HONORS BIOLOGY Last Update: August Ana M. Vites, Ph.D. Science department, Northside College Preparatory HS, Chicago, IL 60625 E-mail: [email protected] My name:______
This class will study living things, their biochemical composition, the inheritance of genes that can control structure and function. The class also studies the organization and interactions of organisms with their environment through observation, discovery activities and experiments. The class will explore current advances in biotechnology and their applications in various fields. The class is designed around laboratories, group activities, oral presentations and some independent research. Individual research projects will be required from each student during each semester.
Students are encouraged to pursue extra credit activities off-campus. I regularly provide a list of lectures in various locations that relate to science and applied sciences, which can be found on-line.
The Biology website for my class provides a chronological table with a day to day description of what was covered during class and the homework for the next class. I will include directions and helpful links for specific projects. This is the best resource to check for homework or if you were absent and need to catch up with the content and homework.
Students are required to keep a single subject, well organized workbook (I recommend a sturdy notebook with pockets or a single subject notebook and a sturdy folder with pockets for handouts) for their laboratories, class notes and activities and chapter outlines. This workbook must be kept in chronological order. It will be collected every 5 weeks to grade the student’s work and laboratories with their analysis/post-lab questions.
COURSE OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION: Ch.1 - Scientific process, experimentation and thought in the Life Sciences - Levels of organization & Safe conduct
Unit #1: ECOLOGY: Ch.34, 36, 37 (sections 35, 38) - Biotic & Abiotic Factors - Biomes Characteristics & Ecosystem Stability, Invasive species - Food Chains, Feeding Relationships & Symbiosis - Energy Flow: Trophic levels, Ecological Pyramids - Biogeochemical Cycles - Biomes, Climate & Succession - Population Dynamics: Carrying capacity, Limiting Factors, Competition & Predator-prey relations
Unit #2: BIOCHEMISTRY: Ch. 2, 3 (sections of Ch.5) - Properties of water, pH and Buffers - Chemical bonds in biomolecules - Carbohydrates, Food Biochemistry - Lipids and phospholipids bilayers - Proteins & amino acids, Enzymes - Nucleic acids: ATP, DNA & RNA, DNA discovery and structure-Ch.10
Unit #3: CELL STRUCTURE and FUNCTION: Ch. 4, 5 - Characteristics of Living things & Microscopes - Cell types & classification - Organelles, Cell Theory & Endosymbiosis - Active and passive transport
Unit #4: ENZYMES & ENERGY IN THE CELL: Ch. 5, 6 & 7 - Enzymes-substrate and Chemical Reactions - Photosynthesis, Chlorophyll - Respiration & Fermentation - ATP and ADP – phosphorylation
Unit #5: CELL DIVISION & INHERITANCE: Ch. 8, 9 & 10 - Cell Cycle and Cancer - MITOSIS: Plants vs. Animal cells, Diploid &Karyotypes - MEIOSIS: Chromosomes and Gametes, Haploid &Crossing over, non-disjunction - Mendellian Genetics; Genotypes and Phenotypes, Punnett Squares, ABO Blood types-Antigens/Antibodies - Pedigrees, Genetic disorders; Autosomal vs. Sex-linked,,nucleotide mutations :
Unit #6: FROM DNA TO PROTEIN: Ch. 10 (11) - DNA & RNA structure and function, Hershey&Chase, Watson and Creek - Codon and Anticodon, Transcription and Translation - Mutations & Regulation of gene expression - Viruses: Genetic Packages replication, lytic and lysogenic cycles of virus- HIV
Unit #7: GENE EXPRESSION & BIOTECHNOLOGY: Ch. 11 & 12 - Reproductive vs. Therapeutic Cloning - Gene expression & cell diferentiation, Stem cells - Recombinant DNA, Bacterial plasmids and transformation - DNA Fingerprinting, PCR &Microarrays - Restriction Enzymes and Probes & Genome Projects
Unit #8: ADAPTATION and EVOLUTION: Ch. 13, 15 (sections of 14) - Evidence, Lamarck, Malthus, Darwin and Natural selection - Natural vs. Artificial Selection - Hardy-Weinberg Principle of Equilibrium - Adaptation & selective advantages, Antibiotic resistance - Reproductive Barriers - Fossil record & Eras, Pangaea
Unit #9: TAXONOMY: Sections of Ch. 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19 - 3 Domains - Linnaeus and Binomial Nomenclature - Dichotomous Keys - Evolutionary diversity of plants and animals - Phylogenetic trees Breakdown of Grades (approx. %) Grade Scale Individual Graded work @ 30% 100–90% A Quizzes & Tests @ 25% 89 - 80% B 79 – 70% C Homework checks @ 10% 69 – 60% D Initiative-Participation @ 10% 59 – 0% F Individual Project @ 15% Exam @ 12%
HOMEWORK and CLASS EXPECTATIONS: . Homework is mandatory. Worksheets are homework and to my discretion some will be graded in detail. The workbook will be graded upon collection. . Due dates are final. . ABSENCES: If you plan to be absent, please make arrangements in person or via e-mail. If the absence is unexcused, the student will not be able to make up the Laboratory, activity nor test. A note from the parents MUST be brought to my class within 3 days of student attending school after an absence. . LABS: They need to be made-up ASAP because materials are cleaned up. . TESTS and QUIZZES: If a student is absent (including school related activities) for a Test/Quiz, she/he may take it before the date, during the following class or after school. Quiz and test grades are returned and discussed in class within a week; everyone wants to know their grade and review their answers. Everyone is waiting for you! STUDY HABITS: . I recommend that students set aside 40-60 minutes a day to read, complete homework and projects for this class. . Students are responsible for missing assignments. If a student is absent (including school related activities) for a laboratory or test, he/she will be given zero points on that work. The student needs to immediately make-up the work to recover those points. Every lab and activity receives a participation grade in the form of points. . If you have trouble with an assignment please see me BEFORE the assignment is due. . Plagiarism will be severely penalized according to school rules.
GRADING SCALE : The grade is based on points accumulated. Please note that the percentiles are approximate since the grade is based on the total points. The actual percentiles will vary from class to class.
BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS: - Be a good listener. When a fellow student or the teacher is talking, you need to pay attention. Make eye contact with the person talking to you. - Be on time. The passing period provides plenty time to change classes, come to class on time. Bring your work on time. - Be respectful of others. Use appropriate language when talking to your classmates and to adults. Approach any conflicts with respect and maintain a positive attitude, this helps maintain communication. - Be a good team player. I expect proactive participation in labs and activities. Responsibilities need to be equally shared in a group. Assign responsibilities to each member of the team, such as timekeeper, collecting materials, read lab sheet, clean up, write up or graph the results. The latter will be reflected in your individual grade for that lab or activity.
If you fail to follow the general behavior expectations, points will be deducted from your grade.
MATERIALS: ONE SUBJECT NOTEBOOK. A notebook with pockets for this subject – NO BINDERS. DID I MENTION NO BINDERS? A sturdy folders with pockets to keep your graded work once the unit is completed. Textbook by Campbell, Mitchell & Reece-6th edition A highlighter Colored pen and pencils for diagrams. All Biology classes will be asked to bring materials to share like pencils, markers, scissors, tissue paper, paper towels, metric ruler (30cm) and scotch tape.
Various materials will be required for some laboratories such as permanent markers, beans, oil, sand, salt, paper towels, coffee filters, Ziploc bags, memory sticks. I will ask students provide some of these items for the lab activities.
RECOMMENDED READINGS: Scientific American, National Geographic and news articles. I will post links for class and useful information for each unit.
SCIENCE FAIR: If a student is interested in pursuing a Science Fair Project, please contact me immediately to make arrangements and recommendations. Science Fair Projects may complement your grade in this class on a case-to-case basis.
COMMUNICATION I will be communicating during class, after school appointments and via e-mail. All work needs to be handed in in person.
CONTACT Email is the best way to communicate with me is via email ( [email protected] ). Please allow at least one work day for me to respond. My desk is in the office inside room 304. I am here to help so please stop by and talk to me if you have any concerns or questions. Make an appointment if you need extended time or you have difficulty finding me and please sign up for the X/Y block.
Email: [email protected]
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