All Good Things Must Come to an End
Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU for a fantastic school year. I had so much fun with each and every one of you. I loved getting to know you, what makes you tick, what inspires you, how you learn best, and so much more! My hope is that you got as much out of learning with me as I got from teaching with you. As a final gesture of goodwill, please take a second to fill out the form below to help me make this class even better than it has been. Have a fun and safe summer and I’ll see you next year!
Cellular Respiration
Cellular Respiration, although the inputs and outputs seem easy, the process is very convoluted 
and complicated. Lucky for you, we’re going to simplify it to a point that is appropriate for a High School Biology student.
Keep in mind that Photosynthesis & Cellular Respiration are reciprocal reactions. What that means is that the requirements of Cellular Respiration are the products of Photosynthesis! Likewise, the products of Cellular Respiration are the requirements of Photosynthesis! Its a 3 Billion year long symbiotic relationship! (And you thought your month-long high school girlfriend was a long-term commitment!)
Here is the jist of what Aerobic (meaning with Oxygen present) Respiration entails…
Glycolysis
- Uses 2 ATP to break down Glucose
- NADH & 4ATP (net gain +2 ATP) are created.
- The NADH goes to the Krebs Cycle.
Krebs Cycle
- Uses Oxygen and Acetyl-CoA
- Makes 2 ATP, NADH, & FADH2 (both of which are electron carriers)
- Carbon Dioxide is given off as a byproduct.
- The NADH goes on to the ETC
Electron Transport Chain
- Uses Oxygen and NADH
- Make 32 ATP and Water (used as an electron acceptor)
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis may seem like an easy topic, based on what you learned in middle school. But, as we go a little deeper into the processes of how Plants chemically create glucose from a gas, a liquid, and sunlight we find that it is a whole lot more interesting and complicated.
Below is a graphic organizer to show the parts of the chloroplast (where photosynthesis takes place), the reactants, the products, and the important molecules involved in both the Light & Dark Reactions.
Light Reaction
- Light & Water enter the Thylakoid (or granum)
- Oxygen is released as a byproduct
- In the process, NADPH and ATP are charged and carry energy to the Dark Reactions.
Dark Reactions
- The ATP and NADPH, combined with Carbon Dioxide, create Glucose.
- The leftover NADP+ and ADP go back to the light reaction.
Unit 10: Ecology Test!
You don’t have to be Captain Planet to help protect the Earth. But you do need to ace this test to be a Super Student! Good Luck!
Unit 10 Test
Energy Flow
Take notes on “Energy Flow” (YouTube & PPT slides are available). Here is the PDF if you prefer notes on notability. If you’re going to do paper notes, you’ll need a blank sheet of computer paper folded twice to make three sections.
Then complete the review activity & turn in any outstanding activities from last week.
Climate Challenge
Today we’ll be covering human impacts on the environment and discussing the ecological case studies we read about last week. We’ll cover several topics including:
- Acid Rain
- Ozone layer depletion
- Mass Extinction
- Depletion of Natural Resources/Destruction of habitat
- Climate Change
- Invasive Species
After that, we’re going to play a game courtesy of the BBC. The game is called “Climate Challenge” and basically you get to run a country that is facing the threat of global climate change head on. You’ll have to balance protecting the earth, your citizens, and your job! Use the link below to reach the game (*note, if you are using a iOS device you will need to view this using the puffin app). Good luck, have fun, and learn something!
Climate Challenge – The Game
Interpendence
So now we know that ecology isn’t just the study of the environment… its studying the interactions between living things and the abiotic and biotic factors of their habitat. Today, we’re going to focus in a little bit more on the relationship between different biotic factors in an ecosystem. These relationships all fall under the category of something called interdependence. Hopefully that rings some bells for you because that was one of the themes of biology & characteristics of life we talked about at the beginning of the year! Interdependence is the idea that every living things relies on other living things one way or another. So lets take some time to dive into these different relationships and understand the concepts behind the interconnectedness. Please watch the video below, take notes, ask questions, and be prepared to discuss the different types of relationships and how living things are connected.
What did a T-Rex Taste Like?
What did a T-Rex Taste Like? ⇐ Click the Link
Believe it or not, we actually have was of finding this answer despite the fact the Tyrannosaurus Rex has been extinct for over 65 million years. We can determine a T-Rex features, including taste, using similar features (which we now know are called homologous structures). shared with animals the T-Rex is closely related to.
Recall that yesterday we learned that the more features you have in common, the higher the probability that you share a common ancestor/DNA (the exception would be convergent evolution where two species become increasingly similar despite the fact the originated from different ancestors). So what we can do is plot relatedness, based on characteristics, on a graphic called a cladogram, like the one shown here.
So Today, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing, using the link at the top of this post, you’ll follow the steps to learn how cladograms are created, organized, and what the different branches of it mean. By the time you are through, you will know what it tastes like to bite into a big fat dino-burger!
Evolution Simulations
Since evolution cannot occur before our eyes in a class period, today we’ll be ‘simulating’ evolution with a game and a simulator. For each, their are directions and questions you must answer. Click the image below to be taken to the weblink. (*iPad users: You must download and use the Puffin web browser to run these simulations)
Who Wants to Live a Million Years
Choose variations in a population to try to survive for a million years. Watch out for environmental changes and mutations!
Evolution Simulation
Watch how small changes in populations can have big impacts. You can also change settings to see how these animals would fair when their food source behaves differently.
MrKubuske.com 