Plants

Students will have to know the plant parts and what they do.
Pollen
Ovary
Leaves
Flowers
Stems/Branches
Roots
Fruits

Students must be able to label a flower similar to the one pictured.

Students will also have to know about plant reproduction: asexual and sexual.

Some different ways plants are pollinated are by birds, insects, bats, and wind. Wind-pollination is not guaranteed so they produce large amounts of pollen grains. A wind-pollinated flower will also have small petals, large anthers, and a feathery stigma.

Vertebrates cont'd

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata

We've been talking about the subphylum, Vertebrata. Vertebrates are all members of the phylum, Chordata. What does it mean to be a chordate? Chordates have bilateral symmetry, meaning if cut down the middle, one side would match the other. Chordates also have a notochord and at some point in their lives had gills slits. In fish, the gill slits become gills, but in other animals the gill slits disappear.

There are a few characteristics of vertebrates that make them special. The first is that they have an endoskeleton (bones on the inside). Vertebrates also have spinal cords, backbones, and usually eyes, nostrils, and a mouth on their head.

Vertebrates are either endothermic or ectothermic. Being endothermic means you must keep your own body temperature. This requires energy and the body working around the clock to do so. Being ectothermic means your body temperature is determined by the outside temperatures. Birds and mammals are endothermic. Amphibians, reptiles, and fish are ectothermic.

Some vertebrates give live birth, some lay eggs, and some do both. Birds and amphibians just lay eggs. Reptiles and fish lay eggs and give live birth. Most people think that mammals only give live birth, but there are 2 species that lay eggs, the platypus and echidna. Reptile eggs are different from other eggs because they are leathery and hard making them waterproof. Bird eggs are also tough, but not waterproof. Fish and frogs lay their eggs in the water.

There are 3 groups of mammals: monotremes, marsupials, and placental. Monotremes are the mammals that lay eggs. Marsupials carry their young in a pouch like kangaroos, opposums, koalas.Placental animals give live birth and the babies are grown inside the mother's body being nourished by a placenta.

There are 3 types of fish: cartilaginous, jawless, and bony.

Vertebrates

Our new unit is on Vertebrates. All vertebrates have a backbone.There are 5 kinds of vertebrates: fish, mammals, amphibians, birds, and reptiles. Here is a link to more information on vertebrates. Another helpful website is http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm.

Fish: cold-blooded, most have scales, breath in water (gills)
Birds: warm-blooded, feathers, lay eggs
Reptiles: cold-blooded, scales, lay eggs
Amphibians: cold-blooded, start out living in water with gills and transition to land growing lungs (transition), lays eggs in water
Mammals: warm-blooded, nurse their young, fur/hair

Invertebrates are animals that do not have a backbone/spine.

Digestive, Integumentary, and Excretory System

The digestive system: ingestion, digestion, elimination. Digestion begins as soon as food enters the body. The saliva starts to break down the food in the mouth and it is further digested as it moves down the esophagus into the stomach. After the stomach food moves into the  small intestines where nutrients are absorbed and then to the large intestine where water is absorbed. After that it comes out the anus.

The integumentary system protects the body. The skin is the largest organ in the body. There are 3 layers of skin: epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layer sometimes called the deep layer or fatty layer. The epidermis serves as a water repellent layer the is the bodies main defense. The dermis is where nerves and blood vessels are located so it responsible for our sensory response. It also is where the oil and sweat glands are located. It helps with controlling body temperature and releasing waste. The fatty layer helps us with insulation and attaches the skin to the muscles.

The excretory system removes liquid waste from our body in the form of urine. The main organs are the kidneys and bladder. There are 3 tubes that are part of the system: 2 ureters and the urethra. The kidneys work to clean the blood and make urine. The bladder is the storage system for the urine. The urine travels down the ureters and out through the urethra.

Respiratory, Muscular, Skeletal Systems

Students are learning about breathing and how the respiratory system works. We've talked about it briefly already when we discussed the circulatory system because they work so closely together. They will need to know the path oxygen takes as it enters the body as well as the functions of each structure.



The muscular system helps with all daily movements: relaxing, contracting, and providing the force for movement. We have voluntary and involuntary muscles. Voluntary are the ones we control, but involuntary we cannot control consciously. Muscles always pull, and when one muscle of a pair contracts, the other relaxes. Students will NOT have to name any specific muscles.


The skeletal system includes all the bones in our body and has five major functions:

1. give shape and support body
2. protect organs
3. help major muscles move
4. form blood cells in the marrow
5. store calcium and phosphorus

Joints are a very important part of the skeletal system. A joint is shere two or more bones come together. There are two kinds of joints: immovable and movable. The immovable joints are the ones in your skull and pelvis because they don't move. There are 4 kinds of movable joints: ball-and-socket, gliding, hinge, and pivot. A pivot joint is when one bone rotates in a ring of another bone that doesn't move, like turning your head. A ball-and-socket joint consists of a bone with a rounded end that fits into a cavity in another bone, like your shoulders and hips. A hinge joint has a back and forth movement like a door hinge. An example of this is the knee, it only moves one way. The last joint is a gliding joint. These joints allow one bone to slide over another, like in your wrists, ankles, and vertebrae.

Body Systems

We are working on the 11 body systems until Spring Break.

• Reproductive (Feb 22-26)
• Circulatory (Feb 22-26)
• Endocrine (Feb 22-26)
• Respiratory (Feb 29- March 4)
• Muscular (Feb 29- March 4)
• Skeletal (Feb 29- March 4)
• Digestive (March 7-11)
• Integumentary (March 7-11)
• Excretory (March 7-11)
• Nervous (March 14-18)
• Immune (March 14-18)

Embryology

Students will need to about the development of an embryo. They got to see some interesting stages in the development when we looked at microslides last week.

Look at our sheet on embryology for info on:

• Morula
• Blastula
• Gastrula: endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm

Chicken Embryos

***Dissect a poultry egg and analyze the development of embryos***

Chicken Embryo Development

Students must know the different parts of the chicken egg and what their job is!

Shell-protects the embryo/gives air/moisture for the chick with it's pores
Shell membrane- protects the embryo from bacteria, outside elements
Albumen-(white) protects embryo/provides embryo with water
Chalazae-Protects the embryo from vibrations and holds yolk in place (like a seatbelt)
Yolk-Provides food for embryo(vitamins, minerals, fat)
Air Cell-A sac of air at the bottom of the shell
Germ spot- the white spot on the yolk where an embryo starts to grow

Cells

This week we have been discussing cells. We looked at the difference between plant and animal cells. Students should note animal cells DO NOT have cell walls, central vacuoles, and chloroplasts.

We talked about the cell parts and what they do, particularly that nucleus is the largest of the organelles and contains the chromatin (DNA).

We have been learning about sex cells, also called gametes, in the human body. Each sex cell carries 23 chrosomes in its nucleus. This is the genetic material that will be needed to make a new individual with a total of 46 chromosomes (what most people have).
Sperm are the sex cells made by the male reproductive organ.

Eggs (ova) are the sex cells made by the female reproductive organ.

We are learning about the difference in sexual and asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction is when two sex cells join to produce a new individual. It is called fertilization the moment the sperm and egg cell meet. Asexual reproduction is when one cell makes more cells that are genetically identical to it. Types of asexual reproduction are: budding, regeneration, and fission.

Our body cells have similarities and differences. The differences are the size, shape, and function. The similarities are their needs, waste, and parts. Every cell needs water, food, and oxygen to survive. These are carried to the cells all over the body by our arteries. All cells produce waste from the food, water, and oxgen called urea and carbon dioxide. This waste is carried away from the cells by veins. The main parts of a cell are also similar. All cells have a nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membranes, and organelles.

Cells, Reproduction, Embryology, and Human Anatomy

In our next unit we begin the study of life sciences. The rest of this week and next we our objectives will be to:

• Explain that the fertilized egg cell carries genetic information from each parent and multiplies to form a complete organism.
• Distinguish between sperm and egg cells.
• Compare and contrast the structure and function of the sperm cell and the egg cell in vertebrates and plants and their role in sexual reproduction.
• Identify the number and source of chromosomes in human body cells.
• Identify the number and source of chromosomes in human sex cells. 
• Explain the role of cell division. 

Interesting sites

If your student is needing some help or struggling with topics, ducksters.com is a good place to look at science info.

Click here to see what ducksters says about seasons.

Another good website is neok12.com. In addition to good information, this website also includes links to videos and review games over the topics.

Click here to learn more about magnetism.

Seasons and Magnetism

In January we will be studying Seasons and Magnetism. We are currently learning about Seasons (Jan 5-15). We will look at Magnetism Jan 18-29. I have set our quiz date over these topics for Janueary 29, but this could change as we approach that day based on how quickly we can move through the unit. 

SEASONS

The Earth has 4 seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall. 

The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis away or toward the sun as it travels through its year-long path around the sun. 

When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere it will be summer in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. When it is spring in the Northern Hemipshere it will be fall in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. 

Vocabulary: axis, orbit, solstice, equinox, rotation, revolution, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn. 

Students have a CLOZE notes copy of the powerpoint we did in class. They had to fill in the blanks as we talked about in class. They also have a sheet called Reasons for Seasons that is helpful to use for studying. They had to read the pgs 178-183 in class from our book. There will be questions on the quiz from this reading. They are welcome to take notes from this book and it is available upon request during study hall and lunch as well as in class. 

I will update you on Magnetism when we begin later in the month.