Chapter 6

Here's the PDF of Chapter 6 in the textbook.

Chapter 6 extra credit

Here's the extra credit opportunity for the 2nd 9-weeks. This may be the only extra credit offered this quarter.

The requirements are:

• Write a letter to a Fortune 500 company* requesting they send you information about their environmental stewardship programs. Here's a list of Fortune 500 companies.
• Bring me a signed copy of the letter to be graded.
• Be sure to mail the original letter to the company, so they can send you a response.
• You may get up to 50 points for a well-written letter. Here is the letter rubric. There are some links at the bottom with advice for writing business letters.
• Letters should be typed, well-written and persuasive.

If the company responds (in any way), you get another 50 points. Bring in the company’s response (e.g., letter) to class.
If they send materials, that’s another 50 points.
If they send enough copies of the materials for your entire class, and me, you earn an extra 150 points.
So, it's possible to earn 300 points with this extra credit.

Rules:
The company must be a for-profit, Fortune 500 company.
The company must not have its headquarters in Florida. So, even though Publix is #101, you can't use Publix for this assignment.
Your letter must be sent to the corporate headquarters and materials must be sent from the corporate headquarters; so be sure to show me the envelope you receive from the company. You will not receive the points if you neglect this requirement.
You cannot send your letter to any company discussed in class as an example of corporate environmental practices, including those companies who are used as examples in this assignment, unless you send the letter before the example is used in class.
Letters must be turned in by Friday, Dec 18. Any response or materials received from the company must be shown to me by Jan 22.

Here's an example of a letter from a past student. And another example.
And here's an example of a letter one student received in response.

Here are a couple old videos about the ecological efforts of two companies: Timberland and Martin Guitars.


Timberland



Martin Guitars



Purdue University offers some advice on how to write a business letter. The University of North Carolina also has some advice on the topic. You can also check on this YouTube tutorial.


My own experience with this

Last year, I decided to take part in this assignment, too. So, I wrote to Apple and DuPont. But, to keep it realistic, I wrote as a high school student, and I used my 2-year old son's name, Hudson.
Apple and DuPont wrote me back. Apple just sent a letter with information. DuPont sent materials, too. Here are a couple pictures.

*If there's a company not on the Fortune 500 list that you want to write to, talk to me about it. I might approve a non-Fortune 500 company if you can give me a compelling reason why you really want to write to that particular company.

Grade recovery

The grade recovery process for Biology consists of:

1. signing and having a parent/guardian sign the grade recovery agreement,
2. watching 6 videos and taking notes on the videos,
3. reading Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 in the textbook, and answering questions #1-9 on page 31 and questions #1-10 on page 59, and
4. earning an 80% or higher on a multiple-choice test. The test will not be open-book.

You must meet all those requirements by Dec 11th in order to have your first 9-weeks grade raised to the next highest grade. If you currently have a 64% for the first 9-weeks, your grade will be raised to a 70%. If you currently have a 68%, then your grade will be raised to a 70%. If you have a 75%, your grade will be raised to an 80%.

If you do not achieve a score of 80% on the test, you may attempt it one additional time, although the second test will be different than the first test. The questions on the test will come from the textbook and the videos. The test can be taken after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays. And the other requirements must be met before a student can take the test.

Here are the 6 videos:

Chapter 1






Chapter 2

Watch these videos:

Chapter 5: Populations

Here's the link to chapter 5 in the textbook.

Vocabulary Test 4

Here's the vocabulary that could be on Vocabulary Test 4, which will be Friday the 13th.

Vocabulary

• biomass - the total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
• carnivore - organism that obtains energy by killing and eating animals
• chemosynthesis - process in which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates
• consumer - organism that relies on consuming other organisms for its energy and food supply
• decomposer - organism that chemically breaks down and obtains energy from dead organic matter
• detritivore - organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter
• herbivore - organism that obtains energy by eating only plants
• heterotroph - organism that obtains energy by consuming other organisms
• omnivore - organism that obtains energy by eating plants and animals
• primary producer - first producer of energy-rich compounds that are later used by other organisms
• scavenger - animal that consumes the caucuses of other animals
• transpiration - loss of water from a plant through its leaves
• trophic level - each step in a food chain or food web
• aphotic zone - dark layer of oceans where sunlight does not penetrate
• benthos - organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of lakes, streams, or oceans
• ecological succession - series of gradual changes that occur in a community following a disturbance
• limiting factor - factors that cause population growth to decrease
• photic zone - sunlight region near the surface of water
• pioneer species - first species to populate an area during success
• plankton - microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments
• primary succession - succession that occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present
• salinity - the amount of dissolved salt in water
• secondary succession - type of succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbance

Chapter 4 of the textbook

Here's a link to the PDF of the textbook.


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atoms review extra credit

The extra credit assignment is to answer questions 1-5 on page 38 of the textbook. Restate the questions and write complete sentences. This is worth up to 20 points added to your class assignments average.

You can use the PDF of chapter 2 to complete this assignment. It's due on Tuesday, Oct 27.

Chapter 3: The Biosphere

Here's the PDF for chapter 3.

SQ3R examples

Here are a couple examples of students' notes on section 2.1 using the SQ3R method.

Test 2a

On Thursday, we will have our second test. It will cover sections 1 and 2 of chapter 2. Remember, this test will not be open book, but you will be able to use your SQ3R notes on the test. Hopefully, you are using your class time wisely and will have good notes. The test will not be easy, but good notes will give you the information to succeed.

SQ3R notes

In today's class, I went over how to take SQ3R notes, which is a great system of note-taking designed specifically for studying from text books. If you were in class, then we created notes for 2.1 together. But, if you were absent, you can get a basic overview from the video below.

Ch 2: The Chemistry of Life (and SQ3R)

Here's a link to the PDF of chapter 2 from the textbook.

And here are some links for more info on SQ3R.

• From the University of Florida
• From Virginia Tech
• From Worcester Polytechnic Institute

A little about Dr. Sabin: Car

One of the unusual facts about me is that I have a chalkboard car. Now, if you're thinking that sounds like the coolest thing in the world, you're absolutely right. OK, well maybe not the coolest in the whole world, but pretty cool, nonetheless.

My car is a Prius C, which is the hatchback Prius. I get about 55mpg, which is great since I do a lot of driving to GJHS, FLPoly, and wherever else I go. But, honestly, the car is kind of boring stock. So, I thought of a way to make a boring car less boring.

I painted it with chalkboard paint.

And here are some pictures of artwork people have drawn on my car over the last year.

Chapter 1: The Science of Biology

Here's a link to the PDF of chapter 1.

A little about Dr. Sabin: Ministry

I'm a deacon and a Bible study teacher at Kathleen Baptist Church, in north Lakeland. And I'm also the campus minister for students at Florida Polytechnic University. I'm at Florida Poly at least two evenings each week, but usually involved with the ministry quite a bit more than just those two nights. I meet with students at all sorts of times, and I'm often texting with students; they have crazy schedules and I take every chance I can get to communicate with them.

Here are some pictures from FLPoly.

Science vs Pseudoscience

Here's the Eyes of Nye: Pseudoscience video that we watched in class.

A little about Dr. Sabin: Experience

Each class day over the next week or so, I'll be posting a little bit about myself, so you can get to know me a little better. For this first post, I'm going to focus on my related work experience.

After high school, I joined the Navy. I was an aviation electronics technician, and I specialized in H-60 Seahawk helicopters. The Seahawk is the Navy's version of the Blackhawk, and the Navy uses them for three primary purposes: 1) search and rescue, 2) special operations, and 3) tracking (and possibly sinking) submarines.

When I decided the Navy wasn't going to be my career, I went to college. I considered electrical engineering, but realized I liked to teach. But, I wasn't sure if I could deal with the bureaucracy of public schools. So, I set my mind on college teaching. I eventually became a college professor and an executive-level administrator. I've worked at Rollins College, the University of Central Florida, and Webber International University. I also taught at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA.

I love research. My doctoral research was in cognitive development, which is studying how the brain processes information. In particular, I studied how people learn to think about moral issues and decide right from wrong. I've also worked as an alternative energy researcher for the state of Florida.

Some more time went by, and I decided to make a change. Actually, my wife and I both made a career change. She had been working in management for an insurance company, and I was working at a university. But, we both became teachers.

I have taught middle school and high school biology. This is my second year at GJHS. I was previously at Dundee Ridge Middle and at Haines City IB.

Lab safety

These are the lab safety videos we watched in class. At the end of the post, you can download the lab safety contract.

Hank Green explains the importance of lab safety




The Ultimate Lab Safety video




And the FSU chemistry lab safety video


Here are links to the lab safety contract in:
English
Spanish
Haitian Creole

Introduction

I hope you're looking forward to a great year. Let me tell you a little about myself.

This is my second at GJHS and my 10th year in Polk County Schools. Before coming the GJHS, I taught at Dundee Ridge Middle and in Haines City High's IB program. I've also worked in college administration and teaching, as well as the alternative energy research office of a major utility company. Plus, I had a short time in the Navy as an avionics technician.

My favorite part of teaching biology is teaching students about the scientific process and how to understand and even conduct research. I love research because it allows us to answer questions no one has ever answered before; we actually get to create knowledge.

I've been married for 17 years. My wife, Jennifer, and I have three kids: Charlotte (8), Mary (5), and Hudson (2). Charlotte and Mary attend Lincoln Avenue Academy, which is a STEM and IB magnet school.

Outside of teaching and my family, I'm also involved in a couple other places. I'm a deacon at Kathleen Baptist Church in north Lakeland, and I'm the campus minister for students at Florida Polytechnic University.