The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method is used to test a hypothesis you have for an experiment. You come up with what you want to test and guess what will happen,set up your experiment, and then collect the data and get your conclusion.
The main point of this is to test your hypothesis and to come to a conclusion weather you were right or not.
The Scientific Method can be used in everyday life, even sometimes for the littlest things.

Steps To the Scientific Method:

Question what you want to test.
Research the experiment.
 Figure out your Hypothesis.
Test your Experiment.
Collect your Data.
Then come to a Conclusion.

Citations:

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/scientific_method.html
https://www.pinterest.com/bwilliams1210/stem-scientific-method/?lp=true
Mind.

Plant Cell vs Animal Cell - Abby Marshall

Plant Cell vs Animal Cell     Abby Marshall

Main Ideas: 

- Plant cells have a cell wall

- Animal cells have centrioles

- Animal cells have lysosomes
- Plant cells contain plastids
- Plant cells are rectangular and animal shapes are rounded

Detailed

Plant cells differ in many ways from animal cells, although they do share many organelles.  Plant cells and animal cells often have different functions. Plant cells must go through the process of photosynthesis. Plant cells have to produce chlorophyll and contain chloroplast while animal cells get their food from other sources. Animal cells are much smaller in size than plant cells are. Plant cells contain starch while animal cells contain glycogen. Animal cells are much more likely to burst in hypotonic solutions than animal cells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnWm-RjBKcM


Reflection: I have learned that plant cells and animal cells have many differences but they are both extremely important. They have organelles in common and ones that are different. They have get their food from different sources.

Citations:
"13 - Animal Cells Vs Plant Cells". YouTube. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Deena T Kochunni, Jazir Haneef. "Difference Between Plant Cell And Animal Cell (15 Differences)". Biologyexams4u.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Causes of Mutations

Heather Russo


-A mutation is the change in DNA sequences, the DNA fails to copy accurately
-Mutations can be caused by exposure to specific chemicals or radiation
    -When cells are exposed to radiation, radiochemical damage can occur either by direct action or indirect action
-If a mistake is made as DNA copies itself during cell division it could be at random, not having any specific cause.
-If a mutation is present it could lead to cancer
    -A gene mutation can tell a cell to grow and divide more rapidly. This creates many new cells that all have that same mutation
    -Normal cells know when to stop growing so that you don't oversupply with cells, cancer cells lose the controls that tell them to stop growing, a mutation in a tumor suppressor gene allows cancer cells to continue growing and accumulating

Reflection:

Learning more about this topic informed me a lot about the different causes of mutations. Before researching more I didn't know that cancer was caused by the change in DNA and they could allow rapid growth. It surprised me that you could have mutations from sunlight itself, I learned in class a little bit about the radiation but didn't know too much about it. I liked this objective because it applies to real life things that happen a lot, for example cancer is a major disease which is caused by mutations itself and a lot of people have this disease. We wear sunscreen to protect us from the harmful UV rays, but little did I know that it was protecting us from mutations occurring.

"The Causes of Mutatations." Understanding Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web.

Chloroplasts

Main Ideas:
-Green pigment (chlorophyll)

-Only present in plant cells

-Used in photosynthesis

Chloroplasts are plastids, organelles located in the cytoplasm, that contain chlorophyll. Chloroplasts play a main part in photosynthesis. They take sugar, sunlight, and water and turn into the plants food. 

Chloroplasts have two different membranes, the outer and the inner. Inside the inner membrane, there are tiny, green disks stacked like pancakes. Each individual disk is called a thylakoid. A stack of thylakoids is called a granum. They sit in a substance called stroma, it acts as a cushion to hold the 

granums. 

Before learning about chloroplasts this semester, I only knew that chloroplasts were a part of photosynthesis. I learned the different parts and how they play such an important part in photosynthesis. I like learning about this topic because its easy for me to remember. Also, I think its interesting to learn about how plants can make their own food and how not having one of the three components can effect the whole process. This process can be applied outside biology because if plants weren’t able to make their own food, they wouldn’t be able to make the oxygen we breathe and we would die.

 
Citations:

Lim, Gregory et al. "Nature Research: Science Journals, Jobs, Information And Services.". Nature.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
Information from notes

Eukaryotic vs Prokaryotic

        Prokaryotic Cell                                     VS                                     Eukaryotic Cell

                                               

Main Idea

             Prokaryotic Cell                                                                      Eukaryotic Cell

Does not contain membrane-bound organelles                  Membrane-bound organelles

First life form on earth for millions of years                 Evolution created eukaryotic cells afterward

Consists of one chromosome                                       Consists of more than one chromosome

Unicellular                                                                           Multicellular

Bacteria and Archaea                                                           Plants and Animals

No lysosome or peroxisomes                                               Contains lysosomes and peroxisomes

No endoplasmic reticulum                                                   Has endoplasmic reticulum

No mitochondria                                                                   Has mitochondria

Smaller ribosomes                                                                 Large ribosomes

No golgi apparatus                                                                Contains golgi apparatus

No chloroplasts                                                                     Chloroplasts (Only in Plant Cells)

Smaller                                                                                  Larger

Higher metabolic and growth rate                                        Slower metabolic and growth rate

Shorter generation time                                                        Longer generation time

Flagella is composed of microtubules                                  Flagella is composed of only one fiber

No permeability                                                                    Selective

Has chemically complex cell wall                                        Chemically simple plant and fungi wall

Contains vacuole                                                                   Contains vacuole

No nucleus                                                                             Nucleus

DNA stored in the nucleoid                                                   DNA stored in chromosomes

Reflection

It is just fascinating to me that the fact that microscopic organisms like these can differentiate tremendously and have all of these specific functions and parts. To know that these organisms existed millions of years ago and still are present day already surprises me.

Citation

"Eukaryotic Cell Vs Prokaryotic Cell - Difference And Comparison | Diffen". Diffen.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Google Search Engine

DNA Function Structure

DNA                                                

DNA is...

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is a nucleic acid that hold genetic material and can help with cellular functions. DNA can be thought of as a blueprint of life or the definition of all living things. James Watson and Francis Crick were the ones who discovered the DNA structure.  DNA is a double helix or its look can be compared to a twisting ladder. The shape of DNA can help hold the genetic information as well as give the cells there functions

What makes up DNA?...

Deoxyribose sugars, a phosphate, and nucleotide base is what DNA is made up of.  The sides of the ladder are made up of sugars and phosphate atoms. The “rungs” of the ladder (DNA) are made up of “bases”. The bases attach to a sugar in the DNA.  Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G) are the four bases in DNA. Adenine (A) pairs with Thymine (T), and Cytosine (C) pairs with Guanine (G). Hydrogen Bonds are what holds these bases together.

Reflection...

Throughout this unit I learned how important DNA is to living organisms. DNA is the basic blueprint for life.  It holds all your genetic information and without that there would be no you.  DNA has a huge part in determining how the body functions as well. I enjoyed learning the unit.  It was almost like a puzzle, we took pieces of information and finally put them all together and it all kind of clicked. 

Citations:

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/07/13/artificial-dna-acts-just-like-the-real-thing-does-that-mean-we-should-we-make-it/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/cell6.htm

http://www.eyeondna.com/2007/08/20/100-facts-about-dna/

Olivia Marshall

Recessive traits - Hannah Miller

* Recessive traits in definition is a trait that is carried by either, or sometimes both parents, that is not dominant. What this means is that unless both parents have that recessive trait it will NOT show in the offspring. That happens because Dominant will always overpower recessive if it is present.

* Recessive traits will only show in the offspring in a homozygous recessive relationship. What this means is that both parents carry that recessive trait and it is matched up with the same gene. 

* For example; A bunny is Homozygous recessive for blue fur, (bb) and the other bunny is heterozygous for white fur (Bb).  

As you can see from the image that two out of the four offspring of the bunnies will have blue fur because both parents carry the gene.

*It is possible for a parent to carry the recessive gene, but if it is a heterozygous the dominant trait will be the only trait showing. 

Fun fact! Genetic similarity. People share 7% of genetic material with the E.coli bacteria, 21% with worms, 90% with mice and 98% with chimpanzees.

Summary- All in all I already knew most of this stuff due to having learned about it in a different grade, but it doesn't stop the topic from being interesting. I wouldn't say that I learned anything new, other than that cool fact, but i've dived deeper into the topic and actually learned how to work out Punnet squares.

Citations; N.p., n.d. Web. <https://sketch.io/sketchpad/>. 

"Interesting Genetic Facts." Gene Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <https://www.geneplanet.com/genetics/interesting-genetic-facts.html#>.