Unit C: Body Works- Studying the diversity of life on Earth

Inside a frog

Week of 28 November through 2 December


This week we will be wrapping up our studies about cells and moving into the study of  larger structures such as; organs, systems, and complete organisms.  We will be investigating the great diversity of living things and we will begin to form a clearer understanding of how certain structures aid an organisms ability to survive. 


Do you think Amphibians and Mammals are closely related or are they vastly different?




Homwork # 11 assigned 11/30
Key Concepts Quiz Friday 12/2

Inside a Human

Cellular Respiration and Cell Energy

Life Science Information for the week of 7-11 November.


This week we are exploring how cells convert raw materials into energy.  All organisms must break down food molecules such as Glucose in order to release stored energy.  This process occurs in one of two ways: cellular respiration or fermentation.  These processes occur in either the cell's cytoplasm or in the mitochondria. Both of these structures are found in Eukaryotic cells.



       

Homework #10 Due 11/9


Key Concept Quiz 11/10




Remember and Thank our Veterans for their service to our great country and way of liberty!

Bacteria, Viruses, and the spread of Disease

        

Information for the week of 31 Oct thru 4 Nov

Are all Bacteria Bad?

  

This week we will be exploring the world of microbes such as; bacteria, viruses, and contagions.  We will classify and compare these microbes based on their structure and function.  We will also gain an understanding as to why life on Earth depends on bacteria for good and for ill.

We will also investigate bacterial and viral diseases that affect both plants and animals.  Expect a lab on Wednesday that allows us to find out where bacteria live in our community.

Homework #9 is due on Wed 11/2

Key Concepts Quiz Friday 11/4 

Cell Energy and Photosynthesis

Information for the week of 24-27 October. 1st quarter comes to a close this week!

  

Learn about Photosynthesis at the BIOLOGY FOR KIDS link below!

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/plants_photosynthesis.html

This final week in 1st quarter will be filled with the topic of how cells get energy and how photosynthesis occurs in plant and algae cells.  We will also be setting up a multi-day lab to see how plants convert carbon dioxide, water and light energy into glucose and oxygen!  We will also get a closer look at two structures found in green plants: the Chloroplast inside leaves and the Stoma which can be found on the underside of leaves.


Homework: HW #8 is due on Wednesday (10/26).  Must be signed by a parent.  HW #9 will be assigned this week and is due next Wednesday (11/2).

Quizzes/Tests: NO QUIZ THIS WEEK!

Eggs, Potatoes, and Cell Membranes

What do these pictures have in common?  The egg and potato act as great models of the structure and function of the cellular membrane.  This week we will be talking about cell membranes, and we will be using the eggs to show how the process of osmosis and diffusion occur.  We will also be working with potatoes to observe the effects that passive transport has on cells. The cell membrane is an important structure for the cell because it protects the cell from outside materials.  However, the membrane is able to do so much more, including:

- *active transport (endocytosis, exocytosis)
- *passive transport (osmosis)
- channels materials through proteins
- communicate with other cells 


*Topics this week: active transport, passive transport, endocytosis, exocytosis, osmosis, diffusion, structure of the cell membrane.


Homework: HW #6 is due on Wednesday (10/12).  Must be signed by a parent.  HW #7 will be assigned this week and is due next Wednesday (10/19).


Quizzes/Tests:  Unit B: Quiz #2 on Friday (10/16)

How is Life Organized?

Life Science BLOG for the week of Oct 3-8

          

Welcome to Unit C, Micro-life.  For the next several weeks we will be learning how life on earth is organized from the cellular level all the way upto and including complete organisms.  This week you will be learning about different types of cells and some of their functions.


LAB WEEK- We will begin our journey by taking a closer look at how cells work together by looking at and dissecting chicken wings.  No open toed shoes Tue/Wed of this week.

Homework: Homework #5 is due Wednesday (10/5).  HW #5 must be signed to receive credit.  HW #6 will be distributed also and will be due next Wednesday (10/12).

Quizzes/Tests: KEY CONCEPTS QUIZ FRIDAY!  Use your notes from class and your lab report as a guide for this week's quiz!

Test Week!

It's test week!  Time to put all of the knowledge that you have acquired together.  The Unit A test will be Wednesday (9/28) and will include all of the topics that we have explored in class since the beginning of school.
Topics like:

• scientific investigations 
• controlled experiments 
• data
• quantitative versus qualitative data
• observations versus inferences
• independent and dependent variables
• data collection and analysis
• and reading/interpreting graphs and charts

  A good practice would be to go back over all Unit A quizzes and ask questions about items that remain unclear.  Good Luck! And please let us know how we can best help you to prepare!
Homework: Homework #4 is due Wednesday (9/28).  HW #4 must be signed to receive credit.  HW #5 will be distributed also and will be due next Wednesday (10/5).

Quizzes/Tests: UNIT A TEST - WEDNESDAY (9/28).  NO QUIZ FRIDAY!

Designing and Conducting an Experiment

Information for the week of 19-24 September.

Do not try at school, try it at home first!

This week we will put our new found knowledge together and design a controlled experiment in class.  Activity 9, Data Toss is our main focus this week. Student's will work in groups of 2-3 and design, test, analyze, and write up their own experiments in class.  Once designed, another group will follow their procedures and try out another groups experiment.  We will also simulate evaluating insect repellents to see which ones are the most effective at protecting us from those pesky mosquito's!

Key Words

Qualitative- data that describes what happened.

Quantitative- data that can be described using numbers.

Independent Variable (IV) The variable that is changed or manipulated in an experiment.  The Cause.

Dependant Variable (DV) The variable that responds to the change or manipulation in an experiment. The Effect

Control- a standard used for comparison that is not changed in the experiment

Controlled Experiment- An experiment that tests only one variable at a time. 

Homework #4 assigned 9/21 and Due 9/28 Print out from Moodle

Quiz 4, Friday 9/23. Covers key components of Quizzes 1-3!

Designing and Testing a Controlled Experiment

Good Science Requires Good Thinking!

Information for the week of 12-16 September.

Over the past three weeks, we have been learning about how scientists use the scientific method to solve problems and conduct controlled experiments.   This week you will be designing and testing your own controlled experiment with a partner in Activity 9. "Data Toss".  We will also introduce you to 3 new key words: Data, Quantitative, and Qualitative.

Key Words

Data- facts and evidence used to describe our findings.

Qualitative- data that describes what happened.

Quantitative- data that can be described using numbers.

Independent Variable (IV) The variable that is changed or manipulated in an experiment.  The Cause.

Dependant Variable (DV) The variable that responds to the change or manipulation in an experiment. The Effect

Control- a standard used for comparison that is not changed in the experiment

Controlled Experiment- An experiment that tests only one variable at a time. 

Homework #3 assigned 9/14 and Due 9/21 Print out from Moodle

Quiz 3, Friday 9/9. Covers key components of Quizzes 1 & 2. Use these quizzes to prepare for Quiz #3.

Conducting Controlled Experiments

Information for the week of 6-9 September

We have been learning about how scientists set up and conduct experiments.  In activity 2, we learned about controls, variables, and how to look at and analyze data.  This week you will conduct a controlled experiment using the scientific method.  In the Goldfish Respiration Lab, we will use a control to compare the respiration rate of goldfish. We will also graph our results using different sample sizes (our class and  all classes) to gather evidence to support or disprove our hypothesis. The Goldfish lab is a good example of a controlled experiment because we only test one variable.   

Key Words

 Independent Variable (IV) The variable that is changed or manipulated in an experiment.  The Cause.

Dependant Variable (DV) The variable that responds to the change or manipulation in an experiment. The Effect

Control- a standard used for comparison that is not changed in the experiment

Controlled Experiment- An experiment that tests only one variable at a time. 

Homework #2 assigned 9/7 and Due 9/14 Print out from Moodle

Quiz 2, Friday 9/9.

The Scientific Method and the Curious Case of Pellagra

Information for the week of Aug. 29 - Sep. 2

Dr. Joseph Goldberger was a physician in the early part of the 1900's.  He is credited with discovering the cause of pellagra, a curious disease which struck many people in the Southern U.S.  This week we will be examining the methods Dr. Goldberger used to solve the problem.  In doing so, we will identify the characteristics of a reliable scientific investigation.

Homework: HW #1 is available on Moodle (see link under "Important Links).  HW #1 is due on Wednesday (9/7).  For credit, HW #1 must be signed by a parent.  Please print the assignment from Moodle, complete, get parent/guardian signature, and bring to class on Wednesday, Sep. 7th.

Quizzes/Tests:  Unit A Quiz #1 FRIDAY, SEP. 2nd. 

If you have any questions, you may leave a comment under this post or reach us by email.

Welcome to 8th Grade Life Science Class!

Welcome to science class. This BLOG site will serve as your weekly source of information for Life Science. If you want to know what's going on in class each week this is the place to find out! You can expect to see:

• Assignments and Due Dates
• Homework, Quiz, and Test Dates
• Weekly Summary of topics to be covered
• Essential Questions that you must answer

Aug 24-26

• Have all materials by 29 August for notebook set up
• ACT Explore Pre-test 26 Aug bring a pencil, eat breakfast
• This week we will learn several strategies to solve problems and begin learning how to think like a scientist.  We will also begin using some tools like Moodle and Blogger to enhance what we do using technology.
• ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS (EQ)
• How do scientists solve problems or describe unknowns?
• What is an EBOOF?