Mr. Damon's terminale IB
Standard Level Biology

Graduating Class of 2010

This page is to inform you of your homework, exam revision and any other information you will need. The assignments will be listed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent work will be on top of the list.

To Do Every Week:
Be sure to learn your lessons and learn the science vocabulary. Students are expected to dedicate 20 to 40 minutes a week to learning 10 to 20 science words. Knowing the material means you are ready for surprise quizzes and you will better understand, appreciate and participate in class discussions.



	*Revision for the Bac Blanc Week* in February 2010: All of Topic 1 about statistics (reading error bars on graphs, calculating means, etc) All of Topic 2: 2.1 Cell theory 2.2 Prokaryotic cells 2.3 Eukaryotic cells 2.4 Membranes 2.5 Cell division All of Topic 3: 3.1 Chemical elements and water 3.2 Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins 3.3 DNA structure 3.4 DNA replication 3.5 Transcription and translation 3.6 Enzymes 3.7 Cell respriration 3.8 Photosynthesis All of Topic 4: 4.1 Chromosomes, genes alleles and mutations 4.2 Meiosis 4.3 Theoretical genetics 4.4 Genetic engineering and biotechnology All of Topic 5: 5.1 Communities and ecosystems 5.2 Greenhouse effect 5.3 Populations 5.4 Evolution 5.5 Classification the following section of Topic 6: 6.6 Reproduction All of Option D: D.1 Origin of Life on Earth D.2 Species and Speciation D.3 Human Evolution All of Option A: A.1 Components of the human diet A.2 Energy in human diets A.3 Special issues in human nutrition Remember, when you study, always follow this order: start with the IB Programme Guide for Biology to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.") use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...) refer to any class notes you have see what the chapters in the book have to say double check that you have memorized all the scientific vocabulary terms** (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should know them in both directions: word to definition and definition to word. Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide. It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills.

	To Do for January 8th Be sure you have read Section 6.6 in the book concerning reproduction. We have about 10 weeks to finish the program and the IA work. We will move on to the following sections: 5.1 Communities and Ecosystems and 5.2 Te Greenhouse Effect. Those should be read by January 15th. Just for fun - here is a news report about how a drug can go from an idea to a well-marketed product. If you listen carefully, you'll hear all kinds of social and ethical issues. You will also see that there is more than one side to the story. As you listen, think about what motivations and incentives each person has. To do during the Toussaint vacation: Finish reading Option A. Learn the vocabulary Have a look at the revision list below to prepare for the exams. You will have a full Paper 1, a full Paper 2 and a full Paper 3.

	*Revision for the Bac Blanc Week* in November 2009: Understand the basic statistics on pages 3 & 4 of Topic 1 in the book such as: average, mean, etc. error bars on graphs All of Topic 2: 2.1 Cell theory 2.2 Prokaryotic cells 2.3 Eukaryotic cells 2.4 Membranes 2.5 Cell division All of Topic 3: 3.1 Chemical elements and water 3.2 Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins 3.3 DNA structure 3.4 DNA replication 3.5 Transcription and translation 3.6 Enzymes 3.7 Cell respriration 3.8 Photosynthesis All of Topic 4: 4.1 Chromosomes, genes alleles and mutations 4.2 Meiosis 4.3 Theoretical genetics 4.4 Genetic engineering and biotechnology Part of one section of Topic 5: 5.4 Evolution - you are expected to understand the theory of evolution as we talked about it in Option D, notably the parts in this section of the book under the subheadings "Mechanism for evolution" and "Natural Selection". All of Option D: D.1 Origin of Life on Earth D.2 Species and Speciation D.3 Human Evolution All of Option A: A.1 Components of the human diet A.2 Energy in human diets A.3 Special issues in human nutrition Remember, when you study, always follow this order: start with the IB Programme Guide for Biology to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.") use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...) refer to any class notes you have see what the chapters in the book have to say double check that you have memorized all the scientific vocabulary terms** (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should know them in both directions: word to definition and definition to word. Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide. It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills.


	To do for September 23rd Preparation for the Group 4 Project: note: we are still in the Design and Planning stage (no need to bring lab coats or equipment yet!) your group should be thinking about what kind of research you need to do to prepare for your experiment. keeping up good communication and dividing up the work evenly between team members are good examples of team work. think about the materials you will need - what can be requested from the lab technicians and what needs to be brought from home? Note that if a student promises to bring a major ingredient for the experiment and then is absent the day we start, it's bad news for teamwork. So don't promise anything from home unless you can deliver! in class, we will use some time to complete the materials request forms to give to the technicians. I will check them and collect them to give to the technicians. Don't forget to keep up with our current chapter on Option A (see assignment below) To do for September 16th Read Section A.1 about nutrition (option A). Learn the vocabulary
	September 2009 - back to school Welcome to your Terminale year. As promised, this year will be a busy one. We still have lots more exciting science concepts and vocabulary to learn, lots of experiments and investigations to do in the lab and - coming soon - the Group 4 project. Stay tuned. Students who attended Correze should have finished up their lab writeups. There are a small number of students who have asked for extensions due to busy summers. The labs will be graded and sent back as soon as possible, but Mr. Billiet and I like to compare our groups' work before giving the work back. It is recommended that you take some time to go back over what we learned last year. Dust off those flash cards and see what you remember.



	*Revision for the Exam Week* in May 2009: On Monday, there will be a hybrid test Paper 1 / Paper 2 - 30 multiple choice questions (half of which are on genetics) followed by two pages of short answers in a Paper 2 style. No essays. Revision for Monday: Even though we have not studied it separately, I would expect you to already understand the basic statistics on pages 3 & 4 of Topic 1 in the book such as: average, mean, etc. error bars on graphs All of Topic 2: 2.1 Cell theory 2.2 Prokaryotic cells 2.3 Eukaryotic cells 2.4 Membranes 2.5 Cell division All of Topic 3: 3.1 Chemical elements and water 3.2 Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins 3.3 DNA structure 3.4 DNA replication 3.5 Transcription and translation 3.6 Enzymes 3.7 Cell respriration 3.8 Photosynthesis Part of one section of Topic 5: 5.4 Evolution - you are expected to understand the theory of evolution as we talked about it in Option D, notably the parts in this section of the book under the subheadings "Mechanism for evolution" and "Natural Selection". All of Topic 4: 4.1 Chromosomes, genes alleles and mutations 4.2 Meiosis 4.3 Theoretical genetics 4.4 Genetic engineering and biotechnology On Friday, there will be a hybrid test Paper 2 / Paper 3 with some short answer data-based questions (about graphs, etc.) and some short-answer recall questions. No essays. Revision for Friday: Everything you studied for Monday, plus the following: All of Option D: D.1 Origin of Life on Earth D.2 Species and Speciation D.3 Human Evolution Remember, when you study, always follow this order: start with the IB Programme Guide for Biology to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.") use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...) refer to any class notes you have see what the chapters in the book have to say double check that you have memorized all the scientific vocabulary terms** (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should have around 250 by now and you should know them in both directions: word to definition and definition to word. Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide. It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills.


	*Revision for the Bac Blanc* practice exams in March 2009: Even though we have not studied it separately, I would expect you to already understand the basic statistics on pages 3 & 4 of Topic 1 in the book such as: average, mean, etc. error bars on graphs All of Topic 2: 2.1 Cell theory 2.2 Prokaryotic cells 2.3 Eukaryotic cells 2.4 Membranes 2.5 Cell division All of Topic 3: 3.1 Chemical elements and water 3.2 Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins 3.3 DNA structure 3.4 DNA replication 3.5 Transcription and translation 3.6 Enzymes 3.7 Cell respriration 3.8 Photosynthesis Part of one section of Topic 5: 5.4 Evolution - you are expected to understand the theory of evolution as we talked about it in Option D, notably the parts in this section of the book under the subheadings "Mechanism for evolution" and "Natural Selection". Almost all of Option D: D.1 Origin of Life on Earth D.2 Species and Speciation D.3 Human Evolution** except section D.3.8 about brain size Remember, when you study, always follow this order: start with the *IB Programme Guide for Biology* to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.") use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...) refer to any class notes you have see what the chapters in the book have to say double check that you have memorized all the scientific vocabulary terms (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should have around 250 by now and you should know them in both directions: word to definition and definition to word. Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide. It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills.

	To Do for Thursday 18 December By now, you should have finished reading the sections on DNA (to the end of section 3.5) Also, read the section on Enzymes (3.6)
	*Revision for the Bac Blanc* practice exams in November 2008: All of Topic 2: 2.1 Cell theory 2.2 Prokaryotic cells 2.3 Eukaryotic cells 2.4 Membranes 2.5 Cell division The first two sections of Topic 3: 3.1 Chemical elements and water 3.2 Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins (this will be covered after the vacation) As for Topic 1, you would only need to know the idea of the mean (average) for a set of numbers. We have not talked about standard deviation yet so you do not need to learn it. Remember, when you study, always follow this order: start with the IB Programme Guide for Biology to see what the assessment statements are (i.e. "Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.") use the guide to help you grasp the difference between each command term (define, identify, describe, outline, explain, evaluate...) refer to any class notes you have see what the chapters in the book have to say double check that you have memorized all the scientific vocabulary terms** (this is what the flash cards are for) - you should have around 100 by now and you should know them in both directions: word to definition and definition to word. Have a look at my compositions groupées revision guide. It contains suggestions for successful revision and test-taking skills.

	To Do for Week 7 For Monday 13 October, you need to write up the experiment we did in class concerning the plant materials. You will be evaluated on Conclusion and Evaluation (CE) and you will be asked to have the following in the lab report: Title and a short Introduction Aim - for this part, it is possible to say "See the design of this investigation entitled ___ written by ___." and put the title and name of the previous homework assignment. Method - again, for this part, it is possible to simply refer to the previous assignment but don't forget the title and the name of the person who wrote it. If the investigation was modified in any way compared to the previous homework assignment, be sure to say that here. Results - this includes both raw data (usually in a table form), processed data (did you take an average or do anything else to the data to help make sense of it?) as well as any graphs. Conclusion and Evaluation - what you learned and what were the sources of error (you should find a minimum of 3 and make sure they are specific for this investigation). For each, be sure to say the following: Identify the source of error and what caused it Describe the consequence of the error on the results (In what way will this give unreliable results?) Explain the significance of the error (How serious is this? Is it a minor source of error, a moderate source of error or a major source of error? Describe realistic suggestions for how to improve the investigation in order to avoid such errors (one suggestion per error - "realistic" means using equipment which is easily available and the new technique can be carried out in a reasonable amount of time). Remember, in order to do well, be sure to follow the IB Biology guide for how to do a lab report. There are also some other valuable resources here on my site such as Writing lab reports for the IB ...and these are on Miss Burchill's web site: Mr Billiet's checklist of how to write a lab report Scientific drawings - do's and don'ts How to set up and present tables of data Error analysis All about graphs Elementary statistics
	To Do for Week 6 For Monday 6 October, you have an experiment in Mo3. Bring your lab coats. If you promised to bring anything in from home for the lab investigation, please do not forget it. Be sure to have your carnets this week - they should be signed by all your teachers.
	To Do for Week 5 For Friday 3 October, you have to design an experiment based on measuring something about plant cells using the micrometer eyepiece. Each student does his or her own design. As stated in class, we choose one of the two in each group to actually do on Monday. As a result, everyone will have two Internal Assessment grades: One for their own design of an original experiment (not the same as your lab partner). One for the lab report about the investigation chosen to be done in the lab (this one has the same research question as your lab partner). Instructions for the first lab report concerning the Design of your own experiment: First, look on page 23 of the Biology Programme Guide to see how you will be graded for Design. This system was explained in class. Second, look on pages 25 and 26 of the guide to see a further explanation of the best way to design an experiment following the three aspects which will be assessed. Third, go back to your in-class work to find the research question that you wrote (remember, this is the one which is your personal research question - you should not have the same one as your lab partner). Fourth, following the instructions in the guide, write the following: an Aim (with an introduction if you think it is necessary) clearly state your research question in the aim if you have a justifiable hypothesis then write that in the aim, too, but this is not necessary the last thing to put in the section called Aim is the list of variables. Clearly identify each one (dependent variable = ___, independent variable = ___, controlled variables = ___ ). the Method (which should be set up like a recipe you would find in your kitchen) make a list of the materials you need - don't forget the little things. The best thing to do is picture yourself doing the experiment in your head. If you need scissors to cut something, put them on the list! Example of a common mistake: you ask for a Bunsen burner but you forget to ask for matches or metal tweezers to grab hot materials. wrtie a step-by-step set of instructions of how to do the experiment. Assume the person who is reading it knows nothing about the investigation and has never used a micrometer eyepiece before. It is OK to make a reference to my web page about calibrating the eyepiece so you don't have to re-explain all that. You do, however have to describe what the person should measure and how many times... You also need to explain how to collect the cells and prepare a slide. The next section, the Results, will be essentially empty but it would be nice to set up blank tables to show where the data will be recorded Do not include a Conclusion section in this assignment. Lastly, this work can either be handed in by email or printed out and brought to class. If you send work by email, please save it as a good old-fashioned .doc Word document. If you are a Word 2007 user, please do not save it in .docx format because I won't be able to open it. Don't forget that Monday the 6th we will be in Mo3 with our microscopes and our plant cells so bring your lab coats. If you promised to bring in something from home like fried onions, cooked tomatoes or rotten bananas, don't forget to bring them.
	To Do for Week 4 Be sure you really know sections 2.1 to 2.3. We will be going over the organelles found in eukaryotes in class. There is quite a lot of vocabulary in these first sections. If you have not established a system for doing the three things below, make sure you do: reading the book and making a list of vocabulary terms defining the vocabulary terms (such as "endoplasmic reticulum") learning the words and their definitions (from the word to the definition AND from the definition to the word. The most effective technique is using Flash Cards.. If you did not have time to do so during the lab, be sure to calculate the size of the cells you observed. If you did not print the page how to use a micrometer eyepiece, it is recommended that you do so. We will be doing another experiment using this technique in the coming weeks.
	To Do for Week 3 For Friday 19 September, bring your lab coat and your calculator. (The experiment was originally planned for Monday the 15th but the other lab I wanted to use is not free.) Before the experiment, check out this microscope page, which should be a review for most of you. Also, check out (and it would be a good idea to print out) this page explaining how to use a micrometer eyepiece. For Friday 19 September, read pages 25 to 34 in the Biology SL book. Remember, to "read" means to read, understand, take notes, make lists of important vocabulary words, define the words clearly and finally, to memorize the words. An effective way to do this is using Flash Cards.. For Monday 22 September, if you have not already done so, print out the following pages from the Biology Program Guide: page 41 "Syllabus Overview" - it is recommended that you highlight the 8 parts we will be covering in SL over the next two years: Topics 1 to 6, Option A and Option D. page 42 "Syllabus Outline" pages 45 to 50 - "Syllabus Details" for Topics 1 and 2. As stated in class, you do not need to bring the book every week. The book is for learning at home. Class time is for understanding, for asking questions and for doing lab work. Notice how, if you think you forgot to do some previous homework, all the old assignments are still listed below:
	To Do for the second week of classes Students are strongly encouraged to set up a homework timetable with their study times clearly indicated. Set aside time to go over your notes, read and reread the chapters in the book, prepare lists of words to memorize and time to learn. For ~~Thursday 11 September~~ Friday 12 September, read pages 1 to 13 in the Biology Program Guide. For Monday 15 September, read pages 16 to 24 in the Biology SL book. To "read" means to read, understand, take notes, make lists of important vocabulary words, define the words clearly and finally, to memorize the words. An effective way to do this is using Flash Cards. Remember, if you don't understand the definition given in the book of a word such as 'cytoplasm' or if you want to check to see if you are learning the right definition, type in "define: cytoplasm" into Google's search bar (rather than just the word). That way, you'll get definitions rather than web pages.
	To Do for the beginning of the school year Be sure you have a copy of the book. You also need a TI-83, TI83 Plus or TI-84 calculator. For lab work, you need a white lab coat. Lastly, you will need a science folder in which to keep your notes, homework, lab reports and quizzes.