11/27/13

Your homework for the holiday weekend is to read 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, and 8.8 (p. 154-158 and 164-165) in Botkin and Keller. Take notes and expect a reading check in on Monday.

Additionally, our unit on ecology is coming to a close, so expect an exam on Thursday and Friday of next week. Starting to study is never a bad idea over a long weekend.

11/26/13

Tonight's homework is to review Assignment 22, think about the guiding question, and then:

for 12A - read and take notes on 5.7 (Ecological Stability and Succession) - p. 95-99
for 12CD - read and take notes on 5.7 (Ecological Stability and Succession), 5.8 (Chemical Cycling and Succession), and 5.9 (How Species Change Succession) - p.95-100

You will have time to complete the game tomorrow and then answer the guiding question for Assignment 22 before submitting it.

11/25/13

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 21 and read/takes notes on 8.3 "Biological Evolution" (p. 149-154) in Botkin and Keller).

Assignment 21 Simulating Natural Selection

Procedure

1. Go to the class website (www.sofenvironmentalscience.blogspot.com) and click on the Natural Selection Simulation link.

2. Read the directions for the simulation and/or experiment with it for 2 minutes until you get an idea of how it works and how you can change variables/settings.

3. You will be controlling the mutations and environment of a population of rabbits. You will create three hypotheses and design an experiment to test each one. Your hypotheses should each answer the following question:

How does ___________________ (the selection factor of your choosing) affect the survival of rabbits with _________________ phenotype (the mutation you choose) within __________ environment (the environment you choose)?

You should make a hypothesis for EACH of the three different types of phenotype mutations. Each experiment must also have a control group.

4. In your lab notebook, set up a data table to record how the population and its genes/traits will change over the course of the simulation. Here is a sample:

Hypothesis	Phenotype	Selective Factor	Control Group Initial Pop. at Generation 3	Control Group Final Pop.	Experimental Group Initial Pop. at Generation 3	Experimental Group Final Population

5. Choose your options for the different variables (mutation and environment, but NOT selection factor yet). Also be sure to “Add a Friend.”

6. Start working through the simulation and pause after the third generation and record the populations of each phenotype as the “Initial Population.” At this point, you should now click on the selection factor of your choice. Continue the simulation for 3 or 4 more generations, pause again and then record the populations of each phenotype as the “Final Population.”

7. Make inferences about what happened during the simulation.

8. When finished, reset the simulation, and test your next hypothesis.

Analysis Questions

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences in your lab notebook.

1. Evaluate each of your hypotheses. Support your conclusions.

2. Sometimes animals are introduced into an area that they never lived in before outcompete and endanger native species. These introduced species are called invasive species. Why do you think that this phenomenon occurs?

3. How did the simulation(s) you viewed demonstrate evolution and natural selection? Be specific and thorough.

4. Use one of the simulations that you created and viewed to explain why biodiversity is necessary for natural selection and evolution.

5. EXTENSION (for extra credit) – Recreate one of your experiments, except that when you add the mutation you should edit the genes by switching the dominant and recessive allele for that trait. Make a hypothesis and a new chart (or add to your old chart) and compare your results to your initial experiment.


Natural Selection Simulation - after accessing the link, you may need to click on "Download" (as opposed to "Run").

11/22/13

This weekend's homework is simply (ha) to complete your lab report. Bring a copy to revise and submit on Monday.

11/21/13

Just a reminder that there is a quiz tomorrow and your Primary Productivity Lab Report is due on Monday.

11/20/13

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 20 (the questions on the back of the nitrogen cycle notes). See below.

“The Circle of (Nitrogen) Life” Comprehension and Thinking Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1. Why is nitrogen important to organisms?

2. Contrast the processes of nitrification and denitrification.

3. How is the nitrogen cycle related to the Law of Conservation of Matter?

4a. Explain how the nitrogen cycle and human actions have led to the creation of dead zones in bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico. Be specific.

4b. What could be done (or done differently) in order to prevent or minimize the creation of dead zones in bodies of water? Explain why your suggestion would be helpful.

Read “Odyssey” by Aldo Leopold (accessed here) and then answer the following two questions.

5. Leopold describes the odyssey through the biota (in an ecosystem) without specifying the chemical element of atom X. Assume that the element is nitrogen, then choose one of the episodes in the odyssey and identify and describe the biochemical process in which the nitrogen atom plays a part.

6. Describe the events – natural or induced by humans – that might take place in the prairie so that its losses would exceed its gains.

11/19/13

Tonight's homework is to continue working on your lab report which is due on Monday. Some suggestions:

1. complete the error analysis portion of your discussion section
2. revise and complete your data analysis for your discussion
3. make the proper graphs (gross and net productivity measured in oxygen for 12A, gross and net productivity measured in carbon assimilated for 12CD)
4. revise your introduction
5. make/revise your data tables (so that you include DO measurements, respiration, gross and net productivity (in mg O2/L or mL O2/L and mg C/L depending on your section). Your data could be compiled in one larger table or a few smaller tables. Think about what makes sense to you.
6. showing at least one sample calculation for each value you had to determine (ex. respiration rate or mL O2/L)

11/18/13

Tonight you should review and revise (or complete) the data analysis portion of your primary productivity lab report. Your completed lab report is due in class on Monday (whoops, sorry about previous reports) and there will be a quiz on Friday covering biomes, primary production, food webs and food chains, biomass, photosynthesis, respiration, and other ecology concepts discussed so far.

Primary Productivity Investigation Analysis Reference

Click here to access a sample of how you should be analyzing and writing about your data.

Primary Productivity Lab Class Data

Amount of Light	O2 content (mg/L)
100%	6.7
	5.0
	4.2
	6.1
	8.6
	5.9
Average	6.1
65%	6.2
	5.5
	5.8
	4.1
	7.0
	6.1
Average	5.8
25%	6.7
	5.8
	4.7
	4.3
	6.6
	6.2
Average	5.7
10%	6.8
	4.7
	5.5
	6.3
	3.8
	5.4
Average	5.4
2%	6.3
	5.1
	5.5
	5.2
	4.0
	5.6
Average	5.3
Dark (0%)	5.6
	4.5
	4.2
	4.1
	3.8
	5.0
Average	4.5

Initial DO = 5.3 mg/L

Primary Productivity Investigation Write-Up Overview

Your lab report about how light intensity affects primary productivity will be set up using the general format below.

Throughout the lab report, be sure to use the appropriate vocabulary including words like:  gross productivity, net productivity, primary productivity, autotrophs, heterotrophs, producers, consumers, photosynthesis, respiration, among others.

Introduction:

1. Include a hook and background information. For example:

a. What organism are you working with?

b. What concepts related to class are involved with this experiment?

2. State the essential and experimental question(s) being researched

a. Your experimental question:  

1. How does light intensity affect primary productivity?

3. State the hypothesis that you tested

a. Make sure it is clear and measurable

b. Explain your rationale for your hypothesis.

Methods:

1. Include a brief summary of what you did to carry out the experiment.

2. Identify and describe independent and dependent variables, control and experimental groups, and conditions kept constant (controlled variables).

3. Depict your experimental setup using a diagram.

Results:

1.  Include a rewritten data table that is clean, clear, and easy to read. Also include class data in addition to your own data.

 

2. Include any graphs or calculations that you perform.

Discussion:

1. Make inferences based on your observations.

a. Be sure to refer to your data/observations specifically to support your inferences.

b. Be sure that you answer the experimental question that you were investigating. Make sure that your answer to your question is supported clearly by data/observations.

2. Using the data you collected, make a statement connecting your hypotheses to the data. Were the hypotheses supported or not supported by the results of your experiment?

a. Be sure to refer to your data specifically when evaluating your hypothesis.

 

3. Provide your best explanation for the data that you obtained. In other words, what happened in the experiment to give you the data that you recorded?

a. For example, what happened in each bottle? Why did it occur?

4. Discuss all sources of error and flaws in carrying out the procedure.

a. Discuss each error or flaw in the experiment and the specific impact it may have had on the data and/or how you interpreted it.

b. Based on any and all errors – how reliable are the results and your evaluation of your hypothesis? Do you trust your data? Why or why not?

5. Why is the study of primary productivity important?

a. How can it impact society or the study of environmental science/biology?

b. How can it impact your daily life?

Writing Conventions

When writing about experiments in science class, make sure to:

• Write in the 3rd person and avoid the 1st person – avoid I, we, my, our, etc. as much as possible and instead use phrases such as “the group” or “the hypothesis.”
• Use only the past tense when writing about experiments you did.
• Write in paragraph form with complete sentences – not in bulleted, outline form with the letters and numbers seen above.
• PROOFREAD

11/14/13

This weekend's homework is to work on the Primary Productivity lab write-up due later next week. See below for details of what you can/should work on. The more you work on/complete now the easier completing the final product will be.

Taken from today's handout...

4. Calculate the respiration rate. (Initial DO – Dark Bottle DO)

5. Calculate the gross productivity (Light bottle DO – Dark Bottle DO) and then the net productivity (Gross productivity – Respiration OR Light bottle DO – Initial DO) for each of the 5 bottles you were manipulating (100% light, 65%, 25%, 10%, 2%). Record the results of these calculations. NOTE: Each of the bottles you manipulated is considered a “Light bottle.” For example, if you were trying to determine the gross productivity of the 5% light bottle, then you would do the following:

5% bottle DO – Dark Bottle DO

6. The calculations will be based on the time period that we allowed our bottles to sit under the light. Share your data with Mr. Whelton and record the class average values.

7. Convert your calculations for mg O2/L to mL O2/L by using the following conversion formula:

mg O2/L x 0.698 = ml O2/L

8. Convert your calculations for ml O2/L to the amount of carbon assimilated by producers. You will do this using the following formula:

ml O2/L x 0.536 = mg C assimilated/L

Analysis

9. Thoroughly analyze your data. This means that you:

a. Graph both the net and gross productivities (as measured in both mL O2/L and mg C assimilated/L) as a function of light intensity.

b. Make inferences based on the data. Support these inferences by referring explicitly to your data.

c. Evaluate your hypothesis. Was it supported by your data? Support your conclusions by referring explicitly to your data.

d. Try to explain what happened in order to produce your data. For example, if you noticed an increase in dissolved oxygen, then why do you think that happened? What was happening inside of the bottle? The goal is to connect the experiment and your observations to the concepts from class.

Graphing Criteria Checklist

Labels	An informative title – ex. “The effect of ____ on ____” Labeled x- and y- axes Axes have units
Plotting	Ind & Dep variables graphed on appropriate axes Axes use appropriate scales Points/bars plotted correctly Data points are not connected
Formatting	Made using ruler Graph is made large and clear