Apologia Biology: Module 16

Wow!  If you’ve made it this far, congratulations are in order!  Perhaps some fireworks and a party!   It’s hard to believe that this is our last module…and wow! Does it cover a lot!  I really would love to explore the information in this Module further.  It would be great to have Exploring Creation with Zoology for High School, right?

Class Reptilia is one we encounter almost daily here in Florida.  You don’t need to go very far to come across members of this class….many are in your own backyard!  The larger can be found in almost any fresh water lake near you!   But be careful….sometimes they take their show on the road!  Check out these posts for a few examples:  Darling, There’s an Alligator at the Door, Python Bursts After Eating Alligator, and Girlfriend Hit with Alligator.

Lizards, Snakes, Turtles/Tortoises and of course Dinosaurs…but we’re going to focus on the birds.    Before we get to work, check out this trailer for Alford Hitchcock’s famous movie honoring Class Aves:

Experiment 16.1 Bird Embryology

I was perusing for pictures as replacements for the Chick Embryo slide (the one I purchased has a copyright on it), I found a couple of alternatives:

View Chick Embryo Images at: University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario…

You may also want to check out the NatGeo Wild series called In the Womb.   While there is some evolutionary content, there is also excellent photography and animation of fetal development featuring various animals.

Experiment 16.2 Bird Identification

I wish I would have looked ahead to this module months ago.  Because we are in the south, this experiment would have been even better had we rescheduled it for sometime in the Winter due to the many migratory species that visit here.

Here are some helpful links for you, as you get to know our feathered friends:

Audubon Guides - Absolute favorite!   If you have a smart phone, there is a wonderful app available.

Flight at Canadian Museum of Nature

Get a birds-eye view in flight aboard a Golden Eagle from Animal Planet

What a wonderful way to conclude this course; a field study.  But before, we set off on our bird watching expedition, I gathered some facts about the year-round residents at my favorite nature preserve.  It truly is a bird watchers paradise, if you’re not too scared of the gators!   I put together a list of year-round resident birds to use for our Bird Scavenger Hunt:

Module16 Bird List – Central Florida

Module16 Blank Bird Observation Worksheet

(Note:  The second page names several of the Orders within Class Aves, but it is by no means all-inclusive.)    I figured they would all need a clipboard to write on, so since this would be our last class, I put together a custom-made clipboard for each student.    It was really a fun and easy project….I may just have to make myself one!  My husband even said, ”I don’t have a clipboard!”

As seen in the picture, we are also using A Pocket Naturalist Guide,  Florida Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species, by Kavanagh/Leung.  The students will be breaking into teams of 2 – 3 students to complete the scavenger hunt.  Every team member will have a copy of the Module 16 Bird List.  Each team will have a pocket guide, binoculars, a camera, and trail map.  Each Species should be recorded, photographed, and noted by number on their map.  The team that finds the most of the 50 species listed, will win the grand prize….The Pocket Naturalist Guide!

Our field trip was rescheduled due to thunderstorms, so I’ll be back to post some pictures from the hunt!

Study Link:  Flashcards & Games at Quizlet.com

Congratulations on completing this course!  Woo Hoo! You did it!

Disclaimer:  No compensation of any kind has been received for promoting any products, websites, videos, or anything else. 

Apologia Biology: Module 15

I have recently been under fire for not disclosing that there were informative gory and interesting disgusting photos in some of my previous posts.  So consider yourself warned….Module 15 has its share of dissections just like the past few modules!  Proceed cautiously, and for heaven’s sake, sit down before viewing if it bothers you!

But first, a couple of fun videos about plants before we get down to business….This is a really cool plant.  Wonder if they grow here??

While I was out Googling and such I found this cool museum of carnivorous plants:   Galleria Carnivora.  (Like the Micropolitan Museum that we looked at sometime around Module 3 or 4, choose the floor and click the specimen you’d like to see.)

And no mention of the Venus Fly Trap is complete without a visit to Little Shop of Horrors….

Experiment 15.1 – Flower Anatomy

The object of this experiment was to observe various types of flowers and compare their differences and similarities. Each series of images below shows full flower, followed by vertical cross-section, then magnification of the corresponding pollen (click to enlarge):

Experiment 15.2 – Fruit Classification

Who knew?  Fruit classification is not quite as easy as you might think!   But we sure had a lot of fun in the process AND a we all had a very healthy snack!  We used Bananas, Tangerines, Kiwi, Avocado, Sweet Peas, Tomato, Cucumber, Green Pepper, Grapes, Apples, and Peanuts.

The object of this experiment was to observe the various types of fruits and compare their differences….especially in their flavor!

For help in Fruit Classifications, try these websites:

Nationmaster.com

Bellevue College

WaynesWord

Everyone was quite courageous during our dissections.  No one sat on the side lines. One student did look a little green after eating a piece of tomato, but that is to be expected!

I think the feeling was quite unanimous; this was one of our favorite experiments to date!

 A few of our sliced specimen…

 

Dissected peanut…see the tiny embryo at the top?

These are referred to as, “the leavings” and should be thrown out or composted once experiment is complete!

We made quite a mess during this experiment…but at least we have a barkuum!

Study Link:  Flashcards & Games at Quizlet.com

Apologia Biology: Module 14

Kingdom Plantae:  Anatomy & Classification

So this Module really clarified something for me!  Remember when you first learned that tomatoes were actually a fruit?  I remember being told that was because it had seeds on the inside.  This was never a logical argument for me, because what about green beans, peas, and corn??  And don’t forget about strawberries with seed on the outside…All my life this has bothered me!

OK, so here’s the rule:  “If a food item is a reproductive plant organ, it is a fruit” 1

Basically, if it has seeds or is a seed, it is considered a fruit!  Now aren’t you glad you visited today?

For Module 14, the students completed Experiment 14.1: Leaf Collection & Identification, at home.  I did give them some creative leeway on this one; they could use the instructions in the book or be a little more creative.  (The thought of doing the whole leaf and waxed paper thing was a bit too Kindergarten for us!)  So here are a couple editional ideas:

*  Take a hike at a local nature preserve or in your own backyard, photograph, print and place in Lab Notebook with identications

*  Pick a good variety of leaves, make a color copy of them for your notebook and label

*  If you’re really a techie, use a scanner to scan each leaf, use a photo editing program to add labels, then print for your lab notebook

*  Have fun, be creative!

If we had more time, I would have taken the class on a Leaf Scavenger Hunt; the goal being to locate and identify all of the mosiacs, shapes, venations, margins, etc.   (With real or photographic evidence to support their findings!)

Experiment 14.2 – How Antocyanins and pH Help Determine Leaf Color

This is a fun experiment, but I forgot to get my camera out.  There are some great pictures and comments on this one over at Applie’s Place, so be sure to head over and check it out.    Here’s a video of a different approach to this experiment from Dux College in Sydney Australia:

This experiment made me think of Hydrangeas, as you can change the color of the flower by adjusting the acidity of the soil.  Check out this article from the University of Rhode Island’s Horticulture Department. (Scroll down to the part on Color Confusion.)

Experiment 14.3 – Cross Sections of Roots, Stems, and a Leaf

Compare the images below from our specimen, with the images in your book.  (Figures 14..7, 14.11, and 14.12)  We were not able to identify all the structures in all the samples, but you should be able to find most of them.  (Click on the image to see it larger.)

A.  Observation of a Leaf Cross Section:

 

B.  Observation of a lateral cross section of a Ranunculus Root

C.  Observation of a lateral cross section of a Zea mays root

D.  Observation of a lateral cross section of a Zea mays stem

E.  Observation of a lateral cross section of a Ranunculus Stem

 

 

Study Link:  Flashcards & Games at Quizlet.com

Footnote: 1 Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc., Apologia Biology, 2nd Edition, Page 430 

 

 

Apologia Biology: Module 13

Phylum Chordata

Before we get started, be sure to check out the Book Extras at the Apologia Website, there are many interesting links that go along with our study of Phylum Chordata.

Looking for vertebrates in Kingdom Animalia?  They can all be found here in Phylum Chordata.  Not all of these creatures have a backbone like the one in this x-ray though; some have a notochord instead….like the creepy and vampirous Lamprey!

Just for fun, check this short video out from “Dirty Jobs” courtesy of the Discover Channel:

Here’s a link to one more short Lamprey segment from Dirty Jobs, appropriately titled, “Slippery Sucker!”.  Can you tell we found this creature a bit intriguing?

If you’d like to find more information on many of the creatures mentioned in this module, you may want to take a look at ARKive: Images of Life on Earth.  The link will take you to the page on Fish, but there are many other creatures covered on this website.  (Note: May have some evolutionary content.)   There are lots of pictures, videos and all kinds of infomation including, fact sheet, status, description, range, habitat, threats, etc.

Experiment 13:1 – Perch Dissection

Here are a couple of links that may be especially helpful for you in identifying the internal anatomy of your perch:

CumberlandK12 Schools

Buffalo.edu Biology 200

Our specimen were not great quality and many of the organs were difficult to identify.   Sorry, no good pics to share here…

For the dissection, I made up a Perch Dissection Worksheet for the students to use for their Lab Notebook, instead of drawing their own illustration.   You are welcome to download it if you’d like.  Additionally, you can find information on Perch Dissection at ThinkQuest.org.  (Note: Click the picture to visit their website and learn more about the functions of the organs.)  For fun, they also have a Salmon Dissection Game, which is much less smelly than a real dissection!

Experiment 13.2 - Frog Dissection

We had quite a variety in our specimen for this experiment….we took pictures to share with you!  Didn’t want you to miss out!  We had everything from Steve to Rainbow Bright Frog….those were not their actual names of course. Once we got inside, Steve was promptly renamed, Plain Jane because of the presence of eggs and oviducts and due to the lack of dye!   Plain Jane did not have nearly as many eggs as Rainbow Bright.   In the end we determined, that only one frog was a male and he had the most fat bodies!  Now, get your strength up, a take a look at a few photos:

 We found the Frog Dissection Guide from Home Science Tools quite helpful to use as a guide for our dissection.  Suprisingly, each frog was very different from the next.

That’s all for this post, but don’t forget to check out these other great blogs that have resources for Module 13:

Applies Place,  Sahm-I-Am,  Books \’N Other Stuff

Snack Ideas that go with this Module:  You must check out Applie’s Friendly Krispy Frog! 

Study Link:  Flashcards & Games at Quizlet.com

Disclaimer:  No income of any kind has been received for the promotion of links and video’s incorporated into this post.  All copyrights on those items, remain with the originator!