Blog #16 - Sophomore Year and Semester 2 Reflection

Reflect on your semester and year in biology? What were your successes? What were your failures?


This semester in biology, I really enjoyed doing the projects that were assigned such as the population project, virtual dissection projects, and etc. I enjoy doing the population project because it is fun using the web to make web pages. I get to be creative designing it too. The fun part of it is designing it. I enjoy doing the virtual dissection project because I love making videos for fun. I believe that I can be creative on the animation, design, and etc. for the video. I enjoy using the computer create things for projects. I also enjoy dissecting different animals during the second semester. Even though I was a little scared touching some of the animals, I believe that it was fun dissecting it. The dissection that I really enjoy dissecting was the squid. I believe it was fun because it we can to use the ink on it and that we get to cook it after we dissected it. I never ate a squid before or at least I do not remember. But the way we cooked it in class, tasted very good, especially when I put hot sauce on it too. There were several successes and failures I had this year as a sophomore. The failures I had was getting three B's  and a D's for the first semester. But I am a person that is never discouraged to try again. My parents always told me that if you fail, it's ok, at least you tried. But everyone has several failures in life, so its not a bad thing. Several successes I had this year was I got my three B's to A's during the second semester and I was really happy about that. I was able to get my D to a C. It was okay for me to get a C in that one class because it was a AP class, which is weighted. I really enjoyed my sophomore year and I hope to enjoyed my junior year as well next year.

Blog #15 - Comparision Between Two Organisms

Compare two of the organisms that we have dissected. Discuss at least two similarities and three differences.


The frog and fish that we have dissected, I believe have many similarities. It also has many differences too. For instance, they both live in water, but the difference is that the frog only lives in water at its childhood. It lives on land, once it becomes an adult. They both have eyes, lungs, mouth, and etc, which are the most obvious answers. But the difference is that the fish uses fins to move through the water and the frogs uses its feet to move through water or land. They both have heart or respiratory system that helps them breathe in water or land. They both are slimey mammals.

Blog #14 - Dissection Most Like Human

Which specimen that we have dissected so far seems most like humans? Why?


The specimen that we have dissected so far that seems most like humans is the crayfish. A crayfish has antenna and antennules that is like humans' hair. A crayfish has walking legs like humans' but the crayfish has more legs than human. The crayfish swimmerets, sternum, uropod, and telson are like humans' feet and arms because humans uses their feet and arms to swim in water. The most obviously thing that a crayfish has that is like the human are the mouth and eyes. The crayfish abdomen are like humans' body or legs.

Blog #13 - Most Interesting about this Week's Dissections

What was most interesting about this week's dissections?


The most interesting thing about this week's dissection was learning the internal and external anatomy of each different organisms. Learning the internal anatomy of different organisms had taught me many new things such as the life of each organisms and what they eat. It has also taught how small and big each organisms brain's are and many other things inside the organisms. The external anatomy of each organisms had also taught me many new things too. For example, you can find the age of a clam by counting the lines on the external of the clam.  Another thing is I learned how detailed each organisms actually are. For example, the fish scales is very detailed. It has a lot more lines then you can see without a microscope.

Blog #12 - Worm's Dissection

What surprised you from the worm's dissection?


There were several things that surpised me from the worm's dissection. One thing was that I did not expect the worm was going to be that long. I though that the worm was going to be like an inch long. Another thing I was surprised was the worm's head which including the brain, which was pretty interesting to see. Another thing is I did not expect the dirt in the worm to still be inside it. I thought it was diggested already. All the parts in the worms head was very interesting to see. Overall the worm dissection was pretty interesting to do because I got to discover the parts of how a worm lives or is.

Blog #11 - Alternation of Generations

Get a picture of alternation of generations put it in your blog and explain how it relates to plants.


Sexual reproduction involves the two alternating processes of meiosis and fertilization. In meiosis, the chromosome number is reduced from the diploid to the haploid number. In fertilization, the nuclei of two gametes fuse, raising the chromosome number from haploid to diploid. Meiosis generates the haploid gametes, sperms and eggs, directly. These single cells fuse to form the zygote which will develop into another diploid animal.  In most plants, meiosis and fertilization divide the life of the organism into two distinct phases or generations.

Blog #10 - Dissection

Why is dissection an important part of biology curriculum? Which animals and/or plants should be included in biological studies?


Dissection is an important part of biology curriculum because it helps people observe an inside of a flower, animal, and etc. This way people would find out more about the thing. People would know more information on it and they would learn something new of what is inside of the thing. Animals that should be included in biological studies are frogs, worms, and flies. Plants that should be included in biological studies are roses, tulips, and sunflowers. This way students in school or people outside could find out more of how a these animals or plants lives or reproduce in their lives.

Blog #9 - Forms of Community Interactions

Define the different forms of community interaction: competition, commensalism, mutualism, predation, parasitism. Give an example and a picture for each.

Competition is when organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource the same place. An example of competition are the resources such as food, space, water, and etc. Commensalism is the relationship in which one species benefits, while the other is neither harmed nor benefited. An example of commensalism is when commensal species usually employs host species as  a home and/or transportation. Mutualism is an interaction that benefits both participants.  An example of mutualism is coevolution. Predation is an interaction in which one organism captures and feed on another organism. An example of predation is when interaction clearly positive for the preadator but negative for the prey. Parasitism is a parasite or disease that uses host for food, but does not immediately kill the host. It kills it slowly. An example of parasitism are Giardia lamblia, Dermacentor Andersoni, Hookworms, Pediculus humanus, Dirofilaria Immitis, and Mosquito.

Predation and Parasitism

Competition, Commensalism, Mutualism

Blog #8 - Your Choice

Talk about some you learned or ask a question about something that is confusing you.

Something I really enjoyed learning so far this semester is about population. Three important characteristics of a population are its geographic distribution, density, and growth rate. Population density is the number of individuals per unit area. Three factors that can affect the population size are the number of births, the number of deaths, and the number of individuals that enter or leave the population. Under ideal conditions with unlimited resources, a population will grow exponentially. As resources become less available, the growth of a population slows or stops. Exponential growth occurs when the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate. Logistic growth occurs when a population's growth slows or stops following a period or exponential growth. Like the populations of many other living organisms, the size of the human population tends to increase with time. Birthrates, death rates, and the age structure of a population help predict why some countries have high growth rates while other countries grow more slowly.

Blog #7 - Differences of Two Biomes

Compare and contrast two biomes. Describe them in detail. Include pictures of plants and animals you are likely to see.

Tropical rain forests are home to more species than all other biomes combined. The leafy tops of tall trees extends from fifty to eighty meters above the forests floor, which forms a dense covering called the canopy. In the shade below the canopy, a second layer of shorter tree and vines forms an understory. Organic matter that falls to the forest floor quickly decomposes, and the nutrients are recycled. Tropical dry forests grow in places where rainfall is highly seasonal rather than year-round. During the dry season, nearly all the trees drop their leaves to conserve water. A tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year is called the deciduous. The abiotic factors of the tropical rain forests are hot and wet year-round and thin, nutrient-poor soils. Its dominant plants are broad-leaved evergreen trees, ferns, large woody vines and climbing plants, and orchids and bromeliads. Its dominant wildlife are herbivores such as sloths, tapirs, and capybaras, predators such as jaguars, anteaters, monkeys, birds such as toucans, parrots, and parakeets, insects such as butterflies, ants, and beetles, piranhas and other freshwater fishes, reptiles such as caymans, boa constrictors, and anacondas. Its geographic distribution are parts of South and Central America, Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, southern India, and northeastern Australia. The abiotic factors of the tropical dry forests are generally warm year-round, alternating wet and dry seasons, and rich soils subject to erosion. Its dominant plants are tall, deciduous trees that form a dense canopy during the wet season, drought-tolerant orchids and bromeliads, and aloes and other succulents. Its dominant wildlife are tigers, monkeys, herbivores such as elephants, Indian rhinoceroses, hog deer, birds such as great pied horn-bills, pied harriers, and spot-billed pelicans, insects such as termites, and reptiles such as snakes and monitor lizards. Its geographic distribution are parts of Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, India, Australia, and tropical islands.

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST ANIMAL/PLANT

                                Toucan                           Broad-Leaved Evergreen Tree

TROPICAL DRY FOREST ANIMAL/PLANT

                               Tiger                                                   Aloe

Blog #6 - Most Important Group in the Food Pyramid

Which level of a food pyramid is the most important? Support your answer.


I believe that the most important food group in the food pyramid is the bread, grains, and other starches group. In order to have energy for the entire day, a person must have something from this group. For example, breakfast is the most important meal of the day because when one person eats breakfast such as cereal or bread in the morning, the type of foods comes from the breads, grains, and other starches group. Fats, oils, and sweets is the least important group because that is a group that someone eats only for a snack or when their bored. It takes away your energy. Cereals gives someone a lot of energy for the rest of the day that is why breads, grains, and other starches is the most important group in the food pyramid.

Blog #5 - Are Humans Impacting the Sixth Extinction?

There have been 5 major extinction events throughout history. Are humans impacting the 6th? Why or why not?


I believe human are not impacting the sixth extinction. There are many human beings who love animals and are helping animals to prevent them from becoming extinct. I beleive extinction is caused on the type of food/things animals eat. There are many things animals can eat by accident which can cause the extinction of the animal. Another thing that is possible to cause extinction is when a animal is sick. If a animal is sick, it can cause the other types of animals to become sick too, which is possible to cause the extinction.

Blog #4 - Types of Selections

Describe the three types of selection: directional, stabilizing, and disruptive and gave an example of each in your own words.


When individuals at one end of the curve have higher fitness than individuals in the middle or at the other end, directional selection takes place. The range of the phenotypes shifts as some individuals fail to survive and reproduce while others succeed. An example of a directional selection is when a population of seed-eating birds experiences directional selection when a food storage causes the supply of small seeds to run low. When individuals near the center of the curve have higher fitness than individuals at either end of the curve, stabilizing selection takes place. This situation keeps the center of the curve at its current position, but it narrows the overall graph. An example of a stabilizing selection is when a human babies that is born at an average mass, it is more likely to survive than the ones that are born either smaller or the ones that are born much larger than average. When individuals at the upper and lower ends of the curve have higher fitness than individuals near the middle, disruptive selection takes place. In such situations, selection acts most strongly against individuals of an intermediate type. An example of a disruptive selection is when an average-sized seeds become less common, and the ones that are larger or smaller seeds becomes more common.

Blog #3 - Microevolution

Explain what microevolution is? What are the three ways that variation occurs?


Microevolution refers to any evolutionary change below the level of species. It also refers to changes in the frequency within a population or a species of its alleles (alternative genes) Another thing it refers to is their effects on the form, or phenotype, of organism that make up that population or species. One way of variation that occurs is when all organisms produce far more offspring than one can survive to adulthood and reproduce. This means that many of those offspring will die without reproduction. Another way that variation occur is when the variation is heritable, that is if it exist in the parents and are passed on to the offspring. Organism vary in many ways. A third way that variation occurs is when some of those is heritable, which is when the variable traits affect an organism's fitness.

Blog #2 - Why is fossil record hard to interpret?

Why is fossil record hard to interpret?


Fossil record is hard to interpret because the animal is small. But also because the hard painstaking sand is covering the fossil. It is very hard to interpret a fossil without breaking it. When interpreting a fossil, the paleontologists have to find all the fossils of the animal. It is sometimes hard and sometimes easier, but doesn't mean it is easy. It is just a bit simple. It is very hard to interpret when it is a small animal because the bones of the fossils are very tiny. But when interpreting a large animal, it takes very long, but is somewhat easy, but it is still hard because they have to make sure not to break any of the fossil when interpreting it.

Blog #1 - Why is evolution a theory and not a law?

Why is evolution a theory and not a law?


Evolution is a theory and not a law because it is not yet been proven. A law is something that is already been proven with an explanation and is unlikely to be changed in the future. The research is mostly likely a hundred percent true. A theory is a something that is being explain from an observation and is possible to changed in the future. The research is not a hundred percent true. Evolution is a theory because it is an explanation of what is observed but not a hundred percent true. An evolution can not be tested because there is not enough information for it.

Blog #14 - Semester 1 Summary

What was you favorite activity/topic this year? Why was it a favorite? What was your least favorite? Why? If you could change one thing (Not the amount of homework) what would it be and how would you change it?


My first semester of my sophomore year have been a very busy and stressful one. I had a lot more homework and projects than I did in my freshman year. My favorite activity/topic this year is working/learning about genetics and DNA. It is my favorite because I am interesting in how genetics and DNA works. It is also because I wonder how CSI found out the suspect who committed a crime.

My least favorite topic is when working with the microscope. It is because it was very hard to use it such as focusing it until it was clear. I always had problem using it and it wasted my time just trying how to operate it correctly.

If i could change one thing, it would be about notetakings. I want the notes to be short as possible so that our hands are not sore at the end of the day. I take notes in all my class and my hand is sore afterward trying to take notes as fast as possible to get the information that I need from the powerpoint. One thing I could try to change it by myself is take notes that I only need and not to take unneccessary notes that I already know.

Blog #13 - How Has DNA Changed?

How has DNA changed? How we investigate crimes? What are the two main tests? Describe them.

DNA has advanced which makes investigations more accurate and easier to find. We investigated crimes by taking blood test, a piece of hair, and etc. The two main tests are blood test and testing a piece of hair, which is PCR and RFLP. PCR takes the less amount of time to completed. It takes about a week to completed. It is also the quickest to completed too. Geneticists look for certain types of genes to determine matches. If there is no match that is found, the donor was not at the crime scene. The matches are then not conclusive, but there are also many people who may have the same alleles as the donor. PCR using DNA fingerprinting or profiling. It is considered to be the most accurate test. The test examines section of the DNA base pairs with a high probability of the DNA being the donor. When a match is found, it is a hundred percent sure that the donor was at the crime scene. RFLP requires many sample cells such as hair or a large spatters of blood. The blood has to be fresh in order for it to be test. This tests take about three weeks to three months to complete.