Welcome to Biology at College Prep!

LEARNING is a PROCESS, NOT an EVENT!
Welcome to CPS Biology! We are genuinely looking forward to spending a fun and exciting year with all of you!

Though many people don't appreciate this, Biology is the most complex of scientific disciplines. Biological entities are marvels of complexity - they are composed of large, complicated molecules, some of which have amazing characteristics, such as the ability to replicate themselves! These complex molecules then come together in any of millions of possible combinations to undergo chemical reactions that we recognize as life processes. Fortunately we have one overarching idea that synthesizes all of the complexity we find in the biological world. This is the modern Theory of Evolution, stemming largely from the work of Charles Darwin. We will begin the semester with a consideration of Darwin's ideas to set the stage for the rest of the semester. At the end of the term, we will come back to the topic of evolution from a more modern perspective, armed with information about molecular genetics that were not available to Darwin and other earlier biologists.

Because Biology is so complex, it takes a lot of effort to really "get it." We know from experience that you cannot do this if you simply show up in class, listen to us talk for 45 minutes, and then forget about it all until the next day. When a question pops into your mind about what we've been talking about, jump online and see what Wiki or other references can tell you about the answers. Read over the articles and other resources we provide you with, and ponder how they tie in with class material. Talk to us! Send us emails. Talk to each other! Explain things to your parents!

So, your motto for this class is "Learning is a Process, Not an Event!" Don't treat this class as a daily "event" that you show up for and then forget about. Make it a part of how you look at the world. It'll be more fun and interesting if you're fully engaged with us and the material. Good luck!

FINAL EXAM TOPICS

These are the topics and chapters we’ve covered this spring. Review the online objectives and case studies from the biology website - major units- (http://faculty.college-prep.org/~bernie/introbioweb/index.html). You may prepare a 1-page Study Guide (8.5 x 11 front/back) to use on the day of the final exam.

•Format: 35 multiple choice questions (6 on ecology, 9 on plants, 20 on human physiology) / 1 Comprehensive Essay on human physiology

•For help, feel free to see shellem or Ms Doering. Good luck!

Ecology - Chapters 37, 38
Plants -Chapters 22,23,24

Nervous System - Chapter 34
Immune System - Chapter 33
Endocrine System - Chapter 35
Reproductive System - Chapter 36
Circulatory System - Chapter 29
Respiratory System - Chapter 30
Skeletal/Muscular System - Chapter 28
Digestive System - Chapter 31
Excretory System - Chapter 32

Good luck - see you Thursday June 9!
Final Exam Review Sheet

Jonna's sections: EPTAS after chapter 8

In Part Three of her book, High Tech, Dr. Sanders looks at how testing has changed how medicine is practiced. Please address both questions below by class time on Monday.

1. There are many different kinds of medical tests that were mentioned in this chapter; would you trust the results from all tests equally? Please explain with an example.
2. What point is she trying to make by focusing on Lyme disease?

The Science of FAT Lecture Series

If you wanted to hear the other parts of the lecture series, you can find it by clicking here.

How to do your Wikispace Assignment!

In lieu of a panel evaluation for the circulatory and respiratory case studies, your group will create a wikispace that provides a summary of the material in the case study that other groups will be able to read and comment upon.

To begin, you'll need to set up an account for your group at wikispaces.com.
This is pretty straightforward, but how you name your wikispace is critical! Please name your wiki according to this exact format: CPS2011BioPer_Circulatory_ (or Respiratory_). For example, if your group is working on Circulatory Case Study 1 and you are in period 3 Bio, you'll call your wikispace CPS2011BioPer3Circulatory1.

Once that is accomplished, play around a bit to see how creating a wiki works. You can type and edit text, drag in images and videos, and create new pages. You'll need to do all of these to create your wikis.

What your wiki should do is to summarize your case study in an interesting and attractive way, addressing all of the questions is narrative form. You need to include at least one image and one video. Ideally, you will organize your material into several pages, for example, starting with an "overview" page that provides background (perhaps pertaining to the "general" questions, and introducing the basic issue of your case study. Here is an example of a really good wiki from last year http: //per5hapethebest.wikispaces.com/. Notice that while the content and visuals of this page are great, it's kind of long, and might have been easier to absorb if it had been organized into pages.

Another important thing that you need to do is to invite your instructor to join your wikispace. This will ensure that your teacher has access to your wiki in case you accidentally name it improperly, etc.

When all groups are completed, you will be choosing two other wikis to read and comment on, so as you work, keep in mind that your audience is really the rest of the class, so give them a good experience!

Happy Earth Day!

The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today's leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

CPS Day this year is focusing on the theme of Sustainability, and I thought it would be interesting to hear from designers--what does sustainability mean to them? 

Pick a couple of videos to watch. Do the designers agree? How similar or different are their ideas?

Interesting new research shows we all have a gut bacteria "type."

Check out this interesting article summarizing recent research showing that all humans appear to fit into one of three types when it comes to the bacterial ecosystem in our intestines. This implies that all humans can be characterized by gut type in a manner similar to blood types, and that doctors might some day be able to utilize information about gut types when treating patients. Very interesting!