Sunday, February 23, 2014

Biology 101: Chapter 6a, The 6th Day - Mankind, part 1 {brain, senses, skeletal and muscular systems}

In addition to Biology 101:
• Apple & Onion.  Method #1.  Blindfold someone and give them a chunk of peeled apple, but hold a piece of onion near so that they will smell it.  See if they think they are eating an onion.
Method #2.  Blindfold someone and have them hold their nose and see if they can tell at all which they are eating.
Also Apple & Pear, or 2 fruit-flavored baby foods, or 2 flavors of pudding -- anything that has the same texture.  But choose things that taste very different from the other.
• Blind Spot.  This one is in Biology 101, but here is a worksheet if you want it for a group.
• Apologia Physical Science, Exp 15.5, How the Eye Detects Color
Brain worksheet
Neuron worksheet, another worksheet
Skeleton worksheet, another worksheet

Other Study Links
• article on the Skeletal System
• diagram of an individual nerve cell (a neuron) (source - Great simplified article on The Neuron)
• diagram of a synapse between two nerve cells (neurons) (source)
• another diagram of a synapse between two neurons (source)
• diagram of a human eye (source)
• diagram of the human ear (source)
• Skeletal System quiz
• skeleton to label and/or assemble
• simple article on Stem Cell Basics

Just for Fun
• Stem Cells cartoon - an illustration to help remember what a stem cell is.  I printed this out to use during class.
• images for 'I find this humerus' -- I printed out one of these for class also.
Brain Games fun.  Scroll down for different activities.  For the first one, I'm not sure why, but you need to scroll back up a bit on each new page to see the directions.
• If you like games that use your brain, Private Eye can be pretty challenging.  Be sure to watch ALL the examples so you'll know what to do.  Then choose your difficulty level and other stuff. Whew! =D
Brains and Neurons board game.  I think we will have 2 teams, use 2 dice so it goes quicker, and let them roll only if they get an answer correct.  =)  Down the spinal cord, and from the dendrite to the axon.
Lol, the neurons look like little horned creatures, with their mouths open, going Aaaaahhhh! =D


(1) Anatomy and Physiology - an overview of what we will be studying for the next few weeks.





(2) Anatomy of a Neuron
Neurons carry signals in your body.
Neurons are individual nerve cells.  A nerve is a collection of nerve cells (neurons) that transmits information about what you are feeling.  See image.
Neurons transmit from one neuron to another without touching.  This space between neurons is called a synapse.  See image. (source)





(3) The Brain is part of the Nervous System

If you like, you may watch the rest of the video here.




(4) Your Senses





(5) The Skeletal System - our bones do much more than just support our body!
Our skeleton is made up of two main parts:
     • axial skeleton (axis)
     • appendicular skeleton (appendages)  (see image, source)





(6) Dancing Skeleton! =)





(7) The Muscular System (by Bozeman Science)
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(8) The Muscular System: Skeletal Muscles - how a muscle contracts





(9) The Muscular System: Smooth Muscles
Smooth muscles are the involuntary muscles.