Biology Lab Activities

Unit 1 - Measuring Height

You are measuring your height versus your wingspan. If you do not have a measuring tape at home you can use iRuler.net - Online ruler to make one using paper or string.

Take your measurement standing from the top of your head, to the base of your feet.

Make sure to use centimeters for your units!

Next, Measure your wingspan, from finger tip to finger tip, so stand in a T-Pose, with your arms spread out to the side,

Then to get your Ratio, divide your Height/Wingspan.

Really Easy!

Here are the instructions for the assignment, copied from the unit:

Are you a rectangle or a square?

Measure your height (in cm). If your tape measure is only in inches, convert the numbers to cm.

Hold your arms out and have someone measure from the left-hand tip to the right-hand tip.

Divide the two numbers.

If the number is close to one, you are a square.

If it is not close to one, you are a rectangle.

Most people are squares. Professional basketball players tend to be rectangles because their arms are so long. In the next section, you will test this statement by measuring at least five different people.

Height: ________________________

What shape are you? ________________________

Prepare for a short essay.

Find a tape that measures in cm. If yours only measures in inches, convert inches to cm's. Measure your height and type it below; now measure the length of your arms stretched out from fingertip to fingertip and type it below, now divide the two numbers and type the answer below. The closer the answer is to 1, the more "square" you are. If it is not 1, you are a rectangle. Professional basketball players are often rectangles because their arms are so long!

Unit 1 - Human Shapes

Watch this video for information from me about this activity!

I have copied the instructions for the assignment below from the activity. Many have had a hard time finding them, for some they are showing up after the link for the submission.

This activity asks you to take measurements of height vs arm span and looking at others ratios - I have a video here for the concept of the Vitruvian Man

This is similar to the 'Measuring Heights' Activity, but here you are to be charting and reporting on more data to get some practice with completing lab reports.

You can fill out the data table/form with the collected data and answer the questions on the attached form from the activity. Here is a link the the Activity report PDF from the lesson.

If you cannot print, no worries, you can either fill out the form on your computer(just remember to save the pdf once you complete so it locks your answers in) or write out the answers on paper and attach a photo of your work when you submit.

If the PDF is what is making it difficult to complete, because the coding on it copies text from and to different text boxes, you can also use this blank google doc lab form, it will make a copy to your drive and when you are done, you can share the link or attach with your Buzz submission.

Hope this helps, if not, please let me know.-Mr. Ward

Here are the instructions for the assignment, copied from the unit:

One characteristic of humans is that we tend to be shaped like squares.

In this activity, you will test this statement. Is it true or not? We will practice filling in an experiment sheet. Whenever you perform an experiment, you will follow this experiment format.

In this activity, you will test the following statement: One characteristic of humans is that we tend to be shaped like squares.

Is it true or not? Remember you already determined if you were a square or a rectangle by calculating your arm to height ratio in a previous activity.

In this activity, we will practice filling in an experiment sheet. Whenever you perform an experiment, you will follow this experiment format.

For this activity and all experiments, you may either print the attached form or you may type your answers on the form or you may type your answers in a document to upload for your teacher to grade. The attached form has form fields to make it easier to type directly in the form.

You may return to this activity at any time in the course and use the attached document.

Tips for filling out the experiment sheet:

Hypothesis: IF, THEN statement based on the statement in bold above. Remember that the hypothesis drives your experiment; what could you test based on the idea that humans are shaped like squares.
Background information: In this section include what you already know about the statement in bold. Remember background information is based on facts, not opinions.
Materials: List any materials you’d need to perform your experiment (ie. ruler, notebook paper, etc)
Describe: List the steps you would take to perform your experiment in this section.
Data Table: Record the results of your experiment in the table. You will need to record data for at least 3 people.
Conclusion: Summarize the results of your experiment and determine if your hypothesis was correct or incorrect.
Quote the Data: Explain why your hypothesis was correct or incorrect. Support your reasoning by citing the data from your table.
Error: Record anything that could have caused error in your experiment here. (Ex: my ruler had a big scratch and I couldn’t read some of the numbers when measuring).
How Errors Impact Results: What could the error in your experiment have caused to be different? Did it significantly impact your data?
Changes to Reduce Error: What could you do to change your experiment or procedures to eliminate or reduce errors in the future?

Unit 2 - Permeability

If you do not have the materials at home use the video embedded in the activity to complete the assignment.

In this experiment, you will take what you learned about selective permeability and design your own experiment to see whether plastic bags are permeable or not.

Here's a link to the Video

Here's a link to the Lessons Lab Form to complete or You can also use this blank google doc lab form, it will make a copy to your drive and when you are done, you can share the link or attach with your Buzz submission.

Problems: Will iodine be able to cross the membrane into the plastic bag? Will starch, which is a larger molecule, be able to pass through the plastic bag? Do plastic bags have selective permeability?

One possible hypothesis (Yours can be different): If iodine and starch molecules are small enough, then they will be able to pass through the membrane.

Scientific knowledge: Diffusion happens by molecules moving from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration.

Unit 3 Dominant and Recessive Traits

Here are the instructions from the activity:

Verify dominant or recessive traits. To perform this project, observe 10 students around you or 10 people you walk past. Keep track of two (2) traits, and verify whether they have

1) free ear lobes (not attached to facial skin) and
2) facial dimples.

Keep a post-it note or paper tally. List 1 through 10 in a column with "free lobes" and "dimples" columns. Place an x or check in the 2 columns only if the person HAS that trait. Now see what percentage is dominant (free ear lobes) and (dimples)? What percentage is recessive (attached lobes and no dimples)? Record your quick survey results.

My suggestions:

The activity wants you to observe and track the traits for dimples and for ear lobes on at least 10 people. Now we are in the middle of a global pandemic, I don't want you going out and getting sick talking to 10 randos out on the street or at a store, so how can we do this activity safely at home if we don't have 10 people there?

-Idea 1: You can track the traits while watching your favorite show! Watch the actors and see if they have these traits.

-Idea 2: Use a photo album! Look at relatives from near and far, living and past, and see what traits they show.

-Idea 3: Favorite celebrities or sports stars!

Be creative, you can do this activity without traveling and without getting around crowds of people.

◄◄◄•••►►►

Unit 3 - Punnett Squares

•Here is a video explaining how to setup Punnett Squares.

•This video gives info about punnett squares and Mendel's experiments with the Pea Plants.

•Here is a video that shows how to setup and complete a 4x4 punnett square for a dihybrid cross.

◄◄◄ Monohybrid Example

Place parent a on top, and parent 2 on the side. You need to write each of their alleles separately so you can find the possible probabilities of their offspring.

Each offspring needs to be made of one allele from parent 1 and one allele from parent 2.

The second activity, with the Bird Punnett Questions focuses on traits that exhibit codominance and incomplete dominance,

Check out this video for more info on how these traits work!

Dihybrid Helper - click image if it doesn't animate:)

Protein Synthesis - DNA to RNA to Amino Acids

Unit 4 Lesson 8

Here are the dichotomous key and image from Lesson 8 in Unit 4

They show up very small in the Buzz Course!

Unit 4 Activities - The Essay Questions

In Unit 4 you have 2 Essay Activities, one over how the first cells came into being, and the second is expressing your ideas about evolution.

For each essay I just ask that you give your best and write what you think. They are both about your opinions, not about right versus wrong answers. If you tell me what you think, then you will get a good score:)

►The prompt for the cell essay is, "How do you think the first cell came into existence? Write a paragraph stating your opinion."

→If you need some help or inspiration, check out this video it is a fun cool video about how the first cells and life may have come to be.

►For the second essay the prompt is, "Evolution is sometimes a controversial topic. Write an essay (minimum 5 short paragraphs) including the following:

What is your opinion about evolution?
Do you think there should be a controversy?
Do you think alternatives to evolution should be taught in schools?
Why or why not?

→If you need some help or inspiration for this essay check out these videos for nice, easy explanations of our evolutionary past:)

It's Okay to be Smart - There was no first human

Where do humans come from?

Unit 5 - Bacteria & Viruses

The activities in this unit are looking at bacteria and viruses.

Activity 1 - Diagraming a typical Bacteria, Binary Fission, and Bacterial Conjugation

Activity 2 - Diagraming 3 Shapes of Bacteria

Watch this video to help with both activities on Bacteria

Activity 3 - Viruses - short essay - What is your opinion? Do you think viruses should be classified as life? Why or why not? Provide your answer in a 4-5 sentence paragraph in the word processor below. Support your answer with evidence from the text of the lessons.

Here is a video to help with this essay

Activity 4 - H1N1 Flu Virus - short essay - You have been infected with the H1N1 flu virus. Describe how this virus might have entered your body, how it works to make you sick, and what happens when you finally get better. List at least 7 different steps.

This video, A day-by-day look at how the flu, infects your body takes you through what is happening in your body when you get infected.

Here is a short video from National Geographic that examines the Flu

Activity 5 - Pond Scum - YOU DO NOT NEED A MICROSCOPE! just use the video in the assignment to make your observations if you do not have access to any ponds, creeks, or other water sources.

Here is the video form the activity:

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