Unit Course Launch: PLTW access, lab notebook, PPE/SDS, evidence handling, variables, controls, graphing, descriptive statistics.
What to do if absent- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Week overview - Course Launch: your lab notebook, PPE, and the language of evidence
Set up your PLTW lab notebook, suit up in the correct PPE, read a Safety Data Sheet, and define a variable versus a control so every experiment you run this year starts on solid ground.
- 1Log in to your PLTW course shell and confirm you can open the Course Launch task that holds your graded evidence.
- 2Set up page one of your lab notebook with your name, the course, and today's date so every future entry is traceable.
- 3List the PPE in the room and match each item to the hazard it protects you from.
- 4Open the SDS for an assigned substance and find the handling, storage, and disposal sections.
- 5Write your own definition of variable, control, and evidence, then label the variable and control in a sample experiment.
- 6Plot a small sample data set on a graph and calculate its mean and range as a first look at descriptive statistics.
- • You can set up a dated, traceable lab notebook entry.
- • You can locate handling, storage, and disposal information on an SDS.
- • You can identify the variable and control in an experiment and find the mean of a data set.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing one side of the trust-the-evidence debate with a claim, one piece of evidence, and one reasoning sentence.
SDS lookup card: for one assigned chemical, record the name, hazard class (Section 2), required PPE (Section 8), first-aid steps (Section 4), and disposal method (Section 13).
Lab notebook SOP page for one station: purpose, materials, steps, PPE chosen, SDS lookup (hazard/first-aid), and a 3-trial data table with units and one error-source note.
Data table with three trials and units, calculations of mean/median/range/SD, a correctly labeled graph, and a 3-sentence CER explaining what the standard deviation reveals about precision.
Completed unit tracker submission: signed safety contract, SDS lookup card, notebook SOP page, 3-trial data table with statistics, labeled graph, and self-assessment form.
Quick intro to the week
- Welcome to Principles of Biomedical Science, where every unit is a real case and you are the investigator who collects the evidence.
- Today's goal: prove you can work safely and keep clean records, because in biomedical science sloppy data and unsafe handling both ruin a case.
- Monday's Philosophy for Kids bioethics debate opens our year: who is responsible when a lab cuts corners on safety, and how much risk is acceptable for a discovery?
- Your graded notebook setup, SDS task, and statistics check live in the PLTW course shell, not on loose paper.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Complete the PLTW PBS Course Launch benchmark by setting up your lab notebook and finishing the online safety and evidence-handling tasks.
- • An SDS lists safe handling, storage, and disposal information for a substance.
- • A controlled experiment changes one variable while a control stays constant for comparison.
- • Descriptive statistics like mean and range summarize a set of measurements.
- • Choose the correct PPE for a given lab task.
- • Set up a traceable lab notebook entry with date and purpose.
📋 PLTW evidence due Friday: completed Course Launch benchmark with lab notebook setup and the SDS safety task.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mon, Aug 24 | Bioethics of evidence | Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing one side of the trust-the-evidence debate with a claim, one piece of evidence, and one reasoning sentence. |
| Tuesday | Tue, Aug 25 | Lab safety and SDS | SDS lookup card: for one assigned chemical, record the name, hazard class (Section 2), required PPE (Section 8), first-aid steps (Section 4), and disposal method (Section 13). |
| Wednesday | Wed, Aug 26 | PPE and notebook practical | Lab notebook SOP page for one station: purpose, materials, steps, PPE chosen, SDS lookup (hazard/first-aid), and a 3-trial data table with units and one error-source note. |
| Thursday | Thu, Aug 27 | Graphing and statistics | Data table with three trials and units, calculations of mean/median/range/SD, a correctly labeled graph, and a 3-sentence CER explaining what the standard deviation reveals about precision. |
| Friday | Fri, Aug 28 | Submit launch evidence | Completed unit tracker submission: signed safety contract, SDS lookup card, notebook SOP page, 3-trial data table with statistics, labeled graph, and self-assessment form. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: Safety/SOP practical; baseline WebXam micro-check.
Lab day — what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol — watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework — and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep goingHow to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
You can't do those from home — do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: experimental design/statistics basics; NSTA safety position.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan — complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (SDS format)Vocabulary
Virtual resources
Resources & readings
Hand-picked materials for this lesson. Class file items open the document directly; the rest are vetted readings and interactives from other biomedical programs.
Standards this week
WebXam practice
Drop your Week 1 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project