Water in the Southwest

• 1/7/ 2014: Receive Course Syllabus, lecture and reading on "The Science of Water", The Science of Water HW (DUE Fri. 1/10):

1. List and describe 4 of the unique properties of water

2. Describe the difference between adhesion and cohesion, and explain why water is both adhesive and cohesive

3. How does capillary action work, and why is it important to life?

4. What factors affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in water?

5. How does water's specific heat capacity regulate the environment?

6. Describe the path of a water molecule as it moves through the following stages in the water cycle: evaporation/ transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and infiltration

• 1/10: The Water Supply and Sustainability Group Activity
• 1/14: The Water Supply and Sustainability Group Activity continued (DUE Fri. 1/17 if not completed in class)
• 1/17: Begin lecture and reading on "The Search for Water"
• 1/21: "The Search for Water" continued
• 1/24: Finish "The Search for Water", The Search for Water HW (DUE Tues. 1/28):

1. Go to http://scorecard.goodguide.com, put in your zip code, and write down the results
2. In general, how has the city of Tucson historically responded to the increasing demand for water, and what have been the consequences?
3. What were the problems with the Ft. Lowell waterworks and windmills?
4. When did the Santa Cruz River level change, and why?
5. What was the controversy of the mid-70's? What was the end result?
6. What were the problems with introduced CAP water, and how did the customers respond?
7. What was the WCPA, and how did it change the way CAP water was used?
8. How are Tucson's aquifers recharged now vs. in the past, and why?
9. Describe how riparian zones could be restored
10. Based on the text, what are your recommendations for the future of water use in Tucson?

For an interesting comparison with scorecard, try checking out the city's official water quality page, including annual reports and lots of other information related to what we've been talking about in class: http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/water/annual_wq_reports

• 1/28: Lecture and reading on "Watersheds in Southern Arizona", begin Local Water Cycle and Watersheds Project
• 1/31: Local Water Cycle and Watersheds Project continued, Neighborhood Watershed Activity (DUE Tues. 2/4):

1. Draw out a map of the watershed around your block, including your house (on nice paper, please)

2. Identify the high points, low points, and the direction of flow when it rains, including what source it goes to

3. Identify where water is able to percolate into the soil, and where it simply becomes runoff

4. Then, write down what you think has changed about your local watershed since it was transformed from a natural to an urban environment, and why

• 2/4: Courtyard work
• 2/7: Unit Quiz One and Binder Check, Local Water Cycle and Watersheds Project continued
• 2/11: Local Water Cycle and Watersheds Project continued
• 2/14: Finish Local Water Cycle and Watersheds Project (DUE Tues. 2/18 if not completed at the end of class)
• 2/18: Watch "Blue Gold: World Water Wars"
• 2/21: Field Trip to Agua Caliente Park- Investigating Place Assignment 
• 2/25: Finish "Blue Gold"
• 2/28: Begin lecture and reading on "Home Food Production"
• 3/4: Inoculate aquaponics tanks and discuss maintenance schedule, "Home Food Production" continued
• 3/7: "Home Food Production" continued
• 3/11: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, plant vegetables and release fish!
• 3/14: No School- 3rd Quarter Break
• 3/18: Finish "Home Food Production", begin lecture and reading on "Bacteria and Worms", Home Food Production HW (DUE Fri. 3/21):

1. Explain 2 reasons why aquaponics is more environmentally friendly than other forms of gardening

2. Describe the way that basic flood and drain, CHOP, CHOP 2, and Barrel-ponics systems work, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each

3. What are the characteristics of each of the 3 grow bed zones?

4. How does the grow media in an aquaponics system mirror the important purposes of soil in traditional agriculture?

5. Summarize the pros and cons of using municipal water, rainwater, and well water in aquaponics

6. What role does dissolved oxygen play in an aquaponics system? What factors influence its concentration, and how?

7. What is pH, and how does it influence an aquaponic system?

8. Describe the factors that cause pH levels to increase, what you should avoid doing when lowering it, and why

• 3/21: Finish "Bacteria and Worms", begin lecture and reading on "Fish", Bacteria and Worms HW (DUE Tues. 3/25):

1. Why is a healthy colony of bacteria so important in an aquaponics system?

2. Describe the different characteristics of Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira

3. Describe the factors that influence the growth of nitrifying bacteria

4. What important role do worms play in aquaponics?

5. Describe how cycling works and why it's important

6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of cycling with fish?

• 3/25: Lecture and reading on "Limiting Nutrients and Nutrient Cycles"
• 3/26: Field Trip to Maggie's Farm- Bring $4 fee, water, and lunch!
• 3/28: "Limiting Nutrients and Nutrient Cycles" continued
• 4/1: Finish "Limiting Nutrients and Nutrient Cycles", continue lecture and reading on "Fish", Limiting Nutrients and Nutrient Cycles HW (DUE Fri. 4/8):

1. What are limiting nutrients, and how do they affect an ecosystem's productivity?

2. Describe why nitrogen and phosphorus are limiting nutrients

3. What is eutrophication? How does it happen, and what are the consequences?

4. Draw, label, and explain the steps in each of the following nutrient cycles: Phosphorus, nitrogen, and the nitrogen cycle in aquaponics (5 PTS.)

• 4/4: Release worms and crayfish, lecture and reading on "Fish" continued
• 4/8: "Fish" continued
• 4/11: Project work day
• 4/15: Unit Quiz Two and Binder Check
• 4/18, 4/22, 4/25: No School- Spring Break
• 4/29: Project work day
• 5/2: "Fish" continued
• 5/6: Finish "Fish", receive "System Maintenance" handout, begin lecture and reading on "Food From Aquatic Systems", Fish and Plants HW (DUE Fri. 5/9):

1. How does the fact that fish are ectothermic relate to their feed conversion: body mass ratios and inability to spread common food-borne illnesses

2. Why is it important for fish to be at their most comfortable temperature zones? What happens to them if water temperatures experience fast swings, and why?

3. Compare the feeding needs and requirements of carnivorous and omnivorous fish

4. Describe the 2 methods of producing all-male tilapia stock, and research online and summarize how "super males" are produced

5. What does it mean if fish stop eating?

6. What is the problem with commercial feed? What are the alternatives?

7. Compare the methods of water delivery to plants between nature, soil-based, and aquaponic gardening

8. Compare the methods of nutrient delivery to plants between nature/ soil-based gardening, hydroponics, and aquaponics

9. How can growing plants from seed have a positive global impact?

10. Why does aquaponics usually have less insect pest problems? Also, summarize each of the 4 steps in the IPM process

11. Describe the 2 types of beneficial insects, and summarize the characteristics of each

12. Describe the life cycles of ladybugs, lacewings, and Encarsia formosa, including the insects they prey upon

• 5/9: Begin Rivers of the Southwest Research Project (DUE Tues. 5/20- presentations will begin in class on that day!)
• 5/13: Rivers of the Southwest Research Project continued
• 5/16: Rivers of the Southwest Research Project continued (DUE Tues. 5/20- whatever isn't completed in class becomes homework)
• 5/20: Rivers of the Southwest Presentations, receive Class Evaluation (DUE Tues. 5/27)
• 5/23: Final Exam and Binder Check
• 5/27: All-school event
• 5/30: NO SCHOOL- SUMMER BREAK

Sociology

• 1/8/13: Receive syllabus, overview of policies and procedures, review final exam, lecture and reading on "Schooling and Society"
• 1/9: "Schooling and Society" continued, Tracking Assignment
• 1/11: Finish "Schooling and Society", begin lecture and reading on "Socialization and the Life Course", Schooling and Society HW (DUE Tues. 1/15):

1. List and describe each of the 3 components in the Functionalist view of education

2. How does Conflict Theory view education?

3. What is the connection between SES (Socio Economic Status), occupational, and educational attainment?

4. Describe each of the 3 criticisms of standardized testing

5. What was the argument made by 'The Bell Curve', and what are its criticisms?

6. Why was tracking developed, and what have the consequences been?

7. Describe how the Teacher Expectancy Effect relates to the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• 1/15: "Socialization and the Life Course", First Week of School Activity (DUE Weds. 1/16):

Think back to your first week at Sky Islands...

1. What expectations were communicated to you and by whom?

2. Who or what were the most significant socialization agents?

3. What expectations were communicated formally and informally?

4. How did this experience differ from your socialization at other schools? Be specific.

• 1/16: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 1/18: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 1/22: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 1/23: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued, Socialization and Play Assignment (DUE Fri. 1/25):

-Think back to your early experiences with play in childhood (OR observe the play interactions between young children, if possible, and tailor the following questions to your observations):

1. What play activities were you involved in?

2. What differences were there between the play or roles of boys and girls?

3. How were your play experiences a form of socialization?

• 1/25: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 1/29: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 1/30: Receive "Final Project Guidelines" (DUE Fri. 5/10, but with smaller due dates along the way), Project Topic HW (DUE Fri. 2/1):

1. Describe your ideas for your topic. Also, why do you want to study this topic?

2. What is your initial plan for your Action Component?

• 2/1: "Socialization and the Life Course" continued
• 2/5: Finish "Socialization and the Life Course", Socialization HW (DUE Fri. 2/8):

1. What is the Nature vs. Nurture controversy, and what role does socialization play in it?

2. How is socialization a form of social control?

3. Describe each of the 4 consequences of socialization

4. Describe each of the 6 agents of socialization

5. How does psychoanalytic theory describe human behavior?

6. What is the "Looking Glass Self", and how does it shape human behavior?

7. Describe each of the 3 main phases of development in childhood

8. How do rites of passage and resocialization transform one's identity?

• 2/6: Introduce "Culture and the Media", lecture and reading on "Caucasian American Education", Final Project Topic HW (DUE Fri. 2/8):

1. Describe your topic in detail- what exactly do you plan to study?

2. What is your plan now for your Action Component?

• 2/8: Finish "Caucasian American Education", lecture and reading on "Culture and the Media", Cultural Anthropology Assignment (DUE Weds. 2/13):

Choose a particular social situation or interaction, observe it as a cultural outsider, and then write down the following:

1. What the situation or interaction is, and a detailed observation of it

2. Your objective interpretation of what the interactions or behaviors mean

3. Assuming that you were an outsider, how accurate would your ability to interpret cultural interactions and meanings be, and why?

• 2/12: Unit Quiz 1 and Binder Check, "Culture and the Media" continued
• 2/13: Lukas out- Shari covers
• 2/15: Lukas out- Shari covers
• 2/19: Receive "Research Paper Outline" and discuss, NOTE: Your sources for your research must be collected and approved by Fri. 3/8!
• 2/20: "Culture and the Media" continued, Symbols of American Culture Activity
• 2/22: No School- Rodeo Break
• 2/26: "Culture and the Media" continued
• 2/27: Watch "In Whose Honor?"
• 3/1: Finish "In Whose Honor?", "Culture and the Media" continued
• 3/5: "Culture and the Media" continued, Ethnomethodology HW (DUE Fri. 3/8):

1. Identify a norm and violate it, then record peoples' reactions

2. How did they try to normalize the situation or impose social sanctions?

3. Explain whether this norm was implicit or explicit, and why

• 3/6: "Culture and the Media" continued, Culture HW I (DUE Tues. 3/12):

1. Describe the difference between material and nonmaterial culture, and give an example of each

2. How does a society as diverse as the U.S. still share a common culture?

3. In what ways is culture learned?

4. What are symbols, and what role do they play in shaping culture?

5. Define the Sapir-Worf Hypothesis, and state why most scholars think it's only partially correct

6. Describe how language can be used to reinforce power or social inequality

7. Define 'norms', and state the differences between implicit and explicit norms

8. What's the difference between folkways, mores, and taboos? How are they enforced?

9. What are beliefs, and how do they hold a culture together?

10. What are values, and how do they relate to peoples' behavior in a society?

• 3/8: "Culture and the Media" continued, Subcultures at School Activity, Research Outline (DUE Tues. 3/12):

Create a list of topics using your sources that will be used to address the different key points in your paper, and state which sources will be used for each topic.

• 3/12: Finish "Culture and the Media", begin lecture and reading on "The Mass Media and Popular Culture", Methodology Report (DUE Fri. 3/15):

Write up a research outline for your project-

1. What kinds of data will you collect?

2. Which tool will you use to collect your data? (i.e. survey, interviews, content analysis, historical analysis, controlled experiment), and why?

3. How will you collect your data?

• 3/13: "The Mass Media and Popular Culture" continued
• 3/15: "The Mass Media and Popular Culture" continued, Action Proposal (DUE Tues. 3/19):

1. Describe your idea for your Action Component. What do you plan to do, and why?

2. Write up a brief timeline. When do you plan to start your Action Component, how long are you going to do it for, and how often?

3. How will you know when your Action Component is finished?

4. What resources, materials, or help do you need in setting it up? How do you plan to obtain them?

Also receive Media Analysis HW (DUE Fri. 4/5):

-Watch a particular kind of TV show, and make careful and detailed notes on the depictions of:

1. Men

2. Women

3. Racial/ ethnic minorities

4. Any other groups (such as age, class, sexual orientation, region, etc.)

-Then, describe what your observations tell you about the cultural ideals of the dominant/ pop culture

• 3/19: Midterm Exam and Binder Check
• 3/20: Review exam
• 3/22: No Class- Special Event
• 3/25-4/1: NO SCHOOL- SPRING BREAK
• 4/3: "The Mass Media and Popular Culture" continued
• 4/5: "The Mass Media and Popular Culture" continued, Data Analysis Guidelines (DUE Fri. 4/12):

Once you've conducted your own research, analyze it and write down the following:

1. What patterns, trends, or relationships did you find?

2. Why do you think these occurred? What factors may have influenced the results?

3. Did your findings match your hypothesis or what you expected to observe? Why or why not?

4. If you were to conduct this research again, what would you do to obtain better or more reliable data?

-Include your data with your analysis!

• 4/9: AIMS Testing
• 4/10: "The Mass Media and Popular Culture" continued
• 4/12: Finish "The Mass Media and Popular Culture", begin lecture and reading on "Race and Ethnicity", Research Paper Outline (DUE Fri. 4/19):

Create an outline (based on the examples in your "Research Paper Outline" handouts), that includes the following:

1. Introduction

2. Thesis statement

3. Each paragraph with topics

4. Conclusion

5. Inclusion of your background research

6. Inclusion of your own research

7. Inclusion of which sources you will use in each paragraph

8. Correct outline formatting

 also receive Culture HW II (DUE Tues. 4/16):

1. Describe the differences between a subculture and a counterculture

2. What is cultural relativism, and how is it different from ethnocentrism?

3. How does the dominant culture relate to cultural hegemony?

4. Describe how the media influences culture

5. Describe each of the ways in which cultures can change

• 4/16: "Race and Ethnicity" continued
• 4/17: "Race and Ethnicity" continued
• 4/19: "Race and Ethnicity" continued, Salience and Stereotypes Activity (DUE Tues. 4/23):

1. Observe people over the weekend and make a list of the first thing (most salient characteristic) that you notice about them

2. Once you've made your list, write down whether these observations lead you to stereotype these people. Why or why not?

3. On what are your stereotypes based?

• 4/23: Watch "Play Again", Play Again Analysis
• 4/24: Continue watching "Play Again", with analysis
• 4/26: Unit Quiz 2 and Binder Check, Rough Draft of Research Paper DUE, continue watching "Play Again", with analysis, Final Draft of Research Paper and Action Component Evaluation (Both DUE Fri. 5/3):

1. Summarize the experience you had in completing your action component. What changed from your original plan, and why?

2. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

3. How has your action component contributed towards enacting a positive change or raising awareness about your topic?

4. Were you to do this again, how might you do it differently, and why?

5. After this experience, do you feel that one person can make a difference? Why or why not?

• 4/30: Finish "Play Again", with analysis
• 5/1: Continue lecture and reading on "Race and Ethnicity"
• 5/3: "Race and Ethnicity" continued
• 5/7: "Race and Ethnicity" continued
• 5/8: No Class- All-School Event
• 5/8: Final Project DUE (Research Paper and Completed Action Component), "Race and Ethnicity" continued, Race and Ethnicity HW (DUE Tues. 5/14):

1. Describe how race and ethnicity differ

2. How is race socially constructed?

3. How does racialization differ from racial formation?

4. Define the 'out-group homogeneity effect', and explain how it relates to racial formation

5. How does prejudice differ from discrimination?

6. Describe each of the forms of racism

7. How does each sociological theory interpret prejudice and racism?

8. Describe the criticisms of the Assimilation Perspective

• 5/14: Project presentations 
• 5/15: "Smoke Signals" Film Analysis
• 5/17: "Smoke Signals" Film Analysis continued
• 5/21: Final Exam and Binder Check, Class Evaluations (DUE first thing Weds. morning)
• 5/22: All- school cleaning and moving
• 5/24: NO SCHOOL- Summer Break

Integrated Science

• 1/7/13: Receive syllabus, overview of policies and procedures, review Final Exam, lecture and reading on "How Plants Cope With the Desert Environment" continued
• 1/10: Finish "How Plants Cope With the Desert Environment", lecture and reading on "Adaptations of Desert Reptiles and Amphibians", Desert Adaptations HW (DUE Mon. 1/14):

1. Describe the methods that organisms use to endure both lack of water and high temperatures

2. How is torpor a type of thermoregulation?

3. Describe the 3 ways that organisms lose water, and give an example of a specific adaptation for each

4. How is the color black an adaptation?

5. Describe a specific example of plant adaptations for succulence, drought tolerance, and drought avoidance

6. What were the challenges for amphibians evolving in arid environments? How have they adapted to them?

7. How are reptiles more suited to living in arid environments?

• 1/14: Lecture and reading on "Case Studies of Desert Animal Adaptations"
• 1/17: "Case Studies of Desert Animal Adaptations" continued, receive Sonoran Desert Species Profile Project Guidelines (DUE Mon. 1/28)
• 1/21: No School- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• 1/24: "Case Studies of Desert Animal Adaptations" continued
• 1/28: Project presentations, "Case Studies of Desert Animal Adaptations" continued, receive Field Trip Permission Slips for Flandrau Science Center's "Exploring the Sky Islands" exhibit (DUE Mon. 2/4, the trip is Thurs. 2/7 from 12:15-4pm. Bring a lunch and $7.50 for admission, or $5 if you can verify that you're 15 or under).

Here's a link to the exhibit: http://www.flandrau.org/exhibits/esi

• 1/31: Bake Sale Day, finish "Case Studies in Desert Animal Adaptations", lecture and reading on "Ecology of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument", Sonoran Desert Species Graphic Organizer (DUE Mon. 2/4)
• 2/4: Lecture and reading on "Ecology of the Northern Gulf"
• 2/7: Field Trip to Flandrau Science Center (make sure to bring a lunch and $7.50 for admission- we'll be back by 4:00)
• 2/11: Unit Quiz 1 and Binder Check, "Ecology of the Northern Gulf" continued, Ecology of the Northern Gulf HW (DUE Thurs. 2/14):

1. What have the consequences of dams and diversions of the CO River been for: the Upper Gulf, migratory birds, and indigenous groups?

2. What ecosystem services does the Delta provide?

3. Describe the main abiotic (nonliving) factors that shape the Northern Gulf ecosystem

4. What ecosystem services do estuaries provide?

5. Describe what the challenges of living in the Intertidal Zone are, and how organisms are adapted to them

• 2/14: Lukas out- Shari covers
• 2/18: Lukas out- Sub covers
• 2/21: Finish "Ecology of the Northern Gulf", lecture and readings on "Review of Key Concepts in Intertidal Ecology" and "Information on Common Animals in Puerto Penasco Tide Pools", receive "Sea of Cortez Species Profile Project Guidelines" (Project is DUE Thurs. 2/28- be ready to present!)
• 2/25: Finish "Information on Common Animals in Puerto Penasco Tide Pools", Tide Pool Ecology HW (DUE Thurs. 2/28):

Identify and describe-

1. Examples of each feeding strategy

2. Examples of each feeding mode

3. Two different examples of defense strategies against predation

4. One example of mutualism

5. One example of commensalism

• 2/28: Discuss Kickstarter Project and fundraising, Project Presentations, Kickstarter Project HW (DUE Mon. 3/4):

1. Go to Kickstarter's website (http://www.kickstarter.com/) and see what the projects are like and what's being funded, and write it down

2. Write down what you would be able to contribute to this project

• 3/4: Begin lecture and reading on "Vertebrate Adaptations in the Sea of Cortez", receive Parent Meeting information Slip (MUST be signed and returned by Tuesday, 3/5)
• 3/6: Desert/ Sea Trip Parent Meeting (5:30- in the science room)
• 3/7: "Vertebrate Adaptations in the Sea of Cortez" continued
• 3/11: Finish "Vertebrate Adaptations in the Sea of Cortez", begin lecture and reading on "Discovering the Vaquita in the Gulf of California", Vertebrates in the Sea of Cortez HW (DUE Thurs. 3/14):

1. Describe the adaptations that fish have for each of the 5 habitats in teh Sea of Cortez

2. What is the thermocline, and what challenges does it present to fish?

3. What are the characteristics of mammals?

4. What adaptations do all marine mammals have?

5. Describe the characteristics of the different types of cetaceans

6. What adaptations do cetaceans have to the marine environment?

• 3/14: Finish "Discovering the Vaquita in the Gulf of California"
• 3/18: Midterm Exam and Binder Check
• 3/21: Review exam
• 3/25-4/1: NO SCHOOL- SPRING BREAK
• 4/2: Begin lecture and reading on "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region"
• 4/4: "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region" continued
• 4/8: "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region" continued, receive Sonoran Desert Species Conservation Project Guidelines (DUE Thurs. 4/18)
• 4/11: Plan for Chile Cookoff, "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region" continued
• 4/15: Jefferson County Open School Arrives, plan for event, Chili Cookoff (5-8 PM, set up begins at 4)
• 4/16: Hike with JCOS (be prepared with at least 2 water bottles, food, and sun protection)
• 4/18: "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region" continued, Threats to the Sonoran Desert HW (DUE Mon. 4/22):

1. How do grazing animals impact the desert ecosystem?

2. What have been the consequences of urbanization on biodiversity?

3. Why are invasive species a problem, and what are the consequences of the spread of Buffelgrass?

4. What are the effects of agriculture on the desert environment?

5. How has agriculture in the Sonoran Desert changed over time?

6. How does mining impact the environment?

7. Describe each of the 4 types of migration to the Sonoran Desert

8. What are the environmental impacts of recreation?

• SUN. 4/21: Reid Park Water Festival from 8:30-2:30 (near the amphitheater on Country Club)
• 4/22: Finish "Threats to the Sonoran Desert Region", lecture and reading on "Threats to the CO River Delta", Threats to the CO River Delta HW (DUE Thurs. 4/25):

1. How does the Totoaba depend on the CO River and Delta for survival?

2. Describe how fishing caused Totoaba populations to collapse over time

3. What impacts has the alteration of the CO River's flow regime had on the Delta ecosystem?

4. Why has the salinity of the CO River and Delta increased?

5. How will Minute 319 help conserve the Delta ecosystem?

• 4/25: Unit Quiz 2 and Binder Check, begin lecture and reading on "Northern Gulf Species Conservation"
• 4/29: "Northern Gulf Species Conservation" continued
• 5/2: Finish "Northern Gulf Species Conservation", begin lecture and reading on "Seafood and the Sea of Cortez", receive Sea of Cortez Species Conservation Project Guidelines (DUE Mon. 5/13), Northern Gulf Conservation HW (DUE Mon. 5/6):

1. What factors caused the Vaquita to become endangered?

2. What conservation efforts are underway to protect it?

3. Why is the Least Tern endangered?

4. How can the Least Tern and Yuma Clapper Rail be protected?

5. Why are California Sea Lions considered an indicator species?

• 5/6: Finish "Seafood and the Sea of Cortez", begin lecture and reading on "Harvesting the Sea of Cortez", Seafood and the Sea of Cortez HW (DUE Thurs. 5/9):

1. Describe a specific example of how people are fishing down the food chain, and explain why

2. Describe the different forms of fishing, and explain how each one works

3. Why is aquaculture unsustainable?

4. How has the Mexican government tried to conserve the Upper and Northern Gulf ecosystems and fisheries?

• 5/9: Finish "Harvesting the Sea of Cortez"
• 5/13: Project presentations, begin "The Big Picture of the Sonoran Desert" activity
• 5/16: "The Big Picture of the Sonoran Desert" activity continued (DUE Mon. 5/20)
• 5/20: Final Exam and Binder Check, Class Evaluations (DUE first thing Weds. morning)
• 5/23: No Class- Graduation

Earth Science 2 (Gems and Minerals)

• 1/6/14: Receive Course Syllabus, lecture and reading on "Dawning of Curiosity", Dawning of Curiosity HW (DUE Weds. 1/8):

1. List and describe 2 prescientific beliefs about the nature of fossils

2. Describe the major discoveries and contributions to our understanding of geology by each of the following people: William Smith, James Hutton, Charles Lyell, and Alfred Wegener

3. What is "uniformitarianism"? What does it say about the Earth?

4. What did Smith, Hutton, and Lyell's theories collectively say about the Earth?

5. What's the difference between dating a rock or fossil by relative time or absolute time?

• 1/8: Lecture and reading on "Geologic Time"

Here are a couple of good websites with interactive timelines, good information, and good visuals on the Geologic Column:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/history_of_the_earth
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.php

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/prehistoric-time-line/

http://geology.com/time.htm

...and this one is my favorite: http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/

• 1/9: Finish "Geologic Time", begin Geologic Time Line Group Project, Geologic Time HW (DUE Mon. 1/13):

1. Define the terms "hiatus" and "unconformity"

2. What causes a hiatus or nonconformity to occur in rock strata?

3. Define the term "half-life". Also, if 20 grams of a radioactive substance decays over time and 2 half-lives have passed, how many grams would be left?

4. What kinds of materials is Carbon 14 dating good for? Why can't it be used to date the age of very old materials?

5. How can we say with any certainty that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old?

• 1/13: Geologic Time Line Group Project continued
• 1/15: Geologic Time Line Group Project continued
• 1/16: Finish Geologic Time Line Group Project, begin lecture and reading on "Geologic History of Arizona"
• 1/20: No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• 1/22: "Geologic History of Arizona" continued
• 1/23: Finish "Geologic History of Arizona", begin lecture and reading on "Matter, Elements, and Atoms", receive Blank Periodic Tables, Periodic Table Classwork, Geologic History of Arizona HW (DUE Mon. 1/27):

1. Describe how the North American continent formed

2. What was responsible for creating the 30 million-year ice age in the Archaean Eon, and how? What were the consequences for life?

3. According to the article, what is coal made of?

4. What do we think caused the Mass Extinction at the end of the Permian Period?

5. Describe how the Rocky Mountains formed

6. Define each of the 3 geologic provinces of Arizona, and describe how the Basin and Range landscape formed

7. What do we think is responsible for causing the PETM, and how?

8. Describe 4 examples of how tectonic forces or rising magma can create or bring gems and minerals to the surface

Here's an awesome animation of paleomaps from 400 MYA until 200 million years from now, when Pangaea Proxima will form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSdlQ8x7cuk

This one shows just North America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ach204Zsuw

A good rundown on the early Earth, geologic processes, and geologic time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDqskltCixA&feature=related

Other good videos of paleomaps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mQUkhMrRLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbTNFN3NBo&feature=related

• 1/27: Finish "Matter, Elements, and Atoms", lecture and reading on "Metals", Periodic Table Classwork, Matter, Elements, and Atoms HW (DUE Thurs. 1/30):

1. Describe how matter changes its phase, from solid --> gas

2. What's the difference between a physical and a chemical change?

3. List and describe the 3 parts of an atom

4. What separates the atoms of different elements?

5. Niobium (Nb) has an atomic mass of 93. How many protons and how many neutrons does it have?

6. What are valence electrons? What do they do?

7. What does the Periodic Table tell you about the elements in a group?

Here's an awesome video about atoms and the Periodic Table (part 1 in a series): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw5TE5o7JtE&NR=1

A great interactive Periodic Table that tells you everything about each element: http://www.chemicalelements.com

Another awesome interactive Periodic Table (check out Cesium and water!): http://www.chemicool.com

One more interactive Periodic Table, with good pictures: http://periodictable.com

• 1/29: Watch "Amazing Earth"
• 1/30: Finish watching "Amazing Earth"
• 2/3: Lecture and reading on "Nonmetals and Metalloids", Alien Periodic Table Activity, Periodic Table HW (DUE Thurs. 2/6):

1. List and describe 4 properties of most metals

2. How does the reactivity of elements differ between the left and right sides of the Periodic Table?

3. If you pick an element on the Periodic Table at random, is it more likely to be a metal, nonmetal, or metalloid? Explain.

4. Where would element 119 be on the Periodic Table? Would you expect it to be a metal, nonmetal, or metalloid? What properties would you expect it to have? Explain.

5. Pick any element from the Periodic Table, research it, and record its name, symbol, atomic number, atomic mass, melting and boiling points, color, and uses.

6. Compare nonmetals to metals, describing at least 3 differences in their properties

7. What happens to the valence electrons when metals and nonmetals react?

8. What are diatomic molecules?

9. How do the Noble Gases differ from other elements?

10. What is the most useful property of metalloids?

• 2/5: Alien Periodic Table Activity continued (DUE Thurs. 2/6 if not completed in class)
• 2/6: Unit Quiz One, Binder Check, and Periodic Table Check, lecture and reading on "Chemical Bonding", Chemical Formulas Worksheet (DUE Mon. 2/10)
• 2/10: Lecture and reading on "How Geology Affects Us", begin lecture and reading on "Minerals", Chemical Bonding HW (DUE Thurs. 2/13):

1. What are valence shells? How does the number of valence electrons in them relate to the process of bonding between elements?

2. Describe what happens in ionic bonding

3. Describe the differences between an anion and a cation

4. Describe 3 features of ionic compounds

5. Describe what happens in covalent bonding. Also, which types of elements tend to form covalent bonds?

6. Describe the differences between the 2 types of covalent bonds

7. How is a dipole similar to an ion or ionic bond?

Comparing atomic bonds to relationships with "Atomic Hook-Ups": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXT4OVM4vXI
Chemical bonding explained by dogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M9khs87xQ8

• 2/12: "Minerals" continued
• 2/13: Finish "Minerals", lecture and reading on "The Scientific Method", Salt Crystal Lab I

Here's a fantastic website that gives you info about every known mineral on Earth, including where to find them: http://www.mindat.org

Another fantastic website that will tell you everything about minerals: http://www.minerals.net

• 2/17: No School- Presidents' Day
• 2/19: No class- All-school work day
• 2/20: Salt Crystal Lab II, Mineral Identification Lab
• 2/24: No class- AIMS Exams
• 2/26: Salt Crystal Lab III, begin Mineral Identification Lab II
• 2/27: Finish Mineral Identification Lab II, begin lecture and reading on "Rocks and Rock Types"
• 3/3: Salt Crystal Lab IV, finish "Rocks and Rock Types", begin Rock Cycle Group Poster Project, Rockin' Out With Rocks Worksheet (DUE Weds. 3/5)

Here's some good diagrams that might be useful visual aids for your projects:

http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/webdav/site/GSL/shared/images/education_and_careers/RockCycle/Rock%20Cycle%20all%20labels.jpg

http://mrdaviesclass.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/7/6/17763065/1737255_orig.jpg

http://www.rocksandminerals.com/images/rockcycle.gif

http://www.infohow.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/The-Rock-Cycle.jpeg

This one packs everything possible into it: http://www.geologycafe.com/images/rock_cycle_big.jpg

• 3/5: Rock Cycle Group Poster Project continued
• 3/6: Rock Cycle Group Poster Project continued
• 3/10: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, Rock Cycle Group Poster Project continued
• 3/12: Rock Cycle Group Poster Project continued
• 3/17: No School- 3rd Quarter Break
• 3/19: Rock Cycle Group Poster Project continued (DUE Thurs. by the end of the day if not completed in class)
• 3/20: Lecture and reading on "Common Uses of Minerals", Mineral Kit Lab
• 3/24: Lecture and reading on "Mining", Mining HW (DUE Weds. 3/26):

1. Describe each stage in the development and life cycle of a mine

2. Describe the differences between placer deposits and lode deposits, and explain how each type is mined

3. Under what conditions would underground mining be used? Also, describe the differences between surface and underground mining techniques

4. How are placer and lode ores processed differently?

5. What factors are leading to an increase in metal recycling? What are some of the remaining challenges?

• 3/26: Begin watching "Planet Earth: Caves"
• 3/27: Finish watching "Caves", lecture and reading on "Overview of Modern Mining"

Good surface mining video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WbaONJEbRE

One on underground mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4_tDoTvQ6A

And a video about processing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q05P6lq5Tlw

A hilarious video from 1949 about copper mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9V5umy5-98
And one about the most amazing pit mines in the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI9zQm15ZjM

Here's a video from the Science Channel about how coal mining is done: http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/how-do-they-do-it/videos/how-do-they-do-it-coal-mining.htm

Gold mining video from Discovery News: http://news.discovery.com/earth/videos/how-gold-mining-works-video.htm

• 3/31: Watch "Modern Marvels: Copper", Overview of Modern Mining HW (DUE Weds. 4/2):

1. Describe how mining companies restore and reclaim land once mining operations are complete

2. What is the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act? How does it work?

3. Summarize how modern mining benefits the economies of local communities

4. What kinds of materials and technologies are possible because of copper?

• 4/2: Begin lecture and reading on "Environmental Impacts of Mining"
• 4/3: "Environmental Impacts of Mining" continued
• 4/7: Finish "Environmental Impacts of Mining", Environmental Impacts of Mining HW (DUE Thurs. 4/10):

1. What factors have been responsible for the increase in global ore reserves? Where is the use of metals concentrated, and what factors influence their trade?

2. Describe the 3 main methods of habitat destruction to the land that are caused by mining

3. How does mining compare to natural processes of erosion? What geomorphological hazards can occur from the deposition of mining wastes?

4. Compare the environmental impacts of large and small-scale mining

5. Describe how acid mine drainage, perpetual pollution, toxic releases, and cyanide use affect the environment

6. What was the 1872 Mining Law? What have the consequences of this law been?

7. Describe the potential solutions to remediating waste dumps and tailings, acid mine drainage, and mining pollutants

8. Summarize how each step in the mining process affects human and environmental health

9. What can be done to mine more sustainably? Whose main responsibility is it for these changes, and why?

Here's a documentary on the environmental and social costs of mining tin for smartphones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6KxzGMF4co

Blowing up Mountains: The costs of coal mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKe2LYy5pk

"Gold Rush in the Amazon", a documentary on illegal small-scale gold mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUFg4AwUZZw

Environmental and human health impacts of fracking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB_Wwe-uBM
And one about the mining of Coltan (an ore of tantalum) for cell phones and the environmental and social costs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQIsLqkuATY

• 4/9: Science AIMS: Catch-up Day
• 4/10: Lecture and reading on "Rosemont Copper: Mission Statement and Core Values" and "The Devastating Impacts of the Proposed Rosemont Mine"
• 4/14: Finish "The Devastating Impacts of the Proposed Rosemont Mine", receive Rosemont Mine Debate Guidelines 
• 4/16: Preparation for Rosemont Debate
• 4/17: Unit Quiz Two and Binder Check, preparation for Rosemont Debate
• 4/21, 4/23, 4/24: No School- Spring Break
• 4/28: Preparation for Rosemont Debate
• 4/30: Preparation for Rosemont Debate
• 5/1: No class: All-school Event
• 5/5: Rosemont Mine Debate
• 5/7: Begin watching "National Geographic: Splendid Stones"
• 5/8: Finish "Splendid Stones", begin lecture and reading on "Gemstones"

How to find gemstones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSACqI1VHH4

An intense documentary about conflict diamonds in Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eThlmx7w9r0

25 things you should know about conflict diamonds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-vVAFWNTnA

• 5/12: Finish "Gemstones", receive Mineral Research Project (DUE Weds. 5/21- presentations will begin in class on that day!), Gemstones HW (DUE Thurs. 5/15)

1. Describe the characteristics that separate a "gem" from other minerals. What are the defining characteristics of the 4 precious gems?

2. Explain how each of the 4 C's affect a gemstone's value

3. How is colored gemstone mining potentially less destructive to the environment than other types of mining? What causes environmental damage from colored gem mining, and why?

4. Why are most of the world's colored gem and diamond miners among the poorest people on Earth?

5. What are "conflict diamonds"? What is the Kimberley Process, and what are its flaws?

6. Summarize what can be done to create change in the diamond and gem industry

• 5/14: Mineral Research Projects continued
• 5/15: Mineral Research Projects continued
• 5/19: Finish Mineral Research Projects
• 5/21: Mineral Research Project presentations, receive Class Evaluation (DUE Tues. 5/27)
• 5/22: Final Exam and Binder Check
• 5/26: No School- Memorial Day
• 5/28: All-school event
• 5/29: NO SCHOOL- SUMMER BREAK

Astro Biology 2 (Astrobiology)

• 1/7/14: Receive Course Syllabus, lecture and reading on "How Many Worlds Might Harbor Life?"

Legit Astrobiology rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL3lhm6oy5I

Cool video on Astrobiology from NASA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HCs2lT1Mmk

• 1/10: Finish "How Many Worlds Might Harbor Life?", begin lecture and reading on "Pseudoscience and Skeptical Thinking", How Many Worlds Might Harbor Life? HW (DUE Tues. 1/14):

1. What is the Drake Equation, and what is its purpose?

2. Describe which values in the Drake Equation are largely unknown to us, and explain why

3. What are the characteristics of many of the newly-discovered solar systems? How do we believe their formation differed from that of our own?

4. Explain each of the 3 main reasons why we suspect life to be likely in the universe, using supporting evidence from the text

5. What places seem like good candidates for supporting life in our solar system, and why?

6. Do you think that the discovery of extraterrestrial life would be as significant as the Copernican Revolution or the theory of evolution? Why or why not? Would it make a difference if the life was microbial or intelligent, and why?

7. Which of the possibilities of Fermi's Paradox do you think is the most likely, and why? Defend your answer with evidence from the text

8. Research the coral model of galactic colonization, and explain what it is, how it works, and how long it would take. Cite your source. (3 PTS.)

Here's an interesting and comprehensive list of different examples of pseudoscience: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_topics_characterized_as_pseudoscience

• 1/14: Finish "Pseudoscience and Skeptical Thinking", Pseudoscience Article Activity, begin watching "The Universe: Secrets of the Sun"
• 1/17: Continue watching "The Universe: Secrets of the Sun"

Here's a link to NOAA's space weather prediction center (with great images and real-time solar footage): http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

Great NOVA film about the sun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wisdfag6WIQ

Another good film on solar weather and climate, entitled "Attack of the Sun": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMUHkz5nx8g

More good videos (shorter, too): http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/science/space-sci/solar-system/sun-101-sci/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZe5D3MSjOI&feature=relmfu
Good page on the structure of the sun, with nice links to images and movies: http://nineplanets.org/sol.html

• 1/21: Finish "The Universe: Secrets of the Sun", begin lecture and reading on "What is A Star?"

Video on fusion and nucleosynthesis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKqvjEE0wFg

A couple great videos on the size comparisons of different star types: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcz4vGvoxQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLWkkx8VzdM&feature=related

• 1/24: Guest Speaker: Dr. Hugh Harris, Guest Speaker Reflection (DUE Tues. 1/28)
• 1/28: Finish "What is A Star?", H-R Diagram Activity, What is A Star? HW (DUE Fri. 1/31):

1. Describe the factors that influence the habitable zone around stars

2. Describe what conditions are needed for nuclear fusion, and how the process of fusion works

3. What's the difference between apparent and absolute magnitude?

4. Summarize the potential for habitable planets around each type of star

5. What is the problem for life around A and F stars, and how could this issue be resolved?

6. What are the 2 problems for life around M stars, and how could these issues be resolved?

7. Describe the 3 orbital possibilities around binary star systems, and how that would influence the habitable zone for each

8. Summarize the information that the H-R Diagram tells us about stars

9. What factors influence a star's main sequence lifetime, and how?

10. Conduct some research on a star and describe its location, mass, type, color, surface temperature, radius, and main characteristics. Cite your source. (2 PTS.)

Here's a large color version of the diagram from your handouts: http://bork.hampshire.edu/~sam/extraordinary/HR%20Diagram.jpg
Here's a couple of websites that have good interactive H-R Diagrams with lots of info: http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/Labs/StarLife/starlife_main.html
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~javahrd/
And a cool video on the H-R Diagram: http://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/heic1017b/

• 1/31: H-R Diagram Activity, lecture and reading on "The Life Cycle of A Star", begin Star Life Cycle Projects

Good video on the life cycle of a low mass star, with nice music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZL7VBmeFxY&feature=related

More good life cycle videos, also with nice soundtracks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU6X3SPZAJo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aGANf5YI8&feature=related

And one more good one, from the Discovery Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s7vyDLgk3M&feature=related

• 2/4: Star Life Cycle Projects continued
• 2/7: Unit Quiz One and Binder Check, Star Life Cycle Projects continued
• 2/11: Star Life Cycle Projects continued
• 2/14: Star Life Cycle Projects continued (DUE by the end of class on Tues. 2/18)
• 2/18: Receive "Final Project Guidelines" (DUE Fri. 5/16!),  finish Star Life Cycle Projects
• 2/21: Lecture and reading on "Galaxy Q and A", Galaxy Graphic Organizer, Galaxy HW (DUE Tues. 2/25):

1. Describe the structures of our galaxy
2. Why is it difficult to study the Milky Way galaxy, and how have we overcome these challenges?
3. Summarize the stages in the star-gas-star cycle
4. Why is the star-gas-star cycle important to the study of Astrobiology?
5. Describe why the interstellar medium is so important to the formation of planets and life
6. Describe 3 conditions that are necessary in order to have a habitable planet in our galaxy
7. Which type of galaxy seems the most likely place to have life in it, and why?
8. Research and summarize the connection between black holes and galaxy formation. Cite your source (2 PTS.)
9. Choose a galaxy and summarize the following: its name and distance from us, size, type, and distinguishing characteristics. Cite your source (2 PTS.)

A good video for putting the size of our galaxy into perspective: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-big-is-the-galaxy
Galaxies of the universe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCSSaDPxQls
The 3 main types of galaxies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOjZInwd5Ks
Awesome Hubble Telescope images of galaxies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRnsy8YYcq0&feature=related
Good video from the Science Channel about the Milky Way: http://www.sciencechannel.com/video-topics/space-videos/space-school-milky-way.htm

• 2/25: Scale Model Solar System Activity, begin lecture and reading on "Basics of Our Solar System"
• 2/28: Finish "Basics of Our Solar System", Basics of Our Solar System HW (DUE Tues. 3/4):

1. Explain how our solar system got its patterns of motion and became a disk

2. How did the Frost Line contribute to the formation of the 2 types of planets?

3. Describe the process of planet formation

4. How might stellar winds contribute to the differences in composition of other solar systems?

5. Describe the differences between asteroids and comets, as well as how they represent the "leftovers" of planetary formation

6. What do we think is responsible for creating the exceptions to our solar system's patterns, and why?

Good video on the solar system's formation: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1111454/formation_of_the_solar_system_great_animation/

Another good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l5mB-rFuGo

And a good National Geographic video on the solar system's birth, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1AXbpYndGc

• 3/4: Begin lecture and reading on "Terrestrial and jovian Planets"

Nice interactive websites on the solar system: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/tour-solar-system.html

Another good interactive solar system tour: http://nineplanets.org/tour/

And one more, from National Geographic: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/

Good Discovery Channel video on the solar system: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_RAEESmsrs

Another good solar system video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmxi3HvK2Js

Good summary on each of the planets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xO7s0n6vAo

Why Mars died and Earth lived: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC31pqk9sak

Carl Sagan explores the Jovian planets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxOioR0b_uk

• 3/7: "Terrestrial and Jovian Planets" continued, begin watching "The Universe: Mercury and Venus"
• 3/11: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, "The Universe: Mercury and Venus" continued
• 3/14: No School- 3rd Quarter Break
• 3/18: Finish ""The Universe: Mercury and Venus", begin watching "The Universe: Mars- The Red Planet"
• 3/21: Finish "The Universe: Mars- The Red Planet", begin watching "Earth: The Biography- Rare Planet"
• 3/25: Lecture and reading on "Terrestrial and Jovian Planets" continued
• 3/28: Finish "Terrestrial and Jovian Planets", watch "The Universe: Jupiter- The Giant Planet", begin lecture and reading on "What is Life, Anyway?", Terrestrial and Jovian Planets HW (DUE Tues. 4/1):

1. Explain how planetary magnetic fields are generated, and compare the magnetic fields of different objects in the solar system

2. List and describe the 4 geologic processes, and explain whether each is present or absent on each of the terrestrial planets

3. Describe the role that size, distance from the sun, and rotation play in determining which geologic processes will be active on a terrestrial planet

4. Describe what caused Venus and Mars to lose their liquid water and habitability

5. How does the Earth maintain a stable temperature?

6. Contrast the terrestrial and jovian planets, describing 4 differences between them

7. Compare and contrast the jovian planets. How are they similar? How are they different?

8. Why do the jovian planets have rings and so many moons?

9. Summarize the potential for Mars, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, and Titan to have life

10. Which of these do you believe is the most likely candidate for either past or present life, and why? Be specific.

11. Describe each of the arguments in support of ALH84001 containing  evidence of extraterrestrial life, as well as each of the counter arguments

12. Summarize the 3 arguments concerning how "lucky" life on the Earth is, and explain the counterpoints to each

13. Based on the evidence and information, do you believe that the conditions for complex life are highly unusual or not? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your claim.

Video on the habitability of Europa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpGVBWiUxL0

• 4/1: Lecture and reading on "What is Life, Anyway?" continued

NOVA video on carbon as the basis of life with Neil DeGrasse Tyson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmzYs0SundU

• 4/4: "What is Life, Anyway?" continued
• 4/8: Finish "What is Life, Anyway?", What is Life? HW (DUE Fri. 4/11):

1. Describe how energy, metabolism, and reproduction are linked in a living organism

2. Describe what hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium are used for in a living organism

3. Why is carbon unique among all other elements?

4. Why is all other life in the universe likely to be carbon-based as well?

5. Why might silicon be a possible alternative to carbon in terms of being able to create life? Why do most scientists believe silicon-based life is not possible?

6. What are the requirements for the elements for life, and how probable is each?

7. What factors influence the available photosynthetic and chemosynthetic sources of energy, and how?

8. Describe each of the 3 main reasons why water is so critical to supporting life compared to all other liquids

9. Describe the role and function of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids

10. How do cells create such a wide variety of molecules from metabolic reactions?

11. Create a diagram linking the sources of energy to each of the metabolic classifications of life, and explain each step (2 PTS.)

• 4/11: Lecture and reading on "From Soup to Cells: The Origin of Life"
• 4/15: Unit Quiz Two and Binder Check
• 4/18, 4/22, 4/25: No School- Spring Break
• 4/29: Finish "From Soup to Cells", From Soup to Cells HW (DUE Fri. 5/2):

1. Describe the evidence indicating when life first emerged on the Earth. Why can't we know if life evolved earlier?

2. Evaluate the 4 potential locations of where life emerged, and explain how likely each location is

3. Describe each of the steps required in order to advance from nonlife to complex life

4. What was the purpose of the Miller-Urey experiment? Why do most scientists now question its accuracy?

5. Describe each of the 3 potential sources of organic molecules on the early Earth

6. Why is RNA the most likely candidate for a self-replicating molecule? What was the dilemma involved in this theory, and how was the problem solved?

7. How could complex organic molecules self-assemble in the "organic soup" of the early Earth?

8. What are the advantages of confining organic molecules within a membrane, and why?

9. Describe where pre-cells may have come from

10. Draw a diagram explaining (both visually and in writing) the sequence of steps by which chemistry could have lead to biology (2 PTS.)

11. What is the theory of "panspermia"? How could it have occurred?

Part one of an incredible series on the Origin of Life, starring David Attenborough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leLpFwjjn8M

Another excellent NOVA video on the origin of life with Neil DeGrasse Tyson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8cRr3NkpLA

• 5/2: Lecture and reading on "The Microbial World"
• 5/6: "The Microbial World" continued

Great video on bacteria and how their evolution made our own existence possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCn92mbWxd4

Interesting video on how a virus works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE0qdqoBFa8

A couple good videos on Archaea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IGKv8kiMqY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3GF3PFNx8Y

and one from the history channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-phrzkZ4hZs

• 5/9: Finish "The Microbial World", The Microbial World HW (DUE Tues. 5/13):

1. Explain the reasons both for and against in the debate over whether or not viruses can be classified as life forms

2. Describe the differences between a bacterium and a cyanophyte

3. How are Archaea similar to other organisms? How are they different?

4. How might photosynthetic life look around type F/A, and M stars, and why?

5. Why would photosynthetic life on land not be possible around young red dwarf stars? How could life adapt? How could life evolve to survive the high UV radiation around stars more energetic than our sun?

6. Draw and briefly summarize the stages in the early evolution of microbial life, from the first organisms to the production of oxygen (2 PTS.)

7. Why did it take so long for oxygen to become abundant in the atmosphere? What was the crisis that this created?

8. Describe the important steps in the evolution of eukaryotes

9. Summarize each of the 4 possible factors that may have contributed to the Cambrian Explosion, and explain why

10. What factors influenced the late colonization of life on land?

11. What were the effects of the K-T impact for life on Earth? What about for the surviving species?

12. Describe the internal and external factors that can affect the mutation rate

13. What is cultural and technological evolution, and how is it different from biological evolution? What does it mean for advanced civilizations?

• 5/13: Begin watching "Genesis: Where Are We Coming From?"
• 5/16: Final Projects DUE, finish "Genesis", begin watching "Alien Planet"

Play the Alien Planet game: http://www.ndimedia.com/demo/alien/game/AlienPlanet_m2.html

• 5/20: Finish "Alien Planet", receive Class Evaluation (DUE Tues. 5/27)
• 5/23: Final Exam and Binder Check
• 5/27: All-school event
• 5/30: NO SCHOOL- SUMMER BREAK

Plant Biology 1 (Ethnobotany)

• 8/13/2013: Receive "Course Syllabus", receive "The Ethical Wildcrafting of Native Plants of the Southwest", lecture and reading on "Foods That Changed the World"

Here's an article about potato plants, with a connection to the historical changes brought about by the potato as well: http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/botany/potato-info.htm

An interesting article on Andean potato varieties and maintaining diversity in our food supply: http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/biodiversity.html

A great article on the ethnobotany of potatoes in Andean cultures, as well as their use as a way of preserving biodiversity in our food supply: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0610_020610_potato.html

Check out this picture of crazy Andean potato varieties!! http://www.isgtw.org/images/2009/Potatoes_L.jpg

Here's a great article about an expedition to find the wild ancestors of tomatoes: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2005/051230.htm

A photo of wild tomatoes: http://www.scielo.br/img/revistas/rbzool/v20n3/17651f1.jpg

Here's a great article on chile peppers and their influence on history: http://freebeerforyorky.com/chilistory.html

A website about peanut plants, including instructions on how to grow your own: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/pages/peanutplant.shtml

Unfortunately, one of the better websites about peanuts comes from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut

Here's a great ethnobotanical article about manioc and how it's processed by the Canela people: http://anthropology.si.edu/canela/manioc.htm

An article about Cacao (chocolate), including its botanical characteristics and methods of production: http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Theobroma/index.html

An article on vanilla, including its history and uses: http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/vanilla.html

Another article on vanilla, including how to grow it: http://www.orchids-plus-more.com/vanilla-orchid-plant.html

A great database on Hawaiian ethnobotany (made by Native Hawaiians) that includes the uses of sweet potato: http://data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/ethnobotany.php?b=d&ID=uala

An interactive website called "the Great Corn Adventure": http://urbanext.illinois.edu/corn/

An article about Teosinte (corn's wild ancestor), with pictures: http://hila.webcentre.ca/research/teosinte/

• 8/16: Finish "Foods That Changed the World", lecture and reading on "Medicines That Changed the World", Foods and Medicines HW (DUE Tues. 8/20):

1. Please give an example of a food from another country that has its roots in the Americas (use the links above or below if you want), and describe the path it took to get there

2. List and describe 2 examples of foods from this article that have influenced culture or society

3. Describe why it's important to have diversity in our food supply

4. Describe the specific medicinal properties of 2 plants from this article

5. Describe why scientists are regaining interest in returning to the use of plant-derived medicines, as opposed to synthetic versions, giving at least 2 examples

6. Research another medicinal plant from the Americas and describe its medicinal benefits

To help you with question 1, here's a list of food crops that originated in the Americas (scroll down to the 'crops and ingredients' section): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_cuisine

A pic of cinchona and cinchona bark: http://www.homeopathyandmore.com/med_images/CHINA_OFFICINALIS.jpg

Andean coca plants in their native habitat: http://www.rain-tree.com/Plant-Images/erythroxylum-pic.htm#.Ug7R3-BOTzI

Good page on the ethnobotany and indigenous use of coca: http://www.ethnoleaflets.com/leaflets/coca.htm

The ethnobotany of curare: http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Curare/

Ethnobotanical account of the preparation of curare: http://www.minelinks.com/ecuador/hunting_2.html

To help you with question 6, here's a huge database of medicines and the plants they're derived from: http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa061403a.htm

• 8/20: Receive "Final Project Guidelines" (DUE Fri. 12/13) and "How to Make A Plant Press", lecture and reading on "Tubers From the Andes", Tubers From the Andes HW (DUE Thurs. 8/22):

1. What is "pacha kuti", and how does it relate to this article?

2. Describe how Andean people created all of the different variations in their tubers that can be seen today

3. Why are many Andean farmers no longer growing these tubers?

4. Describe 2 specific reasons why scientists are interested in saving these tubers from extinction and promoting them commercially

5. How will the Andean farmers and people benefit from the renewed cultivation of their tubers?

Here's a website that describes the medicinal properties of Anu: http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/t/tropaeolum-tuberosum=anu.php

Another article with pics about the health benefits of Anu and Maca, written by scientists who are propagating it: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/quiros/lab/macaim.htm

• 8/22: Make plant presses, begin lecture and reading on "Introduction to Botany"
• 8/27: "Introduction to Botany" continued
• 8/30: Finish "Introduction to Botany", begin lecture and reading on "Life is Cellular", Intro to Botany HW (DUE Tues. 9/3):

1. Describe the advantages that plants with a vascular system have over non-vascular ones

2. Describe the differences between xylem and phloem

3. Describe what the benefits and challenges of colonizing the land were for the earliest ancestors of plants

4. Define the process of alternation of generations in your own words

5. Describe how alternation of generations and plant reproduction differs between mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants

6. Describe the difference between mitosis and meiosis in your own words. Also, what is each process used for?

Good video about plant adaptations and characteristics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA4rpATxaHU&feature=related

Sweet computer-generated video about what it's like to travel through xylem tissue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir9bm3fli90&feature=related

Another similar one about phloem sugar transport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNtDWIx213Y&feature=related

Clear explanation of alternation of generations, in song form!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35vPjdTNRU0

Another explanation of alternation of generations: http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/plants/lifecycle/section1.html

Good, simple video of mitosis and meiosis, with sweet computer simulations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vsmT85nlzY&feature=related

• 9/3: Finish "Life is Cellular", lecture and reading on "Characteristics of Plants", Life is Cellular HW (DUE Fri/ 9/6):

1. List the components of the cell theory, and describe what each one means

2. Describe the differences between a prokaryote and a eukaryote. Which one are plants, and why?

3. Describe 2 structures that all cells have

4. Define "cell specialization", and state which kind of organisms it occurs in

5. Describe each level of organization in a multicellular organism

6. List and describe 2 major differences and 2 major similarities between plant and animal cells

• 9/4: Field Trip to San Xavier Co-op Farm
• 9/6: Lecture and reading on "Movement Through the Membrane", Movement Through the Membrane HW (DUE Tues. 9/10):

1. What does it mean when we say that membranes are "selectively permeable"?

2. What is the function of the cell membrane?

3. What are the effects of osmosis on cells?

4. Describe how water moves during diffusion (AKA osmosis)

5. How do plant cells avoid bursting when they're exposed to fresh water? Why is it that animal cells do not come into contact with fresh water?

6. Describe how active transport differs from diffusion

7. What is "facilitated diffusion"?

Good short animation about osmosis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdiJtDRJQEc

Time lapse video of osmosis in the kitchen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6N1IiJTmnc&feature=related

Food coloring diffusing in water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6nqYcrItiQ&feature=related

Good computer generated animation of diffusion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0p1ztrbXPY&feature=related

And one about active transport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzOiRqzzL4&NR=1

Red blood cells in a hypertonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRQLRO3dIp8&feature=related

Now in a hypotonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_ss8ZkjAM&feature=related

Finally, in an isotonic solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plen79Fgmz0&feature=related

• 9/10: Celery and Diffusion Lab Part I, lecture and reading on "Cell Structures"
• 9/13: Unit Quiz One and Binder Check, receive "Benefits and Recipes of Two Native Foods", cooking with Native foods activity
• 9/17: Celery and Diffusion Lab Part II, finish "Cell Structures", receive "Characteristics of Cells Group Project Guidelines" (bring project materials with you to class on Fri. 9/20)

Here's a few videos and links that might help you with your projects and/ or homework:

Nice, clear overview of cell structures and functions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCqQLoRaTNA

Overview of plant and animal cells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn9oJtXZYcU&feature=related

Great Discovery Channel video on cells: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/28732-assignment-discovery-elements-of-cells-video.htm

• 9/20: Lecture and reading on "Chloroplasts and Mitochondria", Characteristics of Cells Group Project, Cell Structures HW (DUE Tues. 9/24):

1. Describe the functions of the following organelles: Endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, chloroplast, and mitochondrion

2. How are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells similar? How are they different? How are plant and animal cells similar and different?

3. Describe the role and function of the nucleus

4. What are two functions of vacuoles? Why are plant cell vacuoles so large?

5. How is the cell like a factory?

6. If you examine a cell under a microscope and discover that it has chloroplasts, what can you guess about the organism from which the cell came from, and why?

7. Describe the theory of endosymbiosis

• 9/24: Finish Characteristics of Cells Group Project
• 9/27: Begin lecture and reading on "Finding Order in Diversity"
• 10/1: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, "Finding Order in Diversity" continued
• 10/4: No Class: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
• 10/7-10/11: No School- Fall Break
• 10/15: Finish "Finding Order in Diversity", Finding Order in Diversity HW (DUE Fri. 10/18):

1. Why do scientists use scientific names instead of common names?

2. Define "binomial nomenclature", and list the rules of writing a binomial name

3. Which category has more biological meaning- "all brown birds" or "all hawk-like birds", and why?

4. Describe the distinguishing characteristics of each of the following taxonomic groups: bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms

5. What's the difference between a monocot and a dicot? What kinds of plants are examples of each type?

6. What are the differences between monoecious, dioecious, and hermaphroditic plants?

Here's a good explanatory website about taxonomic rankings: http://armadillo-online.org/taxonomy.html

This is an INCREDIBLY USEFUL website that you can use to look up the taxonomic ranking of any plant (good for your Final Project research): http://www.gardenguides.com/taxonomy/

Nice website devoted to bryophytes and their allies: http://bryophytes.plant.siu.edu/

Good website on pteridophytes: http://www.biologyreference.com/Po-Re/Pteridophytes.html

Another good one- the gymnosperm database: http://www.conifers.org/

One of the weirdest gymnosperms, the Welwitschia plant: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantwxyz/welwitschia.htm

• 10/18: Lecture and reading on "Leaf Morphology", Leaf Morphology Lab, Common Ethnobotanically Significant Plant Families in the Sonoran Desert Worksheet (DUE Tues. 10/22)
• 10/22: Lecture and reading on "Leaf Tissues", Leaf Tissues HW (DUE Fri. 10/25):

1. Describe the 3 main functions of a leaf

2. Compare and contrast the leaves of angiosperms and gymnosperms. How are they similar? How are they different?

3. What are 2 main reasons plants shed their leaves? How does each process work?

4. Research a specific example of phytoremediation, summarize it, and cite your source. (2 PTS.)

• 10/25: Lecture and reading on "Root and Stem Morphology", begin Plant Morphology Lab
• 10/29: Plant Morphology Lab continued, Root and Stem Morphology HW (DUE Fri. 11/1):

1. List and describe 2 functions of roots

2. Describe the process of transpiration

3. What role does diffusion play in water uptake by roots?

4. How are herbaceous stems similar to leaves?

5. Technically speaking, what is "wood" and "bark"?

6. What is the difference between primary and secondary growth?

7. What is auxin? What does it do?

• 11/1: Finish Plant Morphology Lab, begin lecture and reading on "Photosynthesis"

Good visuals and explanations of photosynthesis, with footage of living chloroplasts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbMPwmwx88&feature=related

• 11/5: Finish "Photosynthesis", Photosynthesis HW (DUE Fri. 11/8):

1. What are the reactants of photosynthesis? What are the products? What is the catalyst?

2. Describe what happens in each of the 2 reactions

3. Why does the Dark Reaction still depend on light?

4. Describe the role and function of ATP and NADPH

5. Why is chlorophyll green?

6. Describe how light intensity, temperature, and CO2 concentration affect the rate of photosynthesis

7. What is photorespiration? What causes it, and what are the consequences for plants?

8. Summarize the 3 types of photosynthesis. Also, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

• 11/8: Unit Quiz 2 and Binder Check, lecture and reading on "Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods"
• 11/12: "Linking Human and Environmental Health Through Desert Foods" continued, receive "The Desert's Bountiful Harvest", Desert Foods and Health HW (DUE Fri. 11/15):

1. Briefly describe the nutritional and health benefits of the following foods: Mexican Oregano, Prickly Pear, Cholla, and Chia

2. How did the traditional diet of the O'Odham people change, and why?

3. What other factors are contributing to the poor health of the O'Odham?

4. How do traditional foods (such as mesquite, tepary beans, cholla, and prickly pear) help to reduce or prevent conditions such as diabetes or obesity? Be specific.

• 11/15: Lecture and reading on "Angiosperm Reproduction", "Pollination", and "Fruits and Seeds"
• 11/19: Flower Morphology Lab
• 11/22: Finish "Fruits and Seeds", begin lecture and reading on "The Work of Gregor Mendel", Angiosperm Reproduction HW (DUE Tues. 11/26):

1. Summarize the roles of the flower organ

2. Describe the role of mitosis and meiosis in the formation of gametes in angiosperms

3. Why do most plants try to avoid self-pollination? Under what circumstances might self-pollination become a benefit?

4. Describe the differences between wind and animal-pollinated flowers and their pollen

5. Why is seed dispersal important? How are seeds dispersed?

6. Summarize the advantages of each of the 4 environmental triggers of seed germination

• 11/26: Finish "The Work of Gregor Mendel", Tomato Genetics Activity (DUE Tues. 12/3)
• 11/29: No School- Thanksgiving Break
• 12/3: Lecture and reading on "Plant Breeding", begin watching "The Botany of Desire", Plant Genetics HW (DUE Fri. 12/6):

1. What are genes? What are dominant and recessive alleles?

2. When does segregation occur? What happens to alleles during segregation?

3. Why were true-breeding pea plants important for Mendel's experiments?

4. How are the principles of probability used to predict the outcomes of genetic crosses?

5. Summarize Mendel's principles in your own words

6. What is the difference between incomplete dominance and codominance?

7. Describe the difference between traits created by multiple alleles and polygenic traits

8. What is artificial selection? How is it different from natural selection?

9. Describe the process of hybridization, and explain the benefits of this process

10. How do scientists genetically engineer plants?

11. What is the genetic bottleneck, and how did humans create it? What are the consequences of this, and how can we avoid them?

• 12/6: Continue watching "The Botany of Desire"
• 12/10: Finish watching "The Botany of Desire"
• 12/13: FINAL PROJECTS DUE, Final Exam and Binder Check, Class Evaluations (DUE Tues. 12/17)
• 12/17: Watch "Planet Earth: Jungles"
• 12/20: No School- Winter Break

Eco-Biology 1 (Ecology)

• 8/12/2013: Receive "Course Syllabus", lecture and reading on "What is Ecology?", What is Ecology? HW (DUE Thurs. 8/15):

1. How was the field of ecology different from the traditional methods of studying nature in the mid 19th century?

2. How are ecology and environmentalism related?

3. What caused people to become concerned about the environment? Also, list and describe the 2 different views on conservation of the environment.

4. What is the biosphere? Also, describe how energy flows through the biosphere.
5. Create an argument in support of one of the 2 views on conservation, and defend your position using real-life examples and evidence (remember to cite any sources used).

• 8/14: Lecture and reading on "Levels of Organization"
• 8/15: "Levels of Organization" continued, School Transect Activity

A good website that explains the basic principles of ecology, with food chain diagrams: http://www.scienceclarified.com/Di-El/Ecosystem.html

A couple good pyramid diagrams: http://www.scienceparameter.com/museum/history/Tool-Timeline-images/16ecology_web.jpg

• 8/19: Begin Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project, Home Transect HW (DUE Weds. 8/21- include a list of species or descriptions and their trophic levels), Levels of Organization HW (DUE Thurs. 8/22):

1. What are the 2 main forms of energy that power living systems?

2. Describe the different processes that organisms use to extract the forms of energy listed in #1

3. Briefly describe the flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem

4. What's the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph? Which one are humans, and why?

5. Describe the difference between a food chain and a food web

6. What proportion of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next? How does this affect the number of organisms that can be supported at each higher level?

7. Pick a biome and create a diagram to illustrate the food web, labeling each trophic level and identifying particular species

• 8/21: Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project continued
• 8/26: Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project continued
• 8/28: Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project continued
• 8/29: Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project continued
• 9/2: No School- Labor Day
• 9/4: Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project continued
• 9/5: Finish Sky Islands Ecosystem Pyramid Group Project
• 9/9: Lecture and reading on "What Shapes an Ecosystem?"

Good video from the Discovery Channel on abiotic and biotic factors: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/30707-assignment-discovery-abiotic-and-biotic-factors-video.htm

A good, simple description of the niche: http://purchon.com/wordpress/ecology/?page_id=27

Videos on predator/ prey interactions and a bunch of other good concepts related to community interactions: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/interspecies-competition-and-predator-prey-interactions.html

And here's another one related to the different forms of symbiosis: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/symbiotic-relationships-mutualism-commensalism-amensalism.html

• 9/11: Finish "What Shapes an Ecosystem?", What Shapes an Ecosystem? HW (DUE Mon. 9/15):

1. Describe the difference between a biotic and an abiotic factor, and give an example of each

2. In your own words, define the term "niche", and describe a real-life example from an organism of your choice, citing your source.

3. Describe the differences between a generalist and a specialist, and give an example of each

4. What does the competitive exclusion principle state? Why is it important in an ecosystem?

5. Describe each of the 3 main types of symbiosis, and give an example of each that's not from the handout. Cite your sources (2 PTS.).

• 9/12: Unit Quiz One and Binder Check, Observing Symbiosis Activity
• 9/16: Lecture and reading on "The Concept of the Niche in Greater Detail", The Concept of the Niche HW (DUE Thurs. 9/19):

1. Describe why direct competition between 2 species for the same niche will result in a winner and a loser

2. Define "guilds", and describe how species within guilds avoid violating Gause's Law

3. What are ecological equivalents, and how do they relate to convergent evolution?

4. Describe how coevolution influences an organism's niche. How is this a form of symbiosis?

5. What is the difference between background and mass extinctions? What causes each?

6. Define "adaptive radiation", and describe each of the 3 triggers

7. Research and summarize one of the 6 mass extinctions in Earth's history. What caused it? What were the consequences for life on Earth? What happened to the adaptive radiation of life afterwards? Cite your sources (3 PTS.)

• 9/18: Watch "Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole"
• 9/19: Finish "Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole", begin lecture and reading on "Biomes and Communities in the Sonoran Desert Region"
• 9/23: Finish "Biomes and Communities in the Sonoran Desert Region", Biomes Within the Sonoran Desert Region Graphic Organizer (DUE Weds. 9/25)
• 9/25: Begin lecture and reading on "Sky Islands of North America"
• 9/26: Finish "Sky Islands of North America", begin watching "Life in the Undergrowth: Intimate Relations", Sky Islands of North America HW (DUE Weds. 10/3):

1. Describe each of the 4 biomes that intersect at the Sky Islands. What are the biological results of their intermixing?

2. Describe how elevation influences the ecosystems within the Sky Islands

3. What was responsible for species extinction and habitat destruction from the early stages of settlement until the 1900's, and why?

4. What is responsible for species extinction and ecosystem destruction of the Sky Islands today?

5. Summarize what must be done in order to preserve the Sky Islands ecosystem

6. Choose a mountain range in the Sky Islands region and describe its abiotic characteristics, including location, elevation, climate, weather, and ecosystems. Cite your sources. (2 PTS.)

• 9/30: Midterm Exam and Binder Check, continue watching "Life in the Undergrowth: Intimate Relations"
• 10/2: Finish "Life in the Undergrowth: Intimate Relations", begin watching "Planet Earth: Deserts"
• 10/3: Finish watching "Planet Earth: Deserts" 
• 10/7-10/11: No School- Fall Break
• 10/14: Lecture and reading on "Plant and Animal Adaptations to the Desert"
• 10/16: Finish "Plant and Animal Adaptations to the Desert", Desert Adaptations HW (DUE Mon. 10/21):

1. Describe the methods that organisms use to endure both lack of water and high temperatures

2. Describe "thermoregulation", and explain how torpor is a type of thermoregulation

3. Choose a specific desert species and describe how it uses a form of thermoregulation to survive. Cite your sources. (2 PTS.)

4. Describe the 3 ways that organisms lose water, and give an example of a specific adaptation for each

5. How is the color black an adaptation to desert environments?

6. Research the following species and describe a specific physical and behavioral adaptation to the desert environment for each. Include your sources. (4 PTS.): Palmer's Agave, Bark Scorpion, Couch's Spadefoot, Western Banded Gecko, Greater Roadrunner, Kit Fox

• 10/21: Lecture and reading on "How Populations Grow", Rabbits and Population Growth Worksheet (DUE Mon. 10/21)
• 10/21: Lecture and reading on "Limits to Growth", Predator-Prey Activity, Predator-Prey Graphs
• 10/23: Begin lecture and reading on "Ecological Succession"
• 10/24: No Class- Wash Clean-Up Day
• 10/28: Lecture and reading on "Ecological Succession", Plot Sampling Data Labs, Ecological Succession HW (DUE Thurs. 10/31):

1. Describe the process of ecological succession in detail

2. How are primary and secondary succession different?

3. What essential role does fire play in fire-dependent ecosystems?

4. How did succession occur following the Mount St. Helens eruption?

5. Explain whether Mount St. Helens and Krakatau are a case of primary or secondary succession, and describe the methods that species use to colonize island environments

6. Research "whale falls", and explain what they are. how each of the 3 stages of succession at whale falls work in detail, and what their connection to hydrothermal vent ecosystems is. Cite your sources. (4 PTS.)

• 10/30: Plot Sampling Data Labs continued
• 10/31: Finish Plot Sampling Data Labs, begin lecture and reading on "Biodiversity"
• 11/4: "Biodiversity" continued, Threats to Biodiversity Assignment (DUE Thurs. 11/7):

Pick an example of each of the following topics, research it, and write up a presentation that addresses the following points:

-Overhunting/ overexploitation of a species (alive or extinct):

1. How it was/ is being exploited

2. What it was/ is exploited for, and why

3. What the consequences have been

4. What conservation measures are underway, or the date and circumstances of its extinction

-An exotic/ invasive species:

1. How and where it was introduced, and when

2. Why it was introduced

3. What the consequences have been

4. What the methods of control are

-Cite all sources properly

-Be prepared to present on Thursday!

• 11/6: Field Trip to Saguaro National Park East
• 11/7: Unit Quiz 2 and Binder Check, Threats to Biodiversity Presentations
• 11/11: No School- Veteran's Day
• 11/13: Threats to Biodiversity Presentations continued
• 11/14: Finish "Biodiversity", begin lecture and reading on "Conservation of Biodiversity", Biodiversity HW (DUE Mon. 11/18):

1. Describe each of the different types of biodiversity, and explain why biodiversity is important to an ecosystem's stability

2. Describe each of the 4 threats to biodiversity, and give an example of each

3. Why must conservation efforts protect entire ecosystems to save a species?

4. What caused the hole in the ozone layer, and what were the consequences? How did we react?

5. What is global warming? What's causing it, and what will the consequences be?

6. Why does human society depend on a healthy and diverse biosphere?

• 11/18: "Conservation of Biodiversity" continued
• 11/20: Finish "Conservation of Biodiversity", begin lecture and reading on "The Philosophy and Ethics of Conservation", Conservation of Biodiversity HW (DUE Mon. 11/25):

1. What are the benefits of genetic diversity for both humanity as well as populations of species?

2. Describe each of the benefits to humanity that come with conserving biodiversity

3. How does ecotourism benefit people as well as conservation efforts?

4. How are threatened species evaluated? What factors may make a species more prone to extinction, and why?

5. What are the benefits and challenges of protected areas as a method of conservation?

6. What are the goals of captive breeding and re-introduction programs? What are the challenges?

7. Why are amphibians one of the most imperiled groups of vertebrates? What conservation measures are underway to protect them?

8. Pick an example of both an endangered species involved in the illegal trade across borders, and a species that has been captive-bred and re-introduced into the wild, and summarize the circumstances and current status surrounding each. Cite your sources. (4 PTS.)

This database allows you to search every single species listed under CITES: http://www.speciesplus.net/
A list of reintroduction programs from the AZA: http://www.aza.org/reintroduction-programs/

• 11/21: Finish "The Philosophy and Ethics of Conservation", begin Case Studies in Conservation Activity
• 11/25: Finish Case Studies in Conservation Activity, begin lecture and reading on "Local Case Studies in Conservation- The Upper Gulf of California", Philosophy and Ethics of Conservation HW (DUE Mon. 12/2):

1. Summarize each of the 5 ethical arguments for conservation

2. What are the aesthetic values of conservation?

3. Describe Aldo Leopold's concept of the Land Ethic, and explain which of the values of biodiversity it advocates

4. Research the following people and describe their contributions to the conservation of biodiversity (3 PTS.):

-Rachel Carson

-John Muir

-Steve Irwin

5. Pick a position between utilitarian and non-utilitarian arguments for protecting biodiversity and defend it, using as many vocabulary words and concepts from the handout as you can (2 PTS.)

• 11/27 - 11/28: No School- Thanksgiving Break
• 12/2: "Local Case Studies in Conservation- The Upper Gulf of California" continued
• 12/4: Finish "Local Case Studies in Conservation- The Upper Gulf of California", receive Species Profile Project Guidelines (BRING MATERIALS WITH YOU TOMORROW! Try using the links from this blog if you need help finding a species), Upper Gulf Conservation HW (DUE Mon. 12/9):

1. Describe the effects of water flow reduction on the CO River Delta ecosystem

2. Why have the levels of salinity increased in the Lower CO River and Upper Gulf?

3. What is Minute 319? What will it do?

4. What is CEDO, and what are their strategies for promoting conservation of the Upper Gulf?

5. Why are California Sea Lions an indicator species?

6. Summarize what caused the Totoaba to become endangered

7. What factors are affecting both the Least Tern and Yuma Clapper Rail populations? How can they be conserved?

8. Describe the threats to the remaining Vaquita population

9. What conservation strategies are underway to protect the Vaquita?

10. Describe how the needs of local fishermen are being balanced with the need to protect the Vaquita

• 12/5: Species Profile Projects
• 12/9: Species Profile Projects continued (DUE Weds. 12/11)
• 12/11: Species Profile Project presentations
• 12/12: Final Exam and Binder Check, Class Evaluations (DUE Mon. 12/16)
• 12/16: Watch "The Crocodile Hunter: Steve's Most Dangerous Adventures"
• 12/18: No Class: All-School Event
• 12/19: No Class: All-School Event