Wk 1, Looking Ahead to Wk 2

Respiratory and Circulatory Systems

Did you know just how important your circulatory system is? The circulatory system is the transport system for the majority of body functions.  The lymphatic system and the nervous system also play a large role in sending things around your body, but the circulatory system is the standout delivery system.

In lab this week we worked on making the circulatory connection with the respiratory system.  We got everyone's heart's pumping, measuring responses in their blood pressure and pulse rate.  We also measured the VO2, or oxygen volume consumption, and used that to estimate the VO2 max, or maximal oxygen consumption.  This is a good measurement of aerobic fitness.

Here are some take-home points for the respiratory and circulatory systems.

• circulatory system's primary organ is the heart, which pumps the blood throughout the body
• the human heart, and those of all mammals and birds, have 4 chambers, and the system is closed
• there are a variety of circulatory systems in the animal kingdom
• the respiratory system's primary organ is the lungs, made of 3 lobes
• blood circulates in a figure 8 pattern, heart to lungs, lungs to hear, heart to body, body to heart
• the oxygen needed for cellular respiration is breathed into the lungs, diffused into the blood at the alveoli of the lungs, and delivered to the cells of the body by the circulatory system
• the carbon dioxide waste of cellular respiration is picked up by the blood and delivered to the alveoli of the lungs, where it passes into the lungs and is exhaled
• the circulatory system is responsible for delivering many other things (besides oxygen and carbon dioxide) to and from the cells

This week's lab, The Respiratory-Circulatory Connection, needs to be completed and turned in in 2 weeks (Feb 11th).  The hypotheses and tables should be filled out, and the Analysis Questions answered on a separate piece of paper.  Don't be afraid to ask for help in doing calculations from a parent or sibling!  If you need another copy of the lab you can find it here.  However, you will want to collaborate with your classmates to get the data you need.

Looking Ahead

Reproductive, Endocrine, Immune, and Lymphatic Systems
The readings and videos this week are one four of our body systems! In class we are going to be focusing on only the immune system, however.  Best sure to read and watch about all the systems.

2 Immune System, Lymphatic System, Endocrine System, Reproductive System

Ch. 16 Endocrine & Reproductive Systems Ch. 19 Immune & Lymphatic Systems

LOE Ch 19 & ch 20

CK12 BC 13.48-13.69

CK12 LSC 11.53-11.73

Cell vs Virus both, a cartoon metaphor that shows different organelles functioning in response to a virus Immune System Explained - both, shows a simplified explanation of the complicated response of the immune system to a pathogen Endocrine System - transition, a bit silly but does cover the basics of the endocrine system Immune System - scholar, Bozeman Science covers the various aspects of the immune system Endocrine System - scholar, Bozeman Science overview ten of the endocrine glands and an example hormone for each Reproductive System - scholar, Bozeman Science goes over anatomy, hormones, formation of gametes, and zygote growth development into a fetus

Don't forget to be working on your vocabulary lists, too!

Looking further Ahead

Week three (Feb 11th) we are going to cover skeletal and muscular systems in the readings and videos, and we will be doing our Frog Dissection!! The dissection will take some time - we have 11 systems to find in those frogs!!! Please plan to be to class promptly (early if possible) and to stay a little late into lunch or the end of co-op.  You don't have to wield a scalpel to participate in lab, so please come even if you don't want to do any cutting.