life. As we study living things we are often required to make observations, measurements, and even conduct experiments. To do this efficiently, we must often be familiar with various laboratory procedures, measuring equipment, and the fundamentals of the metric system. So, in this unit we will then learn about the metric system, measuring instruments, lab safety procedures, and then learn the basic steps of the scientific method. Finally, we will use this knowledge to conduct a scientific inquiry (experiment), analyze the results, and learn to write a lab report.

SCSh2. Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field investigations.

SCSh4. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating scientific equipment and materials.

SCSh5. Students will demonstrate the computation and estimation skills necessary for analyzing data and developing reasonable scientific explanations.

Assignment 1: Listen and participate in a brief class discussion and demonstration on lab safety.

Assignment 2: Watch video on Metrics and Measurement (class activity). Take notes.

Assignment 3: Scientific Measurements and Density Lab (we will complete this activity together as a class).

Assignment 4: Obtain handouts on metrics and measurements from Dr. Maudsley. Listen to mini-lecture on Metric Conversions. Take notes. Complete metric conversions and measurements worksheet.

Assignment 5: Watch video on Accuracy vs. Precision. Participate in class discussion following video. Write down everything written on the board during the discussion.

Assignment 6: Significant Figures and Scientific Notation-mini-lecture. Listen carefully, take notes, and complete practice problems as we go.

Quiz: Measurements and the Metric System. Quiz on what we learned about metrics and scientific measurements including: measuring devices, how to do metric to metric conversions, temperature conversions, and universal conversions. Also know how to read and write numbers in scientific notation, recognize significant figures and know the difference between precision and accuracy.

SCSh3a-f. Students will identify and investigate problems scientifically.

SCSh6a. Students will write clear, coherent laboratory reports related to scientific investigations.

Assignment 7: Listen to the mini-lecture on the acquisition of knowledge and the Scientific Method. Take notes and participate in the class discussion that follows.

Click here to view video version of the lecture.

Assignment 8: Conduct a scientific inquiry (experiment). We will do this together in small groups of 4-5 students.

Assignment 9: Obtain a copy of "How to Write a Lab Report" from your instructor. Write a lab report based on the experiment conducted above for assignment 8. Type your report in Microsoft Word, save it as a file with your name on it (example: lab report - Keisha), and place a copy in your instructor's Drop Box.

Quiz: Quiz (paper) --Acquisition of Knowledge and the Scientific Method

Welcome

Welcome to the Biology blog. The blog is designed to make learning biology simpler and more fun. Anytime you have access to the internet, you can pull up your lessons, click on links to your assignments, video lessons, and helpful reviews. You will always be able to check your progress in the class and know, by viewing the GPS (Georgia Performance Standards), exactly what you need to learn (and you don't have to worry about lost assignment sheets).

To show you how easy is it to find and complete many of your lessons, click here to take a short 4 question survey.

That's it. Pretty easy. Let's get started. Click on Unit 1 - Introduction to Biology.

Unit 5- Man and the Biosphere

We have been studying the relationships between organisms and their environment. The truth is, no organism has more influence on the environment than human beings. So, this week we will concentrate our studies on man's influence in the biosphere.

Instruction will involve several videos followed by class discussion and a short work assignment.

SBS4d. Assess and explain human activities that influence and modify the environment such as global warming, population growth, pesticide use, and water and power consumption.

Assignment 1: Mini-lecture: Man in the Biosphere (influence on food chains and nutrient cycles).

Assignment 2: Watch the video entitled "Non-Native species." Be prepared to discuss what you learn afterwords.

Assignment 3: Mini-lecture (continued): Man in the Biosphere (resource depletion, habitat destruction, pollution ...). Take notes and participate in class discussion.

Click here to view a short presentation on habitat destruction.

Assignment 4: Mini-lecture: Renewable vs. Non-renewable Resources. Click here to see a video version of the mini-lecture.

Assignment 5: Class activity: Watch a video on "Renewable Energy." Afterwords, write a short paragraph describing the renewable energy source that interested you the most.
In the paragraph tell

• what source you picked
• how we acquire the energy (capture it, mine it, make it)
• what advantages it has compared to non-renewable fossil fuels (costs less, cleaner for the environment etc.).

Assignment 6: Mini-lecture: Population Growth. Take note and participate in class discussion.

Quiz: Man's Influence in the Biosphere.

Unit - old Environment and Ecology

In the last unit with the study of photosynthesis and respiration we actually began our study of ecology, the branch of biological science which focuses on the interactions and relationships between organisms and their environment. In this unit we continue our study by investigating the relationships between organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. In the process we will see how energy as well as nutrients flow through an ecosystem through food chains and food webs, and explore the need for the cycling of major nutrients. Also during the process, we will examine two other important aspects of ecology -- symbiosis and ecological succession.

Instruction this week will be delivered in a series of videos, power point lessons, and short lectures accompanied by worksheets and at least one hands-on project.

SB4a: Investigate the relationships among organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes.

SB4b: Explain the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems by

• Arranging components of a food chain according to energy flow.
• Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
• Explaining the need for cycling of major nutrients (C, O, H, N, P)

SB4c: Relate environmental conditions to successional changes in ecosystems.

Assignment 1: View the video "Environment, Ecosystems,and Habitat" with your class. Complete the worksheet on the Environment and participate in class discussion as you go.
(Note: you can view the video again (below) on your own if you need to review it)



Assignment 2: Ecological features of populations -- mini-lecture. Take notes and continue to complete the vocabulary words on the Environment worksheet.

Assignment 3: As a class, view the following powerpoint on the Relationships between Organisms. Take notes. Complete applicable sections of the Environment/Ecology worksheet. (click here to see and review a copy of the power point presentation)

Assignment 3: Food chains and energy pyramids -- mini-lecture. Take notes. Complete the vocabulary on the Ecology Worksheet as you go. Then, begin working on your Food Chain project. Click here to see instructions and the grading rubric.

Assignment 4: As a class, view a video introducing you to the concept of biomes. Fill in the appropriate information in the Biome Worksheet as you go. Be prepared to match biomes with their corresponding climate, animals, and plants in a practice exercise later in the week. Use the worksheet as a study guide.

To help you review click here to see a power point quiz on biome. Your goal is to be able to identify the biome pictured on each slide by the animals, plants and climate you observe in the photograph. Click here to start power point.

Assignment 5: Mini-lecture on the Marine Biome. Take notes and fill-in new vocabulary on your Ecology Worksheet.

Assignment 6: View the following power point presentation on Ecological Succession. Fill in the worksheet on Ecological Succession as you go. Be prepared to participate in a class discussion on ecological succession afterwords. Click here to view the power point lesson.

Unit Quiz: Environment and Ecology. Quiz includes nutrient cycles, populations dynamics, food chains and energy flow, biomes, and ecological succession.

Unit 7 - Photosynthesis and Respiration

As we discovered in the last unit, animals and plants have evolved differently. They differ on the cellular levels as well as in structure and appearance. However, plants and animals are inextricably linked and dependent on one another throughout their evolution because of two complimentary life processes - photosynthesis and respiration. In this unit we will take a close look at those two processes and how they relate to the production of energy which all living things need to live and grow.

SB3a: Explain the cycling of energy through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration.Assignment 1: Begin our study by watching the video entitled "Energy and the Chemistry of Life." Part 1 of the video is a review of the chemistry of life we touched on in the last unit. Part 2 is a detailed look at the important chemical processes we call photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Take notes and answer the questions on the Photosynthesis/Respiration worksheet as you watch. (Click here to view worksheet)




Assignment 2: Photosynthesis and Respiration - mini- lecture. Take notes, participate in class discussion, and begin to fill in the Important Vocabulary section in the Photosynthesis/Respiration worksheet as we go.

Click here to review what we learned about photosynthesis.

Watch following video entitled "Cellular Respiration" to review cellular respiration.



Assignment 3: Structure and Function of a Leaf -- mini-lecture. Complete the Leaf Structure and Function worksheet as we go. (Click here to see worksheet)

Recap what you learned about leaf structure and function. Watch the following videos entitled "Leaf Structure and Function" and "Transport in Vascular Plants."





Assignment 4: Review for unit quiz. To review first study the information on the worksheets. Then watch the videos attached to Assignment 2 one more time. Finally, take the following short practice quiz and discuss your answers with your instructor. (Click here to view quiz)

Quiz: Unit quiz on Photosynthesis and Respiration. Know the raw materials, products and balanced equations for photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, and anaerobic respiration as well as where in the cell and in plants these processes take place.