Season 10 & 11 Round-up | Plants, Invertebrates & Chordates

We have been very busy these past couple of weeks! Starting the week on March 27th, we started to wrap up Season 10 learning about plants. Over that weekend we all watched Botany of Desire. We later had an online discussion on the plants they discussed: apples, tulips, cannabis and the potato. All plants had a relationship between the human senses or involvement and the enticing plant. My favorite segment was about the tulips and the part they highlighted about Holland. Beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder! Check out part 1 of the 3 part series below and here is the link to the website for the other 2 parts.



Finishing up plants, we took advantage of zSpace we explored different phyla of plants and learned the structure of different types of plants. The next day, some AP Bio rockstars brought in plants, fruits or vegetables and we performed the transpiration lab! In this lab we compared the rate of transpiration under the different conditions of room temperature, fan breeze, and light. Once we were master botanists, we split into groups to create lab stations for the Bio and Bio Honors classes here at Notre Dame, a project we call Plant Mania!  Gina and Anni focused on plant reproduction (also involving the role of bees). Keira, Veronica and Lindsay made a station on the structure and function of different types of plants. Helen, Taylor and Kyla made a station on the different phyla of plants and the evolutionary patterns. Michelle and Quinlyn focused on plant responses (the tropisms). And to wrap it all up, Natalie and Alexa made a review game for the end. Check out the AP Bio rockstars testing out the stations below!

To start off Season 11, Kingdom Animalia, we learned about invertebrates! For each phylum (Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca & Echinodermata) we watched shape of life videos to learn about these cool critters

To put our knowledge to the test, we visited Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, CA to learn about all the invertebrates living there with LiMPETS. Check out the picture and watch the video below to learn more about out the fun we had there!

Moving on from invertebrates, we moved on to animals with backbones, chordates! Taking advantage of zSpace again, we took a look at the Chordata body systems: movement, response, reproduction, excretion, circulation, homoeostasis, respiration, and digestion. Putting our knowledge to the test we had the privilege to dissect some fetal pigs! In pairs, AP Bio Rockstars, saw and sometimes held the body systems of the pigs in our hands. This was an amazing experience and was so fun and educational. So weird to think that we, humans, look so similar to pigs on the inside.






Wrapping up body systems, we started our CSI NDB investigations! Right before spring break we started this project and starting filming for our trailer but still have a ways to go on our investigations. Stay tuned!