A.T.O.M. Science Club

In this biology course, we will analyze the current hypothesis of how life might have started as we learn the basic chemical ingredients all life still shares today. Club members will delve into the intricate internal machinery that keeps all cells metabolizing. We will then explore how life is able to evolve and examine the mechanisms that allow life to adapt to an ever-changing planet. This a thorough, interactive course for students who want to study biology with a curious mind in the presence of experts in the field. Club members will observe life, build models, act out processes, conduct experiments, and explore life as they have never done before. See the detailed description for topics we will cover.

Topics we’ll cover in this club include:
• When did life arise on earth and where did it come from—earth’s surface, earth’s interior, or space? What do the fossil records say and what clues are being discovered in DNA? What qualities must something possess to be alive?
• How and where did the first cell membranes form? What was the origin of the smallest functional unit of life—the cell? And how did this single unit turn into us 3.5 billion years later?
• How do cells work? How are cells similar to cities?
• What does all life have in common? What are the four biomolecules found in all forms of life? We will study the six types of atoms that make up these four molecules that are still found in every living creature on earth.
• What is the function of each of the four biomolecules? Together we will discover what each of these molecules do and what makes each molecule’s job so important to all living things.
• We are solar powered. Through hands-on activities and visual aids we will learn the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration.