Finishing Chapter 18

Today we finished chapter 18 by wrapping up phylogenetic relationships and examining the 3 domain classification system.
Homework: Finish your presentations for your next class period.

Evolution Article Presentation

On Wednesday (or Thursday) depending on when your class meets you will have a short presentation due on an article about one of the evolutionary topics we have been studying.

This will count as a test grade.

1. Search for an article on www.sciencedaily.com using any of the following search words. The article must be from within one year.

Endosymbiosis

Darwin

Coevolution

Cambrian

Speciation

Extinction

Cladistics

You need to create a PowerPoint and give a SHORT oral presentation on the article.

Your presentation can be no more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You will be graded on your ability stay within the time requirement. What does this mean? 1. You should practice your presentation several times, before coming to class. 2. After 2 minutes and 30 seconds, you will be cut off.

Below is a PowerPoint that contains the information that you need to have in your PowerPoint.

Evolution Presentation

View more presentations from ilanasaxe.

How will you be graded? A rubric will be emailed to you.

Change in Plans

As a result of Step One testing on Thursday, the quiz is now moved to Monday. Today (and tomorrow for D and F blocks) we will watch the next segment of the PBS Evolution Series: Extinction! Students will answer the following questions while they watch the video.

1. Give a brief definition of extinction.
2. Approximately how many species that have ever lived on the planet have ever gone extinct?

3. On average a species dies out at ______________ years on earth.

4. How many mass extinctions have happened in the last 500 million years?

5. What were some of the environmental changes that happened to cause such a mass extinction?

6. How long did it take for the first dinosaurs to evolve?

7. Describe the behavior and physical appearance of mammals while dinosaurs were "ruling the world"

8. What was the K-T extinction event?

9. What happens to mammals as a result of this event?

10. When and where did the first human-like primates emerge?

11. What has happened to the rate of extinction since the human population has exploded?

12. What is the disappearance of large carnivores a sign of?

13. What are the relationships among plants, herbivores, and carnivores?

14. What is a primary cause of extinction?

15. Describe the formation of Hawaii's unique ecosystem

16. Two examples of invasive species: zebra mussels and brown tree snakes. Describe one of these two examples.

17. Describe: In North Dakota, using one weed species to battle another: leafy spurge versus flea beetle

18. What do you think: Is it too late to stop change in the Thai forests?

19. Can we slow the rate of human-caused species extinction and return to the natural cycle of evolution and extinction?

Great Transformations

Today we watched the video "Great Transformations" from the PBS Evolution series. Click the picture to link to the Video's website. Students answered the questions below while they watched the video.

1. What are the human connections to all animal life

2. How can we understanding human evolution through the study of whale evolution?

3. Write brief definition and history of mammals.

4. How did land-based mammals return to the sea?

5. How can fossils from "transitional species" trace whale evolution?

6. What can studying whale movement tell us about the evolutionary relationship with land mammals?

7. Describe the paleontological research into early tetrapod fossils

8. Which came first: leaving the water or developing legs?

9. What is the transition from fins to limb? How is it an evolutionary survival strategy

10. What happened in the Cambrian explosion?

11. What is the Burgess Shale and its rich fossil record?

12. What are Trilobites?

13. What are Pikia?

14. What can Fruit fly research tell us about evolution and genes?

15. What clues can embryo development give us about evolution?

16. What can studying primate movement tell us about our human ancestors and evolution?

17. Was the existence of homosapiens inevitable?

Homework: none

The Earth's Early History

Today students had a reading quiz on section 17.2 and their first pop quiz of the year. What was the point of the pop quiz? To see if students got anything out of spending three class periods working on a geologic timeline. The early verdict: Not all that worth it. Next year there will be questions that go along with the timeline.

Students worked in pairs to answer questions about the Miller-Urey experiment and then we watched this explanation of how Miller and Urey set up their experiment.



Students also learned about the endosymbiotic theory as well as how Earth's early atmosphere compares to the current atmosphere.

Homework:
Workbook pages 189-193
Questions:
page 189: #6-8
page 190: all
page 191:17-21
page 192 & 193: all

Please do NOT tear the pages out of the workbook. Bring your workbooks to class.

If you are in the play, you may have until Thursday to complete this assignment.

Finishing timelines

Today students finished their timelines and added a few more details of their choosing.

Everyone needed to look up and add to their timeline the following events:

Cambrian explosion
Permian period mass extinction
Archaeopteryx
Chicxulub
Bipedalism
Australopithecus

Working on Geologic Timelines

Today and tomorrow students will continue to work on their geologic timelines.

Breaking News:

Scientists reaffirm theory that giant asteroid killed dinosaurs

"(CNN) -- A team of scientists has agreed that a giant asteroid killed off dinosaurs and a majority of other species on Earth more than 65 million years ago...." click here to read the article

Constructing an Evolutionary Timeline

Today and in the next class period, students are working on constructing an Evolutionary timeline. To see the amazing John Kyrk timeline we view in class, click here. I suggest watching it a few times and preferably on a large screen so you are able to see all that the animation offers.

Below are the events which will be placed on the timeline:
Geological Events: When (in millions of years)
Pleistocene Ice Age 1.6
Land bridge between North and South America 5.7
Antarctic Ice cap 24
Mississippi River 35
Separation of Antarctica and Australia 50
Formation of the Himalayas 55
Formation of the Rocky Mountains 70
Breakup of Pangea 165
Oxygen building up in atmosphere 600-2500
Formation of the earth 4600

Biological Events

Pictograms (written communication) .005
Modern humans .04
Neanderthals .10

Manufactures stone tools 2.5
Lucy 3.2
Hominids 4.0
Monkeys 35
Primates 65
Flowering plants 140
Birds 150
Mammals 225
Dinosaurs 235
Reptiles 300
Seed producing plants 350
Amphibians 360
Land animals 400
Land plants 430
Vertebrates 520
Animals with hard shells 590
Soft bodied animals 680
Multicellular organisms 1000
Eukaryotes 1400
Bacteria 3500

Note: 1 billion equals 1000 million

*This timeline activity has been adapted from BSCS Biology: A Human Approach.

Evolution Test Today

Today students took a test on microevolution and speciation (chapters 15 and 16).

Tomorrow we will be starting chapter 17, which focuses on the fossil record, the Earth's early history, the evolution of multicelluar life and patterns in macroevolution.

Homework: Read section 17.1. Take notes for a reading quiz.

Review for Evolution Test

Today we reviewed for the test on Monday by playing jeopardy. You can download the powerpoint directly by clicking the link in your email. Several students requested to see other examples of animal courtship, so two are below.

Video of the California Salamanders

A step in speciation

Today we did an activity where students plotted actual data from R.C. Stebbins work at the University of California (Berkeley). The species studied was Esantina eschscholtzii.

Homework: finish the plotting and analysis questions. This is due at your next class. The color pictures of the salamanders have been emailed to you and are posted below. You will need a topographical map to answer some of the questions and this is also posted below. You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

Notes on completing the analysis questions:

Use the map below to answer questions 2 and 5, in part A and question 3 in part B.
Use the pictures of the salamanders (below) to answer question 4 in Part A and question 2 in Part B.

Quiz Today

Today we had a quiz on microevolution. Tomorrow we will be interpreting ACTUAL data from research on speciation.

Please bring a yellow highlighter and any colored pencils/pens/markers you have to class.