activities for teaching biology

In this minds-on analysis and discussion activity, students learn how the cell cycle produces genetically identical daughter cells. They analyze how DNA replication and mitosis work together to ensure that each new cell gets a complete set of chromosomes with a complete set of genes.

To understand how a single cell (the fertilized egg) can develop into the trillions of cells in a human body, students analyze an exponential growth model for the increase in number of cells. The final section provides a brief introduction to cellular differentiation.

This activity can be used as an introduction to mitosis or to reinforce understanding of mitosis. A hands-on version of this activity is available as “Mitosis and the Cell Cycle – How a Single Cell Develops into the Trillions of Cells in a Human Body”.

To begin, students view a video about the trophic cascade that resulted when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. Next, students learn about food chains and food webs. They construct and analyze a food web for Yellowstone National Park. Finally, students use what they have learned to better understand the trophic cascade caused by the return of wolves to Yellowstone.

This learning activity provides an introduction to the learning activities, Carbon Cycles and Energy Flow through Ecosystems and the Biosphere and Trophic Pyramids. All three of these activities are included in Food Webs, Energy Flow, Carbon Cycle and Trophic Pyramids, which is intended for classroom instruction.

In this analysis and discussion activity, students learn why the biosphere requires a continuous inflow of energy, but does not need an inflow of carbon atoms. Students analyze how the process of photosynthesis illustrates the general principles of conservation of matter and the second Law of Thermodynamics.

Then, students analyze how carbon cycles and energy flow through ecosystems result from photosynthesis, biosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the trophic relationships in food webs. Thus, students learn how important ecological phenomena result from processes at the molecular, cellular and organismal levels.

To begin this analysis and discussion activity, students review what happens to the atoms in the nearly 2000 pounds of food the average American eats each year. This provides a context for students to figure out why the rate of biomass production is higher for the producers than for the primary consumers in an ecosystem.

Then, students construct and analyze trophic pyramids. Finally, they apply what they have learned to understanding why more resources are needed to produce meat than to produce an equivalent amount of plant food.

In this analysis and discussion activity, students learn that the coronavirus responsible for the current pandemic very probably originated in bats. Students analyze how mutations and natural selection can produce a spillover infection.

Next, students learn how natural selection increased the frequency of a mutation that made the coronavirus more contagious.

Finally, students analyze how mutations contributed to the spread of the Omicron variant and its subvariants.

In this activity, students analyze information about how the coronavirus is transmitted and how to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. Several questions engage students in thinking about how their behavior influences the risk of COVID-19 for more vulnerable individuals.

In the shorter version of the Student Handout, students learn how coronaviruses are replicated inside our cells, how white blood cells fight a coronavirus infection, and how a coronavirus infection can cause you to feel sick.

In the longer version of the Student Handout, students also learn how the respiratory and circulatory systems work together to provide oxygen to the body’s cells, and they learn how a coronavirus infection can interfere with oxygen delivery, which can result in severe disease.

This minds-on, analysis and discussion activity introduces students to the process of natural selection, including key concepts and vocabulary.

In addition, students analyze several examples to learn about the conditions that are needed for natural selection to occur.

(This activity is an expanded version of the first section of the hands-on activity Evolution by Natural Selection.)

In this minds-on analysis and discussion activity, students interpret evidence concerning natural selection in the peppered moth.

This evidence includes (1) the results of experiments that evaluated predation by birds on different color forms of the peppered moth in different environments, (2) the genetic basis for the different color forms, and (3) correlated changes in both the environment and the frequency of each color form in industrialized and rural regions in England and the US.

This activity will help students to consolidate a scientifically accurate understanding of the process of natural selection.

(This activity is very similar to the last section of the hands-on activity Evolution by Natural Selection.)

1. Log in to your Google account.
   
   
2. On the Serendip page for the activity you want to use, click on the link for the Student Handout Google Doc.
   
   
3. Click on the Make a Copy button to make a copy in your Google drive where you can edit the Student Handout.
   
   
4. If you want to rename the file or move your copy of the Student Handout to a folder of Serendip biology activities, click on the File tab and then click on Rename or Move.
   
   
5. You can instruct each student to make a copy of the Student Handout; they just need to click on the File tab and then click on Make a Copy. Then, each student can answer the questions in his/her individual copy.
   
   
6. To encourage discussion, you can have pairs of students collaborate electronically to answer the questions.