Tag Archives: cathedral

03.05.18
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Theories of Evolution

That’s what we’ve been talking about the last few days. We’ve talked about theories and evidence that supports or refutes those theories. There have been lots of theories of evolution but we’ve focused on two…

  1. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

    • Acquired Characteristics
    • Whatever traits or habits that you picked up over your life, you passed on to your children.
    • Believed that if you really “needed” something or some habit to survive you could acquire it.

  1. Charles Darwin

    • Descent with Modification – Present living beings are modified decendents of older organisms and species.
    • Modification by Natural Selection – Environment limits the growth of populations. Some Organisms have traits that make them better able to survive in their environment

Evidence suggests that Drawin’s theory, which he illustrated in his book “On the Origin of Species”, is accurate. Can you think of any instances of organisms that look like other species but have some type of special advantages to help them survive in their environment?

To review, click through the Darwin information pages and see if you can help a species of furry creatures live for a million years!

08.09.17
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First Day of School 2017!!!

I know… I feel the same way.

Welcome to Mr. Kubuske’s Class! First, please add this link to your home screen (If you do it right, you should see a picture of your new favorite teacher smiling at you right from your iPad). After that feel free to browse this page. At the top are links to class pages where notes, assignments, and documents will be posted for you to download as we work through our curriculum. There’s a page for students, a page about Mr. K, and other resources available. On the right (or bottom if you are using Safari on the iPad) are links to my twitter and other information that will help you.

Next, there are a few papers on the front table I’d like you to pick up. You will need to keep these papers all semester so put them in a safe place. Eventually, these papers will need to go in your Class 3-ring binder. Yes, a separate binder just for Science. Trust me, I’m helping you out here. You must have the binder by Monday! This is your 2nd assignment of the year.

Once you have the papers you can complete the assignment titled “Biology Procedures Activity“ that you picked up from the front table. This, in case you were wondering, is your first assignment of the year.

As a reminder, you will need to download your iBook at home or in a place where you can be on a wifi network for a long period of time.

Thanks for participating and we look forward to working with you this year!

03.23.17
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What did a T-Rex Taste Like?

trexWhat did a T-Rex Taste Like?

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!

11.30.16
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Making Monsters

Thats right, today in class we will be making monsters based on their DNA code.

First make sure you get BOTH hand outs from the table up front. Then follow the directions on the front page to draw the Monsters on the back page. Here’s what you do:

  1. Use the DNA code to match the mRNA compliments. (Remember: T→A but A→U)
  2. Use the mRNA to match the tRNA compliments.
    1. You can check your work by comparing the tRNA to the DNA; they should be identical except that the ‘T’s have become ‘U’s.
  3. Use the chart at the bottom of the page to determine what amino acid (#) is coded for by each mRNA Codon. Write the number in the Amino Acid section.
  4. Repeat this process for all mRNA codons.
  5. Use the Amino Acid sequence to determine what trait has been coded for by the DNA.
  6. Once all traits have been decoded, draw your MONSTER! Give him/her a name and add any other traits you want including the ones coded by the DNA. The drawings should be neat and colored.
  7. Finally, write down the FULL sequence of DNA from the original DNA provided, as well as the list of traits.

There You Go! That’s how easy it is to make a monster… sort of. Either way, this is great practice doing transcription and translation which are the two steps of Protein Synthesis. So have fun and I’ll see you again soon!

11.21.16
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RNA & Transcription

Today in Biology we’ll start our last Unit of the semester… Protein Synthesis. Protein Synthesis is sometimes referred as the “Central Dogma” of Biology, meaning its the key idea. The key idea of protein synthesis is that DNA codes for our traits and that code is used to create proteins that actually are our traits. All other parts of biology either exist because of, or are incorporated with Protein Synthesis.

There are two major parts of protein synthesis:

  1. Transcription: Using DNA → to make RNA
  2. Translation: Using RNA → to make Protein

Today we’ll be focusing on Transcription and the stuff it makes, RNA.

Continue reading →

08.12.16
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First Day of School (ok, the cycle)!

I know… I feel the same way.

Welcome to Mr. Kubuske’s Class Blog. First, please set a bookmark or a link to your home screen. After that feel free to browse this page. At the top are links to class pages where notes, assignments, and documents will be posted for you to download as we work through our curriculum. There’s a page for students, a page about Mr. K, and other resources available. On the right (or bottom if you are using Safari on the iPad) are links to my twitter and other information that will help you.

Next, there are 3 papers on the front table I’d like you to pick up. You will need to keep these papers all semester so put them in a safe place. Eventually, these papers will need to go in your Class 3-ring binder.

Once you have the papers you can complete the assignment titled “Biology Procedures Activity” that you picked up from the front table.

As a reminder, you will need to download your iBook at home or in a place where you can be on a wifi network for a long period of time.

Thanks for participating and we look forward to working with you this year!

03.16.16
by

What did a T-Rex Taste Like?

trexLink: What did a T-Rex Taste Like?

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!

01.26.16
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Unit 7 Review

Our Unit 7 Test is tomorrow (wait… what?)

We’ll be reviewing once more in class today but I wanted to make you aware of a resource available to you. I have created a Padlet for you to share resources with your classmates on. You can post questions, discussions, pictures, documents, or information for others to view to help everyone prepare for the Unit 7 test. If you post something that helps other prepare for the test (answer a question, post a fact, etc.) you will receive one bonus point on the test. Click the link below to be taken to the padlet.

http://padlet.com/jkubuske/Unit7

On top of that, I will post the answer key to the Hunger Games stations we worked on yesterday here in the space below. If the link is not active, check back later.

Unit 7 Hunger Games: Answer Key

There was a lot of vocal, concepts, and information. So get your info organized! Other than that review your study guide, go back over the notes, watch the youtube videos, and pray for good luck.