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The Diversity of Life Course emphasizes the use of
knowledge and evidence to construct explanations for the structures and
functions of living organisms. Students observe and maintain protests,
plants, and animals in the classroom and study their characteristic
features. The study progresses from macroscopic to microscopic
observation to discover the fundamental unit of life, the cell.
Students then investigate organism subsystems and behaviors and
consider their diversity of adaptive structures and strategies.
Mr. Dudley's Science Class
Will be doing the following:
- Consider characteristics that are common to all living organisms and develop an operational definition of life.
- Become familiar with the microscope as a tool used by scientists to study organisms in detail.
- Discover cells and begin to understand their importance as the basic units of life.
- Appreciate the diversity of cells that contribute to the diversity of life on Earth.
- Observe and describe the first developmental stages of a plant and recognize that seeds are living organisms in a dormant state.
- Conduct investigations to understand how the vascular system
transports water throughout a plant and how stomates on leaves regulate
the rate of water flow through a plant.
- Investigate the reproductive systems in flowers to understand
the origin of seeds and explore plant adaptations for seed dispersal.
- Observe and analyze snail structures and behaviors in order to set up a secure and supportive habitat for them.
- Explore the concept of adaptation by studying the structures
and behaviors of an insect , relating those adaptations to the roach’s
natural history and habitat.
- Explore the Monera (bacteria), Protista (algae), and Fungi kingdoms to understand their roles in the scheme of life.
- Become familiar with and acquire vocabulary concerning these
concepts: cell, tissue, organism, structure, function, behavior,
adaptation, system interaction, transpiration, development.
- Exercise language, social studies, and math skills in the context of science.
- Use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations
and build explanations: observing, communicating, comparing,
organizing, relating, and inferring.
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1.
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What
Is Life? (5 sessions)
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Students
think about
characteristics that are common to all living organisms to develop
an operational definition of life that will be used throughout
the course.
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Any free-living thing, plant, animal, or other is
an organism.
• All living organisms exhibit common characteristics;
they grow, consume nutrients, exchange gases, respond to stimuli,
reproduce, need water, and eliminate waste. |
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Categorize pictures of objects and organisms into living and
nonliving groups.
• Investigate unknown materials by placing them in aquatic
environments and observing them for evidence of life.
• Analyze data. |
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2.
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Introduction
to the Microscope (3–4 sessions) |
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Students
develop their skills with an important piece of scientific technology.
They use a microscope to observe and study microorganisms. |
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Optical power is the product of the magnification of the eyepiece
and the objective lens.
• A microscope image appears reversed and inverted.
• Focal plane is a thin plane at a fixed distance from
the objective lens where the image is in focus. |
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Use the microscope to study layers in a sample and structures
of brine shrimp.
• Draw scale representations of images seen in a microscope
to estimate size accurately.
• Explain how focal plane affects the image seen through
a microscope. |
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3.
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Microscopic
Life (5–6 sessions) |
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Students
discover cells and begin to understand their importance as the
basic units of life. Elodea and Paramecia are studied in depth,
and students search for other microorganisms in pond water. |
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The cell is the basic unit of life.
• Cells have the same needs and perform the same functions
as more complex organisms.
• Paramecia have structures that have certain functions.
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Observe single-celled
microorganisms with a microscope and investigate structure-function
relationships.
• Generate evidence to support the idea that paramecia
are organisms.
• Compare microorganisms. |
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4.
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The
Ribbon of Life (2 sessions) |
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Students
become familiar with biological structures and functions at
different levels of organization: cells, organs, tissues, organ
systems, and whole organisms.
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Humans, and all other complex life-forms, are made of cells.
• Cells have defining structures, such as membranes, cell
walls, nuclei, chloroplasts, ribosomes,
mitochondria, and cytoplasm. |
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Compare structure and function of cells from different organisms.
• Relate the structure and function of cells, tissues,
organs, systems, and organisms. |
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5.
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Seeds
of Life (5 sessions) |
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Students
recognize that seeds are living organisms in a dormant state.
They observe and describe the first development stages of a
plant. |
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Seeds contain the dormant, living embryo of a plant.
• Germination is the onset of growth and differentiation
in plant seeds.
• The cotyledon is the primary source of energy for seed
germination. |
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Dissect seeds to discover their structures.
• Investigate the effect of light on germinated seeds.
• Compare the development of two groups of complex plants—
monocots and dicots. |
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6.
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Transpiration
(6 sessions)
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Students
conduct investigations to understand how the vascular system
transports water through a plant and how leaves regulate the
rate of water flow through a plant. |
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Xylem is the system of tubelike connected cells that transports
water from the roots to all
structures of the plant.
• Stomates are openings on leaves that are controlled
by guard cells. |
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Design an experiment to determine what happens to water in a
celery stalk.
• Collect and analyze data to develop evidence for an
explanation for how water enters a plant’s roots and flows
through the plant during transpiration.
• Relate transpiration to the water cycle. |
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7.
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Plant
Reproduction (2–3 sessions) |
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Students
investigate the reproductive systems in flowers to understand
the origin of seeds. They explore plant adaptations for seed
dispersal. |
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Pollen from the anthers on stamens and eggs in the ovules of
the pistil are the male and female cells that combine during
sexual reproduction to develop into a seed.
• Sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils are the major structures
of typical flowers.
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Investigate the structure-function relationships of plant flowers.
• Make observations to develop a general model of how
seeds disperse.
• Explain how seed-dispersal mechanisms contribute to
a plant’s survival. |
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8.
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Land Snails
(7 sessions) |
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Students
design and conduct an experiment to determine environmental
preferences of land snails. Students observe structures and
behaviors of a multicellular organism. |
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Snails are gastropods with a muscular foot, a head with sensory
organs, and a shell for protection.
• Anthropomorphism is attributing human thoughts and feelings
to nonhuman organisms. |
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Design and conduct an experiment safely and appropriately, using
a living organism.
• Collect data and draw conclusions.
• Determine the difference between scientific observations
and
inferences. |
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9.
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Roaches
(4–5 sessions) |
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Students
design and conduct an experiment to determine environmental
preferences of an insect—the Madagascar hissing cockroach.
They observe structures and behaviors of a multicellular organism. |
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Adaptations are structures or behaviors of organisms that enhance
their chances to survive and reproduce in their habitat. •
Insects have three body parts, six legs, and two antennae. |
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Design and conduct an experiment safely and appropriately, using
a living organism.
• Collect data and draw conclusions.
• Relate structure to function in an insect.
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10.
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Kingdoms
of Life (5 sessions) |
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Students
are introduced to the great diversity of microorganisms found
all around us—bacteria and fungi. They are introduced
to the system of five kingdoms of living organisms. |
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Microbe is the general name for microscopic bacteria and fungi,
especially those that cause disease and promote fermentation.
• Bacteria, fungi, and algae have the characteristics
of living organisms.
• Bacteria have a cell membrane but no internal organelles. |
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Use lab procedures to inoculate agar plates with bacteria and
fungi from natural sources.
• Make observations and collect data to draw conclusions.
• Compare bacteria and fungi to plants, animals, and protists. |
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