Honors Biology Summer Assignment Name: Date: Characteristics of Life Web Quests This packet has a variety of online activities which will allow you to investigate the characteristics of living things. Follow the directions for each part below; write your answers in the spaces provided; complete sentences are not necessary for most questions. Anywhere in this packet that an actual written answer is required, has been marked with a *. If you experience technical difficulties, email mpelullo@livingston.org AND praiz@livingston.org you will receive a reply from one of us. Part I - Go to the following link and click Plant Transpiration https://www.classzone.com/books/hs/ca/sc/bio_07/virtual_labs/virtuallabs.html 1. Click the Problem button. What is the experimental question in this investigation? 2. Click the Background button. What is transpiration? How is transpiration related to water flow in plants? Google it! What is xylem? 3. Click the Explore button to learn about lab items available for your investigation. Take time to check all the checklist items. You cannot start the Procedure until this is done. What is a potometer used for? What type of plant seedlings will you use? How will you vary the environmental conditions? 4. Click the Procedure button. You will start by making a prediction as to which environmental condition will result in the most water loss through transpiration; continue to follow the steps of the online procedure to carry out your investigation. Fill in the data tables in the lab notebook with your measurements and calculations as you go. Review: a) Graph your data on the next page using a ruler. Be sure to put appropriate numerical scales on both the X and Y axes and label each of your lines (or make a legend).
Rate of transpiration (ml/m 2 ) Title: Rate of Transpiration in Geranium seedlings under varying environmental conditions over time Time (min) b) Conclude: Write your initial predictions and your results in the chart below. Rank Initial Predictions Results 1. 2. 3. 4. c) Analyze: For each environmental factor, explain why the rate of transpiration increased or decreased from the control (normal) conditions. i. Humid: ii. Windy: iii. Warm: d) Identify two variables which were controlled (kept constant or unchanged from one trial to the next), and explain why it was important to do so.
Part II - The Characteristics of Life: Go to the following website Watch the Amoeba Sisters Video, Characteristics of Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqpvxrv0gna ). List and briefly describe each of the seven characteristics of life discussed in the video. Characteristic of Life Brief description [could include definition, discussion, and/or example(s)]
Part III - Biomolecules 1. Watch Amoeba Sisters Biomolecules Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo244p1e9qm 2. Print and complete the Handout: https://www.amoebasisters.com/uploads/2/1/9/0/21902384/video_recap_of_biomolecules_v.2_ by_amoeba_sisters.pdf Part IV - Crash Course Kids Video The Engineering Process Go to the following link. Watch the video and answer the questions below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjwin195ku&list=plhz12vamhonz4zdc0ds6c9hrn5qrm0jho&i ndex=1 1. In general, what do scientists mean when we refer to the engineering process? 2. Sequence the following steps of the engineering process. Build a prototype Do your research Test it Develop a possible solution Define the problem Evaluate your solutions Design your solution 3. When you start doing your research, you might just start by making a list of you have and what you need to start answering them. You might also look around and find what other things already exist that may have tried to solve the same problem maybe they can be. 4. A is a simple model that lets you test out your design, which might be the most important step so the engineer can see if the proposed design works in the desired way. 5. True/False: It s common for designs to be tested over and over, going back through the engineering process several times with many revisions before finalizing the solution.
Part V - Independent and Dependent Variables from the MythBusters Go to the following link. Watch the video and answer the questions on the next page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0jtmdtx4wy 1. What are the two main types of experimental variables? List and define. a. b. 2. Experiment 1: Problem/Question Does Adding Dimples to a Car increase its gas mileage? The independent variable was: a. the dimple car b. the normal car c. dimples or not The dependent variable was: a. the number of dimples b. the gas mileage c. the speed 3. Experimental conclusion? 4. Experiment 2: Are elephants afraid of mice? The independent variable was: a. whether or not there was a mouse b. the dung with the mouse c. the elephant s reaction The dependent variable was: a. the number of times the experiment was repeated b. elephant s reaction c. # of elephants scared 5. Experimental conclusion?
6. Experiment 3: Can a rock thrown from a lawnmower have the same force as a bullet shot from a gun? The independent variable was: a. the measured force b. the object tested c. the air gun/rock group The dependent variable was: a. the angle the rig arm went up b. the distance the object was shot c. force created by the object 7. Experimental conclusion? 8. Experiment 4: Is it worth running in the rain? The independent variable was: a. the person running b. the speed they moved c. the amount of rain collected The dependent variable was: a. the mass of the rain b. the time it took c. the amount of rain 9. Experimental conclusion? Part VI - Go to the following link and click Interpreting Bird Response *Note: you may have to allow flash player! This is ok! https://www.classzone.com/books/hs/ca/sc/bio_07/virtual_labs/virtuallabs.html 1. Click the Problem button. a. Summarize some of the questions they pose. 2. Click the Background button. a. What are social behaviors? i. Give an example of a defensive behavior: b. What are reasons for animals to communicate with one another? c. For this lab, the order in which the local and foreign songs are played varies, what does this method do for the results?
3. Click the Explore button to learn about lab items available for your investigation. Take time to check all the checklist items. You cannot start the Procedure until this is done. a. What are the marker flags important for? b. What will the laptop do in this experiment? 4. Click the Procedure button. You will start by making a prediction as to how male sparrows will react when it hears certain songs; continue to follow the steps of the online procedure to carry out your investigation. Be sure to read the field guide in your lab notebook to help you get a better understanding of the species in this activity. Fill in Data Table 2 Observations in the lab notebook with the male responses as you go. 5. Conclude: Explain whether or not you observed a difference in the way the birds responded to each type of bird song. 6. Apply: Describe an investigation to test one of the reasons why you think the male song sparrows may have responded in different ways to the local and foreign bird songs. Consider how you might set up your investigation assuming that the song sparrows responded to one of the songs as if it were a threat and to the other as if it were not a threat. Use the space below for your answer. Part VII First, watch this video on color changes in BTB: http://youtu.be/fuomkwbdat0. In this video, they are heating a white substance to create CO2 gas, which is then bubbled into the bromothymol blue solution so that you can see how it can act as a carbon dioxide detector because it detects the drop in ph - because carbonic acid is produced when the CO2 combines with the H2O. Next, go to the following link and select Carbon Transfer Through Snails and Elodea from the list of labs. *Note: you may have to allow flash player! This is ok! https://www.classzone.com/books/hs/ca/sc/bio_07/virtual_labs/virtuallabs.html 1. Click the Problem, then close (X) that dialog box. 2. Click Background in the upper right. Read the paragraph. Then click the Explore button to learn about lab items available for your investigation. Take time to check all the checklist items. You cannot start the Procedure until this is done. What is Elodea?
When you click Pond Snails, what does it tell you they have? What does the color key help you determine? 3. Click Procedure in the upper left. You will start by making a hypothesis to explain how carbon dioxide cycles in aquarium water through snails and Elodea. 4. Arrow ahead to step 2 enter the following underlined information in the boxes on the screen: I will measure the level of CO2 by: the color of bromothymol blue My independent variable will be: the organisms present in each test tube My control group will be: a test tube with only bromothymol blue, no snails or elodea Then enter 4 for the number of test tubes. o Tube 1: 0 snails, 0 elodea o Tube 2: 1 snail, 0 elodea o Tube 3: 0 snails, 1 elodea o Tube 4: 1 snail, 1 elodea 5. Arrow forward to Step 3 to put four tubes in one of the test tube racks and add BTB solution to each test tube using the beaker. You won t use the 2nd test tube rack at all. Arrow forward to Step 4 to add organisms (snails/elodea) to the tubes as above (See tubes 1-4 for how many snails and how many elodea plants per tube). Make your color predictions in the chart on the next page. At the bottom, click Add Stoppers to add stoppers to seal up your test tubes to prevent any gases from being exchanged with the outside atmosphere; each tube needs to be a closed system for true chemical cycling. Place the test tube rack under the grow light. Press start to leave the tubes for 24 hours. Test Tube 1 Contents Starting Color Predicted End Color End Color 2 3 4
6. Arrow forward to Step 6. Observe the change in color. Record the final End Color for each tube in the chart on the previous page. 7. Arrow forward to Step 7. The computer will state you are ready to draw your conclusions. What is the relationship between snails and Elodea? Why did the color of bromothymol blue change? What is the importance of a control? In the test tube that contained Elodea only, where did the CO2 go? Part VIII - Evolution (EXPLORE YOUR INNER ANIMALS) Go to the following website http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/explore-your-inner-animals and select Start Click and Learn. I. EYES (Click on the eyes in the model) Watch the video regarding color vision. a) What did experiments reveal about the prevalence of color blindness in most mammals?* b) Briefly describe how scientists think our third opsin gene evolved. *
c) What advantage resulted from the ability to see color?* d) Click Next to read about the evolution of eye socket positioning. What advantage resulted from eyes being positioned at the front of the skull, as we have today?* Extension (optional): If you have some additional time Continue on the Explore your inner animals website to explore the evolution of our legs (bipedalism), brain, and back.