Unit 5 Reflection

Unit five was about DNA and RNA, DNA replication, and mutations. DNA replicates by separating the two strands. First, the DNA unzips, then it matches the the nucleotides, and finally the result gives you two identical DNA strands. DNA is made from a double helix, which are two strands connected by adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. To make a proteins, DNA goes to RNA, then it becomes a protein. The process where DNA becomes RNA is called transcription, when RNA becomes a protein it is called translation. The result is a long chain of amino acids. Mutations can be good, bad, or not affect anything at all. Insertion, deletion, and frameshift all can change the code of DNA.
My weaknesses were understanding the process of protein synthesis, while mutations were a bit confusing. The gene expression and regulation vodcast was a bit confusing. From this unit, I learned about DNA, how to extract DNA, mutations, and what DNA does for someone. I want to learn more about how your cell does this. I wonder how DNA is programmed to automatically do all of this.

Protein Synthesis Lab Conclusion

The body produces proteins by using DNA and RNA. DNA goes through transcription to become RNA, then the RNA goes through translation to become a protein. During transcription, RNA polymerase copies the DNA's code into mRNA. During translation, mRNA goes to a ribosome it translates the mRNA to DNA code, three base sequences at a time. One three base sequence codes for one amino acid.




Mutations can be good, bad, or not matter at all. Types of mutations are: deletion, substitution, and insertion. I found that substitution is the least harmful, because it still keeps most of the sequence in order, only changing one specific base. Insertion was the most harmful, because it moved all the bases to the right, making the DNA have no start and end sequence.

I chose insertion, because it completely changes the order of the bases. This made a code without a start and end base. It matters where the mutation occurs because if the insertion occurs at the end, it will only affect the rest of the bases. If it is in the beginning, then it will effect the entire code.




A mutation could cause harm, benefit, or do nothing to the person who has it. Spinal muscular atrophy is when some muscles don't receive signals from nerve cells in the spine. Symptoms of this are muscle weakness, areflexia, and loss of strength.

DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

In this lab we asked the question of: How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it? My hypothesis was: Swish Gatorade around in mouth, scrape the insides of your cheek, spit it back in the cup, put it in a test tube, add pineapple juice, add sugar, add detergent, shake it six times, then slowly pour alcohol into the test tube. After pouring the alcohol into the test tube, small clumps of DNA rose to the top with the alcohol. The detergent, sugar, and juice was protease to lysis the DNA, being catabolic. This result happened because the juice, sugar, and detergent helped the DNA come out, and the alcohol was made the DNA float up.
While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to the amount of detergent or juice we put in, because the drops could vary in sizes. In future experiments, measuring out the liquid before pouring it in would be easier. Also, while swishing the Gatorade, people could have swished the Gatorade for different amounts of time, causing more or less cheek cells to come off. We could have had a timer to be more exact next time.
This lab was done to demonstrate the steps and process to extract DNA. From this lab, I learned how to get DNA from my cells, which helps me understand how DNA works inside the cell. Based on my experience from this lab, I understand how polar and nonpolar substances can separate other substances.

Unit 4 Reflection

This unit was about genetics, and what makes us human. It was about DNA and RNA, and how our genes are passed on from our parents. I understood the Punnett square the most, while meiosis was a bit confusing. I learned how I got my genes and traits, and what parent gives which traits. The infographic helped me because I had to research and find many things, so I read more information about the topic. 
My  scores from the VARK website were:
Visual 10 , Aural 2 , Read/Write 5, Kinesthetic 10
My results were expected because I took a test similar to this before. I can usually learn better when I see someone do it or do it myself.  I can practice other other forms of studying that I'm not as strong in to help me get better.

Coin Sex Lab

In this lab, we flipped coins to demonstrate how meiosis works. Alleles are randomly chosen in recombination to determine the genes of the offspring. The coins acted as the alleles, the opposite sides being chosen as we flipped them. We could determine the probability of certain traits by using a punnett square. For Sex of Offspring, we expected 50% to 50% for having a male or female. The coins we flipped represented x-linked inheritance, because it determined the sex of the child. We got what we expected, because five out of our 10 flips were girl, and five were boys. For autosomal dominance, we predicted 50 percent of the 10 children would be bipolar. This represented autosomes. We got 5 children would have bipolar disorder, what we predicted, Bb, heterozygous, meant a bipolar individual. bb, homozygous, meant that the child was healthy. The Dihybrid cross- Looking at two traits together demonstrated diybrid crosses, as opposed to a monohybrid cross, which is the inheritance of a single trait. Most of our results were almost exact with our predictions. Using probability will never be 100% sure, because mutations can happen. In my life, I could use this if I ever have children and want to see what traits they could get.

Infographic

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/9066050-science-in-genetics

Unit 3 Reflection

Unit three was about cells. The chapters inside it were: cell structure and function, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and cell growth and division. In chapter 7 section 1, the main idea was the cell theory and the two main types of cells, prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In chapter 7 section 2, the main idea was to learn about the different organelles inside a cell, and what each one does. In chapter 7 section 3, the main idea was about the cell membrane and cell wall, and how things go in and out from diffusion and osmosis. In chapter 7 section 4, it talked about how cells are meant to do different things, and the four levels of organization. In chapter 8 section 1, it explained what plants use for their source of energy, and what ATP does for the plant cell. In chapter 8 section 2, it talked about what led to the discovery of photosynthesis, and the photosynthesis equation. In chapter 8 section 3, it described in detail the cycles, reactants, and products of photosynthesis. In chapter 9 section 1, it described glycolysis and fermentation. In chapter 9 section 2, it described the Krebs cycle and electron transport chain. In chapter 10 section 1, it talked about about how a cell produces by cell division. In chapter 10 section 2, it talked about the main events of the cell cycle, and the four phases of mitosis. In chapter 10 section 3, it talked about how a cell regulates cell division, explains how cancer cells are uncontrollable.
My strengths in this unit were understanding the basic process of photosynthesis and where it happens. I understood the cycles and how it takes energy from the sun to make glucose. The diagram we copied down in class helped me visualize the process. My weaknesses were understanding the cellular respiration process, because I don't completely where and how some things are happening. Also, I have can't remember all of the organelles of a cell's names and functions.
From these experiences, I've seen part of the microscopic world from our lab of looking at different types of cells.  I also know what is happening inside my body as I exercise. I want to learn more about cells and what kinds of different cells there are. I also want to see different kinds things under the microscope. I am planning to study for the test by reading over my notes and review the textbook. I will also look at the end of the chapter questions.

Egg Diffusion Lab

In this lab, we put two vinegar-soaked eggs into corn syrup and deionized water. We measured the circumference and mass of each egg before and after putting the eggs into the water and corn syrup.The egg in deionized water shrunk less than one gram. The egg in deionized water shrank to over less than half its original size. The average of the change in mass was 1.8%, showing that the egg's mass slightly increased. This shows that more water diffused inside the cell, having more solute. The average of the egg's circumference was 4.3% showing it also slightly increased in size. For the egg in corn syrup, the average change in mass was -47.25% showing that the egg almost shrank to half its normal size. The circumference decreased by -22.94%, showing that there was a bit of empty space inside the egg's membrane. This shows that the sugar water has less solute that the egg, so the solutes had diffuse out of the cell, making the egg smaller. The corn syrup was a hypertonic solution, while the deionized water was a hypotonic solution. When we put the egg in vinegar, the vinegar dissolved the shell, then started to act as a hypotonic solution because of the water inside the vinegar.This caused the egg to expand a bit. When we put the egg into water, the egg  stayed at about the same size. When one of the eggs was put into corn syrup, the egg shriveled because solute was being diffused out of the egg membrane from high concentration to low concentration. 

In class, we learned about passive diffusion and how diffusion goes from high to low. In real life, we cannot drink salt water. This is because the salt inside the water would take the water from our body, and make us even more thirsty or even dehydrated. In markets, vegetables are sprinkled with water so they stay looking fresh and big, so they won't look small and shriveled up. In the future, I would want to test what would happen if I replaced the egg with a tomato. Would the same things happen to the tomato?

Group #	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	AVG
(DI Water) % Change in Mass	N/A	N/A	0.74%	0.37%	0.45%	N/A	6.95%	1.80%
(DI Water) % Change in Circumference	N/A	N/A	1.20%	1.70%	0%	N/A	14.37%	4.30%
(Sugar Water) % Change in Mass	-46.70%	-52.80%	-52.60%	-49.70%	-41.75%	-39.58%	-47.70%	-47.25%
(Sugar Water) % Change in Circumference	-22.40%	-18.75%	-26.30%	-26.60%	-32.35%	-21.21%	-13%	-22.94%

Egg Cell Macro Molecules Lab

In this lab, we asked the question of "Can macro-molecules be identified in an egg cell?". I found that egg membrane, egg yolk, and egg white had polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. I thought that egg yolk would have lipids and monosaccharides, egg membrane would have proteins and polysaccarides, and egg white would have protein and polysaccharides. But the results were different. For monosaccharides, only the egg yolk and egg white had monosaccharides, the egg membrane didn't. We knew that the egg white and egg yolk both had monosaccharides when we added Benedicts solution, and they both turned dark and light green. We knew that the egg membrane didn't have monosaccharides because after adding Benedicts solution, the egg membrane turned light blue. We knew that egg membrane, egg yolk, and egg white all had polysaccharides because they all turned shades of black when we added iodine. When we added sodium hydroxide, the egg membrane. yolk, and white all turned purple. The egg yolk turned dark purple, and the egg membrane was light purple. Sudan III turned egg membrane and egg white into a shade of pink and orange. It turned egg yolk completely orange, proving that there were lipids inside them. The result was likely caused by the fact that monosaccharides, polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids, were inside the egg membrane, egg yolk, and egg white.
Our data was unexpected because we could have had bits of egg white with egg yolk, and egg white with the egg membrane. This could have made the indicators change color because there was some different part of the egg part, making it think the macromolecule was present. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend gently putting the cell membrane into water before testing, and letting all of the egg white out before putting the egg yolk down, making the chance of egg white interfering less. Also, our data was unexpected from the recording of color. If a color was very dark brown, someone might write black, and dark pink might be red. In future experiments, I would recommend having a reference sheet of colors to look at, to match the closest color.
This lab was done to demonstrate how different parts of an egg are like a cell. From this lab, I learned what macromolecules are in different parts of the egg, which helps me understand the concept of a cell. Based on my experience from this lab, I could know what to eat for each macromolecule.

The Ocean Floor

The one of the 20 big questions in science that interests me the most is "What's at the bottom of the ocean?". We have always lived on Earth, and even have been outside of our planet, but we still haven't explored a big part of our planet. 71 percent of our planet is covered in oceans, but we have only explored most of the land on our planet. The ocean is like a whole new universe, with all kinds of creatures. Many new types of creatures and animals are still being discovered in the ocean. The bottom of the ocean is pitch dark, and has very high water pressure, and creatures can still survive there. We have discovered only 5 percent of the ocean, and scientists believe that there could be a cure to Alzheimer's disease at the bottom of the ocean.

20 Questions:
How far will technology go?
How long will humans live for?
Is there anything we can build to explore the sun?
How do ants elect their queen?
Where did the moon come from?
How can ants smell sugar?
How does mold form?
What is inside a black hole?
How conscious are animals?
How did humans learn how to make fire.
What will humans evolve to look like in the future?
What animals are out there that we haven't discovered?
How are cells made?
How did the first organism form?
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
Why do some insects feed off of blood?
Is there an exact copy of you somewhere?
How do dolphins communicate?
How many people do you talk to in your life?
How do spiders know where to spin their web?

Identifying Questions and Hypotheses

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, has detected signatures of hydrated minerals on today's Mars. The question was to figure out if Mars had water or not, and scientists have suspected that there was water on Mars, because of Mars probes finding hints of water. But now, the MRO has discovered dark streaks on slopes, which indicates a seasonal flow of water. The streaks were found on slopes, like Hale Crater. During the warmer seasons, the steaks would darken and seem to flow, and would disappear during colder seasons. Scientists decided that if the streaks got darker during warmer seasons, which indicates it became liquid, and cooler in the colder seasons, which indicates it became frozen, then there is water on Mars.


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Unit 2 Reflection

In unit 2, I learned about atoms, and the other tiny molecules that make up the universe. It talked about how atoms make up things in our body, from a molecule to a protein and lipid. It talked about how enzymes speed up the process of cells, and how they can denature when the pH or temperature is not optimal. It talked about different types of carbohydrates, monosaccharides, polysaccharides, and disaccharides, and how the number of rings can determine the effectiveness of the sugar. It also also talked about the four big macromolecules, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. I understood the carbohydrates and the four types of sugar well, but didn’t understand the four structures of protein structure.  From this unit, I’ve learned more about what to eat if I want lasting energy, and the reason why milk spoils. I’ve also learned about the different types of sugar and how each one powers the body differently.I want to learn more about how molecules communicate with each other.

Cheese Lab

In this lab, we asked the question of what the optimal conditions and curdling agents for making cheese. My hypothesis was that if renin comes from a calf's stomach, then the optimal conditions to curdle milk would be warm and acidic. We found that curdling agents in a hot and acidic environment would make milk curl faster. We found out that both renin and chymosin in a hot and acidic environment curled within five minutes. This shows that an acidic and hot environment will speed up curdling. I would recommend using chymosin in two pH at a hot temperature to curl as fast as possible.

While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to the measurement of the acid, base, curdling agent, and the milk. Putting too much curdling agent and acid could have decreased the time it took to curdle the milk. Putting too much base or milk could have slowed down the time to curdle. This could have been fixed by using a small graduated cylinder to measure. There also could have been differences in the time that we took the test tube out to check for curdling. Some were taken out for longer amounts of time, and others shorter. This could have been fixed if we put a set amount of time, like fifteen seconds, to inspect the test tube.

This lab was done to demonstrate how different pH and temperatures affect the different types of enzymes. From this lab, I learned how enzymes react to different environments, which helps me understand more of how enzymes work. In class, I’ve learned about how enzymes denature when the pH and temperature aren’t optimal, and this lab showed that. Based on my experience from this lab, I understand how milk spoils, and what I can do to prevent it from spoiling.

	Time to Curdle (minutes)
Curdling Agent:	Chymosin	Rennin	Buttermilk	Milk (control)
Acid	5	5	5
Base	20
pH Control	15	10
Cold
Hot	5	5
Temp Control	10	10

Sweetness Lab

Sweetness Lab

Brandon Yuen

In this lab, we asked the question, “Which carbohydrates taste sweet and which ones don’t?” My hypothesis was that if the one ringed carbohydrates would taste sweeter, then the glucose should also taste sweeter. I thought fructose, sucrose, and maltose would taste sweet, while galactose, lactose, cellulose, and starch wouldn’t taste sweet. We found that glucose, fructose, and galactose tasted the sweetest, while starch and cellulose, the three or more ringed carbohydrates, tasted less sweet. This result was likely caused by the number of rings each carbohydrate has. The monosaccharides tested the sweetest, the disaccharides less sweet, and finally the polysaccharides, which were the least sweet.

While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors due to the difference of taste of different people. Some people could be used to more sugar, while others are used to less. That would make the degree of sweetness become higher or lower. Making groups of people who have or hadn’t eaten many sugary things in a while would help. People might also have just eaten something sweet or not unsweet, mixing up the results too. Eating something bland, like bread, before testing the sweetness of the carbohydrates would help get more accurate results. The degree of sweetness could also have been affected by the portion of the carbohydrate a person got. Giving each person exactly half a teaspoon would have made the results more accurate.

This lab was done to demonstrate how rings affect the taste of different carbohydrates. From the lab I learned that one ringed carbohydrates are sweeter than two and three ringed carbohydrates, which helps me understand the concept of carbohydrates more. Based on my experience from this lab, I know that starch would be less sweet than fructose or glucose. Organisms are affected by the types of carbohydrates from the different amount of energy storage of each one. Three-ringed carbohydrates would give more energy than one-ringed carbohydrates.

Characteristics of Life

Jean Lab

Jean Lab Conclusion

Brandon Yuen

In this lab, we asked, “What concentration of bleach is the best to fade the color out of new denim material in 10 minutes without visible damage to the fabric?” We found that 50% of bleach concentration was the best. It didn’t have much visible damage, and was much lighter than without bleach. The 100% concentration of bleach made the jean square completely white, but it felt flimsy and weak. This happened because bleach is a base, and a base is acidic, so it quickly dissolved bits of the jean square. The 50% concentration of bleach was just right, leaving the jean square strong while still whitening it. The higher the concentration of bleach,  the lighter and weaker it became.

While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors. We put the jean squares into the petri dishes one by one, making some of the jeans soak longer. As we took it out, we also took them out one by one, making some squares soak for longer or shorter periods of time. This could have let some jeans get more bleached than others. Also, while measuring water and bleach, we might not have been completely accurate, making the percentage of bleach concentrations go higher or lower. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend having all group members hold the jeans, and put them into the bleach concentration at the exact same time, also when taking them out.

This lab was done to demonstrate the effects of different concentrations of bleach to jeans. From this lab, I learned about the scientific method, which helps me understand the concept of experimenting. Based on my experience from this lab, I know to use a 50% concentration of bleach to slightly whiten jeans, without making them weak. I also know how to set up and do an experiment following the scientific method.

Concentration (% bleach)	Average Color Removal (scale 1-10)	Average Fabric Damage (scale 1-10)
100	8.67	8
50	5.34	4.67
25	2.67	1.67
12.5	1.33	.33
0	0	0