Honors Bio Blog 10/69 (Evolution of this Class)

Honors Bio Blog 10/69

The Evolution of this Class

Class began today with us getting our much awaited tests back...

I was pretty happy with my result and found the explanations of the problems I missed to be very explanatory and beneficial.

We then proceeded to do one of two labs. Bob Stoddard and I chose to make DNA strands out of beads and pipe cleaners. The four DNA Strands that we made belonged to...

Humans

Chimpanzees

Gorillas 

Common Ancestor

We then analyzed and compared the different strands and found the DNA strands to be very similar to each other. Using this information we were able to discover exactly how all of these organisms were related to each other and exactly how related they were to each other. 

It turns out that none of the organisms directly evolved from any of the organisms, rather they all share a common ancestor and therefore share many similar traits.

Today was a very interesting and eye-opening introduction to evolution.

Honors Bio Blog 9/69 (Dat Fresh Test)

Honors Bio Blog 9/69

Dat Fresh Test

Today we took a test. That's pretty much it...

It wasn't that hard...

I hope I did well...

...

Honors Bio Blog 8/69 (Test Review)

Blog 8 
Test Review

Today we spent almost the entire class reviewing for our first test. We discussed concepts regarding macromolecules and went over the results of the Jerell lab. Mr. Quick then proceeded to explain the format of the test and how we could properly prepare for it. 

I hope I do well....

Honors Bio Blog 7/69 (Get Your Stuff Together Jerell)

Get Your Stuff Together Jerell

was the basis of the lab that we performed today. The mission of the lab was to figure out who stole Jerell's iPod based on evidence of food residue left in the room after the theft. We performed several tests on different types of food to test for Glucose, Starch, Protein, and Lipids. Here is a list of the four different tests we did and what they achieved:

1) Iodine Test-Starch

2)Benedict Test- Glucose

3) Biuret Test- Protein

4) Sudan 3 Test- Lipids.

Using data that we obtained by performing these four tests on several different food substances we were able to determine who stole Jerell's iPod based off of who the Mystery food residue belonged to. 

This lab was extremely long and complex and required the utmost patience and precision...

At the end of the day was Jerell's iPod really worth getting back???

Honors Bio Blog 6/69 (3 Gallons)

Honors Bio Blog Day 6

3 Gallons of Water

The most eventful subject matter of the class that occurred today happened when we were given the opportunity to form a diagnosis for an imaginary high school cross country runner. This character, a product of Mr. Quick's extraordinary acting abilities, answered any questions that we had about what he had done prior to and during his cross country workout. Countless questions were asked of him, which ranged anywhere from "do you do drugs?" to "do you have diabetes?". The most intriguing factor of the conversation with the high school cross country runner was the fact that he had consumed nearly 3 GALLONS of water prior to the workout, which is both extremely unhealthy and unrealistic. This led the class to the general consensus that the patient was most likely suffering from overhydration. Several illnesses were ruled out during the interview with the patient and the overall process of discovering his illness proved to be both very educational and intriguing. 

Honors Bio Blog 5/69 (Osmosis Lab Part 2)

Osmosis and Diffusion Lab Part 2

Today in class we continued our study of osmosis and diffusion by performing another lab. We began by creating three "cells" in different shapes: cuboidal, columnar, and epithecial. We then allowed our three cells to sit in a beaker full of NaOH for fifteen minutes. We then removed the cells from the water and examined how much the NaOH had diffused into the cell. We took very careful measurement of exactly how far into the cell the NaOH had diffused into the cells and realized that the reason that the NaOH was able to diffuse into the cell was due to the semi-permeable membrane present in the cell.

Honors Bio Blog 4/69 (Osmosis Lab)

Honors BIO Day 4

Osmosis Lab Day

      The main purpose of the class today was to be able to take a crash course in Osmosis and then perform a lab to achieve a deep understanding of it. We began the class by taking a short quiz on water and then dove straight into the concept of Osmosis. 

      Mr. Quick taught with a diagram of NaCl in a glass of water and showed the semi-permeable membrane on the NaCl that allowed the water to diffuse into the cell. He then explained that if the cell became too full of water it would burst, otherwise it would just continue to fill up forever without ever stopping which is impossible.

      After the crash course in Osmosis and Diffusion Mr. Quick gave us an overview of what we were to accomplish in the lab. He demonstrated by creating a "cell" and filling it with fructose and then tying it off at both ends. Overall, the lab was extremely stressful because we were constantly struggling against time restraints; however, in the end we managed to complete lab and uploaded our data to the class data folder. David Lee then came back at night and took the data from the Potato and Sports Drink portions of the lab that we were unable to take data on during class.

Honors Bio Blog 3/69 (Water World)

Day 3

Water World

      

      I was extremely anxious for the third day of class because I was entirely aware that I was about to face my first Bio QUIZ of the year. The quiz was actually not super difficult and I hope that I scored well on it. Oh well, time to get back on topic. The actual class was very exciting. We were given various questions to answer using only 10 words. The questions were based off of what we had learned from our homework the previous night. Everybody's explanation of the question they were given was met with Mr. Quick's constant inquiries of "WHY???" which eventually led to demonstrations that we were allowed to perform ourselves involving pipettes, pennies, toothpicks, and soaps. These simple demonstrations helped to give us a visualization of surface tension and how it is related to the bonds in water. We also learned something very SHOCKING! Contrary to what I had previously believed, it is much more dangerous to exercise in an extremely humid climate versus a very dry climate. This is due to the insulating properties of water, which will cause humans to overheat if they are unable to release energy in the form of sweat, which occurs in climates where there is a lot of moisture in the air. Water was the basis of our third class and therefore I left the class with my thirst for knowledge quenched. 

Oh Snap!

That was funny....

Here are Some Fun Photos of Bob and Siri during Class