Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is on the circulation of blood in the heart. Is there anything that can help me remember which veins and arteries take blood to and from the heart and lungs. THANKS

Sara

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point for this unit is on capillary action. I am confused on what it is.

Thanks

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is on the body cavity. I am confused on coelomates, acoelomates and psuedocoelmates.

Thanks!

SCRIBE 2/21

Today in class we started with Animal of the Day #5, which was the Frill-Necked Lizard. This animal is in the class Reptilia and is sometimes called the "Frilled Dragon". Also, this lizard runs bipedally and is currently endangered. We also got our Invertebrate Quiz returned and went over questions that students had.

In class we also did an Arthropod Lab. During this lab we observed preserved items. The three items that we looked at were a grasshopper, a crayfish and a spider. While observing we completed a chart on the characteristics of these items.

For homework tonight you should finish the lab, UP 28-31 and complete your PINK vertebrate chart. Also, post your muddiest points on the blog and be sure to comment! There will be a QUIZ tomorrow on your pink chart, you will be aloud to use the pink chart on the quiz!

Next Scribe: Gabby!

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is the difference between punctuated equilibrium and gradualism. I don't understand the difference between them, and the difference between their graphs.

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point for this section is that I am confused on the the difference of functions between progesterone and estrogen. I feel like they both do the same function, thicken the lining of the uterus.

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is when you are doing pedigrees, is it always contain X and/or Y to show male or female or is it always just dominant and recessive letters, example B-brown b-blonde? Or can it be either or depending on the question?

Phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria, also known as PKU is a disease that affects the way your body breaks down proteins. PKU is an autosomal recessive inherited disease, so you inherit one infected chromosome from your mom and one infected chromosome from your dad. If you were looking at the karyotype of someone with this disease, you would notice that there is a mutation in a gene on chromosome 12. This mutation is a protein gene mutation that codes for protein PAH. If someone does not have enough PAH, phenylalanine builds up in their blood, which leads to poisoning their nerve cells. When babies are first born, they show no signs. If they continue living without being treated, they can get severe brain damage, such as Epilepsy. This can also give them behavioral problems and stunt their growth. Other signs can be eczema, musty body odor, small head and fair skin. When babies are first born they are tested for this disease. A small blood sample is take from their heel or arm and the doctors test it for the level of phenylalanine. If there is a high level of phenylalanine, then the baby has the disease. If you have the disease you need to eat a protein-free diet because many proteins contain phenylalanine. Infants are given a special formula that does not contain phenylalanine. As you get older with this disease, you need to avoid protein rich foods, such as meats, cheeses, nuts and eggs. On average one out of every fifteen thousand babies are born with this disease. If you follow the specific diets of this disease the life expectancy is the same as if you lived regularly.

Scribe 11/7

Today in class on 11/7 we received stamps on our homework from the weekend, UP 32, 37-42 and we were also supposed to read 35.4. We also took a quiz on some terms from the reading and things we have gone over in class the previous week. After the quiz we took a few notes on Acquired Immunity. Then, we ended the class with a movie clip on Malaria.

Acquired Immunity can either be active or passive. During active immunity your body produces antibodies and it can do this is two ways. One, with a vaccination, when a weaker form of a pathogen in injected to your body. Two, you can be exposed to a disease. During passive immunity antibodies can also be obtained in two ways. One, antibodies can be injected into your body. Two, they can be obtained through breast milk. Passive immunity is always temporary.

At the end of class we watched a clip on Malaria. Malaria is a microscopic protist that transforms to invade red blood cells. Eventually the red blood cells burst. Around 80 to 90% of children have Malaria in Africa. Malaria is spread through bites from mosquitos.

The HOMEWORK tonight is to start preparing for the test on Wednesday.

THE NEXT SCRIBE IS BRECK MURPHY!!

Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is for nonspecific defenses, when the second line of defense comes into action are there specific defenses? For example, for first line defense there are things like the skin, cilia and tears, saliva, etc. What are examples of second line? If there are any.

Thanks

SaraP's Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is during mitosis, when is the nucleus visible and when is it not. Also, when is the nuclear membrane visible and when is it not. I am confused on why it disappears and then reappears.

Thanks

SaraP's Muddiest Point

My muddiest point is for limit population growth on density-dependant limiting factor. I don't understand how this exactly works. The definition I have written down says; a factor that affects larger/denser population MORE. I am confused by what this exactly means.

Thanks

Sara

Class 9/12

Today in class on 9/12 we turned in our homework from the weekend, the Alien poster and double-bubble map on 4.3 and UP 27. We took notes on 3 different types of succession. We also recorded data from our duckweed lab and learned how to make Climatograms.

One type of succession that we learned about is ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION. This is a type of succession in which there are predictable changes that occur in a community overtime. This can occur in things like ponds, lakes and forests.

Another type of succession that we learned about is Primary Succession. This type of succession occurs where no soil exists; early plants then prepare soil.

The last type of succession that we learned about was Secondary Succession. This type of succession occurs in areas that have been destroyed, but still contain soil. Some types of destruction may be fires, logging or hurricanes. Some plants have adapted to cycles of fire and regrowth.

Other important things we took notes on were Climax Community and INTERMEDIATE STAGES. Intermediate stages is during the process of succession when there are deep roots that absorb water and minerals. Also, when there is enough growth to make shade which inhibits grass growth and allows some growth of trees. Climax community is when the process of succession has reached a point when there is rich soil and dense forests of maple and beech. This is a stable collection of organisms following succession.

We also learned what a Climatogram is and how to make one. A climatogram is a graph that is used to show the climate of a region. In the specific activity we did, we compared the climate on the with climates from other biomes to determine what makes a prairie a prairie. These graphs show the average precipitation and average temperature. Therefore, since is contains two different types of information there are two Y axes. The axis on the left was labeled for temperature and the axis on the right was labeled for precipitation.

For a brief period of time we took data from out Duckweed Lab. Our homework for tonight is to read 4.2 in the book and complete a reading strategy of our choice. We also have a QUIZ on Thursday September 15, 2011.

The SCRIBE for next class will be Brooklyn C!

SaraP's Unit 1 Reflection

Unit 1 was a really good way to start off the year. It helped me refresh my memory from last year and was a good way to help us settle in. Even though it was our first experiment and probably wasn't the most challenging experiment we will have, it still kept me interested and I was actually excited to come to biology to see what we will do with the Tetrahymena next. It was also good because we got to refresh our memory on how to use the microscopes too. I will always remember how to right a correct hypothesis with independent and dependent variables from the review during this unit. I learned how to take good observations and what the difference between an observation and an inference is. I used to mix inferences in with some of my observations but from this I don't get confused anymore. I really enjoyed the things we did throughout this unit and hope we do more things like it!

SaraP's First Post

Volleyball

One of the things I enjoy doing on my free time is playing volleyball. This is a sport both girl and boys play and it is played at all levels. There are always 6 players on the court at one time. Each player has a different position ranging from a middle hitter, usually the tallest on the court, to a libero, usually the shortest on the court. There are many different rules to the game from overlapping on the court to no jewelry or hard clips in your hair. One of the most complicated rules is overlapping. On the court there different rotations that you can run. There are 6 zones on the court, starting in the back right corner with zone one and going all the way around to the middle back with zone 6. Each player cannot overlap the person in front of them or behind them on a serve receive or a serve, if they do the ball goes to the other team and the other team gets a point. It took me two years to finally understand most of the rules, but everyones different

The position I play is libero or defensive specialist. I am one of the shortest players on my team, therefore I am always playing in the back row. I am one of the players that digs up balls that are either hit or tipped by the other team onto our half of the court. The libero is also the only player that can switch onto the court without having to wait at the 10 foot line to sub in. One of the reasons they can do this is because they switch for only two players, the middles. They also have a different colored jersey than the rest of the team. I love playing volleyball and spending time with my teammates!

Most excited about: A few of the things I am most excited about are sports and meeting new people!

Least excited about: Some of the things I am least excited about are taking finals and the homework load compared to last year!