Analyzing CO2 Levels in the Environment

Analyzing Data on CO2

Today we will be using data from theMauna Loa Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii to look at trends in CO2 levels.

Follow the directions below to complete the assignment:

Part 1:
1. Open a word document and title it "Analyzing CO2 Data"

2. Click here to access the Seattle Central Website, open this site in a new window or tab. Information about the data: Time is expressed in months, with May of 1974 as month 1 (zero was not used to avoid the usual problems with exponential and power law regression). The observatory is at 3,400 m or 11,000 feet above sea level.

3. Download the data in an Excel File.

4. Open the Excel File.

5. Create an x y scatter plot for the data. Not sure how to make an x y scatter plot? If you are a Mac user, click here. If you use a PC, you can still look at the slideshow, but some of the formatting in your program will be different.

6. Make sure to add a title and label each axis appropriately. Copy and paste this graph into your word document titled "Analyzing CO2 Data."

Part 2:

Answer the following discussion questions below the graph in your word document. Please answer using complete sentences.

A.Suggest why average carbon dioxide levels increased each year represented in the graph?

B. Explain why the concentrations of CO2 show a yearly zig-zag pattern.

C. Suggest why the island of Hawaiʻi one of the more ideal locations for collecting atmospheric CO2 as a model of the concentration for the world?

D. Does the data collected at Mauna Loa tie in to scientists' recent predictions about climate change and global warming?

Part 3:
Find a current (no later than January 2011) new article on the increase in CO2 levels.

Write the url and title for the article.

Provide a brief summary of the article.

Based on the news source, how much trust can you put into what is said? Explainyour answer.

This assignment is due by the start of class on Friday.  You need to print out your answers.

Nitrogen Cycle

Today during our super short class, students worked in pairs to answer questions about the nitrogen cycle.    After answer the questions, we had a short discussion about the nitrogen cycle.  If you are confused about the nitrogen cycle, check out the animation below.

Tomorrow - G period - please bring a computer to class.  Ideally you should have Excel, however the assignment can be completed using numbers (it's just a bit more challenging with numbers).

C period - the Analyzing CO2 assignment is due in class on Friday.

G period homework due Wednesday

G period:

1. Due Wednesday - Finish the puzzle questions.  You have been emailed a picture of the completed puzzle to help you answer the questions.

2. Due Wednesday - draw the carbon cycle, include all the labels we talked about in class.  You have been emailed links to the animations we watched in class.

3. Bring a computer to class on THURSDAY.  We will be working with Excel.

C period:

The article summary and Excel graph + questions are due in class on Friday.  Your summary should be between 1-2 paragraphs.  Be sure to include the title of the article, source and date it was published. 

Analyzing CO2 Levels in the Environment

Analyzing Data on CO2

Today we will be using data from theMauna Loa Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii to look at trends in CO2 levels.

Follow the directions below to complete the assignment:

Part 1:
1. Open a word document and title it "Analyzing CO2 Data"

2. Click here to access the Seattle Central Website, open this site in a new window or tab. Information about the data: Time is expressed in months, with May of 1974 as month 1 (zero was not used to avoid the usual problems with exponential and power law regression). The observatory is at 3,400 m or 11,000 feet above sea level.

3. Download the data in an Excel File.

4. Open the Excel File.

5. Create an x y scatter plot for the data. Not sure how to make an x y scatter plot? If you are a Mac user, click here. If you use a PC, you can still look at the slideshow, but some of the formatting in your program will be different.

6. Make sure to add a title and label each axis appropriately. Copy and paste this graph into your word document titled "Analyzing CO2 Data."

Part 2:

Answer the following discussion questions below the graph in your word document. Please answer using complete sentences.

A.Suggest why average carbon dioxide levels increased each year represented in the graph?

B. Explain why the concentrations of CO2 show a yearly zig-zag pattern.

C. Suggest why the island of Hawaiʻi one of the more ideal locations for collecting atmospheric CO2 as a model of the concentration for the world?

D. Does the data collected at Mauna Loa tie in to scientists' recent predictions about climate change and global warming?

Part 3:
Find a current (within the last year) new article on the increase in CO2 levels.

Write the url and title for the article.

Provide a brief summary of the article.

Based on the news source, how much trust can you put into what is said? Explainyour answer.

This assignment is due by the start of class on Friday.  You may either print out your answers and bring them to class or email me your answers.

How Elements Cycle Through the Environment

G period: You do not have anything due on Tuesday

C period:

1. Due Tuesday - Finish the puzzle questions.  You have been emailed a picture of the completed puzzle to help you answer the questions.

2. Due Tuesday - draw the carbon cycle, include all the labels we talked about in class.  You have been emailed links to the animations we watched in class.

3. Bring a computer to class tomorrow.  We will be working with Excel.

My Mushroom Burial Suit

On Friday we asked our second essential question: How are nutrients conserved / cycled through an ecosystem?

At the end of class on we watched the clip below.  C period: Write a short reflection with your thoughts on the clip.  What surprised you?  Did anything scare you? Is there anything you want to learn more about after seeing this clip?

We will be discussing your answers in class on Monday.

Interactions between organisms

Today we started our unit on Ecology by looking at the relationships between organisms. Students worked in pairs or groups of three to come up with a list of living things in a particular area.  Next they needed to illustrate the relationships between these organisms.  From there students learned about food webs and chains.

This led to our essential question for the next few days which is:  How is energy conserved in an ecosystem?

Tonight for homework please read section 3.1 and finish your food web from class.

From Evolution to Ecology

One of the big things that you learned in our unit on Evolution is the role that the environment plays in determining which traits are beneficial and which traits are not.  Moving forward our next unit will be on Ecology.

Human Evolution

Today we watched part six of PBS's evolution series "The Mind's Big Bang."

For homework finishing watching the video and answer the questions below the video.




The later half of the video talks about language and the evolution of culture.

If you are in C period:

Write five discussion questions that you can use in class on Monday.

If you are in G period:

The later half of the video talks about the evolution of language and culture.  Write two paragraphs reflecting on what you saw.  What struck you as interesting, what questions do you have?

Classification

Today we started to learn about classification. For homework (C period) you need to choose an organism and research its Kingdom through species classification (see the example below).

You will get a bonus homework point if nobody else in the class has your same example.

A fantastic discussion!

Congratulations to C period for their outstanding participation and many insightful comments during today's Harkness discussion.  After G period has their discussion tomorrow, I will post some of the comments from both sections.

Homework:  Read about Cladorgrams here and take notes for a reading quiz. 

G Period homework: finish watching the video (posted below).  You stopped at minute 38 in class.  You need to prepare five discussion questions for tomorrow and be sure to view the Harkness discussion guidelines posted below as well.  C period set the bar very high with their very solid effort, so you have your work cut out for you!.

Great Transformations

Today (or tomorrow for G period) students watched PBS's Great Transformations episode from the Evolution series.

C period: Finish watching the video below (begin at minute 42).  Tomorrow C period will have a Harkness style discussion.  If you do not have Mr. Locke or Mr. Dibbert, you may not be familiar with Harkness discussion.  Here is a short guide of what to expect.

The opening discussion question will be:


"Evolution is also called the "unifying theory of biology". What does this mean? Why do biologists find it nearly impossible to understand biology without understanding evolution."


You should come prepared with notes on what you saw in the video, your notes on evolution thus far as well as five discussion questions to ask the class.

Time Traveling!

Yesterday we took advantage of the great weather and "no dress code day"and students created an evolutionary timeline (to scale).  Our timelines were 46 meters long.  Each meter represented 100 million years, each centimeter represented 1 million years.  Be sure to thank your friends who joined our class during their free period to add more events to the timelines.

Once all of the events (see below) were added, we started our time traveling at the formation of the Earth. Which ever student researched the event, presented his/her information to the class.  We also used this time to review what we have learned about cells, photosynthesis and the water cycle.

C Period's Timeline.  

Adding details to the Cambrian Explosion

G period's Timeline

4600 Formation of the approximately homogeneous solid Earth
4300 Atmospheric water is broken down by ultraviolet light to give off oxygen atoms which are incorporated into an ozone layer and hydrogen molecules which escape into space
3800 The Earth's crust solidifies---formation of the oldest rocks found on Earth
3800 Condensation of atmospheric water into oceans
3500--2800 Prokaryotic cell organisms develop
3500--2800 Beginning of photosynthesis by blue-green algae which releases oxygen molecules into the atmosphere and steadily works to strengthen the ozone layer and change the Earth's chemically reducing atmosphere into a chemically oxidizing one
1500 Eukaryotic cell organisms develop
1500--600 Rise of multicellular organisms (Cambrian explosion)                              
545 Cambrian explosion of hard-bodied organisms
500--450 Rise of the fish---first vertebrates
430 Waxy coated algae begin to live on land
420 Millipedes have evolved---first land animals
375 The Appalachian mountains are formed via a plate tectonic collision between North America, Africa, and Europe
375 Appearance of primitive sharks
350--300 Rise of the amphibians
350 Primitive insects have evolved
350 Primitive ferns evolve---first plants with roots
300--200 Rise of the reptiles
300 Winged insects have evolved
280 Beetles and weevils have evolved
250 Permian period mass extinction
230 Roaches and termites have evolved
225 Modern ferns have evolved
225 Bees have evolved
200 Pangaea starts to break apart
200 Primitive crocodiles have evolved
200 Appearance of mammals
145 Archaeopteryx walks the Earth
136 Primitive kangaroos have evolved
100 Primitive cranes have evolved
90 Modern sharks have evolved
65 The Chicxulub impact occurs
65 K-T Boundary---extinction of the dinosaurs and beginning of the reign of mammals
60 Rats, mice, and squirrels have evolved
60 Herons and storks have evolved
55 Rabbits and hares have evolved
50 Primitive monkeys have evolved
28 Koalas have evolved
20 Parrots and pigeons have evolved
20--12 The chimpanzee and hominid lines evolve
4 Development of hominid bipedalism
4--1 Australopithecus exist
3.5 The Australopithecus Lucy walks the Earth
2 Widespread use of stone tools
2--0.01 Most recent ice age
1.6--0.2 Homo erectus exist
1--0.5 Homo erectus tames fire
0.2--0.03 Homo sapiens neanderthalensis exist
0.05--0 Homo sapiens sapiens exist
0.04--0.012Homo sapiens sapiens enter Australia from southeastern Asia and North America from northeastern Asia
0.025--0.01 Most recent glaciation---an ice sheet covers much of the northern United States
0.017 Homo sapiens sapiens paint the Lascaux cave
0.01 First permanent homo sapiens sapiens settlements
0.01 Homo sapiens sapiens learn to use fire to cast copper and harden pottery
0.006 Writing is developed in Sumeria

Speciation & Geologic time

We are transitioning from speciation to geologic time.  How have all of these species evolved over   Eventually we will be examining the relationship between speciation, macroevolution and the accumulation of small change.

Look for your name below.  C period names are in Blue, G period names are in Red.


Beside it you will find two events.  You need to research these two events / organisms. Come to class with the following information:


a paragraph describing the event / organism
the date it occurred
a picture relating to the event or of the organism. 


Alejandro, Luis Carlos

* Formation of the approximately homogeneous solid Earth

* Atmospheric water is broken down by ultraviolet light to give off oxygen atoms which are incorporated into an ozone layer and hydrogen molecules which escape into space 

Andrew, Marcela

* The Earth's crust solidifies---formation of the oldest rocks found on Earth 

* Condensation of atmospheric water into oceans 

Valentina, Alina
* Prokaryotic cell organisms develop 

* Beginning of photosynthesis by blue-green algae which releases oxygen molecules into the atmosphere and steadily works to strengthen the ozone layer and change the Earth's chemically reducing atmosphere into a chemically oxidizing one 

Mackenzie, Brando
* Eukaryotic cell organisms develop * Rise of multicellular organisms                   


Bea, Antonia
* Cambrian explosion of hard-bodied organisms  

* Rise of the fish---first vertebrates 

Ximena

* Millipedes have evolved---first land animals
* Appearance of primitive sharks 

Georgia, Milly
* Rise of the amphibians
* Primitive insects have evolved 

Karina, Lizzie
* Primitive ferns evolve---first plants with roots
* Rise of the reptiles

Maja, Ryan
* Permian period mass extinction
* Pangaea starts to break apart 

Charmaine, Deborah
* Appearance of mammals
* Archaeopteryx walks the Earth

Wendell, Ali
* The Chicxulub impact occurs    

* Primitive monkeys have evolved

Arianna, Aleksandra

The chimpanzee and hominid lines evolve
Development of hominid bipedalism

Alec, Walker
Australopithecus exist
Widespread use of stone tools

Extra Credit:

For Extra credit, you may research any of the events below.  If you research all of them, you will earn a homework pass.

Most recent ice age
Homo erectus exist
Homo erectus tames fire
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis exist
Homo sapiens sapiens exist
Homo sapiens sapiens enter Australia from southeastern Asia and North America from northeastern Asia
Most recent glaciation---an ice sheet covers much of the northern United States
Homo sapiens sapiens paint the Lascaux cave

Speciation

G period - the analysis questions are in the post below this one.  

Today C period started to learn about speciation specifically how do we define a species and what are some of the barriers to hybridization.  Looks can be deceiving when it comes to determining if two individuals are part of the same species.

Homework:  Click the picture to link to an Evolution in the News Article.

A. Read the article

B. Watch the podcast embedded in the webpage, it is the blue video box that says "Speciation in Real Time."

C. Answer these discussion questions:

1. What evidence suggests that the Central European blackcap lineage is beginning to split?
2. What evidence suggests that the immigrant finch lineage may be on its way to forming a new species?
3. Review the process of natural selection. Use the four steps described on that page to explain how the blackcaps migrating to Britain might have evolved rounder wings.
4. Read about the biological species concept and three other species concepts. For each concept, explain whether you think the two parts of the blackcap population constitute separate species by that definition. Explain your reasoning and/or what other information you would need to make this determination.

Clicking on the links in the questions will give you background information to help you write a thoughtful answer.  You do not need to write out the question, just the number of the question.  You should work independently to answer the questions.  You may hand write or type the answers.  

This assignment is due Wednesday for C period and G period will complete this assignment in class.

Modeling Natural Selection

Today students modeled natural selection with the Clipbirds Investigation. 

Tomorrow G period will complete this activity and C period will begin to learn about speciation.

Below are the analysis questions that G period needs to complete for homework:

1. Identify any patterns you see in the results.

2. Explain the relationship between food source and beak size.

3. What do you think would happen if between the 3rd and 4th seasons, there was a drought in East Clipland that resulted in fewer large seeds, but more smaller seeds?

4. Explain how this activity demonstrates natural selection.  First define natural selection.

5. Do you think that 1000 years from now, these birds would still be part of the same species?  Explain your answer in a paragraph.