March 25, 2008, Tara Landsbergen, 3/3

amylase enzyme:
What We Did Today:

• Intro to Human Organism Unit
• Are You Ready? Pg. 238 1, 2, 4, 5a, 6ab, 7ab
• Nutrients
• Enzymes
• Preparation for lab, Pg. 274

Thoughts and Opinions:

• Really exciting that we're finally starting the human body and its functions!!!  
• The Are You Ready exercise was a bit of a wake up call, but a good one.  
• Interesting how the enzymes work.
  
• Can you overdose with vitamins?

Above and Beyond:

Yes, you can overdose with vitamins.  Overdoses can lead to side- effects like birth defects, osteoporosis, it mostly effects the central nervous system.  Symptoms of Vitamin A toxicity are headaches, dizziness, vomiting, incoordination and blurred vision.

-www.syl.com

March 28th, 2008 Debora Obrist 2/5?/3

What We Did Today:

• Discussed rewrites on yesterday's quiz.
• Continued our discussion on the Digestive System.
• Discussed the 'papple' and how it would get digested after being broken down into dextrin and disaccharides and stuff.
  
• Did some questions.

Thoughts and Opinions:

• How long does gum reeeally stay in your system?
  

Above and Beyond:

• Nope, it gets egested just like all other roughage that enters your intestines. -Yahoo Answers.

I was told to put this on here even though it ties into our cellular respiration more than this unit... Click the link!

February 19, 2008 Amy Kidd 3/3

What we did today:

- photosynthesis candy lab

- tried to do a "virtual lab" but it didn't work

Thoughts and Opinions:

It helped to do the lab because it told us how much we actually knew about photosynthesis and what we needed to know for the test.

Above and Beyond:

This is pretty much the breakdown of photosynthesis.

Feb. 18, 2008 Mikki Johnston 3/3

What we did today:

1. Went over lab
2. Worked on the assigned questions
3. Looked over Candy lab

I can't really remember anything else we did...

Thoughts and Opinions

As we were talking about the paper chromatography I thought about what pigments can tell you about the plant.

Above and beyond

When I was thinking about chromatography I researched about what it tells you about the plant. This is what I found out: It tells you about the pigments in the plant. (Which we knew) In terrestrial plants, chlorophyll's a and b are usually found, along with carotene's and xanthophylls.This sweet website had some information about it so check it out:http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1996-12/850157309.Ag.r.html Also check this tight website out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_chromatography

Kimara Gratton, March 17, 3/3

What we did today:

• Pre-lab quiz page 195
• Pigment chromatography lab
• Assignment questions.....there were a lot!!

Thoughts and opinions:

When we were doing the lab i was thinking about what other chemicals were used to bring out different pigments in the spinach.

Above and beyond:

so i was researching and came upon this sweet chart on this tight web site http://shankardyes.tradeindia.com/ where there is a chart telling you all about this sweet stuff!!! ( i tried to copy the chart but it wouldnt copy right)

Craig Bourgonje, March 12 3/3

What we did:
1. Asked Mr.C questions about cellular respiration.
2. Wrote cellular respiration test.
3. Sat quietly while Vadge drew pictures.
4. Mr.C showed us an article on spinach computers.
5. Looked at slides on cellular respiration.
6. Took a 3 minute break.

Thoughts and opinions:

When we were talking about computers than ran on spinach, I though it would be $#@! WICKED if someone could figure out how to make vehicles that run on vegetables. It made me wonder how green this earth would be if combustion engines were replaced with vegetables engines.

Above and beyond:

The set of spinach proteins, known as Photosystem I, is a well-known component of the photosynthetic process. Until now, however, nobody had been able to figure out how to make them work in combination with electronic circuitry because the proteins cannot survive without water and salt—ingredients that do not mix well with electronics. Zhang solved the incompatibility by creating “detergent peptides,” molecules that form protective shells around the photosynthetic proteins. The peptides seem to hold water inside their shells and prevent it from leaking out. “They keep Photosystem I wet and stable but keep the water away from attached electronics,” Zhang says.

Mitch Bach -- March 10, 2008 -- 3/3

What We Did

• Handed in Bottle Biosphere Project
  
• Chalk and talk with anaerobic and aerobic Cellular Resperation
  
• Questions that were not for marks
  

Thoughts and Opinions:

When we were discussing lactic acid, I wondered if there was some kind of a lethal dose of it, a set amount that could kill an average human. I also wondered if there were any animals that naturally perform cellular resperation anaerobically.

Above and Beyond

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid, the highest that it can potentially rise to is 20 mmol/L. Through my understanding, anything greater then that could cause toxic effects, even though lactate doesn't act like a "real" acid. The only kinds of animals/micro-organisms that perform anaerobic are obligate anearobes and facultatave anearobic organisms.

Lindsay Baker, March 11, 2008 3/3

What We Did Today:

• Finished questions really fast
• Discussed products of yeast fermentation
• C02 + ethanol + 2 ATP
• Discussed products of anaerobic respiration
• Lactic Acid + 2 ATP
• Got bottle biosphere project back! WOOO. I did good.
  
• Learned that H2S is hella deadly because it blocks off a part of the electron transport chain
• Prepared for the UNIT TEST! I did not so good.
  

Thoughts and Opinions:

Everything was pretty interesting. I understood all that junk. I learned you can eat a whole bottle of tums and it's almost like 'roidin'. Without the 'roid rage. I also found that I can't use terms like "whatnot" and "sass" in school projects. Shucks.

Above and Beyond:

Steroids taken for an extended period of time can cause:

• stunted growth in teens (by causing bones to mature too fast and stop growing at an early age)
• liver tumors
• abnormal enlargement of the heart muscles
• violent, aggressive behavior and mood swings
• blood lipid abnormalities that contribute to heart disease
• acne (or a worsening of acne)
• increased breast growth in males, especially teens
• irreversible stretch marks
• a heightened tendency for hair loss and male-pattern baldness
• muscle aches

Teen girls and women risk these additional side effects:

• male-type facial and body hair growth and male-pattern baldness
• deepening of the voice

Sodium bicarbonate, on the other hand, is used to relieve itches from bacterial infections and poison ivy. It can be used to clean your ears when it's in a 10% concentrated solution. It's also used as a base in crack cocaine.

So, if I had to choose between anabolic steroids and chuggin' sodium bicarbonate, I'd do the latter. Even if I had to deal with large doses of diarrhea. (ps; I'm making fun of you, Batch.)

Katie Foster, March 13, 3/3

Today we..

• received a progress report
• got our Cellular respiration tests back
• did a quick quiz on photosynthesis
• and talked about photo systems in cells

My Thought and Opinions.

Today's discussion made me wonder if there is more than one type of antenna pigments. I also thought about some other differences between photo system 1 and photo system 2, and what those might be. What is ferredoxin? and also, who discovered photo system 1 and 2.

Above and Beyond.

I found by looking at wikipedia that ferredoxin is a compound made of iron and redox. i also found that fossils of what are thought to be filamentous photosynthetic organisms have been dated at 3.4 billion years old. I was unable to find the discoverers of the 2 photo systems.

Kristi Joy Young, March 6/08, 3/3

What we did today:

• Review Homework - Kreb Cycle


• ETC text book reading pages 216-19, also handout and animated cycle


• Quick overview and some notes


• Double block so we came back and enjoyed a Candy Lab =D made a few of us very happy to be in Bio for that time


• Finished off the 136 minutes of bio by being handed a take home quiz =(
  

Thoughts and Opinions



These two classes really helped me to fully understand cellular respiration. The Candy Lab made the four stages a lot more clear on what was happening. I think that you shouldn't use good candy because it just made us kids eat lots and get hyper and then have you yell at us. So really it was your fault we were pretty outrageous. Anyways, these two classes made the four stages of cellular respiration easier to understand by getting further into detail with a hands on activity.



Above and Beyond





Jumbo Gums- One of God's many great gifts to this world....are soft and chewy jelly candies that are made with real fruit juice! They are offered in an assortment of six delicious flavours including orange, lemon, lime, liquorice, raspberry, and pineapple. Ingredients
Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Apple Juice from Concentrate, Glucose-Fructose/Dextrose, Natural and Artificial Flavours, Colour including Yellow #5






Well, this has been fun and all but I got some math homework to do so check ya'll latah!

Cody Vewchar, March 5/08, 3/3

What we did today:

1. Talked about Pyruvate Oxidation and filled in our diagram in booklet
2. Mr. C got a caramel chocolate bar and showed us how the four stages of cellular respiration work
3. We started discussing the Krebs Cycle in more detail and started to fill in our booklets about it
4. Mr. C had to give us abit of homework and made us finish the diagram about the Krebs Cycle

Thoughts and Opinions

I thought this class was really interesting. I did not know any of it and learned a lot of new stuff. The whole time Mr. C was dividing up that chocolate bar all I could think about was how good it would be to eat it right now. During our discussion about Pyruvate Oxidation and the Krebs Cycle I was wondering how many enzymes it actually takes to perform these processes.

Above and Beyond

In this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle is lists all the enzymes involved in the citric acid cycle. And in this website http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~brandt/Chem330/Pyruvate_DH.pdf it also talks about some enzymes involved in pyruvate oxidation.

Rachel Schneider - March 3, 2008 3/3

A bit late... whatever. :)

What went down on March 3rd:

~Bottle Biosphere project was due (with guide mark)
~Had a quick quick on Active and Passive Transport
~Loads more of notes on Cellular Respiration. Yaaay.

What I thought about what went down on March 3rd:

Well, I need to learn how to remember stuff about active and passive transport. Yes I do.
So Cellular Respiration is pretty difficult.. I'm glad we don't have to write too many notes like we did in grade 10...

But as crazy as all this stuff is, it's interesting.

Darn it, Melissa beat me to 'Infinity and Beyond'... I wanted to be Buzz Lightyear first:

So during the class, Mr. C was talking about that Krebs dude, Hans Adolf Krebs is his name, and how he came up with the citric acid cycle in, when was it, 19-freakin'-37?! I really don't know how he managed to come up with that stuff back then, or any scientists for that matter. Then again, it was probably quite basic compared to now, seeing as there's so much technology now-a-days to discover more parts to cycles and what not. I'd love to go look up how they did it, but that's kind of a difficult subject to look up if you ask me.. (or I'm just being lazy..) But click here to see a whole buch of stuff on Hans Adolf Krebs. And here's a picture of that lovely cycle that crazy guy discovered (what a genius!):

-Rachel, a 'kick butt' Bio 20 student.

Oh right.

Hayley Tarnasky, March 4/2008-- 3/3

What we did:

• First off we got to listen to Mr.C explain some background information about fats, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates


• Then Mr.C gave us a booklet of handouts


• After he got reorganized, he turned on the overhead projector and put on a transparent version of the first sheet!


• He explained about the 4 Stages: i)Glycolysis- which happens to be located in the cytoplasm


• ii) PAC(or Pyruvic Acid Conversion/Pyruvate oxidation)- located in the inner membrane/ mitochondria matrix


• iii) Krebs Cycle( aka citric acid cycle)- mitochondria matix


• iv) Energy Transport Chain ( cytochrome system)- in the mitochondria
• We got to learn about ATP and ADP


• Listened to Mr. C talk about the order of the 4 stages


• Learned the analogy of the "H" and taxis and then repeating until theres a lot of "H"s


• Filled in the first two pages of the worksheet


• Looked at the diagram of Glycolysis


• Finally, the bell rang


• That is a lot of stuff to remember!

Thoughts/ Opinions

• I think that the overhead was a good method of showing us the diagrams


• It was for sure a good idea to give us the background information


• Is it possible for humans or plants to survive without ADP and ATP?

Above and Beyond:

• So Mr.C said we're just scratching the surface, so I decided to dig a little deeper!


• http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/CellularRespiration.html


• My suggestion is that you just look at the pictures because the terminology is easily past high school

Melissa Schneider, Feb. 29/08, 3/3

AHA, I get to do a blog post on Leap Day.

Well, sort of, since it's actually March 1st . . . darn. Why did I have to forget about the blog yesterday?

What We Did Today (yesterday):

1. Wrote the Unit 1 Test. (food chains/webs, trophic levels, energy transfer; N, P & C cycles, etc.)
2. Marked the Unit 1 Test.
3. Was assigned Are You Ready? questions on page 176 (review for quiz on Monday), and to read pages 207-209 in textbook.
4. Was reminded that Bottle Biosphere project is due on Monday. (Mark your own project before handing it in!)

Thoughts & Opinions:

• The test was "easy peasy", which meant that Mr. C taught the right stuff!
• Err, we didn't learn anything new, so I don't know what else to say. . .

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND:

A random piece of Bio information for you all . . .

This site: http://www.geocities.com/ultrastupidneal/Knowledge-Biology-Fact.html says that at 200 degrees Celsius, sucrose will melt into caramel! I know, WOW, right?

A very complicated equation of caramel. kthxbai.