The Scientific Method
(to the theme song from “The Brady Bunch�)
by Annette M. Parrott
There’s a process that we all use to figure, answers to questions we have everyday
We call it the Scientific Method , and the process goes this way...
The first step is to ask your question , based on things that you’ve already observed
Then the next step is to make more observations , from things you’ve seen or smelled or heard
From that a hypothesis you’ll gather , and you test it with experiments o’re and o‘re
And if results support your first guess , you have a theory evermore
Scientific Method !
Scientific Method !
you and I can and do do it everyday!
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
It’s Mitosis Time, C’mon!
(to the tune of “Celebration Time� by Kool and the Gang)
Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
It’s Mitosis time C’mon!
It’s Mitosis time C’mon!
The cell cycle’s going on right now
In all your cells
And you’re gonna find out how
After Interphase,
when the cell has grown again
synthesis is done and mitosis begins
It’s Mitosis!
Reproduction, and it’s time to divide
It’s Mitosis!
only in diploid cells
2 clones side by side
Prophase: nucleus disappears
centrioles migrate
and the chromosomes appear
Metaphase
Anaphase
Teleophase
They’re two!
Yahoo!
It’s Mitosis time C’mon!
It’s Mitosis time C’mon!
Now we’ll se how much you have learned
So raise you hand, and wait your turn.
Now we’ll se how much you have learned
So raise you hand, and wait your turn.
Chant: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Cell # 5
(to the tune of “Mambo #5� by Lou Vega)
Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
I have a story to tell
It’s about all the organelles in a cell
The little bitty organs that make it run
So that we can still learn and have some fun
Look at your hands and arms while i sing
They’re made up of cells as are all living things
The cell is the basic unit of life
And if you understand that it will be alright
Cells are small cant be seen with your eyes
But if you use a microscope you’ll get a surprise
Inside a cell there’s a whole lotta things
These are organelles of which i sing
A little bit of nucleus controls it all
And if it’s a plant cell it has a cell wall
A little cell membrane for in and out
Cilia and flagella to move about
A little bit of ribosomes to synthesize
The proteins that travel on an ER ride
A little bit of Golgi to package them
All of these organelles are in your cells
Inside the nucleus is DNA
Tangled up as chromatin but that’s okay
Cells have mitochondria for energy
Stored in the form of ATP
Vacuoles to store more stuff
And thought there’s more i think that’s enough.
A little bit of nucleus controls it all
And if it’s a plant cell it has a cell wall
A little cell membrane for in and out
Cilia and flagella to move about
A little bit of ribosomes to synthesize
The proteins that travel on an ER ride
A little bit of Golgi to package them
All of these organelles are in your cells
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Oh My Fungi
(to the tune “Clementine�)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
Oh my fungi, Oh my fungi
With your chitinous cell walls
Found in bakeries and pizzerias
And don’t forget those old beer halls
Ascomycetes, Zygomycetes
Basidiomycetes we love you
All Divisions in your kingdom
Fungi Imperfecti too
Saprophytic, Parasitic
Predators on the loose
All by heterotrophic absorptive nutrition
Catches nematodes with a noose
Fruiting bodies, Nuclear parties
And mycelia galore
Producing antibiotic concoctions
You got bacteria? We’ve got the cure
Oh my fungi, Oh my fungi
Don’t you dare destroy my grain
With your mold, rusts, smuts and mildew
You can be a real big pain
Fairy rings, of you I sing
Hallucinations if you lick
But dont you eat a, Amanita
Cause you’ll die, after you’re sick
I’ve got foot germs, you’ve got ringworm
And a small case of the thrush
Better get the anti-fungal
Before it bothers us too much
Though pathogenic, let’s not be cynic
Fungi have a lot of worth
Decomposers, dead body disposers
They keep a healthy planet earth
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Photosynthesis
(to the tune of Copacobana by Barry Manilow)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
There is a process That plants can perform
To get the nutrients they need
To makes roots and stems and leaves
And this process, is photosynthesis
The “photo� part means light
But it can synthesize at night
It uses su-un-light
carbon di-ox-ide
a little bit of water—that’s H-2-O
They are producers, First in the food chain,
They have the largest biomass
Moss, flowers, ferns and trees, and grass.
And since the root word “auto� means self
We must conclude That they make their own food
Photosynthesis………….how plants make food.
So this process Requires chlorophyll
It’s a pigment that is green
And not red like carotene
Found in the thylakoid Of the chloroplasts
They are special organelles
Only found in plant cells
They use su-un-light,
carbon di-ox-ide
a little bit of water--that’s H-2-0
Photosynthesis It makes glucose
That’s a monosaccharide
C 6 H 12 O 6 provides
Finally oxygen Produced as wa-a-aste
So now you know
All about how plants grow
Photosynthesis………….how plants make food.
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
The Cell Will Survive
(to the tune “I Will Survive� by Gloria Gaynor)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
At first there was DNA in the nucleus
But how to get it to the ribosomes without a fuss
The DNA can’t leave, so first it must be transcribed
And once it’s (m)RNA it can finally arrive
At the ribosomes, where it’s translated
And the 3 bases of codons are neatly read
The amino acids are brought by the tRNA
Bound together to make proteins and then they can save the day
The cell’s alive, it will survive
Transcription and translation are how proteins are synthesized
DNA to RNA then RNA becomes proteins
Protein synthesis, all controlled by the genes
DNA is transcribed: T to A and A to U
these complimentary bases, keep the copied sequence true
C to G and G to C
DNA simplicity
That’s the double helix code that makes you, you and makes me, me.
The cell’s alive, it will survive
Transcription and translation are how proteins are synthesized
DNA to RNA then RNA becomes proteins
Protein synthesis, all controlled by the genes.
The Cell’s Alive.
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Goodtimes with Enzymes
(to the tune of Goodtimes by Chic)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
Enzymes, These are the enzymes
With substrates combine
Leave products behind
Enzymes, Reduce reaction time
With substrates combine
These are the enzymes
Enzymes are proteins usually ending in “ase�
They change but are not changed, the definition of a catalase
Combine with substrates to break them apart
Their specific activation site makes sure they hit the mark
There’s a reaction that you want to go
Without an enzyme it’ll move too slow
Enzymes lower activation energy
And once that’s lowered you’re home free
Enzymes, These are the enzymes
With substrates combine
Leave products behind
Enzymes, Reduce reaction time
With substrates combine
These are the enzymes
Amino acids are the monomers
of a polypeptide a protein polymer
They require a specific temperature
And if it’s not exact they can be denatured
They are specific, my lock to your key
Unlocks the active site so we can proceed
Now you know enzyme you can sing it with me
On the count of three…1…2...3
Enzymes, These are the enzymes
With substrates combine
Leave products behind
Enzymes, Reduce reaction time
With substrates combine
These are the enzymes
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Rollercoaster of Genes
(to the tune of Rollercoaster of Love)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
It’s genetics, Inheritance
It’s genetics, How traits are passed on
It’s genetics, Inheritance
It’s genetics, How traits are passed on
We each have genes
Found on every chromosome and
They code for traits
Your eyes are green
But his are grey and mine are brown
All caused by genes
You have two genes, one from mom and one from dad
They’re called alleles
Two of the same and homozygous is your name
You’re heterozygous if it’s one of each
It’s genetics, Inheritance
It’s genetics, How traits are passed on
It’s genetics, Inheritance
It’s genetics, How traits are passed on
Phenotype, expression of genes, what you look like
These are your traits
Genotype, the genes that control characteristics
On chromosomes
Dominance, expressing one trait over another
Recessive is masked
Pedigree, a picture of your family
It’s all genetics!
© 2003 Annette M. Parrott
Cell Wall
(sung to the tune of “Brick House� by the Commodores)
by Annette M. Parrott
www.africangreyparrott.com
It’s a cell wall
It’s mighty mighty
Making cells stand tall
It’s a cell wall
That cells in shape and that’s a fact
Holding the cytosol back
It’s a cell wall
It’s mighty mighty
Making cells stand tall
It’s a cell wall
That cells in shape and that’s a fact
Holding the cytosol back
If it’s a plant cell, it’s made
of cellulose
That’s a polysacchride
A carbohydrate but I won’t boast
In fungi cells and arthropods
Chitin does the trick
It’s also a polysacchride
That makes those cell walls so nice and thick
It’s a cell wall
Bacteria have them
To make their cells stand tall
It’s a cell wall
Petidoglycans that’s a fact
Holding the cytosol back
Cellulose Chitin Peptido-glycan
Cellulose Chitin Peptido-glycan
It’s a cell wall
It’s mighty mighty
Making cells stand tall
It’s a cell wall
That cells in shape and that’s a fact
Holding the cytosol back
© 2005 Annette M. Parrott
O Bacteria !
(to the tune of “Oh Susanna�)
adapted from Doug Eldon
www.africangreyparrott.com
You do not have a nucleus
You do have a cell wall
You live in water, air and soil
or anywhere at all
You reproduce by fission
and you do so very fast
And under harsh conditions
in an endospore you last
Oh, Bacteria
so simple and so small
without you ecosystems would not function well at all
Your pili is the tool
with which you transfer DNA
Transduction, conjugation
transformation are the ways
You’re such a decomposer
with your friend fungi
Without you two the planet
would be full of dead bodies
Oh Bacteria,
so simple and so small
without you ecosystems would not function well at all
We used to call you Monerans
but now we clearly see
That you belong to the domains:
Bacteria and Archaea
Thermophiles and halophiles
and naughty pathogens too
For Yogurt, nodules, plasmids, cheese
bacteria we love you
Annette M. Parrott