Cells Webquest |
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| Overview |
This is a 7th grade life science web quest on cells. It covers the following Georgia Performance Standards.
S7CS1 - Students will explore the importanhce of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in scinece and will exhibit thest traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
S7CS6 - Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
S7CS10 - Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas.
S7L2 - Students will describe the structure and functions of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. |
| Introduction |
Cities and cells, what do these two things have in common? There is a lot more than you may first think. How are plant cells different from animal cells? How do materials move in and out of a cell? In this web quest, you will be finding the answers to these questions.
Cities are busy places with each building specializing in a particular service or activity. Each building provides services that are necessary for the city's continued existance. Cells are no different. Each part of a cell, like each building in a city, specializes in an activity or service that benefits the cell and organism as a whole.
You are a city planner. You must make sure that the "cell city" that you build has all of the parts, goods and services necessary for the "cell city's" survival.
Be sure to use the talents of everyone in your group. At the end of the web quest, you will build your own cell. Be sure to look at the Evaluation page. At the end of the unit, you will be evaluating yourself as well as the other group memebers. I will be filling out one of the rubrics for you as a grade. I will take into consideration what your team mates have to say. Look at the rubric now so you know what you are being graded on.
Questions - These questions tell you what you will learn. - You will have to answer these questions at the end of Task 4.
1. Describe the structures and functions of the organelles in a cell.
2. Compare and contrast plant and animal cells.
3. Describe and discuss how a cell maintains homeostasis.
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| Task 1 |
Task 1
You will be creating a chart and researching information on cell organelles.
Process for Task 1
1. Create a chart that is 5 columns(across the top), and 13 rows (down the side).
2. Divide the organelles among the members of your group.
3. Using the websites on the resource page, research your organelles and fill in the chart.
4. When you are finished, return to your group and exchange research information. When everyone has a completed chart, move on to Task 2.
Organelles
(rows - down the side of the paper)
Cytoplasm
Nucleus
Nucleolus
Chromosomes
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Ribosomes
Cell Wall
Cell Membrane
Mitochondrion
Vacuole
Lysosome
Chloroplast
Golgi Complex (or Golgi Body)
Categories
(columns - across the top of the paper)
Cell Part
Description
Function
Plant/Animal/Both
Representative City Building
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| Task 2 |
Task 2
Your next task is to create a Double Bubble Mind Map showing how plant and animal cells are similar and different.
Process for Task 2
1. Using your chart that you have made in the last task, on an index card, you will draw, label, and color the 13 organelles. Assign each group member a few of the organelles to complete.
2. Return to your group and sort the organelles into three piles: plant cell parts, animal cell parts, and the parts that appear in both types of cells.
3. Draw a large Double Bubble Mind Map on bulletin board paper. Label one center circle "Plant Cell", the other center circle "Animal Cell", and the center bubbles "Both".
4. Glue the completed index cards to the Double Bubble Mind Map in the correct places.
Organelles
Cytoplasm
Nucleus
Nucleolus
Chromosomes
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Ribosomes
Cell Wall
Cell Membrane
Mitochondrion
Vacuole
Lysosome
Chloroplast
Golgi Complex (or Golgi Body)
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| Task 3 |
Task 3
In this task, you have a few choices. Each activity has been assigned a specific number of points. You may choose any of the activities as long as the points add up to a total of 50. You may do extra credit if you so desire.
Procedure for Task 3
1. View the activities listed below. Decide which ones interest you the most.
2. List the activites that you will complete and the number of points each is worth. Make sure the amount of points add up to 50.
3. Complete the activities and turn them in to your teacher. Each activity should be completed on a separate sheet of paper. Be sure to follow ALL directions to complete this task.
4. This task is to be worked on as homework also. Most of your class time should be used to do the other three tasks.
Graphic Organizer -10 points
Using the organelles that you have been studying, create a graphic organizer that shows the cell parts, their descriptions and functions.
Questions - 20 points
Copy and answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Describe the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
2. What is the difference between a cell wall and cell membrane?
3. Why do plants need cells with cell walls?
4. Every cell needs a membrane. Why?
5. What would be the negative effects of a cell not having lysosomes?
6. Predict whether skin cells or muscle cells have more mitochondria. Explain how you arrived at your prediction.
7. Why are digestive enzymes in a cell enclosed in a membrane-bound organelle?
8. If you were given a slide containing living cells, how would you identify the cells as either plant or animal?
9. What would happen if the nucleus of a cell were damaged?
10. What are the benefits of being multicellular?
Science Fiction Story - 20 points
Write a science fiction story about an animal whose cells are invaded by chloroplasts. Describe how that animal's life processes would be affected and how that animal would use this unusal occurrence to its advantage. You may use any multicellular animal that you like.
Cell Mathematics - 15 points
Rewrite each statement, filling in the answers to make the statements correct.
1. A hen's egg is about 50 mm in diameter. A human egg is about 0. 14 mm in diameter. What is the difference in size between the hen's egg and the human egg? _____________________mm
2. A drop of blood contains five million red blood cells and ten thousand white blood cells. How many TIMES more red blood cells are there than white blood cells? _________________ times
3. The nucleus of a cell is about 0.000625 cm in diameter. What is the diameter of this nucleus expressed in millimeters? _____________mm
4. A biologist notices that a petri dish is becoming covered with colonies of bacteria. The doubling rate of the bacterial colonies is one day. At the end of 30 days, the plate is covered with bacteria. When was the petri plate half-covered with bacterial colonies? _______________ day
5. A single cell reproduces by mitosis (reproduction by splitting in half). How many cells will be present at the end of the first divison? __________________ At the end of the second division? __________ At the end of the fifth division? _____________ At the end of the tenth division ? _________________ At the end of the twentieth division? __________________
Identify the Cell Structures - 10 points
Read and copy the short poems below. Answer the question "What am I?" at the end of each poem.
1.I'm a real "powerhouse."
That's plain to see.
I break down food
To release energy.
2. I'm strong and stiff
Getting through me is tough.
I'm found only in plants,
But I guess that's enough.
3. My name means "colored bodies,"
And I contain DNA
I pass on traits to new cells
In a systematic way.
4. I'm the "brain" of the cell
Or so they say.
I regulate activities
From day to day.
5. Found only in plant cells,
I'm green as can be.
I make food for the plant
Using the sun's energy.
6. I'm a series of tubes
Found throughout the cell.
I transport proteins
And other things as well.
7. I'm full of holes
Flexible, and thin.
I control what gets out
As well as what comes in.
8. Proteins are made here
Even though I'm quite small
You can find me in the cytoplasm
Or attached to E.R.'s wall.
9. I've been called a "storage tank
By those with little taste.
I'm a sac filled with water
Food, enzymes, or waste.
10. Since I contain many enzymes,
I can digest an injured cell;
And can break down a large molecule
Into a smaller one as well.
Modeling Cytoplasm Mini Lab - 15 points
Write out the directions for the lab and complete it. Bring in your cytoplasm to class and the correctly answered questions.
Materials
water measuring cup
unflavored gelatin spoon
Procedure
1. add 100 mL of water to a clear container (approx. 1/2 cup)
2. add unflavored gelatin and stir
3. shine a flashlight through the solution
Analysis
1. Describe in detail what you see.
2. How does a model help you understand what cytoplasm might be like?
Observing Magnified Objects Mini Lab - 15 points
Materials
clear drinking glass clear glass bowl
water magnifying glass
newspaper
Procedure
1. Look at newspaper through the curved side (turn the glass on its side) and the flat bottom of an empty, clear glass.
2. Look at the newspaper through a clear glass bowl filled with water.
3. Look at the newspaper with a magnifying glass.
Analysis
1. List each of the 4 ways you viewed the newspaper and describe in detail what the newspaper looked like.
2. Which worked best? Why?
3. How do you think that this experiment shows the concept of invention?
4. Based on the information in this lab, write a paragraph on how you think mignifying glasses were invented. |
| Task 4 |
Task 4
You will create a model of a city that contains all the cell parts. The "buildings" in your city should look similar to the cell parts they represent.
Process for Task 4
1. On the chart you created in Task 1, discuss with your group what part of a city the organelle represents. Everyone must come to consensus on the city part you are using to represent the organelle. Fill it in on the chart.
2. Name your city and create a 3 dimentional cell model from things you bring from home, or you may request specific materials from your teacher. (Remember, just because you ask for a specific material, does NOT mean you are going to receive it.)
3. List each of the organelles and a brief description of what "building" in the city represents it. Tell why you chose that particular city "building" as a representation.
Organelles
Cytoplasm
Nucleus
Nucleolus
Chromosomes
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Ribosomes
Cell Wall
Cell Membrane
Mitochondrion
Vacuole
Lysosome
Chloroplast
Golgi Complex (or Golgi Body) |
| Final Activity |
Remember to answer the questions at the beginning of this webquest!!!
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