Tonight's Reading/Studying

The final exam of the semester looms in the distance, so PLEASE study!  You have all of your notes/handouts.  Here are a few categories to study:

Chapter 13:
1)  Evidence for evolution:  fossil record, biogeography, comparative anatomy (including homologous structures and vestigial structures),  comparing embryonic development, and molecular biology (similarities in amino acid and DNA sequences)
2)  Sources of genetic variation:  mutation, crossing over and independent assortment (during meiosis), random fertilization
3)  How do you know if a population is evolving?  Hardy-Weinberg--that's how.  Look over the equation, remembering what each variable represents!
4)  The five conditions that must be met in order for a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (i.e. NOT evolving; stable allele frequencies):  see p. 267
5)  Things that alter allele frequencies in a population (i.e. lead to microevolution and disrupt HW equilibrium):   a)  genetic drift:  changes that are due to chance alone (ex. bottlenecks and founder effect)
b)  gene flow (alleles come in/leave a population);  c) mutations (to a SMALL extent); and d)  natural selection (the only mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution)  and there are three types:  stabilizing, disruptive, directional.  Sexual selection leads to differences in appearance (phenotype) between males and females of a species (think birds).

Chapter 14:
1)  Definitions of species:  biological, morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic (see p. 279)
2)  Speciation:  the formation of new species
3)  Reproduction barriers keep species separate:  prezygotic (there are 5); and postzygotic (there are 3)--see p. 281 Table 14.3
4)  Types of speciation:  a)  allopatric (different environments/geographic isolation occurred); and b) sympatric:  same environment; gene flow just stops or is drastically reduced (think polyploidy in plants, habitat differentiation, and sexual selection)
5)  Hybrid zones:  regions where members of diff. species meet and mate, producing at least some hybrid offspring.  Outcomes could be:   a) reinforcement; b) fusion; or c) stability
6)  Adaptive radiation (concept discussed again in chapter 15):  many diverse species arise from a common ancestor; is very common after a mass extinction because niches open up
7)  Speciation can occur slowly (gradualism model) or rapidly (punctuated equilibrium model); fossil record supports the punctuated model


Chapter 15:  I hope it is still pretty fresh on your minds.

Tonight's Reading/Work

For Review:  p. 274-275:  Number 2-11, 13

Begin reading Chapter 14:  The Origin of Species

Tonight's Reading

Please read chapter 13.  I will be giving you notes tomorrow as handouts, but always remember that notes are never a substitution for reading the text.  We will complete all of chapters 13 and 14 and most of chapter 15 for the final exam of the semester.  Put it on your calendar:  December 10th.

Test Tomorrow

Read through your powerpoints and written notes.  Look at major diagrams and charts in the text (especially if I have gone over them!)  Answer the questions at the end of the chapters again.  (It can't hurt.)  If you have any questions, please post.

Tonight's Reading/Studying

I thought I would make a list of sections in the text that you can skip when you're studying, so here they are:

Chapter 10:  None.  Sorry.:(
Chapter 11:  11.5, 11.7, 11.11, 11.13, 11.20
Chapter 12:  12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.14, 12.15, 12.17, 12.18, 12.19, 12.20, 12.21

That should alleviate some of the reading load.  I will check the blog for questions from around 8-10 tonight.

Tuesday's Study Questions

p. 251:  #1 (concept map)
p. 252:  #2-#7 (multiple choice)

There is no essay on the test on Friday. However...I want you to answer questions #12 and #13 under 'applying the concepts' on p. 252.  We had a short discussion about transgenic organisms today (think 'genetically modified food').  We will look at gene therapy tomorrow, so read page 241 tonight.  I want you to answer these two questions in paragraph form, making sure to answer each portion of the question.  (Number 12 has several sub-questions.)  I will take these Friday before the exam and count them as the essay portion of your test, so you can write over the next two days, ask me questions, and revise your work before you turn it in.

We will do a short activity on DNA fingerprinting and gel electrophoresis tomorrow and write a summary of the process.

In chapter 10 (which now seems LONG ago and far away), be sure you understand the DNA discovery experiments (Griffith, Avery, Hershey/Chase).  Also--DNA structure and replication.  There are several enzymes involved in replication.  A good way to keep them straight:  1)  cut notecards in half.  2)  write the name of the enzyme on one card, its function on the other.  3)  mix them up and see if you can match them. (This is actually a good way to learn all kinds of information.)

I will be around until standard time--10:30ish.

Tonight's Reading/Studying

Practice questions for chapter 11 to try tonight:

p. 228:  #1 (the concept map)
p. 229:  Multiple Choice--#2-8; Applying the Concepts--#10

Reading in chapter 12: 
1)  Look at figure 12.1 on p. 233--it is a good summary of gene cloning and possible uses.
2)  Figure 12.2 on p. 234 is a good illustration of how restriction enzymes produce 'sticky ends'.
3)  Read over pages 242-246.  We will be discussing these sections in class tomorrow.  You already have the powerpoint notes.  It would be good if you would read over those and get a general idea of how PCR and gel electrophoresis work.

*Don't forget:  The answers to all the questions at the end of the chapters are in the appendix of the textbook!

For next week

We will be discussing DNA technology, specifically--gene cloning, PCR, gel electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting, and gene therapy.  We'll look at the pros and cons of this technology and how it is used in medicine, agriculture, forensics, etc...  Look ahead into chapter 12.  Read the headings, look at diagrams, pictures, etc... and read the chapter summary.  I hope to be done by Wednesday so we can review all block on Thursday; test on Friday.

Tonight's Reading/Work

On your iPOD, go to the Kahn Biology 1 app and listen to the lecture on viruses (it's #18).  It's only about 20 minutes long and it's quite good.  The reading in your text is pages 200-203 (viruses and viroids.)  Further reading for tomorrow includes pages 204-205 over bacterial genetics.  You already know what transformation and transduction are, so this should be easy reading.

Tonight's Reading

Read pages 191-198; have your powerpoint out as you read so you can jot down any notes or questions.  Feel free to read ahead and look over the main ideas about mutations and mutagens.

Study

Please read over both powerpoints tonight.  When you study, always start from the beginning of the current material and work your way up through the new stuff.  And...the chapters on the next test will be chapters 10-12, not 13-15 as I wrote on the board today.  But you've probably already figured that out.:)

Tonight's Reading

Read over the powerpoint notes from class today.  (Keep re-reading these notes EVERY night.  The more you read them, the easier they are to remember.)  Also, read pp.182-189 in your text.  We will be discussing DNA structure and replication in class tomorrow.  The material is not difficult; just a lot of it. 

For Tomorrow

Check your email tonight.  I sent five powerpoints to you for the next unit.  I tried to send them all in one email, but received 'fatal error' messages, so I sent them one at a time.  I have already printed them out for your notebook, so look over the first ppt tonight--DNA Discovery Experiments.  Also, it wouldn't hurt to look over chapter 10.

Questions?

I know the test is challenging.  But it should be.  There's a lot of information in these two chapters, so read over the sections that are giving you problems.  I will check the blog until around 10:00.

Practice

1)  What is an aneuploid?  Give some examples of aneuploidy.  (Remember the karyotypes we looked at on the smartboard.)
2)  What is the only human aneuploid condition (that could result in a live birth) in which the person has 45 chromosomes?
3)  In humans, normal hearing requires at least one dominant allele at two different loci (genes):   D__ E__.  Knowing this, how could two deaf individuals have children who all have normal hearing?
4)  In cocker spaniels, black fur is dominant to brown, and spotted is dominant to solid.  What would be the phenotypic ratio of a cross between a homozygous black, spotted male and a homozygous brown, spotted female?
5)  A woman has blood type A and man has blood type B.  Without knowing their actual genotypes, list all the possible blood types their children could have.

Read over linked genes and how to calculate recombination frequency.  I hope to get to this tomorrow.  If you left for the math competition today, try to get with a classmate to catch up and complete your graphic organizer.  I'll be checking in.

Practice

Here are a few questions for practice/review.

Match the following F2 phenotypic ratios with the inheritance pattern they are most common in:

1)  1:2:1                          a.  complete dominance
2)  3:1                             b.  dihybrid
3)  9:3:3:1                       c.  incomplete dominance and codominance

4)  What is the type of inheritance in which both alleles are equally expressed?  Give an example discussed in class.
5)  What is the type of inheritance in which two pure-breeding phenotypes produce offspring that have a phenotype that is intermediate between the two parental types?  Give an example discussed in class.
6)  In hamsters, black fur is dominant to brown.  A friend gives you a black hamster.  How could you determine if its genotype is BB or Bb?  (What type of cross would you perform?)
7)  What is the difference between the terms sex-linked gene and linked gene?  (See p. 176 and p. 172.  These terms do not mean the same thing!)  We will begin discussing linked genes tomorrow and calculating recombination frequencies, so I need you to know the difference between these terms.

I will be checking in until around 10:30 if you have questions.  These are good practice, so try them.  If you get stuck, that's okay.  If I can't answer your questions on the blog because you need to see a punnett square or detailed explanation, I will definitely answer them tomorrow. 

Questions

Here are some questions to help you practice tonight, just in case you are uneasy about the problems from class today.

1)  A paternity issue has come up.  The child has blood type A, the mother has blood type B, and the alleged father has blood type O.  Can this be his child?  Justify your answer with a punnett square.
2)  In cats, a condition called manx exists.  Manx cats have a naturally occurring mutation of the spine, which usually causes them to be tailless (no tail.)  When pure breeding long tail cats are bred with tailless manx cats, cats with tails that are short and stubby are usually produced.  Based on this information, what can you conclude about the inheritance pattern of tail length in cats?
3)  For the following conditions, determine if they are inherited as autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or sex-linked recessive:  Sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, achondroplasia, Huntington's disorder, hemophilia, PKU, colorblindness, Tay-Sachs.

If you have questions, I will be checking in until around 9:30.  I'm pretty tired tonight.:)

Tonight's Reading/Studying

I hope everyone feels comfortable with the genetics problems we discussed and worked in class today.  We will be adding more types of crosses tomorrow, so go through the chapter and look for examples of:

1)  incomplete dominance (such as red and white flowers producing pink)
2)  sex linkage (such as hemophilia and colorblindness)
3)  codominance (such as human blood types, which is also an example of multiple alleles)
4)  epistasis (which is a variation on the dihybrid cross we did in class today; you get a different phenotypic ratio, such as 9:3:4 ,  9:7  , or some other ratio)

It is critical that you understand the basic vocabulary:  trait, allele, homozygous, heterozygous, genotype, phenotype, hybrid, true-breeding, dominant, recessive, P generation, F1 generation, F2 generation, autosome, sex chromosome.  Without this vocabulary, working the problems is pretty much impossible. 

We will continue to go through the study guide packet tomorrow and add examples of Punnett squares to your notes.

Fall Break/Next Week

I hope everyone enjoys their much deserved break!  If you find yourself bored and in need of entertainment, break out your iPOD and listen to the mitosis, meiosis, and Mendelian genetics tutorials on  Kahn Biology.  I will be around online, so post questions as they come up. 

I have left a packet for chapter 9 for you next week.  Some of it is easy, some is not.  I highly recommend using a pencil to complete the study guide packet so you can make changes (if necessary) when I get back.  A lot of chapter 9 will be stuff you already know and just need to review, but there is a good bit of information that I am pretty sure you've never heard before.  Don't stress over it, but don't ignore it either.  READ, re-read,  talk to each other, and try to work through the problems.  And as always, I'll be checking in.

Tonight's Reading

Well, here's the new blog page.  I may have created two accidentally, but google has not been my friend these past few days.  Anyway...join up so you can post questions.  Read the rest of chapter 8 tonight and be ready to finish up the discussion in class tomorrow.