Reflection for Week 3/10-3/14

Last week in biology we learned about some of the basics of ecology. Ecology is the study of interactions between living organisms and their physical environment. Ecologists study many levels of organization. From smallest to largest the levels are labeled as individual, population (group of species living in one area), community (groups of different populations living in one area), ecosystem (interactions between a community and its environment), biome (group of ecosystems with the same climate), and biosphere (part of Earth in which life exists). We covered the topic of ecosystems. Within an ecosystem there are abiotic, non-living, and biotic, living, factors. Examples of abiotic factors are rocks, water, and temperature. Between living organisms you can find energy relationships. Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food through photosynthesis or by using chemical energy. The niche, or job, of a producer is to capture energy and transform it into organic energy that can be used by living organisms. Producers can be photoautotrophs meaning they use light energy, or chemoautotrophs in which they use chemical energy. Consumers, or heterotrophs, on the other hand feed off of other living organisms. There are different levels of consumers, or trophic levels. The first level consists of herbivores who only feed off of plants, or the producers, and are called primary consumers. Carnivores (only eat meat) and omnivores (eat plants and meat) make up the secondary and tertiary levels. These levels can be shown in a food chain which is a diagram showing the flow of energy in feeding relationships. Energy in ecosystems flows in one direction, from the producers to the consumers, and each level depends on the one above it for energy. Food chains can then be combined into a more realistic and complex path called a food web. Another topic we covered is the cycles of matter. There are four main cycles consisting of nutrients and matter that recycle throughout the ecosystem. One of the most common cycle is the water cycle. The water evaporates or transpires into the atmosphere, and then condenses as it becomes colder. Once the water vapor cools and condenses into a liquid it will precipitate. After the water falls to the ground, seepage or runoff will occur leading back to evaporation and transpiration. The carbon cycle is important because every living thing is made up of carbon, and alike to water, it cycles between and within many ecosystems. The nitrogen cycle allows plants and animals to obtain this protein creating device through nitrogen fixation and nitrification. The fourth important cycle is the phosphorus cycle, and this recycled nutrient is used to make DNA.

Weekly Reflection : Ecology

For the week of 3/10/2014 - 3/14/14, I learned about ecosystems.
     An ecosystem is the interaction of a community with its environment. I also learned about abiotic factors (physical, nonliving parts of an ecosystem{aka rocks, water, air, temperature}.), and biotic factors (relationships between living things {organisms}.). Within biotic factors there are energy relationships between organisms. Producers or autotrophs make their own food and other food, there are the green plants. Then there are the consumers that feed on other organisms. One example of that is a heterotroph because they can not make their own food. There are three different types of consumers. One type is the herbivore that feeds on only plants, they are primary consumers. Another type is the carnivore which feeds on other animals. Secondary consumers feed on herbivores, and tertiary consumers feed on secondary consumers. The last type of consumer is the omnivore, which eats both plants and animals. There are also decomposers which break down dead organisms meaning recycled materials in the ecosystem. Producers, consumers, and decomposers are all part of the food chain. The food chain shows the feeding relationships within an ecosystem.
     Energy within an ecosystem orginally comes from the sun. Energy flows from producers to consumers. A couple types of producers or autotrophs are phototrophs (use light energy), and chemoautotrophs (use chemical energy). Next in energy flow is detritivores or scavengers that feed on dead plant and animal remains. Then its is decomposers which are fungi and bacteria. One subheading from energy would be the feeding relationships. Energy flows in one direction from producers to various levels of consumers. Two charts that show feeding relationships are the food web and the food chain. The food web is a more realistic and complex path through the ecosystem. While a food chain is a simple energy path through an ecosystem. Each different level within those two charts is called a trophic level. There are four different cycles of matter. Water is the first and then it is carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous.

Reflection Blog on Ecology

Last week I learned about the ecosystem. The ecosystem is the interaction of a community with its environment. I learned about abiotic factors, which are physical, non-living parts of an ecosystem. Examples of abiotic factors are rocks, water, air, and temperature. Biotic factors are relationships between living things. I also learned about producers, that produce food. Autotrophs make their own food. Consumers feed on other organisms. Heterotrophs cannot make their own food, and herbivores feed only on plants. A carnivore feeds on animals. I also learned about decomposers. Decomposers break down dead organisms, and recycle materials in the ecosystem. Examples of this is bacteria, mold, and fungi. Food chains are a diagram showing the feeding relationships. For example grass, mice, and hawks. Last week I also learned about energy flow in an ecosystem. Energy comes from the sun. Energy flows in one direction from producers to various levels of consumers. A food chain is a simple energy path through an ecosystem, while a food web is a more realistic and complex path through an ecosystem of many food chains. There are tropic levels. Each level in a food chain or food web is a trophic level. Producers are always the first tropic level. The second tropic level are the herbivores. Carnivores and omnivores make up the remaining tropic levels. The Cycles of matter are water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle. The water cycle is evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, seepage, and root uptake. I learned also about nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is nitrogen molecules converted into ammonia. Nitrification is nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrates. The roots of the plants then use these nitrates in the soil to make proteins. Denitrification is bacteris converting the nitrates in the soil back to nitrogen gas, releasing gas back into the atmosphere.

Week 6 Reflection

This week in science we learned about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution.  Charles Darwin was an English scientist who studied the natural world on the HMS Beagle. His 5 year voyage brought him to South America, the South Pacific, and most importantly the Galapagos Islands. Darwin made many observations on the diversity of the flora and fauna on these islands, and noticed that although the species were unique to the environment, they were similar to species in other parts of the world. Darwin noticed that so many plants and animals were well suited to the environment they inhabited. Artificial selection are breeding experiments allowing us to select specific traits, and Darwin wondered if there was a force in nature similar to artificial selection. He then came up with the hypothesis of natural selection and "survival of the fittest." Natural selection stated the changes in population occurs when organisms with favorable adaptations reproduce and pass on the traits. An adaptation is any trait that aids in the chance of survival and reproduction of an organism. Evidence that Darwin's theory of evolution exists are fossil records, anatomical records, molecular records, and artificial selection. Along with learning about Darwin, this week we learned about the evolution leading up to modern man. We have learned about the various stages such as the Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and the Homo ergaster.

http://www.biology-online.org/images/darwin_finches.jpg                   

Week 6 Reflection: Evolution

This week I learned about Evolution. Evolution is the change in a kind of organism over time. Charles Darwin was an English scientist and was the founder of the modern evolutionary theory.  He studied the natural world on a voyage of the HMS Beagle. The voyage was to South America and South Pacific. There, he studied plants and animals, recording observations in the Galapagos Islands. He found many species of plants and animal life unique to the island, but similar species in other parts of the world. He specifically studied turtles and birds. Charles Darwin came up with Natural Selection, which is the change in populations that occur when organisms with favorable variations for an environment survive, reproduce, and pass these variations on. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution can be applied to explain the evolution of adaptations in organisms. I also learned about gene pools. A gene pool is the combined genetic information of all the members of a particular population. I also learned that the two main sources of genetic variation are mutations and the genetic shuffling that results from sexual reproduction. Genetic drift is the random change in allele frequency.

Week 6 Reflection

For the week of 2/10 - 2/14 I learned about evolution. Evolution explains how modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms. Charles Darwin was an English scientist who founded the modern evolutionary theory. He studied plants and animals on a five year voyage on the HMS Beagle. His observations were on the Galápagos Islands. He found many species of plants and animals unique to the island but also seen throughout the world. Darwin's explanation for evolution was natural selection. Natural selection is the change in populations that occurs when organisms with favorable variations for an environment survive, reproduce, and pass these variations on(adaptations). Adaptations are any trait that aids the chances of survival and reproduction of an organism. Darwin's theory of evolution can be applied to explain the evolution of adaptations in organisms.

Week 4 Reflection: Pedigrees and Family Tree

This week in science we learned about pedigrees and family trees. A pedigree is a family tree that shows the genotypes of family members. By looking at a pedigree, you can determine the genotype of all family members by knowing only one or two genotypes. In a pedigree there are different symbols that represent gender, whether the person has or does not have the trait, and in x-linked cases if the female is a carrier. Typically on a pedigree, females are represented by circles and males are represented by squares. If the figure representing a person is shaded in they have the trait and if it is not they do not have the trait. In the case that the pedigree shows a x-linked trait a female's figure could be half shaded in meaning that the female is a carrier of the trait or disease. Each pedigree shows one trait, whether it is autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, x-linked recessive, or x-linked dominant. Autosomal dominant is shown as two dominant alleles or one dominant and one recessive allele (AA or Aa), autosomal recessive is shown as two recessive alleles (aa), and x-linked is shown by the two alleles connected to the x chromosomes. Not only can you determine genotypes with a pedigree, but you can also determine whether a pedigree is showing an autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, or x-linked trait by just using the figures and what they represent.

https://migrc.org/Library/AutosomalRecessive.gif

Week 3-4 Reflection

http://www.perunamaa.net/donrosa/intro_long.shtml

For the weeks of January 21st - January 31st, I learned about Pedigrees and Family Tree. The different shapes in the pedigree represent gender, Circle =  Female and Square = Male. The shapes are also shaded or not, representing carrying the trait = shaded, and not carrying the trait = unshaded. In sex linked traits men either have the trait or they don't because of their Y chromosome. Unlike females that can have the trait, be carriers, or not have the trait. Although, in not sex linked traits males and females can be carriers, have the trait, and not have the trait. If either gender is a carrier then the shape is half shaded. In Family Trees, it can show a family members lineage as far back as they can remember. We began a project using websites to document our family trees. You can put in a lot of information such as age, dead or alive, current or former spouses, and other things. Family Trees are genealogical trees.

Week 3/4 Reflection

This week I learned about pedigrees, and how to create a family tree. Pedigrees show the different types of traits that can be passed on through generations. In pedigrees different shapes and colors represent gender and traits. Circles are females, and squares are males. If the person has the trait, their shape is shaded in. If the person does not carry the trait, their shape is not shaded in. Females can only be carriers of the trait if it's sex linked, so their shape would be half shaded. Males can't be carriers of sex linked traits because of their Y chromosome. Family trees are diagrams showing the relationships between people throughout generations. In biology, for a project, we created a family tree online, showing the generations of our families. You can include the name, age, and location where they live on the website. You can also add if they are currently living, or if they have passed. The website also allows you to add peoples current or former spouses. As shown in the image below, is a pedigree chart.

http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-atsma/pics/pedigree.gif

Week 2 Reflection

This week I learned about Mendelian Genetics.  Gregor Mendel was a monk who studied genetics by using pea plants.  He used punnett squares to figure out which traits the offspring of two "parents' would have.  This week, I learned about dominant and recessive traits, as well as homogeneous and heterogeneous.  I learned that genotype is the collection of genes and alleles in an organism, and a phenotype is the observable characteristics of an organisms.  I also learned how to do monohybrid and dihybrid crosses.  They were pretty difficult.  On thursday, Anna and I created a "child".  We had to use dominant and recessive traits to determine the genotype and phenotype of our "child".  Our child's phenotypes were oval face, star eyes, straight hair, thick smile, curved ears, downward nose, green skin, blue eyes, long hair, freckles, yellow nose, and teal ears.

Our "Child"

                                           

Week 2 Reflection

A photo taken by me from my phone

Our "child" got her traits by my partner and I flipping a coin to get our genotype.
(A photo taken by me from my phone)

This week I learned about genetics. I learned new vocabulary such as genotype, and phenotype. Genotype is the collection of genes (and alleles) in an organism. It's also the genetic items you cannot see. Phenotype is the observable properties of an organism. It is the observable physical characteristics. I learned about recessive, and dominant traits, along with heterozygous, and homozygous traits. I learned how to do monohybrid crosses, and dihybrid crosses. This week I learned about incomplete dominance, and codominance. In a lab, my partner, Mea and I, made a "child" using traits and characteristics involving our homozygous dominant, heterozygous, and homozygous recessive traits to create our genotype for the "child." After the genotypes were created, we found the phenotypes of our child, creating a physical appearance for it. We ended up with a female child, that displayed all of the traits we created. The traits our child displayed were a circular face shape, red, star eyes, straight, short hair, a thin smile, hot pink, pointed ears, a orange, down nose, a yellow colored face, and freckles.

Week 2 Reflection

      For the week of 1/13- 1/17, I learned about Mendelian Genetics. I learned new vocabulary, and how to do monohybrid crosses. I learned about genotypes(a collection of genes(and alleles) in an organism) and phenotypes(observable properties of an organism). In a lab I did on Thursday with my partner, Rachel, we used traits and created our own "child". Using homozygous dominant, heterozygous, and homozygous recessive we create our genotype's for the "child". After the genotypes were created we found the different traits that were displayed in the "child's" face. We then found the gender of the child and found out that it was a girl. We then drew a picture based off of the traits displayed.

 

 Our "child" has specific phenotypes specific to her. We got our traits by flipping a coin to get our genotype. We then drew her and colored her the colors chosen by the genotypes. And then the directions said if female draw a pink bow on her head. So we ended up with the picture above ^.We decided to name her Brooke.











Then we found the probability of getting the phenotypes as well as
how many recessive and dominant homozygous ones there were.
We had 4 recessive and 8 dominant.

This week in Biology, we learned about Mendelian Genetics. Mendelian Genetics is based off of the work that Gregor Mendel did in his pea garden. Mendel was a monk who created the basis of what we know about genetics through a perfectly designed experiment he conducted in the pea garden he tended. He created Punnet squares that are used to determine probability when figuring out what traits offspring will obtain. Using our knowledge, we conducted the Genetics With A Smile lab in which we flipped a coin to determine what gene from each parent the offspring would get. The girl smiley face that Olivia and I created had an oval shaped head which is a recessive trait, star shaped eyes which is a dominant trait, and straight hair which is also dominant. Along with those traits she also received a thick smile (dominant), curved ears (dominant), a nose facing down (dominant), a green face (recessive), blue eyes (dominant), long hair (dominant), and freckles were present (dominant). The last two traits were determined with a lack of dominance. She got a yellow nose and teal ear color. These traits were neither dominant or recessive.

A Picture of My Smiley from My Phone 

Week 1 Reflection

This week we learned about the process of meiosis. Meiosis is a reduction division that creates 4 genetically different, haploid daughter cells. Meiosis is much like mitosis in that the cell goes through prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. However, meiosis goes through these steps twice, having eight steps instead of four. It contains two divisions, meiosis I and meiosis II. In prophase I, the chromosomes replicate, and find their homologous chromosome to form a tetrad. Homologous chromosomes means chromosomes that code for the same gene. When they pair up, they may exchange genes. The process of exchanging genes is called crossing over. The tetrads line up at the center in metaphase I, and the homologous chromosomes are pulled apart in anaphase I. Two new diploid, daughter cells are formed through meiosis I. Before the cells undergo meiosis II, the DNA does not replicate. The chromosomes line up at the center of the cell in metaphase II, and the sister chromatids are pulled apart in anaphase II. Four daughter cells are now formed and become gametes. The cells are haploid and all are genetically different causing no one offspring to be identical. The gametes created in males are called sperm, and in females they are called eggs. In males, all four of the created cells develop into sperm, while in females only one cell becomes the egg, and the others support that egg.

http://biologypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/meiosis.jpg

Week 1 Reflection

This week we learned about meiosis.  Meiosis is the production of sex cells.  Meiosis has 8 phases and 2 parts.  We learned about the difference between haploid and diploid cells.  Haploid means half the number of chromosomes and diploid means a full set of chromosomes.  Meiosis produces 4 genetically different haploid daughter cells.  The average human has forty-eight chromosomes, which is a set of twenty-three.  If an organism has more or less than forty-eight chromosomes, it will probably experience mental retardation or another mutation.  This weeks topic was pretty interesting to learn about.

Week 1 Reflection

This week I learned about meiosis and sexual reproduction. I learned that mitosis is the growth and regeneration of new cells, and meiosis is creating sex cells. Mitosis occurs in all body cells, while meiosis occurs in sex cells, such as the ovaries and testicles. In mitosis there are four phases, and one cell division. In meiosis there are eight phases and two cell divisions. I learned that the zygote produced is diploid. Mitosis results in two daughter cells, and meiosis results in four daughter cells. Diploid is the full set (46 chromosomes), and haploid is half the regular number (23 chromosomes). I also learned that crossing-over occurs in prophase 1, if it does happen. I learned that both chromosomes of a pair carry "matching" genes, and control the same inherited characters. If we want to reproduce, it is the joining of egg and sperm. I learned that chromosomes are organized by size (usually largest to smallest). 

Week 1 Reflection

For the week of 1/7 - 1/10, I learned about Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction. I learned that Meiosis is eight steps. The eight steps of Meiosis are Prophase 1, Metaphase 1, Anaphase 1, Telophase 1 & Cytokinesis, Prophase 2, Metaphase 2, Anaphase 2, Telophase 2 & Cytokinesis (in order). Meiosis starts with one diploid cell and ends with four different haploid cells. I learned that humans have a full set of chromosomes at the number 46. 46 is diploid, so the haploid number is 23 chromosomes. I learned that 23 chromosomes are from the egg,(the mom) and 23 chromosomes are from the sperm(the dad), for a total of 46. The joining of sperm and egg is called fertilization. I also learned about the differences between Meiosis and Mitosis.