11/25

On Monday, we watched a National Geographic video entitled "Discovering the Cell." The video reviewed many of the concepts that we have discussed during the first trimester, and it also outlined a few that we will discuss in our next chapter. On Tuesday, students had a chance to review their first trimester progress reports and complete a "preview" of our next chapter. In the next three weeks, we will be discussing genetics and heredity.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!

11/21

On Monday, students were in the computer lab reviewing all of the cell processes that we had discussed previously in class. Students watched videos and animations of active and passive transport, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, mitosis, apoptosis, and the cell cycle. On Tuesday, we began talking about cancer and how this disease is related to problems with cell processes. We discussed the types of tumors, treatment methods, and possible causes of cancer. We reviewed for our cell processes test on Thursday and took our final test of the trimester on Friday. Next week, we will watch a cell video and do a preview of our next chapter (genetics).

11/14

This week, we discussed the important processes of photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and fermentation. We wrote equations for photosynthesis and respiration, and discussed how each process depended on the other. We did a lab to demonstrate the processes of cellular respiration and fermentation in yeast cells. In this experiment, we set out to determine if different amounts of sugar affected the carbon dioxide production of yeast cells. In other words, we wanted to see if respiration/fermentation increased if the amount of "food" was increased as well. We used balloons to "catch" the carbon dioxide that was being released from the processes, and we used the circumference of each balloon as a measurement of how much gas was produced.

On Friday we began discussing the processes of mitosis and apoptosis. We learned the importance of each, and we will have the chance to see some "mitosis animation" on Monday in the computer lab. Next week, we will discuss cancer and determine how this disease relates to our discussions of mitosis and apoptosis.

11/7

This week, we wrapped up our chapter on cells and microscopes and took our second test of the year. In our new chapter, we will focus on processes that allow cells to obtain resources, produce food and energy, and reproduce. This week, we spent time learning about the processes of diffusion, osmosis, and active transport. We did a "Carrot Osmosis Lab," which showed students what happens to baby carrots when they placed in fresh water and salt water solutions. We were able to explain our lab results by recalling the properties of diffusion and osmosis. Next week we will discuss three important cell processes: photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and fermentation.