Students watch videos and discuss ecological relationships with a focus on observing symbiosis. Then they classify the ecological relationships they observe as mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this exercise, students will explore the structures of the macromolecular building blocks using StarBiochem.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This exercise from The Biology Project contains a series of multiple choice questions about the proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids that comprise cell membranes. Included with the questions are tutorial readings to explain the answers. Students will learn that membranes are fluid, allow cells to communicate with each other and their environment, that membranes are important for regulating ion and molecular traffic flow between cells, and that defects in membrane components lead to many significant diseases.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students will define and give examples of organic molecules and become aware of the structure and function of the four classes of organic molecules. They will also use simple chemical tests to determine the presence of various organic molecules in everyday foods.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This resource is a lab in which students are given a hypothetical DNA sequence for part of an enzyme. Using the universal genetic code, they will then determine the amino acid sequence coded for by the DNA. Differently shaped lego blocks will represent different amino acids. Students will construct the enzyme using legos.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
Students will examine two factors affecting the rate at which a common enzymatic reaction occurs. These two factors are heat and change in pH to an acidic environment.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this activity, students investigate how a cell uses an enzyme to rid itself of a poisonous substance.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This animation allows students to view the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. In particular, it tackles the common misconception among students that respiration in plants does not take place at the same time as photosynthesis. Teachers' notes are provided.
Material Type: Interactive
This resource is part of The Ladder of Life lesson plan. This resource lists the steps the teacher needs to take to implement the lesson.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This resource is a part of The Ladder of Life lesson. This resource includes links to a learning activity sheet and a lab activity sheet.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This resource is a part of the Spineless-YES...Helpless-No! lesson plan. This resource includes links to student resources for the lesson.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this unit, students will learn about the equations that describe the motion of an object. Lessons in this unit include: The Kinematic Equation; Kinematic Equations and Problem-Solving; Kinematic Equations and Free Fall; Sample Problems and Solutions; and Kinematic Equations and Graphs. This unit includes animations and mini quizzes to check for understanding and facilitate learning.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Students will learn about enzymes and how their activity is affected by different environmental factors. Following an introductory activity, students will conduct an inquiry-based experiment using amylase and starch as an example.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This hands-on activity supports the HHMI short film The Guide and the 2015 Holiday Lectures on Science: Patterns and Processes in Ecology. Students will identify producers and consumers in the savanna ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Using a set of “Gorongosa cards,†they create food chains to show the flow of energy in the system, introduce an ecological force or disturbance (e.g., fire), and predict how that force would impact animals in the chain. Lastly, students will construct a more complex model of the flow of energy by depicting multiple relationships in a food web and again make a prediction about the impact of introducing an ecological force.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This lesson is about the flow of energy in ecosystems. The setting is Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, where students will learn about the first Thanksgiving meal in America, celebrated in 1621 by early American settlers and Wampanoag Indians. By examining this meal and comparing it to a modern day Thanksgiving celebration, students will be able to explore the way in which food energy moves and is transformed in an ecosystem.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students will be able to explain the relationship between the Pyramid of Numbers and the Pyramid of Biomass. Students will have the opportunity to examine and be able to calculate the area of a topographic map, then apply their knowledge to understand how much land area is need to support life at each level of the food chain.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This brief video lesson discusses internal and external plant defenses. Discussion/assessment questions and suggested supplemental resources are also included.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students will be engaged in learning how human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilbrium of ecosystems through human behavior and/or the use of technology/biotechnology that impacts environmental quality and carrying capacity. Students will engage in graphing and interpreting data about the bald eagle, beaver and yeast populations. Students will evaluate their own understanding of carrying capacity by using a radar diagram; they will use a summarizing strategy to extend their knowledge and will learn how environmental problems are identified and solved.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students will estimate the deer population in a given area over a 5-year period. The students will be able to suggest possible management tools to prevent overpopulation.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this activity, students will work in collaborative groups to create 9M x 9M models of plant and animal cells. Class population can be split into 2 or 4 groups, with half the students constructing animal cells and the other half constructing plant cells. Students must organize and assign duties, provide materials for this activity, and write a written report. They will also give "Cell Tours" to other students and/or classroom guests.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
