Cell Structure and Function Webquest

Since cells are the basic units of all living things there are many great websites about them. In this webquest you will primarily use two of the best sites to discover what many of the parts of eukaryotic cells look like and what they do.

Goals: 

1. Identify the structure and function of major organelles. 

2. Explain the main differences between cells in plants and cells in animals. 

3. Evaluate two different websites to get the most useful information from each. 

Use the following sites to fill out your "Cell Structure and Function Webquest." Each site has its strengths and weaknesses. 

Cells Alive! Has great animated cells images of both plant and animal cells you can roll over with your mouse to identify organelles. Some of the explanations about the organelles aren't that great, but some are excellent. http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/cell_model.htm

Biology 4 Kids has really fantastic explanations of what the organelles in the cell do. There aren't any cool animations, but the diagrams are very nice. One bad thing about Biology4Kids is that it has advertising on it, but it still has some great bio info.  http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_main.html

Identifying Microorganisms

Use the links BELOW to get more information...

Use the following websites to help you identify as many of the organisms you can see in our pond water sample as possible. Draw detailed diagrams of the organisms you see and draw a comparison diagram from one of the websites.

You MUST try to identify the organisms you see in your water sample by using the images and descriptions you find on the websites. Take a look at several of the websites before you decide which one you want to use first.

Pond Water Critters ID page

http://www.microscope-microscope.org/applications/pond-critters/pond-critters.htm

Pond Life ID kit

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/index.html

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/smal1.html

Microbus

http://www.microscope-microscope.org/microscope-home.htm

Virtual Pond Dip

http://sciencenetlinks.com/esheets/virtual-pond-dip/

AAAS Pond Water A Closer Look

http://sciencenetlinks.com/student-teacher-sheets/pond-water-closer-look/

Pond 2 – Life in a drop of Pond Water

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/pond-2-life-in-a-drop-of-pond-water/

Once you think you've identified a microorganism you may search for other images or videos of it online to confirm your identification.

For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmwN_mD7TvY 
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocv67Px49AA&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL3900A98EEBD72DC2

Also try to identify any organelles you can in the microorganisms you observe. You may see nuclei or flagella or other organelles.

Flash Animation of Cells to DNA – Compares Eukaryotic cells to bacteria and zooms from chromosomes to chromatin to dna.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/media/filer/2011/10/13/dna.swf

Cell Size and Scale - interactive

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

Water Intoxication: Hold your wee for a Wii contest

Here is the article we read in class from the New York Times "The Lede" blog. 

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/too-high-a-price-for-a-wii/

Take a look at this short MSNBC news story about Jennifer Strange and her death by hyponatremia.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/

This link describes the sports medicine concern with hyponatremia that occurs in athletes who sweat a lot during an event, and then drink large amounts of water. Jennifer was not sweating like an athlete, but her body reacted in a similar way.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/Hyponatremia.htm

CBS News also did a story a few days later explaining a bit more about the consequences for the people who worked for the radio station.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/national/main2369761.shtml

It turns out that the DJs were joking about a person who died from water intoxication two years prior to their Wii contest... so they knew it was dangerous. The radio station was sued by Jennifer Strange's family and had to pay them quite a bit. The following article from the LA Times newspaper gives the details.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/jury-awards-16-million-in-radio-prank-that-left-sacramentoarea-woman-dead-.html

Ecology - Food Webs and Food Chains

Play the Food Chain Game at the following link.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm

Welcome to your NGHS Biology Blog!

This week, we've just gone over some of the basics of how our class will work and we've gotten to know each other.

Honors Biology Periods 2 and 7 

We filled out Biography Sheets.

We learned each other's names with the name game.

We discussed class expectations and reviewed the syllabus

We learned how to take Cornell Notes

You can see the syllabus and the syllabus contract here . 

HOMEWORK due Friday 9-7-12: Bring in signed Syllabus Contract. If parents or guardians have questions they should e-mail Mr. Cantor at ptdworkin-cantor@cps.edu or call the school and leave a message for him. 

Biology Period 6 

We filled out Biography Sheets.

We interviewed each other to get to know our fellow students. 

We discussed class expectations and reviewed the syllabus

We learned how to take Cornell Notes

You can see the syllabus and the syllabus contract here .

HOMEWORK due Friday 9-7-12: Bring in signed Syllabus Contract. If parents or guardians have questions they should e-mail Mr. Cantor at ptdworkin-cantor@cps.edu or call the school and leave a message for him. 

End of Year 2011-2012 Course Evaluation

Each person should answer honestly, privately and with as much detail as they can. You will not put your name on it, the purpose of the survey is so Mr. Cantor can understand what you think of his class and so you can suggest ways he can become a better teacher. Thank you for your thoughtful and honest respnoses!

Please fill out the course evaluation you can find at the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHp6ZS0xaHhZX3RDd2ZGdllJYVdoelE6MQ

Honors Bio - How We Live & Why We Die Ch.3 Presentations due Friday

How We Live & Why We Die: The Secret Lives of Cells  Presentation Assignment

(scroll down for helpful links.)

Chapter 3:  “How We Live” Group Presentation Project

This is a great book, but it could really use some illustrations and more understandable explanations. Your assignment is to select a chunk of chapter 3 and make a short PowerPoint presentation to illustrate and explain it.

Team Roles 

Team Leader/Manager (keeps team on track)

Research Coordinator  (finds info and checks facts)

Graphic Designer (ensures clear and persuasive visuals)

Lead Writer (creates persuasive and professional text)

General Instructions:

• Your group of 4 students will create 2 slides per person PLUS one title slide and one resources slide. (total of 10 slides per group)
• SAVE YOUR WORK early and often.
• Name your file in THIS format: Group01_HowWeLive_HonBio_Per01.ppt
• This file name shows your group #, assignment name, class and period#
• You may use information and images from the web, but you must record the full URL of the website from which you got the information on your resources slide.
• If you find video clips that work, you may link to them or download them and embed them into your presentation.
• Your slides must be READABLE from the back of the room. Use high resolution images and don’t use any fonts smaller than 30 point. Be careful about your graphic design so images don’t interfere with text. Don’t put too much text on any slide.
• When presenting do not read off your notes or slide – you should speak confidently about your topic and present more information than is on your slide.
• Make eye contact, speak loudly and clearly, know your stuff, be able to answer questions.
• 3 minutes before the bell rings, save your work again and e-mail it to me AND every member of your team. My e-mail is ptdworkin-cantor@cps.edu
• You will need to do work between this class and the next, so make sure each team member knows what to do and exchange e-mails / phone numbers so you can coordinate.
• Presentations will begin at 8:45 next class which is Friday. 

Group 1 – Proteins pp. 27-28

Group 2 - Preparation for Cell Division pp. 28 – 29

Group 3 – Control of Cell Division pp. 29 – 30

Group 4 – DNA Replication pp. 30-32

Group 5 – Mitosis pp. 32-34

Group 6 – Energy in the Cell pp. 34-36

Group 7 – Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) pp. 36-38

Group 8 – Evolution, Genes and Cell Death pp. 39-41

Helpful Links - You should do your own searches too, but I have previewed these links and think they will be helpful to you.

The Kahn Academy has information about most topics http://www.khanacademy.org/#biology

Proteins
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/protein-function-14123348
http://www.moleclues.org/videos/what-do-proteins-look
http://video.about.com/biology/What-Are-the-Functions-of-Proteins-.htm
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/howgeneswork/protein
http://www.yourgenome.org/dgg/general/proteins/proteins_1.shtml

Preparation for cell division
http://cellsalive.com/cell_cycle.htm
http://biology.about.com/od/mitosis/ss/mitosisstep.htm
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/cell_cycle/cells2.html

Control of cell division

http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/2001/
http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter2/animation__control_of_the_cell_cycle.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhkQP5g4EHo

http://www.cancerquest.org/normal-cell-division-1.html

DNA Replication

http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/dnahelix.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/cell_cycle/cells1.html

http://www.johnkyrk.com/DNAreplication.html

http://www.mcb.harvard.edu/losick/images/trombonefinald.swf

Mitosis
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/cell_cycle/cells3.html

http://cellsalive.com/mitosis.htm

Energy in the Cell

http://www.kids.esdb.bg/basic_principles.html

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=441

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/homeostasis/importancerev1.shtml

http://www.ebiomedia.com/how-cells-obtain-energy.html

ATP

http://www.largo-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us/chapman/energy_use_in_cells.htm

http://www.ebiomedia.com/how-cells-obtain-energy.html

http://www.biology-online.org/1/2_ATP.htm

Evolution, Genes and Cell Death

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_25

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/what_is_gene.html

http://www.cellsalive.com/apop.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis

GATTACA - The ethics of genetic engineering...

Finish your GATTACA movie viewing guide if you did not do so in class.

You can find the film on Netflix at www.netflix.com/Movie/Gattaca/1180113  and you may be able to find it on YouTube or other video sites. If you missed it in class and you can't access it online or rent it, you can set up a time after school to watch it in room 125.

Mitosis - How somatic cells divide and reproduce

All Cells Come from Other Cells! 

Mitosis is the process of cell division for eukaryotic cells found in multicellular organisms.  All cells come from existing cells and mitosis is how most cells divide. The only eukaryotic cells which do not divide by mitosis are sex cells a.k.a. gametes a.k.a sperm and egg cells.

             The following links are to sites which can help you understand how mitosis works. The sites combine images, text and animation. Look at each site to best understand how the process works.

http://www.cellsalive.com/mitosis.htm 

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/mitosis.htm

http://www.johnkyrk.com/mitosis.html


http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/mitosis.html

Water Intoxication: Hold your wee for a Wii contest

Here is the article we read in class from the New York Times "The Lede" blog. 

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/too-high-a-price-for-a-wii/

Take a look at this short MSNBC news story about Jennifer Strange and her death by hyponatremia.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/

This link describes the sports medicine concern with hyponatremia that occurs in athletes who sweat a lot during an event, and then drink large amounts of water. Jennifer was not sweating like an athlete, but her body reacted in a similar way.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/hydrationandfluid/a/Hyponatremia.htm

CBS News also did a story a few days later explaining a bit more about the consequences for the people who worked for the radio station.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/18/national/main2369761.shtml

It turns out that the DJs were joking about a person who died from water intoxication two years prior to their Wii contest... so they knew it was dangerous. The radio station was sued by Jennifer Strange's family and had to pay them quite a bit. The following article from the LA Times newspaper gives the details.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/jury-awards-16-million-in-radio-prank-that-left-sacramentoarea-woman-dead-.html

Cells in the News!

New Methods Could Speed Up Repair Of Injured Nerves

- John Hamilton, NPR

Nerves, of course, are cells which transmit information in our brain and between the brain and the rest of the body. Many scientists used to believe that nerve cells almost never repaired themselves. Some researchers are finding that there may be ways to help nerve cells regenerate to repair nerve injuries.

Story from National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/27/147344516/new-methods-could-speed-up-repair-of-injured-nerves

Study Suggests Way To Create New Eggs In Women

- ROB STEIN, NPR

Scientists are finding that there may be ways to help women's ovaries to produce new eggs after their normal egg supply runs out. This may help women - especially women over 40 - to have children who might not have been able to otherwise. 

Story from National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/27/147344258/study-suggests-way-to-create-new-eggs-in-women

Identifying Microorganisms

Use the following websites to help you identify as many of the organisms you can see in our pond water sample as possible. Draw detailed diagrams of the organisms you see and draw a comparison diagram from one of the websites.

You MUST try to identify the organisms you see in your water sample by using the images and descriptions you find on the websites. Take a look at several of the websites before you decide which one you want to use first.

Pond Water Critters ID page

http://www.microscope-microscope.org/applications/pond-critters/pond-critters.htm

Pond Life ID kit

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/index.html

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/smal1.html

Microbus

http://www.microscope-microscope.org/microscope-home.htm

Virtual Pond Dip

http://sciencenetlinks.com/esheets/virtual-pond-dip/

AAAS Pond Water A Closer Look

http://sciencenetlinks.com/student-teacher-sheets/pond-water-closer-look/

Pond 2 – Life in a drop of Pond Water

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/pond-2-life-in-a-drop-of-pond-water/

Once you think you've identified a microorganism you may search for other images or videos of it online to confirm your identification.

For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmwN_mD7TvY 
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocv67Px49AA&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL3900A98EEBD72DC2

Also try to identify any organelles you can in the microorganisms you observe. You may see nuclei or flagella or other organelles.

Flash Animation of Cells to DNA – Compares Eukaryotic cells to bacteria and zooms from chromosomes to chromatin to dna.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/media/filer/2011/10/13/dna.swf

Cell Size and Scale - interactive

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

Second Semester Begins with CELLS!

What are cells? Who discovered them? Why do they matter? What are they made of? How do they work? What happens when they don't work right?

These are all questions we will be investigating during our Cells unit.

We're starting out with the film "The Cell - The Hidden Kingdom" which shows how cells were first discovered in the 1600s.  The website for the film is http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00m425d  and you can watch it in 10 minute chunks on YouTube here or you can search for "The Cell The Hidden Kingdom." (the YouTube link will not work in school because CPS blocks YouTube, but you can watch it outside of school.)

The Cell - The Hidden Kingdom - photo from BBC website. 

It traces the work of Antony Van Leeuwenhoek, Robert Hooke, Robert Brown, Joseph Lister, Theodore Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, Rudolph Virchow, Luis Pasteur, Robert Remak and others as they discovered that all living things are made of cells and that all cells come from other cells.

Van Leeuwenhoek's single lens microscopes were the most powerful for over a century after his death.
image from  bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2008/08/early-microscopes.html

Here is a link to Robert Hooke's book, Micrographia you can click on the links to the right of the test in the e-book to see the amazing drawings that Hooke created.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15491/15491-h/15491-h.htm

Hooke's drawing of the face of a housefly from Micrographia. Image from www.Gutenberg.org

Macromolecules - Lipids, Carbohydrates, Proteins and Nucleic Acids

Certain types of Macromolecules (a.k.a. Big Molecules) such as Lipids, Carbohydrates, Proteins and Nucleic Acids are the building blocks that make up all cells in all living things.

These special molecules each have certain characteristics which allow them to perform unique functions in cells that, in turn, allow cells to function.

Since humans are living things which are made up of cells, our bodies must either ingest (eat) or synthesize (put together) these special macromolecules in order to stay healthy.

The following links are to articles that relate to health issues that arise from imbalances in these macromolecules.

Lipids:

When Being Overweight is a Health Problem

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/obesity.html 

Five Ways to Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/weight_tips.html#cat20131

Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Facts for Families
http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/obesity_in_children_and_teens


Carbohydrates:

Click on THIS LINK to see an animation about diabetes and its relationship to carbohydrates

Type 2 Diabetes: What is it?  http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/endocrine/type2.html#a_About_Diabetes 

Teens with Diabetes: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-health-diabetes-teens-with-diabetes,0,5075500.story 

Teen Diabetes: Kaboose. com
http://health.kaboose.com/kids-health/teens-wellness-diabetes.html