Milestone 2

What is an animal?

During this milestone you will review information on different types of animals, animal behavior and structure of different animals.

Zoology (also known as animal science) is the branch of biology devoted to the study of animal life. It covers areas ranging from the structure of organisms to the subcellular unit of life. Some zoologists are interested in the biology of particular groups of animals. Others are concerned with the structure and function of animal bodies. Still others study how new animals are formed and how their characteristics are passed on from one generation to another. Zoologists study the interactions of animals with one another and their environments, as well as the significance of the behavior of animals.

Zoology is both descriptive and analytical. It can be approached either as a basic science or as an applied science. A worker in basic zoology is interested in knowledge of animals for its own sake without consideration of the direct application of the information gained. In contrast, workers in applied zoology are interested in information that will directly benefit humans and animals (medicine, for example).

Historically, the study of zoology can be viewed as a series of efforts to analyze and classify animals. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with devising the system of classifying animals that recognized similarities among diverse organisms in the fourth century B.C.E.; he arranged groups of animals according to mode of reproduction and habitat. Zoology began to emerge as a science in the 12th century and long was dominated by studies of anatomy and efforts at classifying animals. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus developed a system of nomenclature that still is used today — the binomial system of genus and species — and established as a discipline taxonomy, the science of classification according to a predetermined system.

Engage:

Watch the video to the right about how different animals see things!!!
Write down 5 facts that you learned from the video on a google doc and submit to Slate.

Stepping Stone #1:

Read Animal Evolution
Complete the Vocabulary Slides
Submit to Slate

Stepping Stone #2:

Read the article linked and watch the video within the article as well as this additional video on Animal Behavior.
Complete the questions at the end of the reading and videos on a google doc - there will be a total of 10 questions.
Submit to Slate

Stepping Stone #3:

Interactive: Animal Characteristics: Open the interactive link and drag the physical characteristics to the type of animal group it belongs to.
Once you have completed the groups snip a picture of the completed groups. Scroll down and choose the food chain game. Do the different levels to "refresh" your memory of food chains/grouping of animals based on what they consume. Snip a picture of the most complex food web and put it with the animal grouping snip on the same google document.
Submit on slate.

Stepping Stone #4:

Complete the Ecological Relationship Assignment.
Submit to Slate

Stepping Stone #5:

Catagorizing of Animals: Interactive - please use your notebook for notes on the following categories: Invertebrates, Kingdoms of Life, Animal Adaptations and Arthropods - once reviewing the movie or slides and taking notes, return to main topic and self quiz. Screen shot scores and submit on a google doc. Each quiz must have an 80% or higher.
Submit to Slate

Stepping Stone #6: Feeding and Digestion of Animals: Biology Textbook: pg. 840-844 or use the link.

Animal Digestion Groupings: Read through the information
Answer the Questions on types of Animal Digestive System.
Submit to Slate

Stepping Stone #7:

Animal Evolution and Diversity -- Read the information and watch the videos on evolution.
Complete the 3 review questions AND take the Practice quiz 1-10. Take a picture of your score and submit task to Slate.

Stepping Stone #8: Natural Selection

Read - Living things that are well adapted to their environment survive and reproduce. Those that are not well adapted don't survive and reproduce. An adaptation is any characteristics that increases fitness, which is defined as the ability to survive and reproduce.

Over many generations heritable adaptive characteristics become more common in a population. This process is called evolution by natural selection. Evolution by natural selection takes place over many, many generations. Evolution by natural selection leads to adaptation with a population. The term evolution by natural selection does not refer to individuals changing, only to changes in the frequency of adaptive characteristics in the population as a whole.

Complete the 5 Points of Darwin's Natural Selection that is linked here: 5 Points of Darwin's Natural Selection

Stepping Stone #9: Animal Investigation

Choose one of the following categories of animals and choose one animal from that category to investigate within the species. Use the rubric to put together your presentation. This presentation can be completed on Google Slides or Power Point.

Disciplines that concentrate on specific divisions of animal life:

Entomology ---------- Insects

Herpetology ---------- Amphibians & Reptiles

Ichthyology -----------Fish

Invertebrate Zoology -- Animals without backbones

Malacology ----------- Mollusks

Mammalogy ---------- Mammals

Ornithology ---------- Birds

Sub disciplines that concentrate on interactions between animals and their environment:

Embryology --- Development of animals before birth

Ethology ------ Animal behavior

Paleontology -- Fossils

Sociobiology -- Behavior, ecology & evolution of social animals such as bees, ants, schooling fish, flocking birds & humans

Stepping Stone #10: Endangered or Extinct

Read the article about Endangered or Extinct animals.
Complete one of the activities listed on the activity page.

Article: Extinct or Endangered Activities List: Choose one to complete

*The Final Performance Task

The performance task will allow you to plan and conduct an investigation about a Biological principle or topic that you have studied or are interested in learning more about.

Students will complete the following within the investigation of their choice:

Follow the Scientific process to research background and conduct an experiment from beginning to end and report the findings in the following:

Submit a technical write using the steps of the scientific method - following the technical write rubric.
Create a multimedia or tri-fold presentation of the investigation.
Present an oral overview in front of an audience. (This can be used for a speech).

Bank of Experiment Examples (you may choose one of your own).

Fermentation of Yeast with different sugars. This experiments allows you to study the effects of sugar as an energy source on living organisms (yeast).

Genetics - This project is about how cells mutate/code incorrectly causing a genetic disease.

The Stroop Effect - This experiment is about how a persons vision impacts responses. (This is a basic instruction form. You will want to research this topic for a more indepth experiment for higher ratings.

Evolution Project - Use the Power Point you created for Stepping Stone #9 to help you with this Preformance Task. Follow the instructions Linked to complete the second part of the project.