A.M.S.A.
BIOLOGY CURRICULUM
GRADE 9
Revised December 6, 2005 		 
[ GO TO BIOLOGY CURRICULUM OUTLINE ]

G R A D E   9
EVOLUTION OF LIFE

TEXTBOOKS:
    Cowen     Cowen, Richard. HISTORY OF LIFE, 3rd ed. (Blackwell Science).
    CMM     Colbert, Edwin H., Michael Morales, and Eli C. Minkoff.
                EVOLUTION OF THE VERTEBRATES,   5th ed. (Wiley-Liss).

WEEKS T O P I C S READINGS

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
1-2
  • Spontaneous generation
  • Pasteur's experiments
  • Alexandr Oparin
  • Miller's experiments; other similar experiments
Cowen pp. 1-8, + suppl. based on Oparin, Miller
3-4
  • Membranes, lipids, & theories about concentration
  • Review of protein synthesis. Genes first or proteins first?
    The concept of an RNA world.
  • QUIZ
Cowen pp. 9-14, + more supplements

LIFE'S EARLY HISTORY ON EARTH
5-6
  • Earth's origin and early atmosphere
  • Changes in the atmosphere
  • Photosynthesis: review of light and dark reactions
  • Evolution of photosynthesis
Cowen pp. 14-17, + supplements based on Schopf
7-8
  • Review of glycolysis & the Krebs cycle
  • Evolution of the Krebs cycle
  • Evolution of procaryotic life; review of cladistics
  • Sex, mitosis, and the origin of eucaryotic life
  • QUIZ
Cowen pp. 33-36 + ch. 3, + suppl. based on Margulis

PALEONTOLOGY: LIFE'S HISTORY
AS DOCUMENTED BY FOSSILS
9
  • Fossils and fossilization
  • Taphonomy
Cowen pp. 21-32; CMM ch. 1
10-11
  • Microscopic fossils
  • Plant fossils
  • QUIZ
Cowen pp. 119-126 + ch. 17
12-13
  • Geologic time periods; how the time scale was established
  • Fossils throughout geologic time (emphasizing invertebrates):
    • Cambrian life, incl. Burgess Shale
    • Ordovician and Silurian life
    • Devonian life
    • Mississippian and Pennsylvanian life
    • Permian life
    • Biological diversity & mass extinctions
    • Mesozoic life
  • (Included above: forams, sponges, corals, etc.)
  • QUIZ
Cowen ch. 5,6,18;
CMM pp. 87-93, 141-144, 245-251
14-16
  • Bryozoa, Brachiopoda
  • Evolution of Mollusca
  • Evolution of Arthropoda
  • Evolution of Echinodermata
Cowen pp. 405-415 + supplements based on Moore, etc.
17-18
  • Origin of vertebrates
  • Evolution of fishes
  • Plate tectonics and paleogeography
  • MIDYEAR EXAM
Cowen ch. 7;
CMM pp. 35-69
19
  • Lobe-finned fishes and Amphibia
Cowen pp. 126-151
CMM ch. 6 + pp. 95-102, 116-120
20-21
  • Early evolution of reptiles
  • Marine reptiles
  • QUIZ
Cowen ch. 11, 16;
CMM pp. 121-129, 149-166
22-24
  • Dinosaurs
  • Evolution of birds
Cowen ch. 12-14;   CMM ch. 13, 14
25-26
  • Synapsids
  • Evolution of early mammals
  • QUIZ
Cowen ch. 10, 15;
CMM ch. 18-20
27
  • The rise of placental mammals
Cowen ch. 19;
CMM ch. 21-22
28-29
  • Primates & human evolution
  • QUIZ
CMM ch. 23;
Cowen ch. 21,22, 24
30-31
  • Rodents
  • Carnivores
CMM ch. 24-25
32-34
  • Ungulates: artiodactyls, whales, perissodactyls, elephants, etc.
  • Cenozoic life and geography
  • FINAL EXAM
Cowen ch. 20,23;
CMM pp. 391-415, 450-493



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