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Lesson Plans
Biology 5th Edition ©1999
by Campbell, Reece, Mitchell
Week 1: Introduction to Biology and the Chemistry of Biology
Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life
Chapter 2: The Chemistry Context of Life
College Board Performance Objectives:
- Explain life's hierarchical order related to emergent properties, cells, DNA, structure and function of organisms, and regulatory mechanisms.
- Explain how evolution is related to the unity and diversity of life.
- Explain the scientific method and how it is used to discover new biology concepts.
- Relate elements and compounds to life requirements.
- Relate atomic structure to the behavior of elements and the bonding of atoms to form ionic and molecular compounds of various shapes.
- Explain how chemical reactions make and break chemical bonds in biology.
College Board Lab Objectives:
Design a controlled laboratory.
Suggested Laboratory Experiments:
Exercises 1.3 and Exercise 1.4, Investigating Biology, pp. 9–17
Resources:
- Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life, pp. 1–19
- Chapter 2: The Chemistry Context of Life, pp. 20–33
- Instructor's Guide, pp. 1–22
- Student Study Guide, pp. 1–36
- Test Bank, pp. 1–8
- Lab Manual, pp. 1–27
- CD-ROM: Chapters 1 and 2 include narrated presentations, activities, and links to the Internet.
Pacing Guide:
- Chapter 1: Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life—2 days
- Chapter 2: The Chemistry Context of Life—3 days
- Use Lab Topic 1 of the Laboratory Manual to replace Science as a Process, pp. 13–18 in Chapter 1.
- Place selected vocabulary words from the two chapters on index cards or strips of paper. Be sure that the words can be arranged or sorted into groups of three or four based on how the words are related. The students pull a piece of paper with a word and they walk around and form groups with related words. They must learn the meaning of all words in the group. The teacher checks that the groups are correct. Each student quickly says why he/she fits into the group. There is always discussion about why a word could be in more than one group.
- Using molecular models or Styrofoam and toothpick, build water molecules. Have students line up many water molecules on top of a large piece of freezer paper. Require them to outline the molecules on the freezer paper and to use dots between the molecules to show hydrogen bonds. If technology is available, this exercise can be done with MS Paint, MS Word Draw, or other image editing programs.
Special General Teaching Techniques Dealing With Homework and Pacing:
Give the students reading assignments with simple questions from the text and/or objective statements from the Teacher's Guide to explain. Teach the concepts after they have the background from their reading. Make sure to explain the difficult items with care, and quickly review the easy concepts. The result is that the students learn how to read biology and are able to have good interaction in class. Students are able to complete the syllabus with this approach. Students use the CD-ROM for introduction and review of the material.
Block Scheduling
Try to keep pace assuming that students have had basic biology and chemistry. Chapter 1 can be accomplished in a little more that one block and Chapter 2 can be covered in about 1.5 blocks.
Key Words:
- hierarchical order, p. 1
- emergent properties, p. 4
- evolution, p. 12
- scientific method, p. 14
- ecosystem, p. 8
- dynamic balance, p. 8
- inference, p. 13
- multidisciplinary, p. 19
- atom, p. 24
- isotope, p. 25
- valence electron, p. 27
- electronegativity, p. 29
- structural formula, p. 28
- covalent bond, p. 28
- ionic bond, p. 30
- polar covalent bond, p. 29
- nonpolar covalent bond, p. 29
- energy levels, p. 26
- orbital, p. 27
- electron configuration, p. 28
- Octet Rule, p. 28
Suggested Exercises:
Critical thinking questions and end-of-chapter activities are included in these exercises.
- Challenge Questions, p. 36 #1
- Science, Technology, and Society, p. 36 #1–2
- Lab Manual: Review Lab Topic 1, Scientific Investigation, pp. 1–29. Read and do Exercises 1.3 and 1.4 to explore experimental design and data analysis and to accomplish the goals of introducing the principles of a scientific investigation.
- Have students compare and contract the structure and function of a car to a human and list the emergent properties that a car lacks to make it alive.
Troubleshooting Tips/Error Traps:
For the sake of time, it is best to use Chapter 1 as an introduction to the basic principles of biology. Remind the students that it will take the entire course to really understand the concepts presented in this chapter. The idea of molecular stability should be stressed in the discussion of bonding. Atoms are most stable when they have eight electrons in their outer energy level (the Octet Rule), and ionic bonding allows atoms to achieve the octet. Students need to learn how to combine atoms to accomplish an octet, and they will not have to memorize the functional groups to understand biomolecules in future chapters. Also, be sure to focus on the molecular structure of water. Students need a full understanding of water's polarity and its ability to form hydrogen bonds. Stress that hydrogen bonds are intermolecular bonds (attraction between two different molecules), and are not intramolecular bonds that share or transfer electrons between atoms in the molecule. They are intermolecular forces between two water molecules that attract adjacent water molecules.