Reaction Experiment

Your Task:

Conduct a quick and simple study which investigates factors effecting reaction time.

Use the article above to help you decide what might be an interesting question to ask.

Once your question is decided:

1. Make a prediction about what you expect to find.

2. Write a method on how you will study this
- It should be detailed sufficiently that someone could reproduce your experiment exactly as you did it
- It should be written in dot point or list for
- Ideally it should be written in past tense
- You should not refer to 'I', 'we', 'us'.


3. Write up a results table ready to take results
- Look under the 'resources' tab to get some tips and tricks for using Excel

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Writing Your Report:
*HINT* Use the Inquiry Resources under the 'Resources' tab for help.

This is a simple inquiry to give you some practice in the skills you will need for your major inquiry (next term).  Therefore you won't need to include all the usual sections or put the same amount of detail in.

Your simplified report should include:
1. Aim & prediction
2. Method (detailed)
3. Results table and graph
4. A short discussion of what you found.
-- This is where you discuss your results (and graph) and then compare this to the research of others.
--Look at the 'How to Write a Killed ABGS Discussion' in the Resources tab.
 --Be sure to include some research from the internet about it, there are some helpful links below

Main Reading Reaction times vs Reflexes

Influences on Reaction Time (This article is long and has a lot of unnecessary info, but you may find it has some easy to understand information that relates to your experiment)

More Influences on Reaction Time (Again, find the section that relates to your specific experiment - try and ignore any confusing information!)

The Nervous System

Your task is to create a labelled model of a motor nerve.

The model should demonstrate:

The structure and function of the:
- Mylelin sheath
- The axon
- The dendrites
- The cell body (soma)

Watch: Structure of a nerve cell
Read: Overview of a Neuron (read up, but not including, the 'variations on neural theme' section)


Your model should also:
Compare and contrast the role of sensory nerves to motor nerves.  Showing this through a table or flow chart would be best.

Read: Nervous System Intro which is very good
or the Overview of a Neuron (link above)
or BBC Bitesize 

Time Line Project

TIME LINE PROJECT (assignment outline)




Optional: Explore Human Evolution

Go through the following websites and take notes to improve your understanding of the evolution of humans.


INTERACTIVE:
Human Evolution over time.
Human Evolution Interactive

What period of time did Humans evolve over?  How did climate fluctuate? How many homo species do we know about?


IMAGE:
Lucy: The crucial 'missing link' fossil between 4 legged primates and bipedal primates
An image of the fossils of 'Lucy' Australopithecus afarensis

This image reflects ALL the fossils we currently have of Australopithecus afarensis.  What questions or comments do you have about it? 

VIDEOS & INTERACTIVE:
Big History: Human Evolution
Big History (chapter and videos)

What does this website outline as the important stages of human evolution?

INFORMATION:
Walking Upright: Some of the evolutionary mechanisms
Walking Upright Mechanisms

What was required for primates to walk upright?  Over what period of time did this occur?


INTERACTIVe
Compare the mystery skull to other known homid skulls:
Mystery Skull Interactive

How many hominids were there? What features of the skull do Scientists use to understand them?

TEST: Photosynthesis & Respiration Wednesday 15th

On Wednesday 15th August you will be having a test:

The test will have three sections:
1. Multiple Choice Section
2. Short answer questions (about a short paragraph of writing required)
3. Analysis of a photosynthesis or respiration experiment (like one we've done in class).

----
The types of questions being asked will be:
- What is photosynthesis and respiration: What are the reactants and products of each>
Watch: Bozeman Photosynthesis  
Try looking at BBC Bitesize: Carbon Dioxide and Respiration 

- Why is photosynthesis important? How has/does photosynthesis effected the planet?  SHORT ANSWER
Try looking at this TED ED video or Cambrian (early animal) Explosion wiki  or watch: Photosynthesis and Global Climate

- Where does photosynthesis and respiration occur?
Watch this interaction: Photosynthesis Interactive  and Respiration Interactive

- What is the similarities and differences of respiration/photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis	Respiration
Makes Glucose  Uses Glucose	Makes Glucose  Uses Glucose
Makes Carbon Dioxide  Uses Carbon Dioxide	Makes Carbon Dioxide  Uses Carbon Dioxide
Makes Oxygen Gas  Uses Oxygen Gas	Makes Oxygen Gas  Uses Oxygen Gas
Occurs in the chloroplasts  Occurs in the mitochondria	Occurs in the chloroplasts  Occurs in the mitochondria
Occurs continuously  Shuts down at night	Occurs continuously  Shuts down at night

Also there will be questions about:
- Reading the periodic table and understanding proton, neutron and electron count from it
Watch: How to read the periodic table (also notes on the power-point below)

- Reading a chemical equation and understanding its notation (numbers and letters)
Watch Writing and Reading a Chemical Equation (also notes on the power-point below).

- Conservation of mass principle and how it is applied to chemical reactions (like photosynthesis and respiration)
Look at this: Conservation of Mass and Chemical Reactions

Also there will be questions about:
- Your assignment - volcanoes and how first life formed (multiple choice)
-  Snowball Earth: How it started, its impact on life, and how it finished SHORT ANSWER
If you have completed the assignment and looked at the resources there, you should be fine to answer these questions.  Look at the assignment link below for more help.

Experiment Question:
This question will get you to analyse the results of an experiment and answer some questions in relation to photosynthesis and respiration.   To prepare for this question you should have a thorough understanding of these two chemical reactions and have a think about some of the experiments we have done in class: Finding starch in leaves and testing acidity of algal balls.

Other Resources:
Power Point from Class

Volcanoes Assignment

This assignment has two parts. 

 Part 1 is the Google Earth mapping activity which aims to get you familiar with the processes that form volcanoes.  You will need to download Google Earth.

Part 2 is designed to get you to learn about how volcanoes played a part in three major events.  This will help you learn more about these events, in preparation for your next assignment.

Part 1: Identifying modern day Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and their causes

You will need these files for this activity: 

Understanding Crust Types and Boundary Types
Understanding Plate Tectonics (interactive website - the section slip, slide, collide is specifically about volcanoes)

Download Google Earth 
Download Google Earth

The Data Files 
You will need to save this file to your computer
Plate Tectonics Exercise If it won't open ask the relief teacher for the USB stick, or ask a friend who has had it emailed to them. 

Part 1: ACTIVITY

1.  Download Google Earth on your device. School computers should have it on their already.  Press the windows button+S and type “Google earth” to find it.  If it is not there, you can download it from the net (a box will pop up on downloading for a teacher to authorise this).

2. Download the Google Earth Data files (on the blog) and save them in a folder.

3. Open Google Earth.  Click ‘Open’ and select ‘Plate Tectonic Exercise’

4. The data for the Plate Tectonic Exercise is now on the left hand side of the screen.  Deselect everything in the Plate Tectonic Exercise folder except for ‘Global Volcanism Program’.

5.  Zoom in until you begin to see the red triangles indicating volcanoes.

6.  Use the Google Earth volcano data to draw on your physical map the areas which have high volcanic activity (don’t worry too much about isolated volcanoes like those in the Pacific Ocean).  Use a key and label this ‘Sites of high volcanic activity’.

7. Deselect ‘Global Volcanism Program’ and now select ‘All EQuakes’.  Zoom in if you cannot see all the Earth Quake Activity.

8. Use the Google Earth earthquake data to draw on your physical map the areas which have high earthquake activity (don’t worry too much about isolated earthquakes like those in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans).  Use a key and label this ‘sites of high earthquake activity’.  Take special note of the earthquake depths (draw in the progression of depths if you wish). 

9.  Finally deselect ‘All EQuakes’ and select ‘Plate Convergence’ (it’s towards the top of the folder).  This is a series of arrows points to spots where two plates are converging

10.  Draw these arrows onto your physical map.

 

PART 1: QUESTIONS: Write on back of map or type up.

a)  What is causing these areas to have such high volcanic and earthquake activity? (1 mark)

b) Use the resources available on the blog to explain why these zones lead to high volcanism.

c) Use the resources available on the blog to explain why these zones lead to high earthquake activity.

 

d) Why in some areas do you tend to get clear lines of  earthquakes that go from shallow, medium to deep depths?  Give an example of an area you found on Google Map where this is evident.  Use the data on Google Earth about Earthquakes to back up your statement. 

PART 2: Significant Volcanic Activity in History

Event 1: First Life

 Q1. The Miller Urey Experiment was crucial for testing the hypothesis that first life formed in “a warm little pond” from the combination of nutrients and proteins 3.8 billion years ago.

What was the Stanley Miller experiment and what did they find? Take notes from the following video to answer this question (dot points fine)  (5 marks)

Stanley Miller: Stated Clearly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNijmxsKGbc

Q2.  Since the Miller-Urey experiment scientists at NASA believe volcano action was crucial for providing these nutrients.  Use the link below to identify how volcanoes may have been crucial in providing the first elements for first life – dot points (in your own words) is fine.  (4 marks)

Volcanoes and First Life 

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/volcanic_life_origin.html

 Event 2: Snowball Earth

Q1. Use your notes from the film ‘Snowball Earth’ and further research on the internet, identify the role of volcanoes in ending Snowball Earth and giving rise to the first multi-cellular life.  Please reference your writing using either (Catastrophes dvd Snowball Earth) and/or the url from the websites you use.  Ensure to include information about greenhouse gases.

Event 3: DVD “Planet of Fire”

Q1. Watch this video either on your computer or phone from the URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ILddHJlKw

TAKE NOTES AND SUBMIT THESE AS PART OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT.

Due on Friday August 5 :

1) Your coloured in map and answers to the first part questions

2) Answers to Event 1 and Event 2 questions

3) Notes from the film "planet of fire" > handwritten and attached to map is fine.

send to 

taroonawork  @    gmail    .    com

Plate Tectonics: A force that shapes our Earth

So far we have looked at three key events:

1.  The formation of the Earth and Moon
2.  First life forming
3.  Snowball Earth

We have also looked at how currents work and how they affect our environment.

During your assignment next week you will be exploring how volcanoes have shaped our planet.

THURSDAY:

Before launching into looking at volcano based events we need to understand:

How do volcanoes work and what drives these processes? 

This leads us to our next event:

4. Movement of the Earth's tectonic plates (aka continental drift)

To Do:

Move through the Dynamic Earth Interactive (from intro until the Quiz)
Pay particular attention to the section slip, slide and collide 

Dynamic Earth Interactive

Earth History Events

Your Task:

Select an Earth History event and research what it was (in a sentence really) and when it occurred. Try and visit a few sites to verify the date.

When you're done come back in and we will place the events in the correct spot on the time-line.


Try looking at the U1: Earth History tab for some helpful links.