Embedded Files
Biology Course Textbook
Biology Course Textbook
Students will have access to the Biology Textbook online, with PDF copies of individual Chapters available. Our classroom will also have physical textbooks available to use during class if needed. Individual Chapters are available in students' Biology Student Folder in Google Drive as well as on the course website.
We highly recommend students read/review each Chapter Section during the current unit of study. This will be very helpful in achieving success in Biology!
Copy of Chapter 1.pdfCh. 1
Copy of Chapter 2.pdfCh. 2
Copy of Chapter 3.pdfCh. 3
Copy of Chapter 4.pdfCh. 4
Google Classroom
Google Classroom
Westlake High School Biology students will be able to access daily objectives, class resources, and assignments on their their Biology Google Classroom page. WHS students will receive a classroom code from the teacher, in order to access these materials, submit assignments, and track any missing work.
Mr. Polanco's Biology Tutoring
Mr. Polanco's Biology Tutoring
Before school: Monday - Thursday 8:20am - 8:45am; Rm 311 in NGC
After school: Monday - Wednesday 4:30pm - 6:30pm in NGC Library (w/alternate teacher)
Testing Center information
Testing Center information
Absent for a Quiz or Test? Interested in a Retest? You will be able to make-up / retest outside of tutoring times in the Testing Center! Please make arrangements with me and I'll ensure you receive this information. Testing Center hours are below!
Monday-Thursday 7:30-5:15
Friday 7:30-4:15
*Hours subject to change.
Cool Biology/Science Links
Cool Biology/Science Links
Best Science Websites for Middle/High School
It's Okay to Be Smart - YouTube
Carl Sagan . Com - was a world-renowned American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator.
Neil deGrasse Tyson - Tyson is the fifth head of the world-renowned Hayden Planetarium in New York City and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.
Biology Videos
Biology Videos
Unit 1: The Scientific Method / Chemistry of Life
Introduction to the Characteristics of Life
The Characteristics of Life - Amoeba Sisters
Flu Attack! When a Virus Attacks!
What is the difference between a scientific law and a theory?
What is an Atom? / Physics
Chemical Bonding - Ionic vs. Covalent Bonds
Properties of Water - Amoeba Sisters
Unit 2: Biomolecules
Biological Molecules: You are what you eat!
Nucleic Acids: DNA and RNA Structure and Function
Dehydration Synthesis, Hydrolysis
Dehydration Synthesis and Hydrolysis Reactions with Models
What are Enzymes? How do they work?
Unit 3: Cells and Cell Transport
The wacky history of Cell Theory
Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes - Amoeba Sisters
Prokaryotes vs Eukaryotes: The Differences
Animated Life: Seeing the Invisible
Introduction to Cells: The Grand Tour
Animal Cell (Cell City Analogy)
Plant Cell vs Animal Cell - Amoeba Sisters
Cell Structure and Function (Various Videos on Organelles)
Voyage Inside the Plasma Membrane
Cell Membranes and Cell Transport
How do things move across the cell membrane?
Cell Membrane Passive Transport
Pruney Fingers? Think Osmosis! What is Osmosis?
Membranes and Transport : Crash Course Biology
Active vs. Passive Transport: Compare and Contrast
Unit 4: Cellular Energy
Crash Course Biology: ATP and ADP Cycle
ATP Synthase: The Power Plant of the Cell
Photosynthesis: ATP and ADP Cycle
Crash Course Biology: Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis and the Teeny Tiny Pigment Pancakes
Rainforests: The Lungs of the Planet
Amoeba Sisters: Cellular Respiration
Crash Course Biology: ATP and Cell Respiration
The beneficial bacteria that make delicious food - Erez Garty
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Fermenting Foods at Home
Unit 5: DNA Structure & Protein Synthesis
Rosalind Franklin - My Favorite Scientist
How Rosalind Franklin changed history
Crash Course: DNA Structure and DNA Replication
Amoeba Sisters: DNA Replication
Amoeba Sisters: Protein Synthesis
Protein Synthesis - Transcription and Translation
Gene Expression and the Order of the Operon
Basics of Biology: DNA Mutations
Mutations: The Potential Power of a Small Change
Mutations: The Science of Survival
Unit 6: Cell Cycle & Meiosis
The importance of surface area to volume ration as a factor limiting cell size
Mitosis: The Amazing Cell Process that Uses Division to Multiply!
Cell Cycle and Mitosis (3D Animation)
Mitosis 1: See DNA replication and the major events during mitosis
Mitosis 2: The steps of mitosis are shown in microscopic detail
The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks
Hela Cells: Henrietta Lacks Story
How Cells Divide and How Chemotherapy Works
Bacteria Dividing: Binary Fission
Asexual Bacterial Reproduction: Binary Fission & Sexual Bacterial Reproduction: Conjugation
Scishow: Stem Cells
What are stem cells? How can they be used for medical benefit?
Meiosis: Crossing Over and Variability [3D Animation]
Unit 7: Genetics
Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment
Amoeba Sisters: Punnett Squares
Amoeba Sisters: Dihybrid and Two Trait Crosses
Dihybrid Crosses and gamete assortment
Gene Linkage, Crossing Over, and Mapping
Punnett Squares and Sex-Linked Traits
Multiple Alleles (ABO Blood Types) and Punnett Squares
Incomplete Dominance, Codominance, Polygenic Traits, and Epistasis
Unit 8: Evolution
Earth's Entire History (Visualized On A Football Field)
David Christian: The History of Our World in 18 minutes
PBS Nova: What Darwin Never Knew
How does Evolution really work?
The Jeff Corwin Experience: Galapagos Islands: The land of Evolutionary Change
Homologous Structures / Vestigial Structures (Whale and the Wolf)
Why Does Evolution Matter Now? (Antibiotic Resistance)
Seven Million Years of Human Evolution
Natural Selection: Crash Course Biology
The Processes of Evolution: Natural Selection, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
The Process of Evolution: Genetic Variation and Speciation
Speciation: Crash Course Biology
Speciation through Reproductive Isolation
Evolution Genetic Tool Kit: Homeobox (Hox) Genes
Unit 9: Bacteria, Viruses and Biotechnology
Bacterial Structure and Function
Why Does Evolution Matter - Antibiotic Resistance
Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria
Alexander Fleming's Discovery of Penicillin
Pandemic Infectious Diseases: Bacteria, Viruses, and Parasites
Asexual Reproduction - Bacterial Binary Fission
Methods of Bacterial Reproduction: Bacterial Binary Fission and Bacterial Conjugation
The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage
Flu Attack! When a Virus Attacks!
Virus Lysogenic Infection Cycle
How we conquered the deadly smallpox virus - Simona Zompi
COVID-19 Animation: What Happens If You Get Coronavirus?
HIV Life Cycle: How HIV infects a cell and replicates itself using Reverse Transcriptase
How is DNA Fingerprinting used to catch a criminal?
How read Gel Electrophoresis results
PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
Are GMOs Good or Bad? Genetic Engineering & Our Food
The Human Genome Project: The Secret of Our Lives
Unit 10: Plants
Plant Cells; Crash Course Biology
The Sex Lives of Non-Vascular Plants: Crash Course Biology
Vascular Plants: Crash Course Biology
Angiosperms: Flowering Plant Life Cycle
Amoeba Sisters: Plant Reproduction
The Plants and the Bees: Plant Reproduction - Crash Course Biology
The Private Life of Plants: The Birds and the Bees (Flowering)
What Plants Talk About - Documentary
Life of Cycle of Gymnosperms (Alternation of Generations)
Plant Reproduction in Angiosperms
Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants
Flowers: Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants
Double Fertilization in Flowering Plants
Unit 11: Human Body Systems
Human Body Systems Functions Overview: The 11 Champions
Homeostasis and Negative/Positive Feedback
Crash Course Biology: Human Body Systems "Circulatory & Respiratory Systems"
Blood Flow through the Heart Animation
National Geographic: The Digestive System
The Journey of the Digestive System
Crash Course Biology: The Digestive System
Through the Esophagus: The Function of Peristalsis
Urinary System (Excretory System): The Human Body
Crash Course Biology: The Excretory System
Crash Course Biology: The Nervous System
Crash Course Biology: The Endocrine System "Great Glands"
The Role of Insulin in the Human Body
The Endocrine System: Effects of Adrenaline on the Body
Adrenaline: Fight or Flight Response
An Introduction to How the Immune System Works
Crash Course Biology: The Immune System "Natural Born Killer"
Crash Course Biology: Reproductive System
Animation: The Menstrual Cycle
Unit 12: Ecology
Ecology and Organization of a Bog
Exploring Ecosystems: Coastal Food Webs
Coral Reefs: Unraveling the Web
Plankton - Tropical Marine Life
Ocean Drifters: A Secret World Beneath the Waves
An Inconvenient Truth: None Like it Hot!
Symbiosis Activity: Pearl Fish and Sea Cucumber
Symbiosis Activity: Sea Urchin and Kelp Forest
Symbiosis Activity: Giraffe and Ox Pecker
Symbiosis Activity: Bullet Ant and Cordyceps Fungus
Predation: Great White Shark vs Seals
NPR: How did we get to 7 Billion so fast?
Biology Crash Course: Ecology "Population Growth"
Exponential Growth: Rabbit Population in Australia
Primary and Secondary Succession
Orangutans in Malaysian Borneo
Invasive Species: The High Invasion of the Great Lakes
Invasive Species: The Cane Toad of Australia
Unit 13: Animals & Dissections
Earthworm (Annelid) Dissection
Animal Development: We're Just Tubes - Crash Course Biology
Simple Animals: Sponges, Jellies, and Octopuses - Crash Course Biology
Why the Octopus brain is so extraordinary - - Cláudio L. Guerra
Complex Animals: Annelids and Arthropods
The Amazing World of Earthworms
Frog Dissection (Very similar to our Lab Instructions)
Classification / Kingdom of Life: Fungi
Taxonomy - Crash Course Biology
Classification - Amoeba Sisters
Scientific Name - Binomial Nomenclature
Dichotomous Keys: Identification Achievement
Archaea, Bacteria, and Protists: Crash Course Biology
Kingdom Protista: The Origins of Eukaryotic Diversity
Diatom Algae populations tell a story about climate change
Kingdom Protista: Review of Protozoa
Lichen, The Most Awesome Thing Ever!
Kingdom Fungi: Crash Course Biology
World of Mushrooms: Molds and Fungus Documentary
Kingdom Fungi: Review of Fungi
Cordyceps Fungus: Attack of the Killer Fungus
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