Second Semester Choice Project

Second Semester Choice Project

SECOND SEMESTER CHOICE PROJECT

You are assigned to do one of these projects by May 8. You may do a second project of a different type by May 29 for extra credit.

A. REPORT ON A GENETIC DISEASE, OR A REPORT ON CREATIONISM/INTELLIGENT DESIGN

You may only get credit for writing only one report (either on a disease OR on creationism).

GENETIC DISEASE:

Choose one of these diseases or you may choose one not on the list if you

check with Mr. Wilson first before you start.

Duchenne’s muscular dystrophyAchondroplasia

PorphyriaCri Du Chat Syndrome

Tay-SachsNeurofibromatosis

Marfan SyndromePrader-Willi Syndrome

Beta-thalassemiaRetinoblastoma

Phenylketonuria (PKU)Treacher Collins Syndrome

HemochromatosisWilson’s disease

Write a 3-page report plus a bibliography of at least 3 sources. Do NOT copy the words from the

sources and cite where you get the information in your report. A good report will also have a photo or

two.

Cover THESE TOPICSin THIS ORDER:

1. Symptoms – What happens to someone who has this disease?

2. Cause – What gene is damaged? Where is this gene located (which chromosome)?

3. Inheritance – Is this dominant, recessive, or blended (partial dominance)? How is this disease

passed from one person to another (Does it have to come from both parents or only one

parent? Can it come from either parent or only the mother?)

4. Incidence – How many people get this disease? Where do they live? Does any ethnic group

get it more often than other groups?

5. Treatment – How is a person with the disease helped: medicine, physical therapy, etc.

6. Testing – Can a person find out if they have the gene they may pass on to their child? Can a

child be tested before he or she is born to check for the disease?

7. Your relationship with the disease – Do you know anyone with it? How do you feel about it

now?

CREATIONISM OR INTELLIGENT DESIGN:

Write a 3-page report plus a bibliography of at least 3 sources. Do NOT copy the words from the

sources and cite where you get your information in your report. This report should contain the basic

religious viewpoint, but it must MOSTLY be about the scientific arguments related to the theory of

evolution.

Cover THESE topics.

1. What creationism and/or intelligent design say about how all the different types of life on

Earth were created. There are different viewpoints by different people who believe in these

ideas, so pick ONE of the viewpoints and explain it. For example, some people believe that the

world is a few thousand years old and some people believe that the world is billions of years

old.

2. What are two pieces of scientific evidence that are used by people to support this belief.

3. How do people who support this belief explain these pieces of evidence for evolution:

a. Most types of living things found in fossils are now extinct.

b. Many types of living things show changes over time in the fossils (for example, primitive

human skulls).

c. The general pattern of fossils found shows few types of life in older rocks and more types of

life in younger rocks.

d. Many animals have vestigial structures (parts of the body with no clear function).

B. POSTER ON AN ECOSYSTEM

Choose one of the ecosystems listed in your textbook from pages 100-104, or the Bay Marsh.

Research the ecosystem to find out: a country where it occurs, and what 10 of the plants and animals

look like.

Draw a large picture of the ecosystem (at least 2 feet by 3 feet).

Draw what the ecosystem looks like.

Label at least twelve organisms (be specific: for example, don’t write “snake”; write

“black adder”). Label least 3 producers, 3 herbivores, and 3 carnivores. Indicate

whether the organisms are producers, herbivores, carnivores or omnivores.

C. FIELD TRIP

With Mr. Wilson during non-school hours or on your own. See Mr. Wilson for details.

You must write up your visit for credit. Some suggested places to visit:

- California Academy of Sciences and IMAX Theater in San Francisco

- U.C. Berkeley open house Cal Day

- Oakland Museum of California

- Oakland or San Francisco Zoo

- Lindsey Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek

- Monterey Bay Aquarium

D. PEDIGREE CHART OF YOUR FAMILY (A FAMILY TREE)

Draw a pedigree of the members of your family on a large piece of paper (at least 2 feet by 2 feet).

To make it fair for people with different sizes of families, you must include at least 20 people.

Your chart must include:

- you and your siblings (brothers and sisters);

- your parents and their siblings;

- your grandparents.

Once you have listed these people, you must add more people to reach 20. You may add: your great grandparents; your nieces and nephews; your cousins; and/or other relatives whom you feel close to.

Include each person’s name and the year he or she was born.

Choose one trait that you can show on your chart for every person. The people with a trait should have their squares or circles colored or half-colored, and you must write a key to explain the trait and the coloring marks. You do not need to guess the genotype of each person.

The trait you choose can be:

- a disease (such as cancer or heart disease),

- obesity (overweight),

- hair color or eye color,

- baldness (or hair loss) or early gray hair,

- some other trait that you can find out.

Do NOT pick something that everyone (or almost everyone) has (for example, don’t pick hair color is everyone has blond hair or everyone has black hair).

Most traits are complicated – they are blended and involve several genes. So you will probably need to make a “judgment call” to decide if you consider someone to have a trait (for example, you will have to if decide if someone is “normal”, “slightly obese” or “obese”). It is OK if you cannot show the trait for 1 or 2 people, just put a question mark on their squares or circles.