Unit 1.2 Master the Morgue: Body systems, toxicology evidence, tissue microscopy, gross anatomy, preserved-heart/autopsy alternative.
Your PLTW coursework: Principles of Biomedical Science ▸ Unit 1: Medical Investigations ▸ Lesson 1.2 Master the Morgue ▸ "Activity 1.2.1 Anatomy of an Autopsy", "Activity 1.2.2 Time of Death", "Activity 1.2.3 Forensic Toxicology", "Activity 1.2.4 Histology", "Activity 1.2.5 Gross Anatomy Examination", "Project 1.2.6 Case Closed"
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. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Week overview - Master the Morgue: body systems, tissues, and toxicology evidence
Examine samples under the microscope, connect organ systems to , and read toxicology evidence to reason about a .
- 1Open the Unit 1.2 task in your PLTW shell to see what evidence is graded.
- 2Review the major organ systems and how each one helps maintain .
- 3Examine prepared slides under the microscope and sketch what reveals at the cellular level.
- 4If available, observe a preserved heart or anatomical model and label its gross structures.
- 5Read a sample toxicology panel and note which results are outside the .
- 6Use the and toxicology evidence to write a reasoned statement about a possible .
- • You can identify types from microscope observations.
- • You can connect an to how it maintains .
- • You can use toxicology evidence to reason about a .
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 autopsies should require family consent, with a reference to either investigative truth or bodily autonomy in the reasoning.
Exit ticket: name all four types, one identifying structural feature of each, and one organ that contains each type.
Lab notebook pages: four sketches (one per type, magnification labeled, one feature identified), a labeled heart diagram with chambers, valves, and major vessels, and one limitation and one error source noted.
CER arguing what damage could indicate as a , using Wednesday's microscopy observations as evidence and referencing a comparison to normal in the reasoning.
Complete morgue packet: four labeled sketches (magnification noted), heart diagram (four chambers, two-plus valves, major vessels), Thursday CER with reference comparison, and self-assessment form.
Quick intro to the week
- The morgue is where the body's own systems become the evidence, and reading is a skill real pathologists train for years to master.
- Today's goal: use and toxicology data together to reason carefully about how a death happened.
- Monday's bioethics debate connects here: who should be allowed to decide that an is performed, and does the family get a say?
- Your graded evidence table is submitted on the class site.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW PBS Unit 1.2 benchmark by analyzing microscopy and toxicology evidence in the online course shell.
- • is the body's maintenance of stable internal conditions across organ systems.
- • is the microscopic study of tissues, which differ by structure and function.
- • Toxicology evidence compares measured levels against a .
- • Identify types using a microscope.
- • Interpret toxicology results relative to a .
📋 PLTW evidence due Friday: completed Unit 1.2 evidence table from microscopy and toxicology data.
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, Sep 21 | Ethics of autopsy | Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing whether autopsies should require family consent, with a reference to either investigative truth or bodily autonomy in the reasoning. |
| Wednesday | Wed, Sep 23 | Body systems and tissues | Exit ticket: name all four tissue types, one identifying structural feature of each, and one organ that contains each type. |
| Thursday | Thu, Sep 24 | Tissue and heart lab | Lab notebook pages: four histology sketches (one per tissue type, magnification labeled, one feature identified), a labeled heart diagram with chambers, valves, and major vessels, and one limitation and one error source noted. |
| Friday | Fri, Sep 25 | Analyze histology evidence | CER arguing what tissue damage could indicate as a cause of death, using Wednesday's microscopy observations as evidence and referencing a comparison to normal histology in the reasoning. |
| Friday | - | Submit morgue evidence | Complete morgue packet: four labeled histology sketches (magnification noted), heart anatomy diagram (four chambers, two-plus valves, major vessels), Thursday CER with reference comparison, 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: Autopsy evidence table.
5 panels from the illustrated semester.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
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 Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: human body systems; visible body/ references if district approved.
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: human body systems (Health and medicine)Vocabulary
Virtual resources
Resources & readings
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.