Unit 1.1 to 1.2: Experimental design in evidence testing; transition to autopsy evidence and biomolecules.
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 - From Scene to Lab: designing evidence tests and meeting biomolecules
Design a controlled test for a piece of evidence, then connect that thinking to autopsy evidence and the biomolecules a toxicology screen looks for in tissue.
- 1Review your Unit 1.1 evidence log and pick one question that a lab test could answer.
- 2Write a testable research question and identify the independent variable, dependent variable, and control.
- 3Predict your results and describe the data table you would use to record them.
- 4Read how a toxicology screen detects biomolecules in tissue and list the macromolecule groups involved.
- 5Connect cause of death and manner of death to the kinds of biomolecule evidence an autopsy collects.
- 6Write a two-sentence claim-evidence-reasoning statement linking your test design to a possible conclusion.
- • You can write a testable research question with clearly named variables and a control.
- • You can describe a data table that fits your experiment.
- • You can name the major biomolecule groups a toxicology screen examines.
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 whether investigators should test a sample exhaustively or only according to a hypothesis, with sample limitation cited in the reasoning.
Pre-lab design sheet: a table listing each of the four biomolecule tests with the indicator used, the positive result color, and the negative result color; plus a written hypothesis for one test.
Indicator-test data table: columns for sample ID, each of the four indicators, color result, and interpretation (positive/negative); plus dilution series data table with concentration and observed effect.
CER stating which biomolecules are present in each unknown, using Wednesday's data table as evidence and citing comparison to positive and negative controls in the reasoning.
Complete evidence packet: biomolecule data table with controls, toxicology dilution data with dose-response description, Thursday CER with controls-based reasoning, and self-assessment form.
Quick intro to the week
- Good evidence testing is just good experimental design, so today you turn a hunch into a fair test.
- Today's goal: design a controlled evidence test and learn why biomolecules in tissue are the next layer of the case.
- Monday's bioethics debate ties in: should investigators be allowed to run every possible test on a sample, or only the ones the case needs?
- Your graded experimental design and mini-CER are submitted in the PLTW course shell.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Bridge the PLTW PBS Unit 1.1 to 1.2 benchmark by designing a controlled evidence test and introducing biomolecule and toxicology evidence in the online shell.
- • A fair test changes one independent variable and measures one dependent variable against a control.
- • Biomolecules are the macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids) that toxicology screens detect.
- • Cause of death and manner of death are separate determinations drawn from evidence.
- • Write a testable research question and identify its variables and control.
- • Plan a data table that matches an experiment's variables.
📋 PLTW evidence due Friday: completed Unit 1.1 to 1.2 experimental design with variables, data table, and a mini-CER.
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 | Tue, Sep 8 | Ethics of testing | Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing whether investigators should test a sample exhaustively or only according to a hypothesis, with sample limitation cited in the reasoning. |
| Tuesday | Wed, Sep 9 | Biomolecules and design | Pre-lab design sheet: a table listing each of the four biomolecule tests with the indicator used, the positive result color, and the negative result color; plus a written hypothesis for one test. |
| Wednesday | Thu, Sep 10 | Biomolecule and tox data | Indicator-test data table: columns for sample ID, each of the four indicators, color result, and interpretation (positive/negative); plus dilution series data table with concentration and observed effect. |
| Thursday | Fri, Sep 11 | Analyze tox results | CER stating which biomolecules are present in each unknown, using Wednesday's data table as evidence and citing comparison to positive and negative controls in the reasoning. |
| Friday | Mon, Sep 14 | Submit evidence data | Complete evidence packet: biomolecule data table with controls, toxicology dilution data with dose-response description, Thursday CER with controls-based reasoning, and self-assessment form. |
- First class day: bioethical debate (Monday is a closure)
- 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: Trace/biometric data analysis plus mini-CER.
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: biomolecules; Khan: macromolecules.
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:
Khan Academy: macromoleculesVocabulary
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 3 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project