Unit Course Objectives
This unit is compatible with the North Carolina Course of Study in that it supports the implementation of unifying concepts in science. The first unifying concept is that students need to able to relate systems, order, and organization. Upon completion of this unit students will be able to relate organisms of various sizes and their structure to function in their respective habitats.
The second unifying concept is that students will be able to construct and interpret evidence, models, and explanations. By the end of this unit, students should be able to interpret what they read and class discussions concerning sizing and scale and be able to construct their own models. Students will then be expected to present and defend their constructs to their peers, who will also rate the models and provide feedback based on what they have learned from the unit activity.
The third unifying concept is that students should be able to understand the importance of consistency, change, and measurement throughout science. This aspect of science also includes the necessity in science for the ability to understand the concepts of accuracy, rates, and scaling. In this unit, students will become aware of the affect that size plays in an organism s ability to move, obtain energy, carryout transport, and respire—all of the characteristics that support living systems. This information will become invaluable when we are discussing taxonomy and as we compare and contrast Monerans, Viruses, Protista, Fungi, Plants, and later Animals. The students will have a better foundation for background knowledge and will be better equipped to make inquiry associations concerning the specific characteristics of each Kingdom as to how the differ and how they are also similar.
The fourth unifying concept is that of evolution and equilibrium. Students need to understand that evolution is change over time and that organisms tend to adapt with their environment until an equilibrium is reached or until the need for further adaptation. Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to understand why organisms are structured as they are relative to their size, and how their structures must change in relation to any change of size. If an animal gets larger, they must develop more efficient means to metabolize energy, get rid of waste, support added mass, and so forth.
The fifth and final concept of the North Carolina Course of Study is that students need to understand the relationship between form and function. Throughout this unit, students will be observing how form relates to function—for example, why small birds have smaller, hollow wings to assist them in becoming more aerodynamic, and why elephants have much thicker, denser bones in order to support their increased mass.
In the culminating portion of my unit, I will present the science of nanoscience and some of its practical applications. I will present actual research and experiments being conducted with nanoscience and how these studies are being implemented in the biological sciences. This part of the unit will relate to Goals 1 and 4 of the North Carolina Standard Course of Studies in that the student will be able to analyze reports of scientific investigation and form an informed, scientifically literate viewpoint as well as develop an understanding of the unity and diversity of life.
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