Blog Archives - Button's Place

Day 54

10/30/2015

Generally, Fridays are pretty cool. This one was no exception.
The AP Biology students finished watching Gattaca, a truly excellent movie on the benefits and perils of genetic engineering.
The Biology students had their first genetics quiz of the year today. There will be more coming in the near future. Of course, unless we have a time machine, all quizzes this year will take place in the future.
The Chemistry students concluded the week by doing a bunch of practice type problems in preparation of the test next Tuesday.

Day 53

10/29/2015

It's crazy how fast this year is going by. 53? Wow....
The AP Biology had the first genetics quiz of the year. It is certainly not the last.
The Biology students did a bunch of stuff today. They reviewed the genetic crosses. They turned in their own pedigrees today. We also got to eat asparagus which if you know anything about asparagus and genetics, well let's just say we were streaming with information.
The Chemistry continued their review of the Unit 3 material by going over problems on a practice exam. Hopefully, that will help and watching cat videos during class will be shown to be an unsuccessful learning strategy.

Day 52

10/28/2015

Let's scream it together: Yay, yay Advisory Day!!
The AP Biology students continued their exploration of much harder genetics problems than what they had on their regular, and I do mean regular, Biology classes. We also watched a tad more of Gattaca. The students were reminded that they have a genetics quiz tomorrow.
The Biology students focused, if that's possible, on monohybrid crosses and the typical problems they might encounter on a quiz or exam. And, by the way, we are going to have a quiz on Friday on those kind of genetic problems.
The Chemistry talked about the difference between polar covalent and nonpolar covalent bonds. We talked about being able to predict what type of bond is formed between 2 atoms based on their electronegativities. And we also did a couple of practice Lewis dot diagrams.

Day 51

10/27/2015

This Tuesday marks the end of the first 17/60ths of the year. Only 43/60ths left to go!
The AP Biology students work on some genetics problems within Chapter 14. We also watched a little of the dystopian epic, Gattaca.
The Biology students did a couple of things today. They got a chance to work on their pedigrees which are due on Thursday. They also got a better look at monohybrid crosses.
The Chemistry students learned about Gilbert Lewis, a really sympathetic figure and a chemist all high school students end up cursing silently over a bowl of corn flakes even though there was donuts in the pantry.

Day 50

10/26/2015

Day 50!! This year is flyin' by! Only 130 more to go!
The AP Biology students reviewed (at least I hope it was a review) sex-linkage. Sex-linked traits are traits that are attached or found on the X chromosome. Traits like color-blindness, hemophilia and Duchenne muscular dystrophy are all sex-linked disorders and, as such, are found most often in males.
The Biology students learned how pedigrees worked to track genetic traits within a family. The students have an assignment: put together their own pedigree and ask as many people as possible on that pedigree the following question - do you have hair on the mid-digit of your fingers? Hopefully, the people the students ask won't hang up on them.
The Chemistry students made gold (brass) pennies for the last (maybe) time today.

Day 49

10/23/2015

Another Friday. Sweet. And my last football duty as tonight is the last home game.
The AP Biology students discussed epistasis, that genetic phenomenon that plays an important role in..................

puppies!!!!!!!!! The puppy on the right is bbee. Get it?
The Biology students completed the first part of a lab on genetic probability. We will finish it on Monday.
The Chemistry students made a bunch of gold pennies which aren't really gold. They're brass but still equally cool.

Day 48

10/22/2015

Day 48 means that the school year is 4/15ths of the way done! Only 11/15ths to go!
The AP Biology students continued their review of genetic problems by looking at family pedigrees, an easy way to track genetic traits through generations. We also did a couple of practice genetic problems.
The Biology students were given one last day to get their informational pamphlets for a genetic disorder ready to turn in tomorrow. I hope all the groups will be ready! We'll see......
The Chemistry students kinda had a weird day. A lot of kids were gone yesterday so today was a catch up day for them. We all looked at the results of the Ionic Compound Quiz in an effort to make sure everybody can figure out formulas. We also had another look at the procedure of turning a penny into gold!

Day 47

10/21/2015

47 is a prime number. Isn't that the beginning of a song from Sesame Street? If it isn't, it should be. I'll give the first student who sings that while walking into class tomorrow a cool prize.
The AP Biology students checked on some tougher genetic crosses. Thomas showed one of those crosses whose boss by saying, "1/9th!". We also talked about the wonderful world of human blood type and the inheritance thereof.
The Biology students discussed the inheritance of cystic fibrosis. We also learned about the terms 'homozygous dominant' and 'homozygous recessive' and 'heterozygous'. Probability will be discussed tomorrow.
The Chemistry students had a little quiz on ionic compounds. From a quick look, it appears the students are getting it. We also saw the incredible transformation of a simple copper penny to a complicated gold penny. It was awesome.

Day 46

10/20/2015

Day 46? 46 is my favorite number. Why, you ask? Oh, it's a long story that really has no place here.
The AP Biology students began the Genetics Unit today. We reviewed really easy genetic crosses that the students probably had previous experience with. At least I hope so. Simple monohybrid and dihybrid crosses were the fare for the day.
The Biology students saw a short presentation on Tay-Sachs disease that was really sad. It is a fatal disease that parents can pass to children if the parents are carriers of this terrible disorder. The students also had some time to work on their genetic disease brochure.
The Chemistry students reviewed ionic compounds in preparation for a short quiz tomorrow. We spent some time on those tricky formulas. We also played a little Go Fish for Ions, which totally helps.

Day 45

10/19/2015

You know what? The school year know is 25% complete. That means the first quarter is done and report cards are coming out soon. Yay!
The AP Biology students had the second exam of the year today. Only 2 students didn't show up. I wonder if they were sick? Or panic-stricken?
The Biology students got a simple overview of Mendelian genetics. You know, if Mom has blue hair and Dad has purple hair, what are the odds that you'll be eating dinner by yourself tonight? Actual genetic problems aren't exactly like that, but you get the idea. They also had a little time to work on their information pamphlets on a particular genetic disorder.
The Chemistry students answered some pretty easy questions to finish up the Ionic Compound Lab. They also learned how to play Go Fish except in this version, they are forced to create ionic compounds and learned how to write their formulas. Awesome game.