Sunday, June 16, 2013

Apologia Biology Module #1, 2 & 3A

GENETICS http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/tour/

Classification: http://www.jogtheweb.com/flat/a6OEFSCTcpYL/Classification-Unit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnF_UdPbJZ0 

ALWAYS:  

  • know that when you see the word 'read' you can access the audio version on Audible on the iPod nano
  • have your book open as you listen to the module on Audible so that you can see the illustrations etc. and so you know when/where to stop 
  • Read each section and do the OYO as you get to them.  Do not continue reading (listening) until you have completed the OYO questions and checked your answers against those at the end of the module. 
  • Spend 5-15 minutes on Quizlet to work on the vocabulary words for each section and the previous section's words as you complete each reading assignment.
  • complete the study guide for each module
  • if you don't understand a concept/section/topic go to the bottom of this post and check the 'extra help' links.  If something is very interesting to you, check the 'interesting links' section for that module at the bottom of this post.  

Module #1 - Biology the Study of Life

SUPPLY LIST:

Module #1
 Microscope
 Lens paper
 Slides
 Coverslips
 Eyedropper
 Methylene blue stain
 Water
 Small pieces of bright thread
 Cotton swabs

6/17 Read: pg. iv-vi (this is not on Audible), 1-6,
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6/18 read pg 6-8
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6/19 read pg 8-11
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6/21 read pg 12-18
Six Kingdoms OR Three Domains?  Which is it?  Science is ever changing. Kingdoms are still widely used as a classification system, it's just that some use the Domain classification as a higher level of classification.  A domain is one step up from a kingdom.  Here's a video that explains the the current Three Domains system http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGVgIcTpZkk
       read pg 18-20
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6/24 read pg 20-30, do ex. 1.1 on your own
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6/25 read pg 30-33, do ex. 1.2 with Mom
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6/26 complete study guide
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6/28 study & turn in lab book
       Take test

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7/1 Module #2 - Kingdoms of Archae and Bacteria

This kingdom has been divided and renamed since the production of your text book.  It is now divided into Archae and Bacteria.  Most of what is in this module pertains to Bacteria. 

  Module #2 SUPPLIES (needed on 7/5)

 Microscope
 Slides
 Coverslips for the slides
 4 eyedroppers
 Four jars with lids (You do not want a lot of light to get into the jars. Thus, jars with darkened glass or plastic work really well. If you can’t find that kind of jar, cover your jars with paper orfoil to keep the light out.)
 A small amount of chopped hay (Dried grass will work as a substitute.)
 Uncooked white rice (Brown rice will not work as well.)
 Egg yolk (uncooked)
 A small amount of rich soil
 A long-handled ladle (A good one can be made by attaching a kitchen ladle to a broom handle with duct tape.)
 The 4 culture jars made in Experiment 2.1
 A small amount of cotton (from a cotton ball, for example)
 A pond or small body of water (A still creek will do in a pinch, but it will not be ideal.)
 Something to rest your lab notebook on while you draw in it
 Colored pencils

Read 37-41

Molecular Machines Scroll to the bottom to see some animated movies.   Cool Stuff!
The organisms that make up kingdoms Archeae and Bacteria are all prokaryotic.    
These prokaryotic cells are bacteria. 
Bacteria is made up of organisms that are one tiny cell each.  They are single-cellular.  They can only be seen with a microscope.
So if you can actually see any living thing, you will know it is not made of only one cell, but is multi-cellular. 

See these images of how prokaryotic cells may be drawn differently.
Image 1Image 2Image 3 (scroll down)
There may be more than one correct name of a certain part of a cell.  DNA and nucleoid, for example.   
Also notice fimbriae (sing. fimbria) and pili.  (This is because of which job the fimbriae are doing -- bottom of p. 39)

But the main thing to know is that prokaryotic cells do not have organelles (little organs) like a eukaryotic cell does
►See this image that compares the two kinds of cells.
--In the cytoplasm (also called cytosol) of a prokaryotic cell, there are ribosomes and DNA.
--In the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell, there are many organelles, each with their own job.

►The fimbriea/pili are not used to move the bacterium.  They are for grasping.  They grasp surfaces to adhere to them (fimbriea), or they grasp other bacteria as part of reproduction (pili).
►Prokaryotic DNA is arranged in a winding, circular shape that connects end-to-end.  There is only one replication origin (original DNA strand) when replication starts.
►By contrast, eukaryotic DNA is linear (in a line); it does not connect end to end to form a circle. The DNA in a eukaryotic cell is enclosed in a nucleus -- it is "membrane-bound."  Other organelles are enclosed in membranes also, much like little water balloons of all shapes. 
In eukaryotic cells, when the DNA is replicated, there are as many as 1000 replication origins.

 Despite these differences, however, the underlying process of replication is the same for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA.


►More about: ProkaryotesEukaryotes
(when used as an adjective, these words end in -ic)


The shapes of bacteria.  There are three basic shapes of bacteria. (see image), source.
-Sperical (cocci), which is round.
-Rod-shaped (bacilli), which are longer.
-Helical (spirilla), which look like a spiral.
These three shapes of bacteria have variations and different groupings.  (see image) source.

Read about the size of bacteria, a single, prokaryotic cell of the kingdom Monera. 

Shape and Movement of Bacteria  There is a lot of information, so listen twice!  (You will learn on p. 43 about anaerobic bacteria that do not need oxygen.) 



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7/2  read 41-44

Autotrophic organisms manufacture they own food by one of two methods: photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.This little article and its supporting links provides a very good look into the process of chemosynthesis.Contains evolutionary content.


The growth of a population of bacteria





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7/4 Read 44-47


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7/5 read 47-49


Genetic recombination in bacteria can occur in one of three ways.
  1. Conjugation - temporary union of 2 organisms to transfer DNA
  2. Transformation - transfer of DNA from a non-functional donor cell to a functional recipient cell
  3. Transduction - the process by which infection by a virus results in DNA being transferred from one bacterium to another
Conjugation: 
 (this is the plasmid sending a strand from the donor to the recipient, not the DNA sending it) 

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1262481

read 49-51 do ex. 2.1 - (gather pond water) 

Transformation:

Transduction:




Flu Attack!  How a Virus Invades Your Body




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7/8 read 53-54


The first way we separate the organisms in Kingdom Monera is by their cell walls. 

Using a Gram stain process (named after Hans Christian Gram) can tell what kind of cell wall an organism has by the the color of the cell wall after staining.  (see image)
One type of cell wall will retain the dark purple stain, because it has a certain thick layer (peptidoglycan) on the outer layer of the cell.
This is called a gram-positive bacteria
Other bacteria's cell walls have a thin layer of peptidoglycan further into the layers, and it does not retain the dark stain, and the last pinkish stain is retained. 
This is a gram-negative bacteria.
►See the peptidoglycan layers in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.  In this diagram, it is indicated by a brownish layer.

►Watch this animation of Gram stain procedure.  Scroll down and read the steps on the left as the animation happens on the right.  It is fast!  So after you carefully read the steps, re-watch the animation of the steps.  They play continuously.

Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, is Gram-negative, while Streptococcus (Strep) is Gram-positive.




read 54-56a 

There are 4 phyla in kingdom Monera.  The phyla are divided into classes for different reasons. Phylum Graciliacutes (Gram-negative) is further divided into classes by how they obtain food.
The phylum Firmicutes (Gram-positive) is further divided by shape.  The other two phyla are not divided into classes because they each have only one class, but there is a reason they are different phyla than the first two I mentioned.
Study carefully before attempting the On Your Own 2.14.
Take notes similar to the table at the bottom of page 55. 

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7/9 read 56-61 do ex. 2.2 

Experiment 2.2, Pond Life, Part B. (Part A was preparation for this experiment.)
►At Julie's blog, see bacteria in the pond water her class collected.
►At Julie's blog, see videos of bacteria in pond water.  (Experiment done in M3 - continued from M2)
►At Michelle's blog see A Microscopic World video of bacteria from their pond water.
►Michelle's class viewing bacteria in samples of pond water.
►Video -- The reaction of her class last year when they opened the stinky cultures!

We're not able to actually do the experiments, so here are some pictures of bacteria.  See if you can find any names you recognize.  There are two bacteria for Salmonella, but only one causes food poisoning.  There are others I think you will recognize.
Here are also some videos of bacteria.
Microbiologia I

Bacteria Growth 
White blood Cell Chases Bacteria

Salmonella Cell

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7/10

complete study guide
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7/12

study
turn in lab book 
take module # 2 test
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7/15

Module # 3 - Kingdom Protista

Supplies: 
Microscope
 Slides
 Coverslips
 Prepared slide: amoeba
 Prepared slide: paramecium
 Prepared slide: euglena
 Prepared slide: volvox
 Prepared slide: Spirogyra
 Prepared slide: Diatoms
 The 4 culture jars used in Experiment 2.2
 4 eyedroppers (one for each jar)
 A small amount of cotton (from a cotton ball, for example)
►Kingdom Monera is bacteria.  That's easy to understand.
►Best I can figure, kingdom Protista consists of organisms that are mostly found in water or some kind of moisture.  Some live in insects, humans, or animals. 
Both of these kingdoms are microorganisms (seen with a microscope).
►Kingdom Monera (bacteria) are single-celled and are prokaryotic.
►Kingdom Protista is mostly single-celled, but single-celled or multicellular, their cells are eukaryotic (have distinct, membrane-bounded organelles).  Each organelle in the cell has a different job.  This adds more complexity to the organisms of kingdom Protista.

As a reminder, here are the differences in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells:

As you can see, in addition to kingdom Protista, all the other kingdoms we will study later - Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia - also have eukaryotic cells.

►►Bacteria cells, Plant cells, and Animal cells.
Which kind are Protists?  Kingdom Protista has two divisions. 
Subdivision Protozoa has cells that are animal-like.  Not animal cells, but animal-like cells.
Subdivision Algae consists of plant-like cells.


Look at the different parts (called organelles) of a Eukaryotic Cell.  Click on animal or plant cell.  
Different organelles have their own jobs to perform to maintain the life of the cell.  Hover over the organelles of the cell to learn their names.  Below the cell, hover over the names to see any organelles you may have missed.
Notice which organelles the animal cell does not have that the plant cell has, and vice versa.
The organelles that are in both cells, are they each the same shape?
You do not need to know all this now - that will come in a later module.  It is good to be familiar with this information.

read 67-70 do ex. 3.1

Kingdom Protista is divided into two subkingdoms:  subkingdom Protozoa, and subkingdom Algae. 

Subkingdom Protozoa is divided into four phyla.  The division is based on locomotion - how they move.  To me, these are more interesting than the organisms in subkingdom Algae.  

Subkingdom Algae is divided into five phyla.  The division for Algae is based on three things: habitat, organization (single or multiple cells; one phylum has some colonies), and by type of cell wall.

Each of the nine phyla for subkingdoms Protozoa and Algae has one or more examples in the genus category given in the text.
There are many genera (pl. for genus) and in each genus category, there are many species.  Some examples are listed only by genus and are Capitalized and italicized, and some are specific and give both genus and species.  The species is only italicized, not capitalized.
(Think "general" and "specific", although 'genus' is not very general when you think about the fact that it is the 6th category in the Biological Classification system!)
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genusspecies

Kingdom Protista:  Subkingdom Protozoa
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7/16 read 71-73 draw 3.2

Phylum: Sarcodina
Locomotion: Pseudopods (false feet)
example: genus Amoeba (uh mee' buh)

►See images of amoebas!
Amoeba Dinner!
Watch this amoeba eat.  It uses its pseudopod locomotion to move and to engulf its prey.  To begin with, everything moves slowly until the prey realizes it is caught!


More amoebas


Other Sarcodines - members of the Sarcodina phylum:
Entamoeba gingivalis 
Entamoeba coli, or E. coli,(but not Escherichia coli)
Entamoeba histolytica 
The genus Entamoeba contains many organisms that live inside humans.
Which of these three ↑ are harmless, and which are harmful (and therefore a parasite)?
And what disease(s) do they cause?




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7/17 read 74-78 draw 3.3
Phylum Mastigophora
Phylum: Mastigophora
Locomotion: Flagellum
example: genus Euglena (yoo glee' nuh)

Euglena, from a pond




Euglena's movement by whirling its flagella, and by drawing its cytoplasm into the central region of the cell, then re-extending itself forward.



Euglena are both heterotrophs and autotrophs (p. 74)
(Although some biologist say to be an autotroph, it has to only make its own food, and not acquire it elsewhere.)
But if a Euglena is deprived of light too long, it will no longer be able to make its own food, even if it has plenty of light later.
Euglena are saprophytic heterotrophs since they only feed on dead things, and therefore they are also decomposers.

To Clarify:
Heterotrophic bacteria can be saprophytes, and therefore also a decomposer.
Heterotrophic bacteria can be parasites, and are not decomposers.
Autotrophic bacteria manufacture their own food by chemosynthesis or photosynthesis.




In the following video, the boys says the Euglena "can be a plant or an animal, depending..."
Per my email to Apologia, "it it neither a plant nor an animal; it is considered a protist."
Also, Euglenas do not use their "eye" to see.  It is there to sense light and the Euglena is drawn toward the light, but it cannot see the light.

Euglenanimation



See different types of protists with flagella.  Since these organisms that are from the kingdom Protista, subkingdom Protozoa, and all have flagella, they are in the phylum Mastigophora.  
Not all the genera (pl. for genus) in the phylum Mastigophora are euglena.  Euglena is perhaps the most common.


Volvox Reproduction







►See a closeup of a volvox colony.  You can even see the flagella and eyespots!  Also see the thin strands of cytoplasm holding it together.  It is awesome how they organize themselves like little planets with North and South poles.  Scroll down.
So beautiful!  And our Creator made this!  =D  This is a terrific page!




Other Mastigophorites - members of the phylum Mastigophora: 
Volvox
Trypanosoma
►Trichonympha
Which of these three ↑ live in colonies?  How do they move?
Which one is beneficial to a termite?  Why?
Which one is carried by the tsetse fly and causes disease? (this would make it a parasite)  What disease?




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7/19 TOTAL READING : read 78-83  read 84-86 ex. 3.2     

p. 78-79, Phylum Ciliophora
Phylum: Ciliophora
Locomotion: Cilia (sil' ee uh)
example: genus Paramecium (pair uh mee' see um)


paramecium moves by beating the tiny "hairs" on its edge.  These are called cilia.
Paramecia have an oral groove where they take in food.  You can see the oral groove around 40 seconds when it starts turning over several times. 
The little "blobs" throughout are food vacuoles.  After a paramecium takes in food through the oral groove, it pinches off a little section with the food inside it.  This is now a food vacuole, and it will move to other parts of the paramecium, taking food to its whole body.
Other Ciliates - members of the phylum Ciliophora:
Stentor
Balantidium coli
Which of these is shaped like a trumpet?  What does it eat?  How does it get its food?
Which of these is a parasite found in fecal matter of many species?



Flagella and Cilia
Here is a video that shows some protists from different phyla. You should recognize most of these names.
Look at p. 62 in your textbook.  These are some organisms found in pond water, and now you will be able to recognize many of them. 
Chlamydomonas are green algae, which we will be studying in the second half of the module.
Phacus, a Euglenoid, then "relatives of Phacus".  They are species of the genus Euglena.
Paramecia, mentioned above. 
Stentor, mentioned above.

Watch the food move down thru the stentor.





p. 80-83, Phylum Sporozoa
Phylum: Sporozoa
Locomotion: None
example: genus Plasmodium (plaz' moh dee um)

The genus Plasmodium is home to a very deadly sporozoan.  They are parasites.  They form spores while in the mosquito, but while in a human they multiply in a different way, and can multiply very rapidly.
Study the spore formation stages on p. 80.

Sporozoa

























Study the Life Cycle of Plasmodium on p. 81
How a Mosquito spreads Malaria
























Sadly, this is true.


.

















Another typical sporozoan - member of the phylum Sporozoa
Toxoplasma gondii
This sporozoan parasite can live in mammals, particularly what animal? 
Pregnant women are told to not clean up after these particular animals because it may cause what?
The spores can be spread further by houseflies, cockroaches, insects.

►Once infected with a Toxoplasmic parasite, a person will have it the rest of their life.  See a video about the Toxoplasma parasite



If you would like to print the biological key for use in the experiment or test, you can get it here. You need the Acrobat Reader to view this

Interesting links related to Module #1
All life forms reproduce. What about mules? Mules do reproduce cells and, although rare, have the potential to reproduce sexually. This page provides information on mules and mule reproduction statistics.

Living things must sense their environment and respond to it. Euglena is a single-celled microscope organism that has an interesting way of sensing its environment. Euglena uses an eye-spot -- a light sensitive organelle -- to detect light. This site provides video clips of Euglena responding to its environment and reproducing.

Metabolism begins with the sun. The sun releases energy in the form of photons which travel to earth at the speed of 300,000,000 meters/sec or 6 trillion miles in one year (one light year). This web site provides the latest images from SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Not all carnivores are carnivores. This little article demonstrates that even a lion can be an herbivore. References Genesis 1:30 “And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.”

Fungi are heterotrophic in that they cannot produce their own food but under the classification scheme in your book they have a separate division under heterotrophs. Remember the two divisions of heterotrophic organisms are (1) consumers and (2) decomposers. Fungi fall into the latter. (There is a better word for them which we will learn in module 2. They are called saprophytes.)

provides a terrific pictorial of the nervous system at a cellular level. On a cellular level, human cells do reproduce asexually. The cells of your body are constantly reproducing themselves. In fact your whole body, with the exception of your brain, is regenerated in about one year’s time. Nerve cells are the exception. They are very slow to reproduce if they do at all. That is why it is so important you protect your brain cells. You literally have a limited number of these! DON’T DO DRUGS.

noticed that his patients were dying at a rate which far exceeded the death rate of other patients on other wards in the hospital. Additionally, he notice that the doctors that visited his ward came to visit after doing autopsies and visited living patients without washing their hands after doing autopsies. This web site gives some wonderful background on Semmelweis.

observed that if one left meat out in the open and allowed it to decay, maggots would appear on the meat within a few days. This web site provides information on the Aristotle’s life and his times.

performed an experiment in which he placed a sweaty shirt and some grains of wheat in a closed wooden box. Every time he performed the experiment, he found at least one mouse gnawing out of the box within 21 days. This web site gives images of the famous French scientist.

performed experiments in which he put several different types of meat in sealed jars and allowed the meat to decay. No maggots appeared on the meat. He claimed that this showed that maggots appear on meat not because they are formed by the meat, but instead because they get onto the meat. This site gives excellent historical information on Redi

is a student created web site about the famous scientist. Very good historical information.
Links that contain extra help for the topics in Module #1
If you are having trouble finding your cheek cells in Experiment 1.2, click on the link above and scroll down to Part II, number 1 and 2. There are also three stained images of cheek cells in Part III.

is an excellent tutorial web site on the structure of DNA. Provides detailed graphics on the structure of DNA backbone, nucleotide configuration, and the overall structure of the DNA molecule.

is a web site which takes the student from basic backbone chemistry through nucleotide sequencing in an interactive sequence. I use this one on my classes. Very well done.

is a web site devoted to tracing the history of DNA discovery and increasing student understanding of the structure and function of DNA. The site is extremely interactive. Great site for the visual learner.

This video gives a good overview of photosynthesis.

is a site which explains the various kinds of decomposers and how they work together to maintain the biosphere we call Earth.

is reproduction accomplished by a single organism. This page details the different ways that this can be accomplished. Sexual reproduction is the production of new individuals following the mixing in a single cell of the genes of two different cells, usually gametes and usually from different parents. [in humans] [in angiosperms] [in gymnosperms] [in mosses] [in ferns] [in bacteria] [in Paramecium]

In the living cell, DNA undergoes frequent chemical change, especially when it is being replicated (in S phase of the eukaryotic cell cycle). Most of these changes are quickly repaired. Those that are not result in a mutation. This page shows the process and end result of mutation.

says that long ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through random chemical reactions. Spontaneous generation says “life from non-living matter.” Both deal with life coming from non-living substances. This site provides a terrific comparison between the idea and fact.

provides a wonderful set of illustrations outlining the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Included are images of the three cell types: bacterial, plant, and animal cells.

is a hierarchical system for classifying and identifying organisms. This system was developed by Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century. Linnaeus's taxonomy system has two main features that contribute to its ease of use in naming and grouping organisms. This site discusses those two main features and explains how the system works.

provides images of creatures that will help with Experiment 1.1 classification

is a web based interactive lab which walks the students through using a biological key.

provides an excellent overview of classification the history behind the system.

is a pictorial site which is set up like an encyclopedia of animals. Great help for the classification lab.

is the arrangement of organisms into categories that express their PHYLOGENY, or line of descent, based on information such as structure, development, biochemical or physiological functions, and evolutionary history of organisms. The purpose of such a classification is to provide a clear and practical way to organize and communicate information about organisms. This site details the history and structure of the system.

is a page devoted to helping the student learn how to use biological keys. The page starts out with simple examples from the kitchen and progresses into a more complex biological model.
Advanced topics related to Module #1
Metabolism is the process by which a living organism takes energy from its surroundings and uses it to sustain itself, develop, and grow. This web page provides an advanced look at metabolism, cellular energy production, and the cellular respiration processes.

is the sum total of all processes in an organism which use energy and simple chemical building blocks to produce large chemicals and structures necessary for life. This web page provides a very detailed, university-level, explanation of the process.

is the total of all processes in an organism which break down chemicals to produce energy and simple chemical building blocks.

is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the "fuel" used by all living things. The conversion of unusable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy, is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll. Most of the time, the photosynthetic process uses water and releases the oxygen that we absolutely must have to stay alive. This page provides a detailed explanation of the process from a biochemical point of view.

lecture is an eleven side college presentation on how producers and consumers interrelate.

is a wonderful web page that explains the types of receptors found in human skin and how these receptor work. I use this one for my classes. It is great!

The discovery of Neptune is excellent example of the scientific method in use. Scientists had noticed that the planet Uranus did not orbit around the sun exactly as Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation predicted. French scientist Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier assumed that this was because a previously undiscovered planet was interfering with Uranus’ movement. He made some calculations using Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation and determined where this undiscovered planet had to be in order for Uranus’s motion to be consistent with Netwon’s law. German scientist Johann Gottfried Galle used a telescope to look in the sky at the position that Leverrier predicted, and he saw the planet on the very first night of the search! The planet was named Neptune.

This site is written from an old earth/evolutionary point of view. The Domain Eukarya includes all of the organisms with eukaryotic cells.

gives an impressive look at the five kingdoms through images. It provides this information displayed in three formats: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

This website gives an overview of the 5 kingdoms. Contains some evolutionary content.

A university-level web site discussing classification within Kingdom Monera. Contains evolutionary content.



Interesting links related to Module #2


The U.S. Public Health Service has identified ten microorganisms as being the biggest culprits of food-borne illness, either because of the severity of the sickness or the number of cases of illness they cause. Beware of these pathogens!


1675.Leeuwenhoek succeeded in making some of the most important discoveries in the history of biology.It was he who discovered bacteria, free-living and parasitic microscopic protists, sperm cells, blood cells, microscopic nematodes and rotifers, and much more.His researches, which were widely circulated, opened up an entire world of microscopic life to the awareness of scientists

Are all bacteria harmful? No.Some are very useful.Bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus help us make cheese. Cheese isn't the only thing that we use bacteria to help us make, however.Some bacteria are used in the making of sauerkraut, vinegar, butter, and buttermilk.There are bacteria in your colon that help synthesize B vitamins and vitamin K which your body uses to stay healthy.This site is an interactive tour of a large cheese dairy.

When conditions become too harsh for its survival, a bacterium will form an endospore and go dormant.An endospore contains the DNA of the bacterium encased in several hard layers.When growth conditions are right, the DNA of the bacterium in the endospore will multiply again.How long can the endospore lay dormant? One of the most interesting recoveries of dormant bacterial endospores occurred when King Tut’s tomb was open.Viable bacterial endospores, which had been buried for 3000 years, were recovered from Tut’s tomb.This page is an interactive tour of King Tut’s tomb.
Links that contain extra help for the topics in Module #2


Very interesting article which describes bacterial size, shape, arrangement, and consumption.

Online encyclopedia page.Great summary page into bacterial investigation.Has multiple links to various topic pages regarding bacteria.Contains evolutionary content.

Wonderful interactive page on bacterial cell structure.Page contrasts and compares the differences between bacterial, plant, and animal cell types.

Contains evolutionary content.Interesting page with multiple links that show microscopic images of kings of bacterial cells, colony structures, and Gram stain reactions.Contains evolutionary contain.

Flagellum is like a propeller which never breaks down and which is incredibly efficient.Bacterium movement from one place to another is accomplished by this unique structure.Even though they are simple, there is still a vast amount scientists do not know about them.They also provide a tremendous problem for the evolutionists.This page discusses the workings of flagella and the evolutionary problems it presents.

This is a more detailed discussion of how intricately designed the bacterial flagellum is. The drawings are really quite amazing. You can see a 34-minute video discussing how Japanese scientists figured all of this out by clicking here.

Bacteria are all around us. Given good growing conditions, a bacterium grows slightly in size or length, a new cell wall grows through the center forming two daughter cells, each with the same genetic material as the parent cell.If the environment is optimum, the two daughter cells may divide into four in 20 minutes.This page details this process and the conditions necessary for optimum bacterial growth.

This is an animation of how bacteria conjugate.

Outstanding animation of how transformation occurs.If you are confused by the process, this little page will clear things up for you.

Animation which use Shockwave media to demonstrate how Endospore formation occurs.Requires download of program to run presentation.

Hans Christian Gram was a Danish physician.In order to make bacteria show up better under a microscope, he developed several different types of stains, one of which was the Gram-stain.Gram-positive bacteria are blue following the Gram stain procedure and Gram-negative bacteria are red after Gram staining is accomplished.The difference in reaction to Gram stain is caused by differences in the cell walls of the bacteria.This web page is an interactive look at the Gram staining technique.There is also an awesome quiz on the site which has the student identify and name bacteria.

This is the offical website of Biosphere 2.

Tremendously powerful tool for studying the microbial world.I particularly like what Microbiology Today, August 2002, had to say about this site: “Particularly impressive are the wide variety of easily downloaded high quality images and short QuickTime movies.These may be particularly useful for staff to use for PowerPoint lectures and for student presentations ... a useful source of information for both staff and students" Contains evolutionary content.

Wonderful little page which is of great help for Experiment 2.1.Page provides multiple links to other helpful sites which advances the usefulness of this site to Module 3.
Advanced topics related to Module #2


The creatures in these galleries are the smallest inhabitants of freshwater ponds, lakes and streams. They have mostly been photographed on color transparency film using electronic flash, which stops their motion and captures their natural colors. More recently added images have been shot using a Kodak DC4800 digital camera.Excellent resource for Experiment 2.1.Contains evolutionary contain.

If oxygen is absent, many cells are still able to use glycolysis to produce ATP.Two ways this can be done are through fermentation and anaerobic respiration.This page details this amazing process.

This is an interactive, animated exploration page covering cellular respiration.Included are discussions of the electron transport system, aerobic and anaerobic electron acceptors, and ATP synthase and the proton gradient.

This page takes an advanced look at the microbial world.

Most of the clostridia are saprophytes but a few are pathogenic for humans. Those that are pathogens have primarily a saprophytic existence in nature and, in a sense, are opportunistic pathogens. Clostridium tetani and Clostridium botulinum produce the most potent biological toxins known to affect humans. As pathogens of tetanus and food-borne botulism, they owe their virulence almost entirely to their toxigenicity. Other clostridia, however, are highly invasive under certain circumstances.This page details the effect of this pathogen group.

Myxococcus xanthus is a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium. Under starvation conditions, it undergoes a magnificent developmental process in which roughly 100,000 individual cells aggregate to form a structure called the fruiting body over the course of several hours.This page provides outstanding black and white pictures and video of this process.

Site is a 42 frame, college-level, lecture series on cell division which details bacterial cell reproduction on slides 006 – 008.Contains evolutionary contain.

"Simple" bacteria, coping with adverse growth conditions, show unexpected sophistication.

Advanced look at how scientists stain and study endospores.Site goes into great detail about construction of the endospore’s protective coating.

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