PROJECTS FOR THE BIOLOGY I CLASS

Biological Review

Mr. Pagani, S.

All these articles will be submitted to the teacher in these three different formats: 1) printed on letter size paper, 2) in a word processing format like Word or Rich Text Format, and 3) as a Power Point Presentation.

Every article (or project) must have:

  1. A cover page with an attractive title, date, student's name, student's number, class, teacher, type of project (ex. Project C-7), and period number.
  2. A small introductory paragraph with a summary of what the article is about.
  3. A page with a table of content. All the subtitles or sections of the paper must be orderly listed there with the corresponding page numbers.
  4. Pictures and/or graphs (properly labeled) that illustrate and help explain the content of the article.
  5. Name of the discoverer(s)/inventor(s)/scientist(s) involved in the article.
  6. Background of the scientist(s).
  7. Other work made by the scientist(s).
  8. Name of the discovery/invention/event.
  9. How it was discovered/developed/invented.
  10. How it works including pictures, diagrams, and graphs.
  11. How can it be applied and which are the major applications.
  12. How the applications work. (Use graphics and graphs to support this part).
  13. Benefits and consequences of all the applications.
  14. An analysis made by the student including comparison/contrast with similar discoveries/inventions/applications (if it applies).
  15. The student's comments at an evaluation level about this discovery/invention/application and the implications of it.
  16. Some predictions.
  17. An interview about the topic (if applicable and pertinent).
  18. A well designed advertising campaign to help reduce the problem. For example: If you want to reduce the Global Warming problem, you will plan your TV commercial (story board), Radio Jingle and Voice Over, posters, and school education campaigns in order to persuade people to actively participate in the reduction and/or elimination of this serious problem.
  19. All the different sections of the paper will be separated by one space and all will have subtitles.
  20. The references will be cited according to an established format (visit the website: http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/citing.htm#APA and use the APA Style)
  21. Suggested Internet addresses to visit about the topic.
  22. People or organizations to contact about the topic including name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail, and webpages.
  23. The paper must have a minimum of 8-10 pages letter size, single spaced and a font not bigger than 12. The margins (top, bottom, right, and left) must be a maximum of 1 inch each.
  24. Every paper represents only one article. This means that if your paper (article) is for the section "Recent Discoveries", it must be a paper about only one recent discovery. If it is for the section "Interesting Inventions", then it must be about only one invention. If it is about "Women in Biology", then, it must be about only one woman in Biology. It must specify what was her invention, contribution, or discovery, and then go over all the requirements mentioned above about that particular invention, contribution or discovery that she made. This is a Biology class, and a Biological newspaper, then, the content must always provide biological knowledge, and principles to the reader. This applies to any other paper (article) of any section mentioned below. It is going to be about: only one person appertaining to a minority group for section 4, only one invention (and the biological principles behind it) that helps preserve the environment for section 5, only one Biology related professional (example: Virologist) for section 6, only one way in which Biology or any other related science (example: Molecular Biology) using biological principles has developed something useful in medicine (for example: artificial production of insulin) for section 7, only one source of energy for section 8, only one device for section 9, only one book for section 12, only one particular research in Biology for section 13, only one experiment for section 14, only one experiment for section 15, and, of course, only one device for section 16.
  25. The Power Point presentations must start with a cover slide with an attractive title, date, student's name, student's number, class, teacher, and period number. The second slide must be an index slide indicating all the subtitles or parts of the presentation. From slide three on, the slides must be outlines with the content of the different parts of the paper. These slides must contain graphs, graphics, tables, diagrams and pictures supporting the outline. A slide presentation is supposed to be a strong visual support to guide, facilitate, illustrate and complete the talk of the presenter. The ending slides must include conclusions, predictions, suggestions or possible solutions. After, follows the slide with suggested websites and sources of information on the topic. For instance: Departments, Institutions, organizations, etc. Finally, follows the slide with the references used for the paper and the presentation. The references must follow the APA style in this website: http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/citing.htm#APA After, if you desire to do it, you may include a slide with a quote or a message that summarizes a truth implicit in the content of the paper, and therefore, the presentation.
  26. The diskette should have only two files: One for the paper (in Word or rtf format) and one for the presentation. No other files are supposed to be in there. Do not make separate files for references, or for the cover. Follow the instructions given above. Save the files under a name composed by your last name followed by the topic of the paper. For example: Global Warming by Mr. Pagani could be called something like Paganiglobwarm. It is not necessary to name the two files differently because they are already being saved specifying the format used (doc for Microsoft Word Document or rtf for rich text format document, and ppt for Microsoft Power Point Presentation). Always keep a copy in your hard drive and another diskette. This way, if something happens to the diskette submitted, you always have a back-up copy of it. The files will appear in drive a:/ like Paganiglobwarm.doc or Paganiglobwarm.rtf (for the text one), and Paganiglobwarm.ppt
  27. Pieces of text that evidently show they have been copied and pasted from the Internet will reduce the grade of the project. The project must include your own input. Your opinions, comments, interviews, analysis, comparisons, analogies, constructive criticism, evaluations, inferences, predictions, suggested solutions, conclusions, and advertising campaign are more important than the rest of the article which is basically informational and it is a compendium of different pieces of text coming from different sources.

SECTIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER

  1. Recent Discoveries: This section will be about recent discoveries in Biology or any other applied related science.
  2. Interesting Inventions: This section will be about inventions in the Biological field or any other related science. They may use some chemical or physics principles but in combination with biological ones.
  3. Women in Biology: This section will be about women who have played an important role in Biology or any other related science.
  4. Minorities in Biology: This section will be about people appertaining to minority groups in the US or their ethnic groups overseas that have played an important role in the Biological field or any other applied related science.
  5. Biology for a better world: This section will be about ways in which Biology has been applied to help preserve the environment.
  6. A Day in the life of a …: This section will be about a career in Biology or any other applied related science. It will specify all of the following: starting salary, average salary, top salary, minimum education requirements, job duties, responsibilities, benefits, schedule, list of major employers, list of all the job opportunities, list of renown employees, list of colleges or universities that offer studies in that profession (specify all the ones in Florida), competition in the profession, available opportunities, compare/contrast this profession with other similar professions, state and national need for professionals of this type, future perspective for professionals of this type, major inconveniences of the profession, interest and attitude needed to succeed in that profession, interview to a professional in this career that will include: what an average day in his/her life looks like, reasons why he/she selected this profession, major satisfactions, complaints, suggestions to the high school student interested in pursuing this career, etc.
  7. Health with Biology: this section will be about different ways in which Biology or any other related science have developed something useful in the medicine field.
  8. Biological sources of energy?: this section will search for different biological sources of energy that will be less harmful to the environment (and probably to our pocket too) than the ones in use today for a particular item, for example, a car or a house. It will specify things like: costs of using this type of energy, production costs, ways of production, availability, effectiveness, comparison/contrast with sources of energy in actual use today, benefits, consequences, limitations, feasibility, examples, descriptions of how it works including diagrams, pictures, graphs, etc., biological principles behind it, predictions, analysis, evaluation.
  9. How does this work?: this section will be about how different devices (machines, sophisticated instruments, etc.) used in the biological field work.
  10. Biological War: this section will be about all of the details of this part of technology that represents a terrible menace to our world and us. It will specify: which microorganisms have been used as biological weapons, how do they work, which are the possible defenses, which restrictions do we have for working with any of these microorganisms, which are the international laws and agreements for the control of these weapons, consequences of their use, which incidents have happened in the past with this type of weapons, what is happening now, what do you predict is going to happen, what must be done immediately, how. The articles will also provide an advertising campaign to stop the problem and/or induce the good changes that people/governments/organizations must make to reduce the problem.
  11. Global Warming: this section will be about this world problem that is affecting all of us. It will answer among many questions to: What is it about, which are the major causes, why, how can we stop the problem, which Biological solutions can we find to reduce the problem, how, when, where, which changes must be done in our way of living, how would you induce these changes, which predictions do you make about our future in respect to this problem, what is finally going to happen. It will include interviews to experts in the field and analysis of the answers. It will also provide an advertising campaign to stop the problem and/or induce the good changes that people must make to reduce the problem.
  12. Sci-fi Reading: This section will be about interesting books based on Biology or a biological related problem or story. The articles will make a full analysis of the books that will go over the most specific details. The analysis will include comments to every single scientific event mentioned in the book. It will describe the Biological principles involved in detail. It will specify how true or possible these events are. It will study the consequences of these events in our world and provide the readers with possible applications of the book content, predictions, analysis, evaluations, etc.
  13. Research in Biology: This section will be about actual research currently being performed in Biology at NASA, Silicon Valley, MIT, and any other major University or Biology related Laboratory in the world.
  14. Hands-on Biology: This section will provide the reader with all the instructions to put hands-on a Biology related experiment at home. It will explain all the Biological principles behind it, applications, and provide the study of at least one real situation where that same principle is involved, etc.
  15. Aerospace Biology: This section will provide at least one full study of a biological experiment done out in space, the devices/materials/specimens used for that, background of the problem, purpose, applications, performance, results, future trials, etc. The articles will include predictions about what can we expect as goals of the aerospace biological industry.
  16. Bioremediation: This section will provide full study of the different situations in which a biological solution was found or proposed for certain science, technology and society problems like: 1) pollution (air, water, land), 2) lack of water resources, 3) wrong use of the land, 4) solid waste, 5) ecological and human diseases, 6) world food resources, 7) overpopulation, 8) extinction of living things, 9) bad air quality, etc. The articles will explain which are the causes for those problems. It will describe the biological solutions and suggest ways in which the reader can contribute to solve the problem. It will also provide an advertising campaign to stop or reduce the problem through a change in people's behavior.
  17. Genetic disorders: This section will provide full study about different genetic disorders that affect humans and other living things. The articles will describe possible solutions or ways to prevent the problem.
  18. Biotechnology: This section will specify different ways in which the human beings use microorganisms and/or the work performed by them to make an industry.
  19. Plants in South Florida: This section will provide details about important plant specimens (edibles or industrially beneficial ones) in South Florida: characteristics, importance (use, agricultural applications, medicinal and/or nutritional value), ways to promote the growing, ways to keep them safe, irrigation, fertilization, etc.
  20. Endangered Species of South Florida: This section will provide all the information about the species in danger in our area. The articles will indicate which measures are being taken to solve the problems and which cooperation is demanded from the entire community. They will include an advertising campaign for this purpose.
  21. The Everglades: This section will present the past, present, and future of our Everglades. The articles will inform about problems, solutions, and finally provide an advertising campaign to preserve it.

VERY IMPORTANT

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