Wanted to say thank you to each of you in this class this year. We delved into a great many topics that pertain to our human journey and our collective impact on this green and blue planet, so rich with beauty and love – and! -our only home for the foreseeable future.
This course is only the barest of introductions to the many challenges we face as a species moving into the future together on this sphere. I hope you will be hungry to learn more. We are a brilliant and talented human community bound together through DNA. We are more alike than we are different and yet we continue to engage in the destructive businesses of war, slavery and deceit. We each make our journey through this life in constant contact with the natural world around us. It is nature that provides our sustenance, Four elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Oxygen, make most of our tissues, those of the plants and beasts we eat, and the soil we tread on. We must ultimately come to a place of collective stewardship for peace and justice to prevail. We’ll will get there, but it will require your hard work all the way. I’ve loved being your teacher this year. Thank you for your many great gifts. I will remember each of you always. Stay full of awesome.
Mr. Frank
Listen for the Song of the Swainson’s thrush each May. Be among the first of your friends to welcome them back!
Watch Cadilac Desert on Youtube
Homework:
5/31: Complete Hollyhock labs for Monday.
5/29: Complete Salinity Lab reports (1 lab report per group)
5/25: Complete Podcasts if not done in class.
5/23: Click here Book Companion Site and use the drop down menu to select ‘Chapter 15’. Complete all 16 multiple choice questions that are the Chapter Test and e-mail your results to me. You may use your book and resubmit answers until you score 100%
5/21: Read ‘Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources’ pages 348 to completion
5/18: Read ‘Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources’ pages 335 – end of 347
5/16: Chapter 14 quiz next class
5/14: Read pages 327 -333 (complete chapter 14)
5/10: Read pages 316- 326
5/8: Read Pages 305 -315 Chapter 14
4/24: Review Chapter 11 Study Guide for quiz on 4/26
4/20: Complete reading of Aldo Leopold’s “Wildlife in American Culture”
The Habitable Planet – A Systems Approach to Environmental Science
4/18: Complete reading of Chapter 11 (pages 237-246) and Complete ‘How Would You Vote?’ for Chapter 11 on the Book Companion Site
4/16: Read Chapter 11 (pages 222-236) Sustaining Biodiversity: The Species Approach
Evolution – Episode 3 – Extinction
Next Nature
Deforestation in Amazonia
Scientific American interactive: How Much is Left?
Google Doc: State of the World Questions
Earth: A Graphic Look at the State of the World
4/10: Endangered Species Presentations due Thursday 4/12
3/25: Complete reading of chapter 10 pages 210 – 220 and e-mail answers to chapter 10 ‘Critical Thinking’ questions # 1, 4, and 6 on page 220 to kfrank@sp-academy.org
3/22: Continue reading of chapter 10, pages 201-210, stopping at ‘National Parks’.
3/20: Read Chapter 10 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity (pages 191-201)
3/16: Review Chapter 8 and study guide concepts for short quiz in class on Tues.
3/12: All questions complete in Google doc and presentation ready for Weds.
3/8: Book Companion Site: Chapter 8 Online take home quiz
3/6: Book Companion Site: How Would You Vote? Chapter 9
3/1: No additional Homework, catch up on any missing assignments.
2/28:Complete reading of Chapter 9 (pages 180-189)
2/23 Read BACKGROUND section of Forest Plot Analysis lab, catch up on any missing work!
2/21: Read Chapter 9 (pages 171-180)
Research Questions for 2/17: (You can choose a new country if you want, or stay with the one you’ve been researching) Refer to chapters 7 and 8 if you need a refresher.
1. Indicate specific examples from your country
a. Interspecific competition
b. Predator and prey
c. Parasite and host
d. Mutualism
e. Commensalism
2. Give two examples of r-selected and K-strategists.
3. What are some pest species that this nation deals with? What are some endangered species?
Are the pests extreme r-selected or extreme K-selected species? Are the endangered species extreme r-selected or extreme K-selected species? Why is this?
4. Does this country have a national flower? (List of national flowers by country) What is it’s Scientific name? What conditions must be present for it to grow?
(Think temperature, elevation, soil type, disturbances, pollutants, grazers, livestock etc.) Analyze the factors that are likely to limit the population of this species.
5. Has this country experienced anything like Ireland did when their potato crop failed in 1845? About 1 million people died and another 3 million migrated to other countries. Describe any history of famine and the factors that led up to it.
6. Describe two density dependent population controls that have affected this country and two that are density independent.
Dot Earth Climate in Classrooms
2/17: Click on ‘Book Companion Site’ above. Select Chapter 7 ‘Community Ecology’ from the dropdown menu and take the Chapter test (18 multiple choice questions) Open your book! Phone a friend! Use a Lifeline? Fill out the form at the end and send me the score via e-mail.
2/15 Read all of Chapter 8 on Population Ecology (pages 161 – 169)
2/10 Complete reading of Chapter 7 (pages 153 – 159)
1/12: Read Chapter 7 (Community Ecology) pages 143 -153. Stop at Species Interactions
12/12: Complete reading of chapter 6.
12/6:Read pages 126-135 – Aquatic Biodiversity
11/30: Read pages 111-124
11/28: Read pages 100-110
10/27:Read pages 82-91 (Chapter 4) Stop at ‘Speciation, Extinction, and Biodiversity.
10/25:Complete Nutrient cycling presentations
10/21:No Homework
10/19: Complete UN questions for chapters 1-3, print for Friday
10/17: Read pages 71 – through the end of chapter 3,
10/13:Read pages 60 – 70 stop at Matter Cycling in Ecosystems
10/11: Complete Population Pyramid if not done in class, Read Chapter 3 pages 50 – 60 ‘Ecosystems: What are They and How do They Work?
10/5: No Homework
10/3: Complete reading of Chapter 2 (pages 42 – 48)
9/29: Read pages 34 Types and Structure of Matter to page 42. Stop at Energy
9/27: Review Chapter one and vocabulary for quiz on Thursday, 9/29
9/23: Read pages 28-34 in LITE
9/21: Complete Chapter 1 in LITE
9/19: Read pages 12-20 in LITE. Stop at Cultural Changes and the Environment
9/15: Read pages 6-12 in LITE (Living in the Environment)
9/13: Complete Eco Hero poster
8/31: Read over course policies and procedures with a parent or guardian and have them sign it. Write answers to these two questions and be prepared to share them in class on Friday. Is the society you live in on an unsustainable path? What do you think is our most serious environmental problem?
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9/2: Listen to this 10 minute excerpt from ‘Eaarth’ by Bill McKibben. What does he mean when he uses the term ‘sweet spot’? What is happening to total global rainfall? Why was the summer of 2007 different in the arctic region of our globe?
List of Climate Change Arguments by topic
Make a Sound Impact! Student Video Contest
People for Puget Sound
NPR: Along with Humans, Who Else is in the 7 Billion Club?
Nova: Extinction Happens!
ExtraNormal
Course Key: CM-9780538491327-0000031
To access CourseMate and enroll in this course, go to http://poweron.cengage.com/magellan/TechSupport/ProductHelp.aspx?prodrowid=1-SXF0LJ. Once there, you should click the “Downloads” tab, should then click the “Student Registration and Enrollment Clickpath” tab, and, finally, you should click the “Download File” link.
350.org
NPS Air Quality Web Cameras
US EPA AIRNow Homepage
US Census Bureau
Chapter 7 UN research questions
1. Indicate three species that are extinct or endangered, discuss the reasons, and describe their value to your nation and the world.
2. What green careers are or could be available?
3. How apparent is HIPPCO?
4. What are the impacts of two introduced species and what can be done to control them?
5. What percentage of the country is protected land? Is poaching a problem? If so, what is being done to prevent it?
6. What international and national legislation is helping to protect wild species?
List of Invasive Species
Point Source: The Movie
Cool School Challenge
United Nations Environmental Issues Forum
Choose a country from the list of 192 nations provided.
Research questions for 12/12: (chapter 6)
1. What are the major types of aquatic biodiversity (marine and freshwater, if any?)
2. Describe types of plankton, nekton, and benthos present.
3. Describe some of the economical and ecological services performed by your marine ecosystems.
4. Describe the way humans have degraded the aquatic ecosystems.
Research questions for 11/30:
Climate and Terrestrial Biodiversity (Chapter 5)
1. What types of climate are present?
a) What is the effect of global air circulation?
b) What is the effect of ocean currents?
c) What effects are there due to latitude (insolation) and topography?
d) How do the above influence temperature and precipitation?
2. Draw and describe a climatograph for each of the major biomes.
3. What are some of the human impacts on those biomes?
Research Questions for 9/29:
1. What is its location, neighboring countries, and major types of topography?
2. Draw its flag and indicate its major languages
3. Is it a developed country or developing country? What are some clues?
4. Is there economic growth and if so, is it sustainable?
5. What is the average ecological footprint?
6. Draw or download a picture of sample native costume(s).
Chapter 2 Questions:
1. What is the major form of energy used to fuel the economy?
2. Are the four scientific principles of sustainability being used? explain.
Chapter 3 Questions:
1. Describe a typical food web of this country
2. What type of gross and net primary productivity is found?
3. Describe some producers, consumers, decomposers, carnivores, scavengers, herbivores and omnivores.
4. What are some of the human based effects on the major nutrient cycles?
5. Are there any types of research being used to study its ecosystems?
Chapter 4 questions:
1. Are there any hotspots for biodiversity?
2. Has any evidence (fossils) of evolution been found? Describe it.
3. What climate conditions have influenced the natural selection in the major biomes.
4. Were there any major extinctions? What were the causes?
5. Describe some unique indicator, keystone, foundation, nonnative, and specialist species.
Please write 500-800 words on one of the following two topics.
Papers will be due on Monday November 14.
You will need an MLA style works cited page with at least 3 sources
Research Paper Choices
1. Evolution: the theory of evolution, supporting and detracting evidence, fossils; embryological homologies, structural homologies; biochemical evidence; DNA evidence. Contrast the views of slow, gradual change and relatively rapid (punctuated) change.
2. Biological Evolution: endosymbiont hypothesis; Gaia hypothesis; extinctions and radiations; natural selection and genetic drift; adaptations and their limits; gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
Ecological Footprint Calculator
Kyoto protocol
World Public Opinion.org
Positions of various countries on Kyoto
Climate Reality Project: September 14
Good Morning Environmental Science All-Stars! I am excited to listen to your podcasts on Thursday morning. For today’s class, I would like you to conclude your study of how salinity affects seed germination. You may also divide up the hollyhock seedlings and take them home to plant in your gardens if you like.
You should still have the original handout that describes the project. Each of the two groups will need to complete a report in class to submit to the farmers of the Central Valley of California. Here is what should be included in each report:
Problem Question: How will increasing salinity levels affect seed germination and plant growth?
Hypothesis: Explain how will increasing salinity levels will affect your seeds. Simply rewrite the hypotheses you wrote when we started the lab.
Procedure: Describe the design and steps of your experiment in as much detail as possible. Make it easy for someone to recreate your experiment exactly as you have done.
Conclusion: State whether or not your hypotheses were supported. Include data charts and graphs, which show how increasing levels of salt in the water affected the germination of your seeds. At what concentration did no seeds germinate? All concentrations should be expressed as percentages.
Thanks for your continued hard work and diligence as the year winds down! If you happen to finish early, please Watch Cadilac Desert on Youtube Labs and podcasts are due on Thursday. You should have plenty of time to finish in class if you divide up the work and stay focused on the objectives.
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Good Morning to you amazing 9th and 10th graders! As I will be gone from class for our next three meetings, I am leaving you with some work to do here on the site. Senorita Rawls and Mrs. Frank will be covering for me this week and you will have a sub next Tuesday. I will be back on Thursday the 31st. You have homework to keep up with each night. It is posted below. Please continue to obtain and record quality data for your hollyhocks during each class. I’ve noticed a number of sprouts today. You will want to record the height of EACH of these in cms and the total number of sprouts for each salinity level at each class meeting. In general, if you are unsure about if you should collect a type of data, you probably should. We will go over how to analyze your results, create the graph and write up the lab on the 31st. Feel free to work ahead, but be prepared to make changes. I am anticipating that data collection and watering will take 20-25 minutes, so at about 8:25 on 5/22 I would like you to use this link Book Companion Site to go to the ‘Chapter 15’ page. Click on Chapter PowerPoint. You will see this:
Where it says ‘Download Now’ Click on the blue link that ends with .ppt. You will get a message that asks if you want to open the file using PowerPoint. It should look like this:
Click OK. You now have the PowerPoint opened on your computer for Chapter 15. Working alone or in groups of up to three, (you can choose this time, but please make everyone feel included) create a Podcast (ninth graders did this last year with heat and temperature) that covers each of the seven Chapter Overview Questions in detail. Use the PowerPoint or text as your guide, make it wacky and fun, and include a written script of your dialogue for full credit. Here is a refresher on how to make a Podcast using Garageband:Video: Making a Podcast These will be due on the 31st and should be 5 minutes long at a minimum. I will evaluate your finished product for creativity, accuracy, thoroughness for each of the 7 questions, and professionalism.
Listen to a Podcast to get some ideas! Science Podcast collection
Take care of each other and see you in about a week! – Mr. Frank
Science at Saint Paul's Academy 
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