Feb 25-March 1st

Things are getting complicated in science class. Our current chapter is all about mitosis, meiosis, and DNA. There are a lot of new words to learn and mitosis, meiosis I, and meiosis II can be confusing, but I know you guys are fully capable of understanding these important topics!

Monday: Today we finished reading chapter 8 section 2 on Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction. We reviewed mitosis and meiosis and compared these two processes. Remember, mitosis creates two cells that are clones with 46 chromosomes each. Meiosis creates 4 cells that are not clones and each has 23 chromosomes. Homework was to finish the section assessment.

Tuesday: Today we read chapter 8 section 3, DNA. We learned about the differences between RNA and DNA: different sugars, 1 stranded and 2 stranded, different nitrogen bases. We also learned about the 3 types of RNA, mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA and what each of their jobs are. Homework is a review handout.

Wednesday: Today we will finish reading chapter 8 section 3. We will discuss protein synthesis in more detail and learn about the codons that code for the amino acids building blocks of proteins. Homework will be the section assessment and a short handout.

Thursday: Today we will build a model of DNA by folding paper. By making this model of DNA we will gain a deeper understanding of the structure of DNA. Homework will be a review handout.

Friday: Today we are playing Codon Bingo. I will read a 3 base codon, and you will put a bingo marker on the space on your board that has the amino acid represented by the codon. Winners get extra points on the chapter test! Homework is a review handout and to study.

* Review game will be Monday and chapter test will be Tuesday *

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks:

Here we are studying respiration and photosynthesis by placing the water plant Elodea in test tubes with carbonated water and bromothymol blue. Bromothymol blue is yellow green in the presence of an acid. The tubes started out greenish yellow, but the vials that had the green plant and access to sunlight turned clear after a week. Vials that had the green plant but no sunlight turned a darker green because the plant was undergoing respiration, but not photosynthesis. 

To get a better understanding of the organs of excretion, we dissected kidneys from sheep. Students identified the renal veins and arteries, the medulla and cortex of the kidney, and where urine is drained from the kidney.