Find an interesting biology item related to the content that we are discussing in class. The item can be a news story, a research finding, or a journalistic essay.
Link to the piece and write a discussion summarizing the piece and telling us why you think it’s interesting/important/cool/not cool, etc. (somewhere around 100-200 words...unless you want to write more...)
Include an image (feel free to include more than one, you can include a video clip or other media as you see fit).
Give your post the categories student & news.
Give your post at least 2 tags.

first piece done by mid quarter, second piece done by quarter’s end (feel free to do both early).

B. Active moderation of your 2 biology pieces.

For each piece:

Reply to all questions raised in the comments, by addressing those questions (and any follow up questions) in a timely fashion (within a week of them being posted). You do not have to respond to any comment that is not asking you a question, and you only have to respond to the question (I’ll even let you just respond to one question if a person asks more than one in a post).

C. Active participation on other biology pieces.

I figure there are 19 student contributors on this blog. Each of you is posting 2 articles per quarter related to the course. I don’t think it is inappropriate to expect you to make at least one comment per piece that your colleague writes up and feels is interesting (that’s 38 comments). Let’s call it an even 30.
Feel free to make more than that, if you want. Also, if you’re not super interested in a particular post, you can just make extra comments on a piece that you are interested in talking about (you don’t have to comment on every post, just make 30 total comments).

2. Extra pieces.

You can write up to two, long-form (at least 1000 words), extended pieces on any “qualified” item you are interested in that is related to the material that we are discussing in class. I will provide you with acceptable examples of the kinds of pieces that are “qualified” for your long-form responses. If you want to use a piece that I don’t give you, you must submit the piece to me for approval. As the year progresses. There will be multiple qualified options per unit beginning with our evolution unit. Your long-form response must adhere to the following style guidelines.

It must have at least one image somewhere in the piece.
It must link to all references that it uses that exist online. If the reference does not exist online, a properly formatted reference must be supplied at the end of the piece.
You must address all comments that ask questions, in a similar fashion to what is explained in Assignment 2.
It should have the categories long-form & student. Give it appropriate tags.

Up to 2 properly completed long-form assignments will be factored in as an extra 50 point test grade to your exam average at the end of the quarter.

Lab Report Uploads

I will put up a magnet post for each lab. You will need to post a link to your lab (as outlined below) in the comments for that post.
All formal lab reports will be submitted electronically by posting links to them on the blog by the indicated deadlines.
Lab reports must be created in Google Docs (or converted to a google doc following their creation). Reports can either be created in Google Docs, or uploaded to Google Docs following creation in another format (if that is the way that you choose to work, I suggest making sure you check the formatting of the document following the upload.
You must make the document viewable. There are a few ways to do this. Click the big “Share” button, or use the “Collaborate” menu. I suggest changing the viewing options to anyone with the link can find and view, or anyone on the web can find and view. DO NOT ALLOW PUBLIC EDITING (that let’s anyone edit the document). This will generate a URL for your document that you can then put in your blog post.
You must also give me editing permission (so I can leave you comments). Use my work email address to do this.

Running Schedule of Lab Report Upload Due Dates

All labs must be uploaded by 12:01 am of the date indicated to be considered “on time”.

Brine Shrimp Salinity Experiment:

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Phylogeny of Marine Mammals:

Part 1: Monday, October 17th, 2011
Part 2: Monday, October 31st, 2011

Diffusion & Osmosis Part 4 Writeup:

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Fast Plant Artificial Selection Writeup:

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Fast Plant Genetics Detection Presentation

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Directions:

Presentation must be created in prezi.
Presentation must be embedded in its own blog post.
Post must be titled “<group name> Fast Plant Genetics Presentation."
Post must have the labels lab, students, presentation, Fast Plants, genetics

Enzyme Catalysis Lab Report

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Directions:

Report adheres to guidelines for a formal lab report.
Given the way this lab was performed in class, the expectation is that the conclusions, error analysis, and discussions will be extensive.

Respiration/Photosynthesis “Lab” Report

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Directions:

Note: This document is not posted tothe blog, but I am still putting the guidelines here.
Respiration portion:

Your data.
Graph of provided data. Provided data is available at this link.
Answers to the following questions:

Conclusion questions: 2,3,4,5
Analysis Questions: all of them.

Chromatography portion:

All questions.

Photosynthesis Experimental Design.

Develop a hypothetical protocol that generates quantifiable data to test the effect of a particular environmental variable on the rate of photosynthesis. Include the following:

A Hypothesis.
A description of the protocol, including the function of any lab equipment that may be unique or specific to this particular protocol.
A description of the data trend that you would expect to see.

Reaction Rate Inquiry Lab

Due: Tuesday, 4/17

Directions:

You and your partner will submit a full lab report in the normal style.
Keep in mind that the rubric for lab grading has recently been revised.
Since only one partner will post the assignment, please make sure to use the labels: lab, student, partner, along with any other tags that you feel are relevant.
Don’t forget to put an image in your post.

Energy Dynamics Report

Due: Friday, 6/1

Directions:

This lab report is either a blog article or a google doc that is linked to on the blog (your choice).

Address all of the following aspects of the lab:

Part 1: Estimating Net Primary Productivity of Fast Plants

Systems Diagram (p. s129, step 1, with values calculated values determined below)
Data table (p. s129, step 2)
Graph (p. s129, step 3)
Calculations- grams of biomass and energy (NPP) (p. s129, step 4)
Address questions on p. s130, step 5

Part 2: Estimating Energy Flow Between Fast Plants and Cabbage Butterfly Larvae

Systems diagram (p. s130, step 1, with values calculated determined below)
Data Table (p. s131, step 3)
All calculations: Biomass of larvae, energy of larvae, energy of frass, frass lost per larva, energy content of brussels sprouts. (p. s131-s132, steps 1-4)
Graph (p. s132, step 6)
Address questions on p. s132, step 5.

Systems Diagrams: Need to be done, and combined. You don’t need to do two sets (single and combined). One combined set is sufficient.
Experimental Design: Pick one of the questions at the bottom of p. s132 (or a question of similar rigor of your own design), and explain how you could use the type of protocols and systems that we used in this lab to investigate it. Be specific. Provide some explanation of possible results.
Class Data Set Available Here: This data set is not complete. You will need to do calculations to get some of the data that you are required to provide.

Dated Assignments

1. Introductory reply.

login to the site using the access info you were emailed.
reply to the question “What should we do here?”
Your replies won’t be automatically posted until I approve your first reply, so don’t get freaked out if you don’t see it right after you post it.
Done by: Class on Friday, 9/9

2. Introductory post.

Creating your own post that is about a bit of biology news that you find interesting (anything you want). This post has to have the following items:

A link to an article about the news item.
At least one picture
A brief (less than 50 words or so) summary.
An explanation of why you find it interesting (maybe another 50 words or so).
It should have the categories "news" and "student", and a tag about the topic (one word), and "interesting".

Done by: midnight on Sunday, 9/11

3. Chad Hunt Response Weekend Project

Read the article found here
Explore the Chad Data Set
Compose a brief response that addresses the following points:

Must answer all:
What is happening to the population distribution of chads from day to day?
Why is this happening?
What factors contribute to the fitness of a particular color of chad?
Why does the grey chad population spike so dramatically after the day 2 hunt?

Must answer one:

All models are inherently incomplete representations of reality. What are some of the limitations of our chad model?
Use the data set to create another graph (or graphs) that you feel are useful for understanding what is going on with the chads during the hunting period. Provide a link to your graph (or include it directly).

Response Format

Either:

A google doc that addresses these questions, made viewable and linked to in the comments of this post.
A post on the topic that addresses these questions, categories: student and response task. Tags: chad, evolution, and any others you wish.

4. Evolution Misconception Partner Publication

Pick a common misconception from the list below. Up to three people can work on any misconception. You cannot change your mind once you pick:

The Earth is not billions of years old - Valerie, Fariha, & Kevin
Humans evolved from monkeys. -Thomas & Chris
Humans and apes do not share a common ancestor.-Shannan & Jenai
The eye cannot evolve by natural selection.
Living systems are irreducibly complex.
The complexity of life is proof of an intelligent designer.
Evolution is a random process. -Nirvana
Evolution is goal oriented. -Alyssa, Danyal, & Jack
Evolution is “just a theory” -Vasiliki, Victoria, & Safoora
Speciation has never been observed in the lab or in the environment. -Zamarit
Evolution is incompatible with religion.- Navneet, Farah, & Michelle

You (and your partners) will research the misconception. You should try to answer the following questions with your research:

Why is this a misconception about the theory of evolution?
What does the theory of evolution actually say about the topic you are researching?
What evidence does biological science or the natural world at large offer to contradict this misconception?

Together you will compose a post (of at least 200 words per group member) on your misconception. I strongly suggest using google docs for the writing of your piece.
One member of the partnership will upload the post to the blog.
The post should contain at least one image, and a relevant video clip.
Give the post the categories student and work
Give the post the tags evolution and misconception
You must link to all sources you use in your piece. Only use sources you can find online.
Your article should be uploaded by midnight on October 10th, 2011

5. Organelle Facebook Page Project

You're going to make a facebook page for an organelle of your choice.

Here is a link to a gdocs presentation facebook page template. It is from another project that an English teacher did for "A Raisin in the Sun" (hence the Puff Daddy photo, etc). You will adapt it for this project. You need to replace all information and photos on this template with information for your organelle and its social network. There are two total pages in the template.
List of organelles:

Nucleus- Zam
Prokaryotic Chromosome- Dan
Eukaryotic Chromosomes- Valerie
Ribosomes- Kevin
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum- Nav
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum- Thomas
Vessicle- Shan
Golgi Apparatus- Nirvana
Mitochondria- Chris
Chloroplast- Safoora
Plant-like Cell Wall- Farah
Plasma Membrane- Alyssa
Cytoskeleton- Michelle
Lysosomes- Victoria
Central Vacuole- Fariha
Food Vacuole- Jenai
Flagellum- Vasiliki
Extra-cellular matrix- Jack

Post a link to your organelle's completed profile in the comments of the post on the blog, by the beginning of class on Friday, October 21st.

6. Cell Cycle Photo Album

Here is the post for your cell cycle chromosome picture album project. To recap:

You need to show each of the following phases of the cell cycle:

G1 of interphase
G2 of interphase
All phases of mitosis
All phases of meiosis I and II (showing crossing over and independent assortment of homologs)

You should upload one project for your group. I am completely agnostic as to format (google doc? prezi? something else?) Put a link to the project in the comments.
Project is Due: Monday, November 21st

7. Holiday Break Group Project

For this project, you will be working in one of three groups, collaborating on a project where you read and discuss one of three articles related to molecular genetics. Working together, you will create a blog post that contains the following items:

A link to an online version of the article (use your googling skills).
A brief (one page or so) google doc summary of the article. This needs to be embedded in the post.
Documentation of a twitter chat that your group has had about the article.

Choose a good hashtag to use.
Have your chat. You might have it over the course of an hour, a day, or the week.
Let me know what your hashtag and the time frame of your chat will be (so I can participate, too!).
Us Tweetdoc to generate a chat record (just input the hashtag into the create field (include the # sign).
Post the .pdf archive that tweetdoc generates in your post.

8. Respiration Prezi Concept Map

For this project you will create a concept map/diagram of cell respiration in prezi:

your concept map will include all terms and concepts discussed in the respiration handout from class.
Please embed your prezi in a blog post. Use the labels “student”, “cell respiration”, “concept map”.
Project is Due: Midnight on Thursday, 2/16

9. Photosynthesis Prezi Concept Map (extra credit- not required)

For this project you will create a concept map/diagram of cell respiration in prezi:

your concept map will include all terms and concepts discussed in the respiration handout from class.
Please embed your prezi in a blog post. Use the labels “student”, “cell respiration”, “concept map”.
Project is Due: Midnight on Thursday, 2/16

10. Systems Project

This project involves an offline and an online component.

Offline component:

Create a poster of a particular body system, diagramming major structures and their functions.

Digestive (Group E)
Excretory (Group B)
Circulatory (Group A)
Respiratory (Group C)
Immune (Group d)

Online component:

Take a photo of your completed system poster.
Upload it to the blog, along with a post that explains:
How your system demonstrates cooperation among cells, tissues, and organs.
How your system depends on other systems of the body (at least three of the others) to maintain function and contribute to homeostasis of the organism.

Project is Due: Offline component should be hanging in the room at the end of class on Friday, March 16th. Online component is due on the blog by midnight on Sunday, March 18th.

11. Population Spreadsheet Model:

Post adhering to all guidelines found at the end of the population spreadsheet modeling activity.

Project is Due: By the end of the day on Wednesday, April 4th.