Course Essential Questions:
1. How is scientific method used to
acquire knowledge about global issues?
2. What did John Muir mean when he wrote,
"When one tugs on any one thing, he pulls on the whole world?"
3. What does it mean to
"Think Globally and Act Locally" (Dubois)
Biology
| Unit | Essential Qs |
| SM & Characteristics of Life | How would I
develop an experiment using the Scientific Method?
What are the physical properties to be observed? Can something be proved without doubt? How do scientists measure what they observe? How does science impact our lives? Why is it necessary to justify and communicate an explanation? How have past scientific contributions influenced current scientific understanding of the world? Why are lab safety rules important? How are the different pieces of equipment used? What determines if something is alive or not? |
| Ecology | How do
plants and animals interact with nonliving things to form an
ecosystem?
How do changes in the environment affect all organisms? How do plants and animals adapt to their habitats? Where does energy go? What is the role of energy in living systems? How are various species interrelated? |
| Cycles, Biomes, & Human Impact | What roles
do cycles play in the ecosystem?
How do humans impact life on Earth? What are the elements that define an ecosystem, population, and biome? |
| Classification | What kind of
data is used to classify organisms? How does the anatomy and physiology of plants compare across the kingdom? What are the
distinguishing characteristics of the kingdoms and representative |
| Cells | Why are
cells known as the building blocks of life? Which part(s) of the cell are the most important? What analogies can you make to compare to the cell? How do active and passive transport help maintain homeostasis? |
| Genetics | What are the different modes of
inheritance and examples of each?
What role does the environment play
on gene expression (transcription and How can the Hardy-Weinberg Law be
used to predict allele frequencies in a |
IPS
| Unit | Essential Questions |
| Scientific Method | How would I
develop an experiment using the Scientific Method?
What are the physical properties to be observed? Can something be proved without doubt? How do scientists measure what they observe? How does science impact our lives? Why is it necessary to justify and communicate an explanation? How have past scientific contributions influenced current scientific understanding of the world? Why are lab safety rules important? How are the different pieces of equipment used?
|
| Earth's Interior | Why does
earth have different layers?
Why does understanding the size of Earth and universe matter? How can maps and models be used to understand how the earth changes? What is a good model for the Earth? How do we know what we know? How does the interior of the planet affect us? |
|
Plate tectonics & Motion Earthquakes & Volcanoes |
What
connections are there between the changing surface of the earth and
the evolution of life?
Are the continents really moving? How does the movement of the Earth’s crust affect me? How and why do objects move? How are the Earth's land surfaces changing? |
| Rocks & Minerals | What
interactions create rocks and minerals? Where do all these rocks come from? How do I use rocks and minerals? How do rocks change over time? What models help us understand how rocks form? |
| Motion & Forces |
Why is motion relative? What is the difference between the common use of the term acceleration and the physics use of the term? Why are constant acceleration problems so common and of such importance? How are Newton's laws relevant in everyday life? What forces are acting on us right now? |
| Momentum, Work & power |
Like
Tim Allen, when do you want “More Power”?
•If
a book falls off a shelf, how much work can it do?
Which has more momentum,
an SUV or a fly?
|