DNA Extraction Lab

Completed November 11, 2011

How to extract your own DNA - how to instructions.

We did this lab twice with two different people extracting DNA through saliva.  We did not break down enzymes on either attempt, but may repeat this lab later to see if that yields more DNA samples.  The last extraction provided us with multiple DNA samples so we used a pipet to put a small sample on a slide.  We didn't stain it.  We viewed at 5x, 10x, 100x.  We could see strands at lower power magnification, but higher power only revealed cells.

For a better how-to see University of Utah's How to extract DNA from any living thing.  Read Frequently Asked Questions for a follow-up of the lab for understanding more of the science behind this lab.

The important step of pouring alchohol down the sides of the glass.  

This is a DNA strand after about 15 minutes.  It's clearly visible, but is easier to see when we shine a flashlight through the glass.

This is DNA extracted from the second person when viewed through the side of the glass.

DNA

View this lecture on DNA.

Complete K'Nex DNA model kit.

Khan Academy Biology

Planning here for the Second Term.

View the Khan Academy Biology lectures for this term's work.

Expectations following lecture:

• Written or illustrated narration
• Explanation of concept
• Understanding of vocabulary terms

Zoology

When studying Zoology, listen to the following lecture series available free from itunesU:

Zoology

The Kingdoms of Life

"Wisdom reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well."  (Wisdom of Solomon 8:1)

God is ordered, and His Creation reflects this order.  Man has always sought to understand this order, and one of the ways we understand it is to classify it.  In seeking to find some order in the living world, scientists looked to classify all living things into KINGDOMS.  When man first began to classify living things, only two Kingdoms were used - PLANTS and ANIMALS.  (** HISTORY NOTE ** Aristotle classified animal species, Carol Linnaeus is responsible for our modern nomenclature, and classified living things into two kingdoms - plant and animal)

Read Chapter 4 in Biology: Inquiry Into Life as a background, recognizing that at the time of this writing (1961) scientists recognized only two kingdoms, plant and animal.

As man began to understand living things with more detail, further nuances and distinctions began to be understood, and thus the need for more Kingdoms became apparent so that living things could be more accurately classified.  There are now SIX KINGDOMS:

BACTERIA
ARCHAEA
PROTISTA
FUNGI
ANIMALIA
PLANTAE

Explore the Kingdoms of Life:

• The Six Kingdoms - read and narrate (great overview of the six kingdoms).
• Kingdoms of Life - A Webquest for High School Biology - print the chart provided and complete the task as written.
• Biological Classification - read and narrate.  Be prepared to list the different taxa from Kingdom to Species IN ORDER
• Principles of Classification - read and narrate.

After exploring the Kingdoms of Life, please print this chart and research the named organisms in order to classify them.

Overview of the Year - TERM 1

Term 1
10 weeks

*********************************** WEEK 1 ***********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 1 - 8

Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 1 - How the science of life concerns you
READ ONLY

The Microscope and How To Use It by Dr. George Stehl - week 1 - 5

Summer World by Bernd Heinrich - week 1 - 5

 ********************************** WEEK 2 **********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 9 - 16

Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 2 - How the scientific method establishes scientific laws

Review Questions 1, 2, 5

USING MICROSCOPES - see sidebar

The Microscope and How To Use It by Dr. George Stehl - week 1 - 5
Summer World by Bernd Heinrich - week 1 - 5

*********************************** WEEK 3 ***********************************

COMPLETE

 The Way Life Works - p. 17 - 24

Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 3 - How you differ from a rock
Review Questions 7, 10

Periodic Table of Elements in Video - view all elements, check off elements using a printable Periodic Table as you view them.

 The Microscope and How To Use It by Dr. George Stehl - week 1 - 5
 Summer World by Bernd Heinrich - week 1 - 5

*********************************** WEEK 4 ***********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 25 -32

Biology: Inquiry Into Life

Interlude: The beginning of life - chance or creation
READ ONLY

The Microscope and How To Use It by Dr. George Stehl - week 1 - 5
Summer World by Bernd Heinrich - week 1 - 5

*********************************** WEEK 5 ***********************************

COMPLETE

Complete - The Way Life Works - p. 33 - 40

Complete - Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 4 - The emergence of life in time 

The Kingdoms of Life post 

IN PROGRESS - Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10
IN PROGRESS - The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

*********************************** WEEK 6 ***********************************
COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 41 - 48

 
Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 5 - The physical basis of life

CELLS - see sidebar

LABS - see sidebar:

Virtual cells

Mitosis/Cell reproduction
Karyotyping

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10
The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

*********************************** WEEK 7 ***********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 49 - 56

Biology: Inquiry Into Life
Chapter 6 - The differences between plants and animals
READ ONLY

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10
The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

*********************************** WEEK 8 ***********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 57 - 64

 
LABS FROM THE TEXT Biology: Inquiry Into Life (p. 64 - 66)

2 - Biology in the news digital scrapbook

3 - Photosynthesis (see lab sidebar)

13 - Raising microscopic plants

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10
The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

 ********************************** WEEK 9 **********************************

COMPLETE

The Way Life Works - p. 65 - 74

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10
The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

********************************** WEEK 10 **********************************

COMPLETE

LABS - see sidebar

Microbe Hunters by Paul De Kruif - week 6 - 10

The Curious Naturalist by Sy Montgomery - week 6 - 10

Special Note regarding *Biology: Inquiry Into Life* for this year

Biology: Inquiry Into Life by Clare Taschdjian and Fr. J. Bernard Hubbert

Special Note: This text is copyright 1961. It was an excellent Catholic text written with a passion for the subject and contains many excellent lab ideas for Biology so we're going to make use of it as a supplement. Recognize that the understanding of science has advanced tremendously in years since its publish date. We'll use this text as a supplement, incorporating viewpoints that allow for a Catholic perspective of Biology and (L)life.

The Beginning of Anything...

...starts somewhere.  This is just the beginning of this blog, and what I hope will be an exciting and fascinating study of Biology for us this year.  I'll add assignments and lab notes here, and perhaps just post some questions for you to consider. 

This blog is for us to make use of since I have collected a number of resources from around the web.  Our Kingdoms of Life study will be built almost entirely from web resources since I couldn't find a book that was adequate for what I wanted to convey.

So...look around, click around...as we get ready to begin.