Life Science for Seventh Graders: The Podcast

This episode covers 1.5 in our textbooks about Genetics and Gregor Mendel

This covers chapter 3 in our textbook, Life Science. 

Here's our vocab words to listen for:

Cell cycle - the cycle of growth, development, and division that most of your cells go through

Interphase - the phase of growth, development, and replication of organs

Mitosis- part of the mitotic phase: when the nucleus and its contents divide

Cell differentiation - the process by which cells become different types of cells

Stem cell - the unspecialized cells in animals that develop into the different types of cells

Tissue - groups of similar types of cells that work together to carry out specific tasks

Organ - groups of different tissues working together to perform a particular function

In this episode, I interview my friend Michael, who is a wildlife technician in Arizona!  Join us to hear Michael tell us about his favorite animal, the Sperm Whale, his job working with Masked Bobwhite, and the importance of conservation.  

Listen for this vocab word: 

Extirpation:  Local extinction; when a species dies out in a certain area

This episode explains how cells convert food into energy, and explores how living things are connected, and why we might care about people, plants, or animals that we've never seen. 

I interviewed Erica Sutton (who also happens to be my sister) about her career as a Physician's Assistant.  In this episode, Erica told us about what a PA does, how they help people, and answered some questions about what a virus like COVID-19 does to your body and how people like her help us stay healthy!  

Erica's favorite organism is a Tulip Tree.  It's scientific name is Liriodendron tulipifera. (Note that this scientific name, as well as the following one, should be italicized, but does not show that way in all formats)

Erica is a human and works mainly with humans, and the scientific name of a human is Homo sapien. 

This podcast goes along with Chapter 2, Lesson 1 in our Life Science textbook.  Here is the vocab you need to know: 

1. Cell theory: all living thing are made of one or more cells, the cell is the smallest unit of life, and all new cells come from preexisting cells
   
   1. Macromolecule: many small molecules joined together
      
   2. Nucleic acid: macromolecules that form when long chains of nucleotides join together, contain genetic information (DNA, RNA)
      
   3. Protein: long chains of amino acids that do different jobs in cells
      
   4. Lipid: large molecules that don't dissolve and create a protective barrier around cells
      
   5. Carbohydrate: sugar molecules that store energy, help with communication, and give support to a cell (found in bread, fruit, pasta)
      

Q&A With Caleb Lankford (Science Teacher and Science Expert)

Here are the questions we talked about in this episode: 

1.  What is a protist? 
2. What is homeostasis and how does it differ from response to stimuli?
3. Is the COVID-19 virus a living organism?
4. Would a zombie be considered a living organism?
   

Here is Caleb's list of favorite organisms.  You can do an internet search if you want to see what each looks like!

• Anamalia:  Enhydra lutris (Sea Otter)
• Plantae: Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper)
• Fungi: Panellus stipticus (Bitter Oyster)
• Protista: Macrocystis pyrifera (Giant Kelp)
• Archaea: Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (thermofilic, or heat loving, organism that grown in hot springs)
• Bacteria: Serratia marcescens (I don't know if it has a common name- it's the pink shower bacteria)

This lesson covers the material from Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2: Classifying Organisms in our Life Science textbook.  You can read more about this material on pages 18-24.  

Vocab

1. Binomial nomenclature:  The system that gives each organism a Two-word scientific name, and the name of its species
   
   1. Species: A group of organisms that has similar traits and are able to produce fertile offspring
      
   2. Genus: A group of similar species
      
   3. Classify:  Sort into groups of similar characteristics
      
   4. Taxonomy:  The branch of science concerned with classification, especially the classification of organisms
      

This podcast covers 1.1.1 Characteristics of Life in our Life Science textbook.  If you want to see this material in a different way, read pages 6-15 in your textbook!

Focus Words: Organism, Cell, Unicellular, Multicellular, Homeostasis 

Bonus Words:  Stimuli/Stimulus, Tropism