Lesson Objective: Scholars understand that all living things require energy for survival and that there is a correlation between the availability of energy and survival of a biological system (such as a cell, organism, or population).
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Prep
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Activity
Discourse Debrief activity:
Introduce the Essential Question:
Accountability (Lab Notebook)
Energy is important for all living things, so if they’re unable to get the energy they need, it could upset the balance of a whole system (like an ecosystem). For example, if plants can’t get energy from sunlight, they’ll die, and then the animals who eat the plants would die too. This would affect all the organisms in that food web.
Scoring Score scholars on a 1–4 scale (below expectations through exceeding expectations) based on classwork. Do not penalize scholars for initial misconceptions about content rate them on effort and writing.
Adapted from Food Calorimetry: How to Measure Calories in Food by Carolina Biological Supply Company. Copyright Carolina Biological Supply Company. Used by permission only.
Lesson Objective: Scholars understand that potential energy stored in the atoms of food is extracted by an organism through a series of chemical reactions called metabolism. These chemical reactions make and break the bonds between atoms and are required for the synthesis of ATP, our body’s “energy currency.”
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Image Credit: Carolina Biological Supply Company
Experiment
[Tip: If you are short on time, assign one food to each group and perform a “jigsaw” to share results.]
Discourse Debrief activity:
Make broader connections:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket)
“Humans need food to survive because it helps our body to create energy!”
This statement is inaccurate. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. There is already energy stored within the food we eat, so we need food to be able to access and transform that energy.
Scoring Award points as follows:
1.Questions 1–4: Award one point for each correct response.
5. Award points as follows:
Lesson Objective: Scholars understand that metabolic processes are made possible by atomic structure and the electrical forces within and between atoms. Materials Needed
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Activity
Discourse Debrief experiment/activity:
Make broader connections:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) The diagram below depicts a water molecule.
Scoring
Lesson Objective: By the end of day one, scholars will recall that cellular respiration takes place primarily in mitochondria, which is responsible for synthesizing glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (O2) into carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and ATP. By the end of Day 2, scholars will understand that glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and electron transport are the three main steps in cellular respiration, and will know the inputs and outputs of each.
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Prep
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Lab
Discourse Debrief experiment:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Make broader connections:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) Below are five inputs and outputs of cellular respiration.
C6H12O6 | ATP | 6H2O | 6CO2 | 6O2 |
---|---|---|---|---|
(Glucose) |
(Energy) |
(Water) |
(Carbon Dioxide) |
(Oxygen) |
1.How many atoms of oxygen make up the compound 6O2? [1]
12
2.Describe the process by which food is transformed into usable energy. Be sure to include:
☠The name of the process [1] Where this process occurs [1] How this process occurs [1]
Food is transformed into usable energy through cellular respiration, which takes place primarily in the mitochondria. During this process, glucose is transformed into ATP through a series of chemical reactions.
3.Complete the formula for cellular respiration in the space provided using the molecules in the bank and your knowledge of science. [2]
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP
Scoring
Do Now
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Activity Adapted from Khan Academy and Wyzant Resources
Discourse Debrief the activity:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) The diagram below represents a cell undergoing cellular respiration. The letters A, B, and C represent different processes.
Process | Process Name | Description of Process (including outputs) |
---|---|---|
A |
Glycolysis |
Glucose is broken down, resulting in two molecules of pyruvate, two ATP, and NADH. |
B |
Krebs cycle |
Acetyl-CoA made from pyruvate oxidation combines with another molecule and goes through a cycle of reactions to form citric acid. Two ATP, NADH, and FADH2 are produced, and carbon dioxide is released. |
C |
Electron transport chain (Electron transport is also acceptable) |
The FADH2 and NADH deposit their electrons in the electron transport chain. As electrons move down the chain, energy is released. 34 ATP and water are produced. |
Scoring
Lesson Objective: By the end of day one, scholars will recall that photosynthesis is the process by which some organisms use solar energy to transform carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into glucose (C6H12O6), oxygen (O2), and water (H2O). By the end of day two, scholars will understand that photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts, which contain a green substance called chlorophyll that absorbs light energy, and that light-dependent reactions and the Calvin cycle work together to carry out photosynthesis.
Materials Needed
Prep
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Adapted from The Floating Leaf Disk Assay for Investigating Photosynthesis by Brad Williamson for Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers
Do Now
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Activity
Discourse Debrief activity: [Tip: Prepare a t-chart to track the inputs and outputs of photosynthesis during the Discourse.]
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket)
Image Credit: Adapted from Vector Stock
Scoring
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Activity Adapted from Bloody Chlorophyll by Carolina Biological Supply Company. Copyright Carolina Biological Supply Company. Used by permission only.
Discourse Debrief activity:
Make broader connections:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) The diagram below shows photosynthesis broken down into two stages, labeled “Process A” and “Process B.” Use the information below and your knowledge of science to answer the questions that follow.
Image Credit: Adapted from Shelley Minteer via ResearchGate
1. Use the diagram above and your knowledge of science to complete the table below. [4]
Process | Process Name | Description of Process |
---|---|---|
A |
Light-Dependent Reactions |
Light-dependent reactions convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the forms of ATP and NADPH. |
B |
Calvin Cycle |
The Calvin cycle uses energy from the ATP and electrons from the NADPH to convert carbon dioxide into glucose. |
2.Would it be possible for Process B to occur before Process A in photosynthesis? Explain your response. [1]
No, this would not be possible because light-dependent reactions (Process A) use energy from the sun to provide the raw materials the Calvin cycle (Process B) needs in order to convert carbon dioxide into glucose.
3.Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences below. [2]
Chlorophyll is a photosynthetic pigment found in many autotrophs, such as plants and algae. This pigment allows plants to absorb light energy from the sun and is found in the chloroplasts, the organelles responsible for carrying out photosynthesis.
Accountability
Lesson Objective: By the end of day one, scholars recall that heterotrophs obtain food from their environment, whereas autotrophs produce their own food. By the end of day two, scholars understand that regardless of how an organism obtains food, most organisms must use cellular respiration in order to synthesize their “food” into usable energy (ATP). Materials Needed
Prep
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Activity Adapted from the Cellular Respiration in Plants video by nhoxkorocute on YouTube.
Discourse Demo and debrief:
[Engagement Tip: As an alternative to showing this video, you can opt to demo this experiment for scholars instead.]
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Lab Notebook) A group of scientists performs a similar experiment to the one you observed today in class. However, instead of using plants, they decide to use mice. An image of this experimental setup can be found below.
•Which will burn longer: the candle in Setup A or the candle in Setup B? Explain your reasoning using your knowledge of science. [2]
The candle in Setup B will burn longer because candles need oxygen to burn. The real mouse will breathe in some of the available oxygen and release CO2, causing the oxygen supply to deplete much faster than the fake mouse, which does not use up any oxygen.
Scoring
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Activity Adapted from the Cellular Respiration in Plants Video by nhoxkorocute
Discourse Debrief experiment/activity:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Image Credit: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Accountability (Exit Ticket) A group of ecologists were studying organisms’ acquisition of energy at the Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania. Below is a photograph taken by the group, showing a giraffe feeding on a tree.
Image Credit: Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
1.The ecologists had different ideas about how these organisms acquired their energy:
Dr. Exe: “The giraffe is a heterotrophic organism, meaning it does not rely on cellular respiration for energy production because it obtains food from its environment.”
Dr. Why: “The tree uses photosynthesis to convert glucose into energy because it is an autotroph.”
Dr. Zee: “The tree is an autotrophic organism, which uses cellular respiration in order to convert glucose into energy.”
Which ecologist is most scientifically accurate? Explain your answer using evidence and reasoning. [3]
Possible Exemplars:
I agree most with Dr. Zee because they stated that trees are autotrophic organisms that use cellular respiration to transform food into energy, whereas the other ecologists made incorrect claims about the organisms’ energy acquisition. Both the giraffe and the tree require cellular respiration to transform their food into usable energy.
Dr. Zee’s statement is the most accurate because cellular respiration is used by the tree to transform glucose into usable energy. This is true of heterotrophs as well, so the assertion made by other ecologists that either autotrophs or heterotrophs do not need cellular respiration to acquire energy is incorrect.
Scoring
Lesson Objective: Scholars learn that fermentation and anaerobic respiration are two other processes that produce a smaller amount of ATP than aerobic respiration. They are also aware that aerobic respiration is not the default process for every organism.
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Lab
[Tip: As an alternative, you can assign different scholars each of the three tasks and they can share their data with one another.]
Discourse Debrief experiment/activity:
Make broader connections:
Image Credit: Difference between Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) Below are the chemical formulas for three life processes:
I. C6H12O6 → 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
(Glucose) (Ethanol) (Carbon Dioxide)
II. C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6H2O + ATP + 6CO2
(Glucose) (Oxygen) (Water) (Energy) (Carbon Dioxide)
III. C6H12O6 → 2C3H6O3 + 2ATP
(Glucose) (Lactic Acid) (Energy)
Possible Exemplar:
Processes I and III are anaerobic processes because they do not require oxygen in order to take place.
Scoring
Lesson Objective: Scholars understand that since matter can be neither created nor destroyed, the same carbon continues to cycle through Earth’s spheres. They can explain how human activities impact the carbon cycle, causing carbon to be released into the atmosphere more rapidly and contributing to climate change.
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Image Credit: “The abundance of elements in the solar system” from MHz`as, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Image Credit: “The abundance of elements in the human body” from Biology LibreTexts, CC BY-NC- SA 3.0 US
Activity Adapted from Carbon Cycle Role Play by California Academy of Sciences
Discourse Debrief experiment/activity:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Exit Ticket) The Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of new manufacturing processes throughout Europe and the United States. It took place from approximately 1750 until 1840 but had a lasting impact on the mass production of goods. From then on, machinery and chemical manufacturing took the place of hand production methods on a broad scale. These practices have continued to be further developed and used to this day. Use the information about carbon emissions and the Industrial Revolution below and your knowledge of science to answer the questions that follow.
Carbon Emissions and the Industrial Revolution
From Climate.gov
“The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (pink line) has increased along with human emissions (blue line) since the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. Emissions rose slowly to about 5 billion tons a year in the mid-20th century before skyrocketing to more than 35 billion tons per year by the end of the century.”
Image Source: NOAA
“Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy. Fossil fuels like coal and oil contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over the span of many millions of years; we are returning that carbon to the atmosphere in just a few hundred years.”
1.Describe the impact human activities have had on climate change over the last 200 years. [3]
Possible Exemplars:
Human activities over the last 200 years have directly caused climate change. Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon has increased drastically due to the heavy use of machinery and chemical manufacturing used when producing goods. Carbon is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, so high atmospheric carbon has caused global average temperatures to rise.
The reliance on machine-based production has caused global average temperatures to rise. This is because this method of production and those similar to it have released a greenhouse gas called carbon into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. Greenhouse gases trap heat on the Earth’s surface, which is the cause of climate change.
Human activities since the Industrial Revolution led to an increase in the amount of atmospheric carbon. Since carbon is a greenhouse gas, it traps heat in the atmosphere and causes climate change.
2.Saraya says, “I’m not worried about climate change because I know that matter cannot be created or destroyed. That means that the amount of carbon and oxygen atoms on our planet (the components of carbon dioxide) actually aren’t changing at all, and we’ve got nothing to worry about!” Evaluate this statement. [3]
Possible Exemplars:
I disagree with Saraya. While matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can change forms. When CO2 is released during the burning of fossil fuels or other human activities, we are releasing that CO2 in the form of a harmful greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, causing climate change.
While Saraya makes some accurate claims, I disagree with the idea that climate change is not a troubling reality. It is true that matter cannot be created or destroyed and that the carbon and oxygen released into the air is the same carbon and oxygen that was buried in the ground. However, they are being released into the air at a much faster rate than they would be during natural processes. CO2 acts as a greenhouse gas and causes climate change because it traps heat in the atmosphere.
Scoring
Lesson Objective: Scholars learn that factory farming was created by scientists in response to the growing demand for food. They can articulate that this is an ineffective solution because of its lack of efficiency and damage to the Earth and its potential to more broadly upset biological systems at the macro level.
Materials Needed
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Activity
Discourse Debrief experiment/activity:
Make connections to the Essential Question:
Accountability (Lab Notebook)
Sample responses:
Other countries should not use factory farming because of the negative long-term impacts on the environment. Factory farming releases a lot of carbon, methane, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and is a huge contributor to global warming. Over time, the changing climate will disrupt the balance of many ecosystems, leading to a decline in the health of biological systems on a broader scale.
No, countries should simply adopt plant-based diets instead. Approximately one-third of the world’s crops are used as animal feed on factory farms. This is an inefficient use of energy resources because a high amount of calories in plant feed yields significantly fewer calories in meat. Those plants could just go directly to humans, who could transform the stored energy within them.
Scoring
Lesson Objective: Scholars can clearly explain how the acquisition of energy affects biological systems (at multiple levels) and provide relevant evidence from the unit. Materials Needed
Prep
What are scholars doing in this lesson?
[Tip: If two days are available, you may choose to allow one for project creation and one for presentations and peer/self-evaluations. If you are short on time, you could instead have each scholar create a project individually and allow them to complete the remainder at home.]
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Launch
Activity
Presentations
Accountability (Projects)
Grade scholar projects. Look for evidence of writing with best effort and give feedback on explaining claims with strong support from scientific knowledge learned throughout the unit.
Scoring Score scholars out of eight points using the provided rubric.
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