"That's Plant Sperm!"

Hey guys!

We started off the biology class today by turning in our homework which was to read 24.1and do page 39 in the UP (which counted as a stamp) and the virtual transpiration lab which was pages 33-34B in the UP (we turned this in).

After this, as a class we got to ask Mrs. Stein questions about the lab and some kids were having confusion about homeostasis and the surface area of a plant's leaves. The surface area of a plant's leaves has to do with the stomata and how much transpiration will occur in the leaf.

We then went on to do a lab where we had to "dissect" a daffodil. This lab can be found in your unit packet pages 41 through 44. We had to locate multiple structures of the flower and we also had to cut open the ovary of the flower and locate the ovules, which are the structures in the ovaries that hold the flowers' seeds. The ovary is a female part of the flower.

We spent the class doing the lab with our lab groups and Mrs. Steinwent around the class assisting everyone when they had questions. We viewed pollen grains, or in other words--"plant sperm" under a microscope after dissecting that from the flower, as well.

All in all, the class was an interesting one. Let's keep in mind though that even though spring break is just around the corner, we have a busy week for bio!

Here's the following assignments:

1) Finish flower lab on UP pages 41-44: due tomorrow.

2) Lab quiz (a quiz on all of the labs we've done so far in this plant unit!): tomorrow.

3) Read 24.2 (pages 704-705) only, by Wednesday.

4) UP pages 45-46 dueWednesday.

5) National Parks project to be turned into Mrs. Stein by 8:00 AM on Wednesday morning!

6) Weird plants test (this is just a quiz/test on our eccentric plant of the days where we have to identify the plants, and then have 4-5 multiple choice questions on the information we've learned) on Thursday.

7) Plant test on Friday.

Good luck studying everyone!

The next scribe is Adrian R.

Here are pictures from the flower lab we did in class:

The ovary of the flower split in half. The white "things" in the middle are the ovules--they contain the flower's seeds.

The materials/set up for the lab. From left to right: (top row): water for slides, slides, daffodils, (bottom row): razor blades, cover slips for slide, and hand lends for viewing during the lab.

Here is just a general idea of the lab.

October 18, 2010

Hey guys, sorry for the late post...anyways, here's what we did in class yesterday (as today was a BIO DAY!!! I mean c'mon how interesting was that? "I had a little birdy, his name was Enza, I opened up the door and influenza"...haha so weird!!!!))
First we started off by turning in our multi-flow map and since Mrs. Stein's computer was down, we skipped the star&wish for Michael B's blog. Make sure to check out his blog and to comment on it.

Then when began to take notes in class, and I titled mine "Cancer Notes"
Here's how they looked:
Plant cells:
-Cell plate forms between cells.
-No centrioles.
-Spindle fibers
-Stages of Mitosis (PMAT)*
Animal cells:
-Centrioles
-Cell pinches at cleavage furrow.
(SAME AS PLANT CELLS):
-Spindle fibers
-Stages of Mitosis (PMAT)*
*Note: PMAT stands for the four stages of Mitosis; prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

Then we went on to try to understand PH, which can be found in your text book on page 43-44.
Notes involving PH:
Acid is at a PH level at 14, a neutral is at a PH level 7, and a base is at a PH level of 14.
Examples: acid: stomach acid, soda; neutral: pure water; base: soap.
-If more positive charges than negatives, then it's classified as an acid.
-If it has more negative charges, then it's classified as a base.

We moved onto another section of notes: regulating the cell cycle, which is what our previous HW assignment was on; here are some notes:
-Cyclins are proteins that regulate the cell cycle.
-Spindle formation is during Interphase.
Ask yourself this question: What does DNA control?
And answer with this (one): DNA contains the instructions for making important proteins.
Note: If this goes wrong or bad, then the cell can either: 1) divide out of control or 2) not divide at all.
-The cell has internal regulators that check and make sure the cell is ready to go through Mitosis. (Spindle fibers, replicated DNA, etc.)
-External regulators, on the other hand, are out signals meant to help speed up OR slow down cell divison. P53 is an external regulator.
(Note: such as wound healing or contact inhibition.)
-Caginogens are things that cause cancer, such as the follow:
~tobacco
~UV rays

That was all for the notes we jotted down in class on Monday, here's the homework:
-SIGN UP by TODAY for TurnItIn.Com
(Steps: 1. Click "NEW USERS CLICK HERE"
2. Click "New Students start here"
3. Click on Create a User Profile
4. Choose student in the next window avalible.
5. The class ID is 3574346, and the password is our teacher's last name, no caps.
6. Enter your information that it is asking for.
7. Create a password that is 6-12 characters (LETTERS & NUMBERS) long
8. Choose your helpful question.
8. Click I AGREE
9. Log in!)
-Cancer Paper: 10/25...must be on TurnItIn.Com AND have a paper copy, as well.
-Cell quiz/test on Wednesday

That's all! The next scribe is Jordan.

Good luck studying, everyone!

Oil Spill Video

Hey guys, here's our video!

Thanks for watching,

Angel, Holly, & Alex.

Biology Class

Class: Wednesday, September 8th

In Biology class on Wednesday (yesterday), we started off by turning in our homework; which was the Rip-O-Meter lab write-up, and the "Picture This!" homework assignment. Then we took notes in class about the following:

Pyramid of Energy: 10% of the energy at one trophic level is available to the organisms at the next level.

Biomass Pyramid: This contains the amount of living tissue and thus, potential food. Also note: The greatest biomass is at the base of the pyramid.

Pyramid of Numbers: Relative number of individual organisms at each level. In certain ecosystems, it is not pyramid shaped.

We received two images to tape into our journals that explained these notes. Mrs. Stein will most likely give these to you if you were absent during this class.

Then, after taking our notes, Mrs. Stein described an upcoming assignment to us.

Viewpoints on the Gulf Oil Spill: In this assignment, we each will have a partner (which you can chose), and you work together on this assignment. The first part of the assignment is to bring at least 10 pictures (EACH: both you & your partner!) to class on Tuesday as a part of a homework assignment. The assignment for the Gulf Oil Spill is to pick a point of view that relates to the Oil Spill and do research (I'm assuming sometime next week).

Then, more towards the end of the class period, after picking partners, we opened up to our Unit Packet page 21, and had to discuss this with our partners: A small group of people are stranded on a barren desert island. They have 500 bushels of wheat and one cow. What should they do to survive for the greatest length of time? This question, and answering the questions on UP Page 21 carried us until the end of class.

Homework:

"Get on Blog.

Read 4.3 and do the double bubble map [primary vs. secondary succession]

due on Friday.

Oil Spill Pictures, 10 by TUESDAY."

Note: For those of you who don't know how to do the double bubble map, visit this link: http://gbs-moodle.glenbrook225.org/moodle/file.php/1521/Reading_Strategies/Double_Bubble_Map.pdf

The next scribe is: Michael Berns