Mr. Rountree is the Chemistry and Biology teacher at Lucton School Chongqing. He teaches Chemistry and Biology to students in Years 9, 10, and 11. Mr. Rountree has a deep love of science and years of experience in teaching and lab design. In both graduate and undergraduate university, he taught Chemistry and Physics labs and eventually won a prestigious award for best design in experimental lab design in graduate education.
Combining knowledge with practice in labs, academic rigor and creativity are promoted and supported. “If biology doesn't exist, nothing else would exist as it's a miracle of nature. The most advanced scientific equipment is not as accurate as a cell.” shared by one Lucton student who attends biology class.
Biology classes are focused on preparing to pass the IGCSE exams and as such the courses are quite rigorous and include introductory knowledge to all fundamentals of biology. Previously in the class, the students have learned the kingdoms of life, the parts of the cell, what makes a thing living or non-living, diffusion and osmosis, and in animal physiology: the function of the lungs, stomach, heart, nerves, and all systems involved.
Currently, the class is studying the function of the kidneys and how waste is removed from the blood and excreted as urine. Biology class often covers topics of human health as well and how drugs work in our body.
In addition to the content of the class, we have a particular focus on the career goals of the students. Knowledge of biology and chemistry is essential to lucrative careers in medicine, scientific research, and chemical industry. Biology and chemistry are the keys to solving significant challenges facing our modern world: novel viruses, disease, global warming, environmental issues, dependence on fossil fuel, etc. These problems require novel solutions which must be met for our species to survive for generations to come. Future generations must have knowledge of chemistry and biology to continue to create solutions to these complex problems.
Here are some photos of the biology we have learned:
• The lock-and-key model of enzyme activity
• Diffusion of carbon dioxide into and out of a cell
• The anatomy of the lungs
• The anatomy of the human digestive system
• The anatomy of the central nervous system
