BIO - Biochemistry - Power Standard 2

Standards: Click Here

Power Standard 2
B2.2A
B2.2E

Materials: Starter sheets, Biochemistry PPT, Vocabulary list, H and OH cards.

Starter (Pass out starter sheets, in which they will answer the starters on in their starter section of their notebook): What makes something a living organism? List the characteristics needed to be considered alive.

Reminders: Lab write up due tomorrow. Submit it electronically on Google Docs by sharing it with me. The document title should be name and finished (DockFinished).

Change up seats. Number off to eight and have the students move based off the number. The main objective in doing this is to get to know other classmates. We will switch seats every 3 weeks.

Go over starter. Have a class discussion, identifying the characteristics of living organisms.

Lesson: Pass out vocabulary list.

Begin the lesson by going through the vocabulary list. The vocabulary words are words they will be responsible for knowing (not specifically for a quiz but to better understand the material throughout the unit). I want to give them a basic understanding of the words prior to beginning the unit so the words won't be completely new to them when they see them again.

After the vocabulary, begin lecturing on the introduction to biochemistry using the biochemistry ppt (found on my website). First discuss, the basics of what a molecule is and the basics of bonding. Then use water as an example, which then can lead to why water is so important to living organisms. Still using water as an example, explain what a polar molecule is (oppositely charged ends). Ask the class what is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of the term polar (relate the definition of polarity to that (north and south poles, magnets).

Ask the class if water is organic and inorganic? Make sure to explain the difference to the common "organic" that they hear all the time, meaning all natural to the "organic" that we will be talking about in class, meaning made of a carbon backbone. Ask what the 4 major organic macromolecules are? Lead them to Proteins, Lipids, Carbs, and Nucleic Acids.

Finally, discuss how molecules are built. Remind the class that bonding is sharing or transfer of electrons. Identify what a monomer and polymer are and compare them. Monomers are single units while polymers are 3 or more monomers so monomers make up polymers.

Ask the class for 3 volunteers to demonstrate the building and breaking of polymers. Have the OH and H cards ready. Line the students up and ask the class what they represent (monomers). Give the middle student a H and OH card. Give the other students just an OH and a H. Go through the building of a polymer, water leaves (dehydration reaction) and breaking a polymer down, gaining water (hydrolysis reaction). Then have the students diagram it.