Course Contents

Week 1-2 Living Things and Their Environments Habitats • Living things live in environments to which they are particularly suited. • Specific habitats and what lives there, for example: Forest [oak trees, squirrels, raccoons, snails, mice] Meadow and prairie [wildflowers, grasses, prairie dogs] Underground [fungi, moles, worms] Desert [cactus, lizard, scorpion] Water [fish, oysters, starfish] • The food chain or food web: a way of picturing the relationships between living things Animals: big animals eat little ones, big animals die and are eaten by little ones. Plants: nutrients, water, soil, air, sunlight Habitats, interdependence of organisms and their environment • The concept of a “balance of nature” (constantly changing, not a static condition) Man-made threats to the environment Air pollution: emissions, smog Water pollution: industrial waste, run-off from farming • Measures we can take to protect the environment (for example, conservation, recycling) Week 3 Environmental change and habitat destruction • Environments are constantly changing, and this can sometimes pose dangers to specific habitats, for example: Effects of population and development Rainforest clearing, pollution, litter Special classifications of animals • Herbivores: plant-eaters (for example, elephants, cows, deer) • Carnivores: flesh-eaters (for example, lions, tigers) • Omnivores: plant and animal-eaters (for example, bears) • Extinct animals (for example, dinosaurs) Week 4-5 The Human Body Cells Body Systems • Skeletal system: skeleton, bones, skull • Muscular system: muscles • Digestive system: mouth, stomach • Circulatory system: heart and blood The circulatory and lymphatic systems Lymph, lymph nodes, white cells, tonsils Blood pressure, hardening and clogging of arteries • The immune system fights infections from bacteria, viruses, fungi. White cells, antibodies, antigens Vaccines, communicable and non-communicable diseases, epidemics Bacterial diseases: tetanus, typhoid, tuberculosis; antibiotics like penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming Viral diseases: common cold, chicken pox, mononucleosis, rabies, polio, AIDS • Nervous system: brain, nerves The Endocrine system Week 7 Germs, diseases, and preventing illness • Taking care of your body: exercise, cleanliness, healthy foods, rest • Vaccinations Reproduction • Asexual reproduction Example of algae Vegetative reproduction: runners (for example, strawberries) and bulbs (for example, onions), growing plants from eyes, buds, leaves, roots, and stems • Sexual reproduction by spore-bearing plants (for example, mosses and ferns) • Sexual reproduction of non-flowering seed plants: conifers (for example, pines), male and female cones, wind pollination • Sexual reproduction of flowering plants (for example, peas) Functions of sepals and petals, stamen (male), anther, pistil (female), ovary (or ovule) Process of seed and fruit production: pollen, wind, insect and bird pollination, fertilization, growth of ovary, mature fruit Seed germination and plant growth: seed coat, embryo and endosperm, germination (sprouting of new plant), monocots (for example, corn) and dicots (for example, beans) Week 8 Mid Term Exams Week 9 Elements • Elements are the basic kinds of matter, of which there are a little more than one hundred. There are many different kinds of atoms, but an element has only one kind of atom. Familiar elements, such as gold, copper, aluminum, oxygen, iron Most things are made up of a combination of elements. Week 10 Elements have atoms of only one kind, having the same number of protons. There are a little more than 100 different elements. • The Periodic Table: organizes elements with common properties Atomic symbol and atomic number • Some well-known elements and their symbols Two important categories of elements: metals and non-metals Metals comprise about ⅔ of the known elements. Properties of metals: most are shiny, ductile, malleable, conductive Week 11 Solutions • A solution is formed when a substance (the solute) is dissolved in another substance (the solvent), such as when sugar or salt is dissolved in water; the dissolved substance is present in the solution even though you cannot see it. • Concentration and saturation (as demonstrated through simple experiments with crystallization) Week 12 Magnetism and Electricity Earth’s magnetism Earth’s magnetism is believed to be caused by movements of charged atoms in the molten interior of the planet. Navigation by magnetic compass is made possible because the earth is a magnet with north and south magnetic poles. • Connection between electricity and magnetism Example: move a magnet back and forth in front of wire connected to a meter, and electricity flows in the wire. The reverse: electric current flowing through a wire exerts magnetic attraction. Spinning electrons in an atom create a magnetic field around the atom. Unlike magnetic poles attract, like magnetic poles repel. Practical applications of the connection between electricity and magnetism, for example: An electric generator creates alternating current by turning a magnet and a coil of wire in relation to each other; an electric motor works on the reverse principle. A step-up transformer sends alternating current through a smaller coil of wire with just a few turns next to a larger coil with many turns. This induces a higher voltage in the larger coil. A step-down transformer does the reverse, sending current through the larger coil and creating a lower voltage in the smaller one. Week 13 Simple Machines Simple machines lever pulley wheel-and-axle gears: wheels with teeth and notches how gears work, and familiar uses (for example, in bicycles) inclined plane wedge screw Friction, and ways to reduce friction (lubricants, rollers, etc.) Week 14 Light and Optics The speed of light: light travels at an amazingly high speed. • Light travels in straight lines (as can be demonstrated by forming shadows). • Transparent and opaque objects • Reflection Mirrors: plane, concave, convex Uses of mirrors in telescopes and some microscopes • The spectrum: use a prism to demonstrate that white light is made up of a spectrum of colors. • Lenses can be used for magnifying and bending light (as in magnifying glass, microscope, camera, telescope, binoculars). Week 16 Final Term Examination