: BioMath

Curriculum Division / HS Anatomy/Physiology Throughout this comprehensive laboratory course, students will explore the human body in an in-depth study of human structure and function. The course objective is to learn about the human body using verbal, visual, experimental, and written strategies. It will include facts about the structure of cells, tissues, and organs and their interaction with each other as the person lives, works, and dies. All systems of the human body are described in their roles in making up the human body. Students will examine current biological health issues using appropriate and effective reading and writing strategies which will be integrated into all aspects of the curriculum along with a comprehensive laboratory experience.

Elephants are evolving to be tuskless after decades of poaching pressure Poachers hunting elephant ivory may have met their match in one of nature's greatest forces — natural selection. In at least two National Parks in Africa where poaching has been a huge problem, most female elephants are now born without tusks. Until the 1990's Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique was home to about 2500 elephants. But during the civil war that raged from 1972 to 1992, about 90 per cent of that population was killed. Many of those elephants were slaughtered for their ivory tusks, which were sold to purchase weapons and food to feed the fighters. It now seems that this slaughter was a strong form of evolutionary selection on the elephants, which has increased the frequency of genetic variations that result in tusklessness in female elephants and smaller tusks in males.

: PS-Future Invasive Species A Module in Planning for Sustainability About This Module: This module focuses on the role of non-native species in ecosystems. Students explore local examples of such species, including how and why these species become established in ecosystems. Then, after working through the concept of population growth and competitive exclusion, students work with a hands-on randomized simulation model to explore how the number of individuals of a nonnative (or an exotic) species population might influence the ability of that species to take hold and become invasive, doing damage to the ecosystem. A second deterministic model raises questions about how the spatial pattern of an invasion can impact the effectiveness of efforts to contain or slow invasive spread. Summary of Module Objectives: Lesson 1: The student will be able to define and describe invasive species and identify a local example of invasive species. In what types of classes could this module be used?

> Anatomy T-shirt Target age group: ages 7-12 Purpose of activity: To review general information about internal organs Description of activity: Patterns are provided so that you can either draw this design yourself or you can take the design to a T-shirt print shop and get it professionally printed onto a shirt.

Population Explosion HS-LS2-1 Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on quantitative analysis and comparison of the relationships among interdependent factors including boundaries, resources, climate, and competition. Examples of mathematical comparisons could include graphs, charts, histograms, and population changes gathered from simulations or historical data sets. Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include deriving mathematical equations to make comparisons. This resource appears to be designed to build towards this performance expectation, though the resource developer has not explicitly stated so.

Biology Cycling of Matter All life is dependent on energy and matter. Due to this, organisms must obtain energy and matter from other organisms or from the environment around them. By better understanding the flow of energy and cycling of matter in an ecosystem, students can see how organisms make, or obtain biological molecules like sugars, amino acids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Through this bundle of performance expectations, students can see how matter and energy are not created or destroyed but recycled within organisms, between organisms, or within ecosystems. By examining the inputs and outputs within systems like cells, organisms, or ecosystems students can construct explanations for how energy and matter flow in that system. Students can use a variety of models to explore the flow of energy and matter in such systems (physical, mathematical or computer models).

Log In Video The Times’s Quentin Hardy talks with Mary Roach about her new book, “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.” Overview | In this lesson, students research the digestive system in depth, and then create a detailed walk-through model to illustrate each compartment.Materials | Computers with Internet access, projection equipment, an assortment of art supplies (butcher paper, fabric, yarn, cardboard, colored paper, tissue paper, paints, markers, glue, staplers, tape, scissors, etc.) Warm-up | When students arrive, project “Gulp! The Quiz” at the front of the room. Neoteny: Why Disney Princesses Look Like Babies - GotScience.org Neoteny, Evolution, and Disney Our friend Dr. Joe Hanson from It’s Okay to Be Smart (PBS Digital Studios) goes full science nerd on neoteny, Disney princesses, and evolution. I noticed something weird about Disney Princesses lately. Naturally, I had to examine it through the lens of science.

Biology Cycling of Energy HS-LS1-5 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Use a model to illustrate how photosynthesis transforms light energy into stored chemical energy. HS-LS1-7 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Use a model to illustrate that cellular respiration is a chemical process whereby the bonds of food molecules and oxygen molecules are broken and the bonds in new compounds are formed resulting in a net transfer of energy. HS-LS2-3 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and the flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

The Biology Corner This worksheet provides steps for identifying structures of the grasshopper, with a focus on the external anatomy and mouthparts. The lesson can be part of a larger unit on insects … In animals, form and function are closely related.

Biology Natural Selection HS-LS4-1 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Analyze and evaluate how evidence such as similarities in DNA sequences, anatomical structures, and order of appearance of structures during embryonic development contribute to the scientific explanation of biological diversity. HS-LS4-2 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Construct and explanation based on evidence that biological diversity is influenced by (1) the potential for a species to increase in number (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction (3) competition for limited resources (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment. HS-LS4-3 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that organisms with advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait.

Biology Ecosystem Dynamics HS-LS2-1 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales. HS-LS2-2 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems in different scales. HS-LS2-6 Students who demonstrate understanding can: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. Ecosystems are constantly changing.