Beginning of the Year Lessons

Sorry for the delay in getting this updated!  Please look here weekly for updates on what we are doing in class, class hand-outs, etc.

The school year so far and the coming week:

• Wed 9/4:  Introduction to course.  Demonstrate Early Work.  Hand out Safety Contract and Academic Honesty Contract.  Please get both signed by yourself and a parent/guardian by next Tuesday, 9/10.  Bring TI-84 Calculator or equivalent next week.
• Thurs 9/5:  Go over class expectations.  Count brine shrimp cysts using dissecting microscopes, hydrate in 3% salt water, and then let sit out over the week-end.  Complete first half of Brine Shrimp Count worksheet showing work.  Hand out IB Biology Survival Guide.
• Mon 9/9:  Get out microscopes and inspect your brine shrimp.  What type of activity do you see?  Any unhatched cysts?  Any hatched but dead shrimp?   Do TI-84 Activity hand-out. 
• Tues 9/10:  Safety and Academic Honesty Contracts due.  Explain meaning of t-test.  Finish TI-84 Activity hand-out and turn in.  Count live brine shrimp, using 5 independent 1 mL samples.  Estimate number of live shrimp and calculate % hatched and survived.  Hand out planning sheet for Brine Shrimp Inquiry.  In your groups, determine what you will test and how you will do it.   Do some trials with the brine shrimp to help figure out your direction.  Bring completed planning sheet on Thursday.  Start reading Chapter 1 (1.1 and 1.2) in your text book.
• Thur 9/12:  Carry out Brine Shrimp Investigation.  Explain expectations for lab conclusion (see previous post).   Brine Shrimp Lab due Tuesday 9/17.  Hand-out significant figures hand-out and explain how to count significant figures.
• Mon 9/16:  Computing with significant figures.  Propagating uncertainty.  Complete both sides of significant figures hand-out for tomorrow.
• Tues 9/17: Turn in Brine Shrimp Lab.   Hand-out LoggerPro tips.  Go to library to create 2 graphs using LoggerPro (using the data tables on the back of the sig. figs. sheet).   Staple graphs to completed sig. figs. hand-out and turn in today or Thursday.   Return to class, hand out Statistics Packet and work on it.  Make sure that you show your work!  Packet is due by the end of class on Thursday.  Finish reading Chapter 1 in textbook.
• Thurs 9/19:  Turn in sig. figs hand-out and graphs is not already.  Finish statistics packet.  Turn in by the end of class.  Statistics Quiz next Tuesday 9/24.   Requirements for life.   Start molecules of life.