Portfolios
Life Portfolio
Summary
When the semester started, we initially did an experiment on mealworm behavior, drawing attention to the variables in an experiment and experimental design. We continued with those ideas through an experiment using the effect of Carbon Dioxide on Bromothymol Blue and testing the agonistic response of Betta Fish. We started understanding evolution through simulations such as the Sumo Bot competitions and our own evolution simulations. Lastly, we read medical case studies and learned how to decipher and draw conclusions about them.
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Discoveries
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Mealworms like to interact, don't like heat, and don’t have the mental capacity to process a maze.
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Bromothymol Blue turns yellow when it comes in contacted to Carbon Dioxide
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Betta Fish behave agonistically to lower levels of decibels in music
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Evolution happens through 3 conditions
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1. Random mutations in DNA create VARIATION in living organisms. 2. Mutations in DNA are INHERITED from one generation of living organisms to the next IF mutations exist in the SEX cells of the previous generations. 3. There LIMITED RESOURCES needed for living organisms to survive.
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Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics
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Research
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The present study on the agonistic response of male siamese fighting fish was conducted out of pure curiosity, surrounding the question whether or not the fish would be affected by different types of music. By measuring the decibel levels of five (5) different songs of unalike genres, the case became more accurate. The results of the experiment were that the song with the least amount of decibels, Psychosocial by Slipknot, caused the most amount distress.
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Quiz
The quizzes for this topic were easy for me. They taught me a lot about how to read and find the variables in various articles. They also help me grow as a researcher and teach me how to get things wrong. The things I got incorrect were stupid mistakes, such as not completely reading the directions. I hope to continue getting good grades on tests and quizzes.
Vito, Luke, Annabella, and I did an evolution simulation with beans, showing random mutations.
This image shows the change in color in Bromothymol Blue.
This image is from the medical case study that we read that was about bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
These were our Battle Bots fighting. My group’s is the one on the left
Here you can see three mealworm interacting with each other.
This was our betta fish who was reacting to different types of music.
Energy Portfolio
Summary
During our energy unit, we emphasized cellular respiration and how energy is created. First, we did a soup can activity where we used rope and soup cans to create friction, which produced heat. Second, we learned the formula to determine the energy in food. Next, using yeast cells, we wrote a research paper on the effects of different types of sugar on the production of yeast. We did a patient diagnosis, focusing on type 1 diabetes. Finally, we learned about Blood doping, ATP, and creatine phosphate.
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Discoveries​
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Friction creates heat, which creates energy
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The formula mc(Tf-Ti) allows a person to find the energy in food
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Cold water creates the most yeast and CO2 production
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Type 1 diabetes can be cause a sudden onset of weight loss along, pain when urinating, and chronic extreme hunger. It also can create a strange mold-like substance in the toilet.
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Blood doping is the process where you re-inject red blood cells into your body
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ATP is the energy in a person
Research
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The present study tested the effects of different types of sugar on the release of carbon dioxide in yeast. By conducting various experiments using sugar and yeast, the researchers found that cold water produces more carbon dioxide especially in confectioners and powdered sugar. The data showed that the white sugar rose .6 cm more in cold water than in hot and the confectioners sugar had a difference of 3.45 cm. Thus, these results did not support the theory that hot water would produce more carbon dioxide
Quiz
The quizzes in this topic were challenging for me. They involved lots of critical thinking and close reading. I often made the mistake of not reading the question all the way through, resulting in an incomplete answer. I believe the quizzes we took helped me grow as a researcher, and as a student.
This image shows the process of blood doping
This picture shows heat energy being created through friction
This picture shows the yeast growing
This picture shows the formula to create food calories in action
This picture shows an example of how ATP is made