Below you will find the topics that will be covered during this school year, along with a brief description. More information can be found at www.amplifyscience.com
Microbiome- Findings about the human microbiome are all over the news and are attracting the attention of scientists from many different fields. There is evidence to suggest that the approximately 100 trillion bacteria living on and in the human body may correlate to many different health concerns. In this unit, students take on the role of student researchers as they work out and explain the anchor phenomenon for the unit—a fecal transplant cured a patient suffering from a potentially deadly C. difficile infection
Metabolism- Through inhabiting the role of medical students in a hospital, students-- as they first diagnose a patient and then analyze the metabolism of world-class athletes—are able to draw the connections between the large-scale, macro-level experiences of the body and the micro-level processes that make the body function.
Thermal Energy- Temperature is a fundamental part of human life. From the daily highs and lows reported on the news to the settings on an oven, temperature measurements are ubiquitous, reflecting the important role that temperature changes play in one’s experiences of the world. To understand heating and cooling, students will go beyond intuition to discover that observed temperature changes can be explained by the movement of molecules.
Traits and Reproduction- Inside virtually every cell in every organism on Earth, genes provide instructions for making proteins that govern all functions of an organism’s body. An organism inherits its genes from its parent or parents, but different combinations of genes can lead to striking variation even among closely related organisms. Understanding the role of genes and the process of inheritance has allowed researchers to explain variations in life on Earth.
Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate- Here students will investigate how ocean currents behave and what effect they have on the climate of different locations around the world, specifically the air temperature of various locations. Energy flow from the sun is what drives the story. The sun transfers energy unevenly across Earth, with the most energy transferred at the equator and the least transferred at the poles.
Weather Patterns- Weather is a complex system that affects our daily lives. Understanding how weather events, such as severe rainstorms, take place is important for students’ to conceptualize weather events in their own community. In the role of students forensic meteorologists, students will investigate severe rainstorms in a fictional town called Galetown, which serves as the anchor phenomenon for the unit.
Earth’s Changing Climate- Earth’s climate is changing, with average temperatures increasing by about 0.8℃ since 1880. While the increase may be small, the result is not. One of the many observable changes is that ice on Earth is vanishing, which is the anchor phenomenon for this unit. Students adopt the role of climatologists who help the functional World Climate Institute research causes of ice loss and climate change with the goal of educating the public about their findings.