Biology Honors with Dr. Sabin

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Unit 3 and the last week of school

The class textbooks had to be turned in for inventory, so you don't need to worry about the textbook assignments for unit 3. You just need to study the learning standards and be ready to pass the test. To help you all out with the limited amount of time left in the year, I have made a written test for unit 3, as well. So, if you haven't taken the unit 3 oral test already, you can take a written test on whatever day is your period's last day of biology. And whatever grade you earn on that multiple-choice and matching test will be entered into the gradebook.

Some of the information for the unit can still be read from the two chapters of the textbook, chapters 33 and 34 available online. But you can also find lots of great info just by searching Google or YouTube for the standards and vocabulary.

So, what you need to know can be found on the Unit 3 handout, which is available at this link.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Fetal Pig Dissection

In order to prepare for the fetal pig dissection, you should watch these videos. You should come to class on Wednesday, May 25 with a good idea of what you will be doing. The dissection will last two days, Wed and Fri.

The video "Full Fetal Pig Dissection Start to Finish ATC Biology"

Fetal Pig Dissection - Overview of the Organs in the Abdominal Cavity

Fetal Pig Dissection -- Digestive System

And a series of videos available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKgDH5skH60&list=PL6610833A92B161CD

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Alternative 2.12-2.14 assignments

If you have not yet started assignments 2.12, 2.13, and 2.14, you can choose to watch those videos or to instead complete some book work. The videos are what I had planned, and you may still use those for the class, but since we will no longer have the laptops in class, I am making book-work available for those who cannot watch the videos.

When you take the unit test, I will ask questions based on whichever assignments you completed for the unit.

Here are the alternative assignments:
2.12 -- Read pages 510-528, and answer questions #1-2 on p. 515, #1-3 on p. 522, and #1-3 on p. 528. Here's a link to the chapter PDF.
2.13 -- Read pages 538-552 , and answer questions #1-4 on page 544, and #1-4 on page 552
2.14 -- Read the article, "Less jaw, big brain: Evolution milestone laid to gene flaw" from the NYTimes. Write a summary explanation of how a gene flaw helped lead to human evolution. Then read the article, "How language may have evolved to help our ancestors make tools," from Science. Write a summary of the evidence connecting language development and tool-making.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Becoming Human videos

Here are some ideas on what you need to know from the Becoming Human videos.

Episode 1
Where is Afar? Why is it important?
Who was Selam? Why is Selam important?
What is important about Selam's teeth, skull, spine, shoulder blades, feet, kneecaps, and tibia?
Who was Lucy? What is it important?
What is important about Lucy's knees and pelvis? Compare the upper and lower halves of her body.
Describe Afar 3-4mya (million years ago)
How has Afar changed? How did that affect species?
What hyptotheses are there to explain why hominids evolved bipedalism?
What physical adaptations are found in chimps? How does their walking compare with humans?
What is the molecular clock and how is it used?
Who was Toumai?
How have hominids changed over time (for example, skull changes)?
What are endocasts and why are they important?
What did scientists learn from Selam's endocast?
What do we know about stone tools? What do we still not know?
Who was Homo habilis? How was H. habilis important? How do we know?
Compare Australopithecus and H. habilis.
What environmental changes were important for changes in brain size?

Episode 2
For this episode, I'll be a little more general. Your notes from episode 1 should give you an idea about the types of specific information you should be looking for. So, for this epsiode, know about:
H. erectus
Turkana Boy
pubic lice
persistence hunting
maternal commitment
hominids leaving Africa
Dmanisi, Georgia
Flores, Indonesia

Episode 3
H. heidelbergensis
H. neandertalensis
Atapuerca, Spain
Gran Dolina
Pit of Bones
Scladina, Belgium
language development
parietal and temporal lobes
extinction of Neandertals
H. sapiens
diet
Pinnacle Point, South Africa
Blombos, South Africa
technology
Klasies River Caves

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Unit 2: Evolution

Here's the doc with the unit standards and assignments.

Bozeman Science video on Endosymbiosis

The Making of a Thoery: Darwin, Wallace, and Natural Selection

What causes antibiotic resistance?

Galapagos Finch Evolution

Reproduction Isolation and Speciation in Lizards

What is the Evidence for Evolution?

Evolution of Whales

Becoming Human - Episode 1 - First Steps

Becoming Human - Episode 2 - Birth of Humanity

Becoming Human - Episode 3 - Last Human Standing

Unit 1: Cellular Energy

Here's the doc with unit standards and assignments.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

EOC resources