Genetics and Probability

Students are learning about genetics, and that means understanding some basic ideas about the mathematics of probability.  Here are photos of a lab activity meant to demonstrate the probabilities involved in hybrid crosses:

Meiosis Modeling

Students modeled the process of meiosis (the formation of gametes) using lengths of ribbon.  Them moved, themselves, through the various stages, on a pleasant sunny day in the old gym.

Understanding Genetics: Human Health and the Genome

Read this discussion of dominant and recessive genes and then answer the questions that follow. Your written work should be neatly done, using good grammar, spelling and punctuation. Understanding Genetics: Human Health and the Genome Questions -- 1. Describe how dominant and recessive alleles work to create the trait for red hair. 2. What is a dominant negative allele? 3. Click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the article for a list of some dominant and recessive alleles. Make a table and list 5 traits that are influenced by dominant/recessive alleles.

The Friendship Journey -- Aquifer Sundaes

As students gathered from around the world to study science with us, we made models of aquifers using ice cream and lemon-lime soda.  Our aquifer sundaes helped us to see how pollutants, poured onto the surface, can seep into the ground water and pollute the aquifers.  Our sundaes were good to eat, but we learned how important it is to be aware of our use of chemicals and hazardous products in our homes and yards.  Students devised strategies and plans for protecting the groundwater supply.

Square of Grass

Continuing our study of environment and ecology, we moved out to the front lawn of the school to study communities in the grass.  Students measured out an eight-inch square of grass, and then studied the plant and insect communities they found there.  Many were surprised by the number of organisms they found living in this small area:

Plant Sketches

We began our study of the environment and ecology by looking closely at plants and their adaptations for their habitats.  Students brought house plants for us to observe and compare.  Here are some of the sketches they made of their various plants:

Newly Discovered Dinosaur

I like it when the news brings us reports of new and interesting things that we didn't know before -- new animals, new chemicals, new ideas, new ways of understanding the world.  Here's one of those:

A bizarre dinosaur with 15 horns is one of two new close relatives of Triceratops that scientists found in southern Utah.  The dinosaur, named Kosmoceratops richardsoni, had a horn over its nose, one atop each eye, one at the tip of each cheekbone, and 10 across the rear margin of its bony frill. Its head is the most ornate of any known dinosaur.  
The name comes from the Latin "kosmos" for ornate, the Greek "ceratops" meaning horned face, and the latter part honors Scott Richardson, the volunteer who discovered two skulls of this animal in 2007.

Student Poems in the Style of Wallace Stephens -- Someone Puts a Pineapple Together

Our study of life science began with an activity that helps students to observe carefully, and communicate vividly about their discoveries. As part of that work, we studied Wallace Stevens' poem, "Someone Puts a Pineapple Together." Students then used that piece as a model for their own observations of simple, everyday objects...


The posts that follow are their original poems.

Someone Puts a Bottle of Hand Sanitizer Together

1.Frozen bubbles clot in frozen ice. 2.The taste of soap fills my mouth. 3.At the top there is a ducks face. 4. A juice straw drops through the bottle. 5.A squirt gun helps on a hot day. 6. A fter use only 1 germ is alive. 7. On mt plate was clear jello. 8. We shake the jiggly wiggly substance. 9. A substance of wet and stickiness. 10. Makes you feel clean after use. 11. The big bottle of cleanser smells like citrus 12. I look in and see the reflective bubbles. BY:Anna

Science and Pineapples?

We have begun a project in science that is intended to help students develop a scientist's curiosity and openness to the new and the unexpected. Today, we began by looking at a common fruit -- the pineapple. Students read the Wallace Stevens poem, Someone Puts a Pineapple Together, and then worked to begin developing their own "Stevens" style poem about a common, everyday object. Over the next couple of days, we will share the poems, and then move on to an exploration that revolves around looking at an object "as if we had never seen it before." Someone Puts a Pineapple Together By Wallace Stevens 1. The hut stands by itself beneath the palms. 2. Out of their bottle the green genii come. 3. A vine has climbed the other side of the wall. 4. The sea is spouting upward out of rocks. 5. The symbol of feasts and of oblivion. 6. White sky, pink, sun, trees on a distant peak. 7. The lozenges are nailed-up lattices. 8. The owl sits humped. It has a hundred eyes. 9. The cocoanut and cockerel in one. 10. This is how yesterday’s volcano looks. 11. There is an island Palahude by name – 12. An uncivil shape like a gigantic haw.* *haw = a spring flowering shrub

Zedonk?

I bet that many of you saw the news reports on this very rare occurence... It seems that a donkey and a zebra, living at a wildlife preserve in Georgia, mated and produced this cute little female 'zedonk.'

Officials at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, where the little crossbred was born, are as surprised as anyone by the very rare coupling. "The animals have been running (in the fields) together for more than 40 years, but this is the first time that this has happened here," says the preserve's founder. "We never suspected that they (had mated), so it was quite a surprise when the zedonk was born." With the distinctive black stripes of a zebra on her legs and face, and the narrow head of a donkey, the wildlife preserve's newest resident looks to be a perfect hybrid. When it comes to temperament, however, it seems the five-day-old takes more after her dad, preserve general manager C.W. Wathen told the Gainesville Times: Usually, a foal will lay over on its side, sunning itself. But the zedonk sits up at all time -- like she's on alert looking out for predators. She's still got some of her wild instincts. Chances are the baby zedonk will never meet anything quite like her -- the infertile hybrid is actually quite rare -- though she'll have no shortage of companions at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, which is home to a variety of animals from around the globe.

Wind Power

Finding ways to produce energy without harming the planet is an important challenge for our world. On my recent trip to Denver, I took this photo of a wind farm in Kansas. It was pretty impressive.

Some questions for you:

1) What are some advantages of wind power produced energy?

2) What are some problems or disadvantages of this kind of energy production?

3) If wind turbines like these could be built in your neighborhood, would that be a good thing or not? Explain.

Studying Tropisms in Plants

One of the topics for 6th grade life science is Plants. As students study how plants grow, they come to understand that plants exhibit a number of behaviors that are called tropisms. Tropisms are specific responses to environmental influences. One of these is the response to light stimuli that causes a plant to "follow" or "seek" the light. We are in the midst of an experiment that has students observing the growth and reactions of pinto bean plants to an environment that provides very limited light from a very controlled direction. To do this, students have constructed "light" boxes from shoeboxes. The boxes have relatively small holes cut into the top or side, and then a further light diverting baffle placed on the inside. As the bean plants grow, it is possible to see the effect of the tropism for light sensitivity.

Pictures of the Egg-speriment

We have finished the egg-speriment and moved on. The lab write-ups are due on Friday. It is all cleaned up and put away... but here are some pictures taken as students worked. You can see how interested and curious they get about this particular activity.

Egg-Speriment

SCIENCE – 6TH Grade: The Egg-speriment Introduction: Our bodies are made up of cells that are responsible for every job our body does. But for our cells to perform all these jobs properly, they need to bring in certain particles from outside the cell. One way for particles to enter the cell and help it do its job is to simply pass through the cell membrane. All living cells are surrounded by a membrane which separates the stuff inside the cell (water, nucleus, etc.) from the stuff outside the cell (water, other cells, nutrients, etc.) This membrane determines what can enter the cell and what should stay outside. One way that it prevents certain particles from entering is by having holes only large enough to allow small particles to enter. It is therefore called a semi-permeable membrane. An analogy could be made to a basketball net. Only certain size balls will get through. That is, a tennis ball will go through the hoop, a basketball will go through the hoop, but a big beach ball will not. The same holds true with cell membranes. Many particles, such as sugars and salts that are dissolved in the water surrounding the cell try to enter the cell, but they are too big and therefore cannot pass through the membrane. DEMONSTRATION NOTES: Demonstration #1: Materials: 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup dry beans jar with lid (quart or liter) colander large bowl Describe the procedure followed for this demonstration – Describe what you observed during this demonstration – What conclusion can you draw from this demonstration? Demonstration #2: Materials: ( 1 ) beaker or clear cup 1/2 cup of water 3-4 drops of food coloring Describe the procedure followed for this demonstration – Describe what you observed during this demonstration – What conclusion can you draw from this demonstration? EGG-SPERIMENT: At last to the main part of the experiment -- here an egg will be the model for a cell. The “problem” or purpose in this experiment will be to explore and discover the processes of osmosis and diffusion. As you work through this experiment, look for information that will help you to understand how osmosis and diffusion work in a cell. First, the shell must be removed to expose the cell membrane. Vinegar takes care of this job very easily because it is an acid that reacts with the calcium in the shell to remove the shell. Once the shell is removed, the concepts of diffusion and osmosis can be illustrated. The egg will be transferred from the beaker with vinegar to a beaker containing various other solutions. You and your team will make observations on the condition of your egg, on a daily basis throughout this experiment. Objectives: To understand one way that materials enter a cell To understand the function of the cell membrane To understand the principles of diffusion and osmosis To record careful and detailed observations of a scientific experiment Vocabulary (you will be expected to understand and be able to use this vocabulary by the time you complete this experiment): cell cell membrane semipermeable membrane concentration diffusion osmosis circumference Materials: for each group of students: (3) 250 ml beakers or big clear cups (1) egg (be careful handling the egg!) 12" piece of string ruler, paper and pencil to record observations Procedure: Carefully weigh and measure the egg that your teacher will give you. Use a triple balance scale to weigh the egg. Use a piece of string and a ruler to measure the circumference of the egg in both directions (lengthwise and around the “middle”). Record your measurements in the table below. Place egg into one of the beakers. (Be careful -- do not drop the egg in.) Fill beaker with enough vinegar to cover the egg. Record observations immediately. What do you notice? Continue to record observations over the next three days. Be sure to note how the egg feels when you touch it each day. Don't squeeze too hard – it will be fragile! Throughout the remainder of this experiment, your egg will be immersed in a variety of solutions including corn syrup, plain tap water, water with food coloring, and salt water. Make a hypothesis about what you believe will happen to your egg as you work with it in this experiment. Follow the directions given by your teacher for how to complete the rest of this experiment. Required Outcomes: Directions: Write your responses to the following on notebook paper (you may type it if you choose). All responses must be written in complete sentences where appropriate. Use your best handwriting, and pay attention to spelling and appropriate grammar. § Describe what you understand about the problem that was explored through this experiment. § Describe the procedures that you followed throughout this experiment. § List all of the materials used in this experiment. § Define the vocabulary given above. § Answer the following questions to turn in:

Why was the shell removed first? How did the egg change from the beginning of the experiment to the middle to the end? Explain why using the vocabulary above. How did the egg change while it was in the syrup? Explain why this change occurred? What do you think would happen if the egg was placed in orange juice instead of corn syrup? Why? What caused the changes that you observed when the egg was placed into water? What did you observe when the egg was placed into salt water? Explain why this occurred. If you could place the egg in another liquid of your choice, what would you choose? Predict the outcome for the egg in the solution you would choose for it. § Extension: In order to make his shows more entertaining to the public, Mr. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey Circus, decided to collect whales from the ocean and display them for his audience. He collected the whales and kept them in large uncovered tanks until showtime. Unfortunately, it rained the opening day of his show. The salt water in the tanks, which held the whales, was diluted by the rain that fell that day. This change in the amount of salt in the water compared to the amount of water, caused the death of the whales. Unwilling to admit to his audience that the whales were dead, he told them that that day's rain would cause the cancellation of the show. Not to fear, he would give everyone a check that would allow them to see the next whale show. He would give them a rain check. Mr. Barnum is credited with coining the phrase "rain check". What does the death of Mr. Barnum's whales have to do with the experiment you have just completed on the subject of osmosis? To complete this experiment, you must attach your notes and observations to the written work required above. Lab Report Evaluation Rubric --

0, 5, 10 -- Clear and Appropriate HEADING, TITLE, PROBLEM, and HYPOTHESIS. 0, 5, 10 -- All MATERIALS listed and a summary of PROCEDURE. 0, 10, 30, 50 -- Appropriate presentation of DATA and observations including graph(s), chart(s), drawing(s), etc. Accuracy of data. 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 -- Clear and concise CONCLUSIONS. Conclusion addresses problem and states knowledge gained. Answers to all QUESTIONS. 0, 5, 10 -- Overall- NEATNESS, GRAMMAR, adheres to FORMAT, etc.

Learning about Microscopes

As we begin the study of cells, it becomes important to learn how to use a microscope. Students worked to complete a series of stations that allowed them to gain experience with using microscopes, to learn to make a wet mount slide, to identify the various parts of a microscope, and to understand how magnification and resolution work. Materials for this set of activities were found at the Microscope Mania website.