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 Investigation ▸ Lesson 1.2 Master the Morgue ▸ "Activity 1.2.1 Anatomy of an Autopsy", "Activity 1.2.2 Time of Death", "Activity 1.2.4 Histology", "Activity 1.2.5 Gross Anatomy Examination"
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.
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 .
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
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.
Your worksheet: the side you argued, your three strongest arguments, the opposing point you had to answer, and where you actually stand now.
Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing what evidence threshold justifies a cause-of-death conclusion, referencing and at least one risk on either side.
- 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.
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.
Use this chart to keep your place. Nothing on it is turned in through the portal.
| Day | Work | Turn in |
|---|---|---|
| Monday · Mon, Sep 28 | 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. |
| Tuesday · Tue, Sep 29 | 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. |
| Wednesday · Wed, Sep 30 | Evidence for | |
| Thursday · Thu, Oct 1 | JCU bioethics 2: Should we ban antibiotic use in livestock? | Your worksheet: the side you argued, your three strongest arguments, the opposing point you had to answer, and where you actually stand now. |
| Friday · Fri, Oct 2 | Ethics of conclusions | Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing what evidence threshold justifies a cause-of-death conclusion, referencing convergent evidence and at least one risk on either side. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Turn in: Unit 1.2 Master the Morgue: Body systems, toxicology evidence, tissue microscopy, gross anatomy, preserved-heart/autopsy alternative. weekly work due Autopsy evidence table.
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.
Open Schoology PDF upload helpIf you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
3 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.
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol: watch it before lab.
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 myPLTWSign in to Clever with your district Microsoft account to open Schoology or myPLTW. Follow today's posted steps. If myPLTW will not open, use the posted alternative and tell Mr. Mendoza. Turn in your completed work through the Schoology assignment.
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)
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.