Muddiest Point

Hey guys, I'm still confused on how the whole blood typing thing works and how you know which blood type will work with what. Thanks!
-ChristinaP

Muddiest Point!

I was wondering what the 4 defining characteristics of the plant kingdom are and how do you identify which parts of the plant are edible. Thanks!

-ChristinaP

Muddiest Point!

Hey, sorry but this is going to be a long one so I understand if you don't answer all of my questions.

Questions:

1. Explain how the taxonomic system shows evolutionary relationships and discuss the importance of biochemistry in taxonomy.
2. Discuss the ecological, economic, and humanistic importance of invertebrates.
3. Describe the roles arthropods play in social behavior, predator/prey relationships, and symbiotic relationships.

I hope you can help!

-ChristinaP

muddiest point!

hey, i was just wondering what the difference between relative and absolute dating is, and also what is the fossil record? Thanks!

-ChristinaP

Muddiest Point!

I was reading through the objectives sheet and it says something about secondary sex characteristics, if you could please tell me what that is that would be great! Also, If you could please tell me the what exactly each hormone (LH, FSH, estrogen, progesterone) does, because I'm getting really confused as to what affects what and what secretes what. I hope this isn't too much, and you can do either question. Thanks!

-Christina P

Muddiest Point!

Hey guys, I think I pretty much get everything, but now that we've learned so many different crosses, I'm getting kind of confused as to when I use the X's and Y's and when I use ex: IaIa in problems and when I use ex: Ff or ff as answers or variables in problems.

Christina P

Neurofibromatosis by Christina P.

Neurofibromatosis is found on chromosome 17. It involves the NF1 gene which codes for the Neurofibromin protein that regulates the protein Ras (helps cell division). When the NF1 gene is mutated, the cells can't stop dividing which then forms tumors.

Neurofibromatosis is autosomal dominant and can be inherited in 2 different ways:

• inherited from a parent, the offspring has a 50% chance of being born with the disease
• new mutations in only some of the cells, but if the gene is mutated in the egg or sperm cell, then the parent will pass that gene down

Physical Signs and Symptoms:

• all physical signs differ depending on the person because each person's unique genetics influences their symptoms
• have cafA au lait spots (spots the color of coffee with cream) and freckles
• have a lot of neurofibromas (benign tumors)
• high blood pressure, bone defects, scoliosis, learning disabilities, Lisch nodules (benign growths on the eye), optic gliomas (benign tumors on optic nerve)

Diagnosis:

• can be diagnosed by looking at the physical symptoms
• if their is a family history of the mutated gene
• genetic tests on the NF1 gene

There is NO CURE, but surgery is an option for taking out tumors. If a tumor becomes cancerous, then chemotherapy and radiation are treatment options. Ethnicity nor gender are factors in deciding who will have the disease. One in 4,000 births in the U.S. contain the mutated gene which causes neurofibromatosis. An estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. have neurofibromatosis. Surprisingly though, people with neurofibromatosis have a normal life expectancy.

Muddiest Point!

Hey guys! I reviewed the chapter so I think I get most of it now, but the thing that I just can't understand is macrophages and how they fit in to cell- mediated immunity. So if you could just help me with this, that would be great.

-ChristinaP

November 1

It's the first day of November!!!!! Seven more months until school's out!! Now lets get down to business, the homework assigned today that is due tomorrow is to complete UP 22-25, and read 35.2 while doing a tree map. The first two categories for the tree map are nonspecific defenses and then specific defenses and the third is acquired immunity but that's in 35.3 so we don't have to do that column tonight. The first thing we did today was hand in UP 15-18. Then we looked at a cartoon demonstrating antibiotic resistance. We also took a few notes on antibiotic resistance:

• bacteria carry resistance to antibiotics in their DNA (have genes that carry resistance to antibiotics)
• where do genes come from?

-Conjugation

-mutation

• HUGE public health concern- we can't fight bacteria that are resistant to lots of antibiotics

Then, we filled out the disease of the day which was Tuberculosis (TB). The agent of disease is bacteria. The interesting/ important facts about TB are:

• it is spread through air person to person
• it attacks the lungs
• it can spread if it is not stopped
• it is prevented by washing your hands and by getting the BCG vaccine
• TB is a VERY RESISTANT DISEASE. This means that it is hard to kill because it keep on mutating which is not a good thing!

For the rest of class, all we did was work on UP 22- 25.

The next scribe will be.... Kaily B.!

Cells Muddiest Point

Hey, i'm still confused about how diffusion, osmosis and pH affect the cell. Please describe in detail otherwise I won't understand, thanks! Hope you can help!

Muddiest Point!

The things that I am most confused about in this unit are the biomass pyramid, pyramid of numbers and the energy pyramid. I know it's kind of ironic how the only things I am confused about are all pyramids! But I hope you can help me understand these concepts better! Thanks!

9-16-11 P2 Class Review

Today, we did lab #58 from our lab books that we handed in to Mrs. Stein at the beginning of the year to keep in a shelf. The lab was called Learning About Population Density. For the lab we had to measure the population density of dandelions, plantains, and Clovers by dividing the area into smaller areas called quadrats. The number of each plant in each quadrat is counted. Then the numbers are added up and then divided by the combined area of the quadrats to calculate their population density. We determined the population densities of dandelions, clovers and plantains in an area by studying a quadrat one meter square and pooling your results with the rest of the class results to create the over population density of the three weeds.

1. We put a pre-made 1 meter sqaured square around a piece of the grass outside.

2. We divided the quadrat into smaller areas and layed the meter stick along one side of the quadrat and another meter stick 10 cm from the boundary.

3. We counted the number of dandelions, clovers and plantains that were in each section of the quadrat. There were 10 sections for each quadrat.

4. We put all the data into a table and totaled up the dandelions, clovers and plantains.

5. Every group in the class put all their data into another table to find the class total of each weed and then the population density.

6. Then there were questions on the lab sheet about the population densities of deer in a specific experiment that we had to answer and if you didn't finish them in class, they were homework.

We also went over the homework that was due that day and the homework that was assigned for over the weekend which was:

1. Finish Lab 58

2. Fill in the chart while reading pg. 97 and 6.2 and 6.4

3. Work on your Duckweed project

KAITLYN is the Next Scribe!

First Unit Reflection

The first unit kind of felt mostly like a review but was a needed review. I remembered learning it from middle school but I only needed a light review of it to just jog my memory on the specifics. I was and am really surprised on how many labs we are doing because at my middle school we rarely did labs and when we did we didn't have to do much so when you gave me the packet and all the questions we had to fill out on the lab and then the lab write up I was like wow! I've never done a lab write up but since you gave us the rubric for what you are looking for in our lab write up and how to do it, I think I'll be able to figure it out just fine.

Claude Monet

Something that interests me is Claude Monet and his artwork. I love art and Claude Monet's paintings are just so beautiful that they inspire me. In fact, I did a french project on him last year. I don't really have a favorite piece of artwork by Claude Monet because he would paint a scene at one time of the day and then would go back at several different times of the day and paint the scene over again so he would end up with a series of paintings of the same scene but were all still different. The reason for that is because at each time of the day, the light would hit the scene differently so the colors would also differ. Claude Monet liked capturing the different effects of light in his paintings like "water lilies", where the light reflected off the water in the pond.


Claude Monet's life might surprise you, it wasn't always easy for him. He was originally born in Paris but a few years later moved to Le Havre in Normandy and then went to the Le Havre secondary school of arts. As a kid, he was famous for drawing caricatures of his teachers made a small business of it during school. After that, he had many art tutors until he joined the army in 1861 and sent him to Algiers. His mom died when he was 16 so he went to live with his aunt. In 1868 Claude Monet attempted suicide by throwing himself into the Siene. Two years later he got married to Camille Doncieux and two years after that he painted "Impression", a sunrise. In 1878 Claude Monet's second child was born and a year later his wife died. After that, Monet moved in with his friend and his friend's wife Alice who helped raise Monet's children. Then Monet's friend died so Alice and Monet got married in 1892. But in 1911 Alice died and in 1914 Monet's first son died. Then in 1923 Claude Monet had two surgeries for cataracts and in 1926 he died of lung cancer.


Even though Claude Monet had a rough life, he left behind genius paintings like "Mornings on the Siene" and "Weeping Willows".








The thing that I am most excited about for this year is:


I am most excited about the dances, I can't wait to see if they are as fun as they seem in movies.





The thing that I am least excited about for this year is:


I am least excited about the homework load that the teachers give us.