Sciences Grades 10-12

Resources gathered by Blackgold School District that you can use in your Biology 30 class. If you click the links, there is a sign-in prompt -- but you can bypass the sign-in by clicking the image instead and will be able to access all the Google slides associated with that image

7 virtual labs for high school biology students, including: lizard evolution, stickle back evolution, transgenic fly, bacterial identification, cardiology, immunology, and neurophysiology

A series of short, fun animated videos that explain cell replication. Created by a high school science teachers

How big are cells compared with other objects, molecules and atoms? Drag the slider button below the image to magnify the items.

Hank describes mitosis and cytokinesis - the series of processes our cells go through to divide into two identical copies.

DNAdots offers its visitors "bite-sized, simple explanations of modern genetic technologies," making them excellent ways to gain a better understanding of topics such as personal genetic ancestry testing, DNA barcoding, and gene drives.

In this lab you’ll play the role of a molecular engineer by solving RNA folding puzzles. Then take your skills and design RNAs that could be used for future life-saving therapies. Use the Guest Pass.

In these three free genetics games, students level up as they select alleles to control phenotypes, make predictions from genotypes, use meiosis to create gametes, and study inheritance by breeding baby drakes. Games are most compatible with recent versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE, and MS Edge browsers. Students have to create a free account to play

Basic math tells us that all humans share ancestors, but it’s amazing how recently those shared ancestors lived. Thanks to genetic data in the 21st century, scientists are discovering that we really are all descended from one mother

Watch this animated video describing how Mendel's experiments with pea plants provided insight into genetics. Click on the Think button on the right for a short quiz.

This video takes an in-depth look at the science behind the sequence of letters that makes up an individual genome and technological advances that may help scientists understand genomes.

This video explores a very interesting theory. In the event of nuclear fallout or another worldwide catastrophe, every piece of digital and written information could be lost. Could all of human history be recorded and safely stored inside our human DNA?

RNA, the genetic messenger, makes sure the DNA recipe gives your cells exactly what they ordered. But sometimes that means inhibiting some other RNA that got the recipe wrong. This process is called RNA interference (RNAi), and it acts as a self-correcting system within the complicated genetic kitchen of your body.

The discovery of the structure of DNA was one of the most important scientific achievements in human history. The now-famous double helix is almost synonymous with Watson and Crick, two of the scientists who won the Nobel prize for figuring it out. But there’s another name you may not know: Rosalind Franklin.

The sequence of DNA that we inherit from our parents encodes directions for making our cells and giving us specific traits. Identical twins have the same DNA sequence, so how can one twin end up with a genetic disorder while the other twin does not?

Dig into the essential role that mitochondrial DNA played in the evolution of living things on Earth, and find out why it’s still evolving

This video tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a woman whose DNA led to countless cures, patents, and discoveries. Trillions of lab-grown cells called HeLa, after the woman they were taken from, have been the keys to understanding cancer, virology, and genetics.

Microbes gather by the millions to form vast communities. Scott Chimileski and Roberto Kolter describes how and why microbes create biofilms.

This video describes the science of skin colour. When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us differently. What was the evolutionary process that led to this variety of skin colours?

What do a man, a mushroom, and an elephant have in common? A very long and simple double helix molecule makes us more similar and much more different than any other living thing. But, how does a simple molecule determine the form and function of so many different living things?

A fascinating story of how scientists first came up with the ideas for Cell Theory. It wasn't as easy as you'd think!

Learn about the science of stem cells and how these incredible, transforming cells could lead to personalized medicine for individual bodies.

Two sisters take the same DNA test. The results show that one sister is 10% French, the other 0%. Both sisters share the same two parents, and therefore the same set of ancestors. So how can one be 10% more French than the other? Tests like these rely on our DNA to answer questions about our ancestry, but DNA actually can’t tell us everything.

The DNA in just one of your cells gets damaged tens of thousands of times per day. Because DNA provides the blueprint for the proteins your cells need to function, this damage can cause serious issues—including cancer. Fortunately, your cells have ways of fixing most of these problems, most of the time.

Here’s a conundrum: Identical twins originate from the same DNA ... so how can they turn out so different — even in traits that have a significant genetic component? We can find the answer in epigenetics

This video describes how we can understand the shape of a molecule. A molecule is nearly all empty space, apart from the extremely dense nuclei of its atoms and the clouds of electrons that bond them together. When that molecule forms, it arranges itself to maximize attraction of opposite charges and minimize repulsion of unlike.

When life emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago, the earliest microbes had a set of basic genes that succeeded in keeping them alive. In the age of humans and other large organisms, there are a lot more genes to go around. Where did all of those new genes come from?

This is a highly visual, narrated tour of the basics of DNA. Learn what DNA is and how it works in our bodies.

This visual and narrated tour of protein basics includes pain signals, cell scaffolds and making a protein.

This video explains the basics of genetics; learn about DNA, genes, chromosomes, proteins, and how genetic traits are inherited.

This 2-minute video explains how traits pass from parents to offspring. Learn how each offspring is a mix of inherited traits.

Learn about how stress affects the brain and the resilience scale in this scientifically based video (7:42) created by the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative in consultation with the FrameWorks Institute and the Harvard Center on the Developing Child.

Metabolism is a complex process. This video explores some of its key parts, including vital nutrients (water, vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats, and proteins) and describes two different reactions: anabolic and catabolic.

In this Crash Course video, learn about human metabolism including cellular respiration, atp, glycogenesis, and how insulin regulates our blood sugar levels. What does your body do with the food you eat?

This user directed, narrated animation describes how a reward pathway in the brain can be controlled by different neuro-transmitters.

This interactive from the Genetic Science Learning Center provides an interesting (animated) look inside the brains of mice on drugs. Every drug has its own unique molecular mechanism. Students learn how these various drugs disrupt the synapse to make the user feel high.

This 6-minute video is a visual and musical journey of the human auditory system. Human's ability to hear is explained with beasts and storms and strange faceless dancing humans armed with larger-than-life ossicles.

Check out this "human brain atlas" using data from thousands of people, using the same imaging techniques neuroscientists use (MRIs and PET scans) to see inside the human brain.

This video is a good summary of stress, as well as the how and why our bodies can have physical reactions to stress.

This 10-minute video explains why hormones are about more than just zits and emotions. Learn about hormones, systems and glands and how they control your body.

What goes on inside a body that is chronically stressed? Our hard-wired stress response is designed to give us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. However, when activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part of our body.

How did the complex structures inside the human eye evolve? This video details the 500 million year story of the human eye.

Do you know your integumentary system? Your skin, which makes up 16% of your physical weight, is the largest organ in your body: laid out flat, it would cover close to 1.7 square meters of ground. But besides keeping your organs in, what is its purpose?

This video explains the science behind concussions. How dangerous is a concussion? The answer is complicated and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it.

This animated video describes how Alzheimer's affects the brain, shedding light on the different stages of this complicated, destructive disease.

The human brain is one of the most sophisticated organs in the world, but what about the insect brain? This video takes us inside the tiny but mighty insect brain and how it operates.

Beneath your ribs, you’ll find, among other things, the pancreas -- an organ that works a lot like a personal health coach.

Meet the animal influencers that play an oversize — and often surprising — role in shaping our world.

Information about the keystone role that wolves play in the environment

As a keystone species, blue wildebeests are essential in keeping this African prairie a carbon sink and their recent recovery is one of the greatest success stories in conservation. Learn more in this article and in its companion video.

Information from the Government of Canada about conservation, research, regulations, monitoring and permits relating to migratory birds.

A keystone species helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Learn who some of the keystone species are.

What happens when two apex predators meet? Find out in this video

This 40 minute video explores our dependence upon the insect population, the factors that are leading to their rapid decline, and what their extinction could mean for the future of our world as we know it.

This animated TED video takes a look at the disappearance of honey bees, colony collapse disorder, possible causes and effects to our food supply.

The Wild Species reports represent the most comprehensive look at the state of Canada’s species and contain the general status assessments for a broad cross-section of species, from all provinces, territories and ocean regions.

Gray wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995, which have since resulted in a trophic cascade through the entire ecosystem. After the wolves were driven extinct in the region nearly 100 years ago, scientists began to fully understand their role in the food web as a keystone species.

A series of short animated videos the explain the inheritance of traits and how they are passed using DNA.

We're taught that chromosomes define biological sex: XX = female, and XY = male. However it's not quite that straightforward. Hank Green hosts as we explain how science proves that biological sex is a spectrum.

This video takes an in-depth look at the science behind the sequence of letters that makes up an individual genome and technological advances that may help scientists understand genomes.

This is a highly visual, narrated tour of the basics of DNA. Learn what DNA is and how it works in our bodies.

This visual and narrated tour of protein basics includes pain signals, cell scaffolds and making a protein.

This video explains the basics of genetics; learn about DNA, genes, chromosomes, proteins, and how genetic traits are inherited.

This 2-minute video explains how traits pass from parents to offspring. Learn how each offspring is a mix of inherited traits.