Transport (IB Topic B3.2)

Ⓛ: Pig Heart Dissection (🙋/👫 max 2)

*You can opt out of this, but it is strongly recommended that you participate!*

Takes a hands-on approach to learning about the heart. Carefully follow the instructions on this lab guide. Individually, answer all questions on pages 4-6 using this Google Doc. Submit this on G. Classroom at the end of the period. Here is a very friendly visual guide to use as you are dissecting. 

Ⓛ (analysis – REQUIRED): Use epidemiological data to show the link between smoking and lung cancer (💁)

Continue fine-tuning your lab skills – this time focusing on the analysis side of things. Take this actual data from the UK comparing smoking rates by profession and rates of lung cancer, and present it in a graph. Answer the 4 questions in the document, then submit all work to G.Classroom – this should include all the work you use — spreadsheets, graphs, and answers to all questions. (This should take about 1 hour to complete.)

Lab ⓟ/ⓦ: Play Doctor: Checking Blood Pressure (👫 2 required)

Grab a friend, a stethoscope, and a sphygmomanometer, and learn how to measure blood pressure. Complete the lab worksheet! As you’re learning, use this video for practice (check the notes for the actual BP of the patient in the video). When you’re done checking your partner’s BP, use the digital sphygmomanometer to check your accuracy. 

Lab ⓟ/ⓦ: Modeling Pressure Flow from Source to Sink (💁/👭 max 2)

Get creative and think of a way to model pressure flow from the phloem source to sink. You could work with a group to do a role-play (people = sucrose?), or work solo to make a visual model (using paper and marbles as molecules?). The choice is up to you – just show us how pressure flow works in plants! 

ⓡ (+NOS): Researcher affirms 86-year-old hypothesis (💁)

A good hypothesis might float around science circles for decades – even centuries – before we have the technology and methods to gather evidence to support it. Such was the case with phloem — it took 86 years to validate the simple hypothesis for how nutrients and sugars move around plants. Along the way, some scientists went to great lengths to get the data needed to validate the hypothesis. Read through the articles and write a response, discussing: 1) What is the hypothesis that was validated?;  2) Why is it worth studying in the first place?;  3) How does nature use pressure gradients to move solutes around plants?;  and 4) How might radioactive isotopes have been used in this experiment? 

ⓟ/ⓦ: Read a Story + Role Play a Cardiologist (💁 /👫max 2)

Read this interactive story of an expecting mom about to give birth to twins, and the unexpected challenges with the twins’ cardiovascular systems. Follow up by answering the questions at the end of each section (you can skip the ones that aren’t relevant to 6.2). 

Lab ⓟ/ⓦ: Microscope It: Blood Vessels (💁 /👫max 2)

Grab a microscope and some slides of arteries and veins. Sketch (or photograph) what you see, and make some good inquiry questions about the structure of each. What differences do you see, and what is the reason for these differences? Record or write up your questions and answers. 

ⓟ/ⓦ (+NOS): “Crack-Brained Harvey” dies a bitter man 

(💁 /👫max 3) (pages 126 – 130 in The Body)

Like so many artists, scientists, and thinkers beyond their time, William Harvey changed the future of science and medicine… but wasn’t given credit until after he died. During his career, it was quite the opposite — Harvey (accurately) suggested blood circulates in a closed system in the body, but his critics called him “crack-brained” for such a crazy idea. They cut ties with him, leaving him somewhat desolate and disrespected until death. With your podcasters, tell Harvey’s unfortunate story, 1) aligning it with the NOS idea that theories in science can change over time, and 2) How his ideas specifically refuted Galen’s description of blood flow in the body. 

Ӕ: Screencast the blood vessels: 

Use online images of blood vessel micrographs (or use a microscope to photograph your own) to explain the structure and function of both arteries and veins. What differences are there, and what is the reason for these differences? Make sure you point out the specific parts of the micrographs as you teach about these features. 

ⓟ/ⓦ: How Your Heart Influences What You Perceive and Fear (💁 /👫max 2)

Write or record a response to this article on the heart’s surprising role in shaping what you perceive and fear. In your response, make sure you define the diastole and systole phases.

ⓟ/ⓦ: Can we Regenerate Heart Muscle with Stem Cells? 

(💁 /👫max 2)

“The heart is one of the least regenerative organs in the human body — a big factor in making heart failure the number one killer worldwide”. Write or record a response to this TED Talk on the idea of using stem cells to regenerate heart muscle. Discuss 1) The common causes of heart muscle damage (hint… 6.2.A2); and 2) How stem cells could be used to fix this problem.

ⓡ: Molecular Insights into why Exercise is so Good for the Heart (*advanced; 💁 /👫max 2).

The health benefits of physical exercise are hardly a new insight. However, how and why these benefits exist brings us to the cutting edge of research. Read this article and write/record a response; discussing how and why exercise seems to be helpful in preventing cardiovascular disease. In your explanation, make sure you explain how cardiovascular diseases can arise in those who do not get much exercise.

Ӕ (Recommended): Teach it: A 3D Tour the Heart 🙋

Record a screencast of a 3D model of the heart (or try this one….there are also several others online… just Google it). Teach a brief lesson on the features of the heart, and describe the function of each of these features. Make sure you state the overall function of arteries and veins, and give an overview of the pathway of blood flow throughout the heart.

ⓟ/ⓦ: Evolution of the Heart – A Love Story 👫 (max 3)

It took nature hundreds of millions of years to evolve the mammalian heart into what it is today – complete with chambers, valves, electric circuits, and more. Watch this great video of the evolution of the heart, then explain how evolution slowly but surely developed the heart we all rely on today. Make sure you lead up to a detailed look of the modern mammalian heart, including all relevant terms and concepts from 6.2.

Other: The Cardiac Cycle Puzzle

Use the clues in this presentation to fill in the boxes on this puzzle worksheet (keep in mind you only need to fill in the white boxes). You’ll sort through all the details of the cardiac cycle + heartbeat.

ⓦ “Inquiry 5″: Q&A on Transportation in Plants (💁/ 👭max 2)

Create a list of 5 inquiry questions related to transportation in plants. Remember that good inquiry questions are conceptual / open-ended…

SUCH AS: “How do plants use hydrostatic pressure to 

      survive?” 

         NOT: “What is the function of the companion cell?” 

If working solo, write out answers to your own questions; if working in pairs, record yourselves asking each other your 5 questions.

ⓟ/ⓦ How Trees Bend the Laws of Physics (💁/ 👭max 2)

The giant sequoias in California are the tallest trees on earth – some reaching as high as 130 meters. This seems to defy a rule in physics: no straw can work beyond 10 meters high. If the xylem is just a natural form of straw, how do trees overcome this 10-meter limit? Watch this veritasium video and answer: 1) How do xylem and transpiration work to move water up a plant?; 2) What is “negative pressure”?  3) Why is there a 10-meter limit to tubes moving water upward; and 4) How do plants overcome this limit? 

Extra: Blood Pressure

Do this mini lab to find your own blood pressure and the BP of the rest of the class. This requires whole class participation – one pair might want to take the lead in collecting + recording each person’s BP.