Living Environment Regents Exam

June 16th, 12:15 PM

We have completed all of this year's curriculum and are now in the process of preparing for the Living Environment Regents exam. Our schedule for the rest of the year is posted below. Each day we will be reviewing one of our units in class, the following day we will have a short review quiz. Students should be studying each night. I also handed out several packets of review materials, some we will use in class and some is for students to use on their own.

Online Resources
All of the past Regents exams are online at the State Education Department website. Completing practice Regents exams is great practice and will help to prepare students for the exam. There are also a great review website called Regents Exam Prep Center from the Oswego City School District. You can answer questions online for practice. You can also watch Regents Review Live online and get some more review from Mrs. Foley from Henninger High School in Syracuse.

Over the next two days we are going to be watching the documentary An Inconvenient Truth in class. This movie is about the science of climate change. As we watch this documentary we are again going to be having an online, in-class discussion using Edmodo. You will have to log in using the login information you provided last time we used the site.

I will be posing questions, you can ask and answer questions and make comments about the movie as we watch it. Remember, you will be graded based on your contribution to the chat, so be sure to make appropriate comments, reply to questions and as always be respectful.


The rubric for grading is posted here:


After watching the video I want you to post a comment below that answers the following questions:

• in one or two sentences describe the problem of climate change and what is causing it

• give 2 examples of how climate change can affect the Earth

• describe 2 ways that people could help to lessen the problem of climate change

Today we are beginning our iMovie project. Students are choosing an environmental issue and creating a movie that explains the issue. The first step is to find some images online that you can use in you iMovie. The video below shows how to find, gather and document the images that you are going to use.

Here is the grading rubric, assignment description and instruction about using iMovieHD.





This next video walks students through the steps to record the audio portion of their movie. It is best if they record it in sections. This allows more flexibility in assembling the final movie.

After the audio sections have been recorded, students will then insert the images that they found. Remember the images should match up with what is being said in the audio. The video below shows how to put the images into the movie.


The final step, which is optional, is to add sound effects and transitions to your movie. The important thing to remember in this step is that your transitions and sounds should not distract from the information you are presenting.


The final step in preparing your movie, is to add some titles. You need to at least have an introduction title and a final title screen with a list of your sources. After you have finished that you can export your movie so that others can view it easily. The steps to do these tasks are described in the video below:

We are now well into our last unit, Human Impacts on the Environment. Unfortunately some of the software that I use to record our notes has not been working. I do not have videos of the notes for this unit. I do have a filled out hard copy, posted below. We have been discussing the various ways that humans impact their environment. We have discussed resource use, air and water pollution, climate change, species extinction as well as other environmental issues. We will be having a quiz on Thursday on our vocabulary (posted below) and the causes of environmental problems.




Today in class we set up a lab that is investigating the effects of pH on seed germination. We are soaking radish seeds in water of various pH levels. At the end of the week we will observe the seeds and see how they have been affected. This lab will be due on Monday.



We are also going to be completing an invasive species webquest this week. Students will use a variety of websites to learn more about invasive species. The webquest will be due on Friday.

The activity is here:

The websites that students will use are posted below.

Questions	Website
1-3	http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/clams/zebra.html
4	http://www.trincoll.edu/zines/tj/tj03.13.97/articles/cover.html
5-6	http://nationalatlas.gov/dynamic/dyn_zm.html
7-8	http://cars.er.usgs.gov/Nonindigenous_Species/Zebra_mussel_FAQs/zebra_mussel_faqs.html
9-11	http://www.invadingspecies.com/Invaders.cfm?A=page&PID=1
12-14	http://www.trincoll.edu/zines/tj/tj03.13.97/articles/cover.html
15-17	http://www.google.com/search?q=invasive+species&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:&client=firefox-a&safe=active

We have finished the ecology unit. There will be a unit test on Thursday. It will follow the pattern of all of our unit tests, there will be a mixture of multiple-choice, short answer and graphing questions. Students should study their notes and survival guide.

For the test students should be able to:

• define and identify examples of
• biosphere
• ecology
• ecosystem
• biotic factors
• abiotic factors
• niche
• population
• community
• interpret food webs
• explain the food/energy pyramid and the reason for its shape
• explain how niche and competition are related
• define the following types of organisms and identify examples
• predator
• prey
• decomposer
• parasite
• host
• define succession and describe how ecosystems change over time
• graph a single set of numerical data using a line graph

Today in class we are working on a predator-prey lab. Students are using paper wolves and rabbit to model a predatory-prey relationship. As students collect data they will be recording it using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. After collecting data they will plot the predator and prey population data and answer the conclusion questions. The lab is due on Wednesday.

We will be having a unit test on evolution on Friday. Students should study their notes and survival guide, which are posted below.

For the test students should be able to:

• define and identify examples of evolution and natural selection
• identify the sources of variation in populations
• read and interpret cladograms
• apply the steps of natural selection to examples
• using the steps of natural selection tell how species have evolved

Today we are beginning our evolution unit. We started today by going over the unit objectives, then we went over the units vocabulary and students worked on the first page of the vocabulary packet. After that students began working on an obituary of Charles Darwin, the finished obituary is due Wednesday. Students must write a short obituary for Charles Darwin, it must include the basic biographical facts of his life, describe major events in his scientific studies, his accomplishments and contribution to science. Students will also have to sketch a picture of Darwin. Students can find the details of Darwin's life online. One excellent site to use is found here.

Tomorrow we will be having a unit test on reproduction, students were given survival guides on Monday that they should use, along with their notes to study. The test will be similar to all of our unit tests, it will be composed of Regents exam question.



Students should be able to:

• compare and contrast sexual and asexual reproduction
• compare and contrast meiosis and mitosis
• put the phases of mitosis in order
• identify the connections between the types of reproduction and types of cell division
• describe how the number of chromosomes in gametes compare to body cells
• identify and describe the function of
• ovaries
• uterus
• oviduct
• vagina
• testes
• prostate glands
• placenta
• define gamete, ovulation and zygote.

We have been having some issues with this server, but hopefully we are back up and running. Since the beginning of the quarter we have been working on the reproduction unit. We are nearly finished, so I will post copies of all of our notes and labs below.

Notes:

• Cell Reproduction -
• Human Reproduction -

Labs:

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We have been reviewing for our midterm exam for that past several classes. The exam is on Thursday, it will cover all of the material from our first four units. This includes, scientific inquiry, living things, homeostasis and genetics. Students should study all of their note, past unit tests and survival guides. The review packet below will be helpful for studying. The exam will consists of one past Living Environment exam, with the questions that we have not yet covered deleted.



Genetic Disease Brochures are due on Wed.

Over the next week students will be working on a project in which they will research a genetic disease and then prepare a brochure to educate people about that disease. We will be working on this project as we review for out midterm exam. The first step in this assignment is for the students to choose a genetic disease to research. The disease must inheritable in order to qualify as a genetic disease. Students can use this list of genetic diseases from the NIH.

After students choose a disease they will begin researching it. They can start at the NIH website for their disease and then branch out from there. To help students organize their research they can fill out this guided research worksheet:


After researching information regarding their disease, students should then find some appropriate pictures to use in their brochure.

IMPORTANT: All websites used for information and images must be recorded on the research worksheet and cited in the brochure.

When students have finished their research, they can then put together their brochure using this template:



The project will be due on Tuesday, January 26th

We will have a unit test on Friday on the genetics unit. Students should study their notes for the unit as well as their survival guide for the genetics unit.

For the test, students should be able to:

• identify ways that the environment can affect gene expression
• describe the location of genes in the cell
• define mutations and describe when they can be inherited
• identify and describe some genetic diseases
• identify and describe the structure of nucleotides and DNA molecules
• match complementary bases of DNA
• describe the function of tRNA, mRNA and ribosomes
• define codon and template
• put the steps of protein synthesis in order
• describe how genetic engineering is used to benefit humans