DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

The question/problem of this lab was how can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it. We separated the DNA by first gargling Gatorade in our mouths and then spitting in back into the cup. WE mixed the Gatorade with detergent, pineapple juice, and salt. After that we added alcohol because the Gatorade is polar and the alcohol is nonpolar which means that they don't mix and that made the DNA go up and be visable. Our claim was that DNA would be visible after we added the alcohol and that is correct because after we added alcohol to the gatorade mixture the DNA was soon visible. My biggest error in this lab was that I accidentally had too much gatorade mixture and when I added alcohol it was too much so when I tried to dump some out I accidentally got rid of way too much and I had barely any gatorade mixture left. The effect it had on my lab was that I didn't have enough of the mixture that barely any DNA came up for mine. The second error was that some of us got gatorade in our DNA when we were trying to separate it and the Gatorade ruined the DNA. 

Two recommendations I would give is first to know exactly what your doing and the next step of the experiment and second don't gargle too much gatorade because we only needed a little. 

The purpose of this lab was to show that it is very easy to find DNA and it can be done anywhere. With just a few steps and materials you can separate DNA from your cheek cells. I can relate this lab to the DNA vodcasts we have went over and also the DNA models we made. This lab can be applied to other situations if your trying to find more DNA, now we know how to separate it. 

Credit: Derek Fung

Unit 4 Reflection

Unit 4 Reflection

This unit was focused on sex and reproduction. Some of my strengths in this unit were understanding the punnett square. At first I didn't completely understand it but after I reviewed my vodcasts and practiced them online they made a lot of sense. Another thing that I was good at was memorizing the benefits and costs of both asexual and sexual reproduction. My setback in this unit would definitely be the mitosis vs meiosis and their processes like interphase, prophase, etc. While doing my infographic I learned more about this unit and it was definitely a fun project because it was a way to learn from colorful pictures and fonts that really draws your attention. Some of my successes during studying would be that I used real life examples that helped me understand better. For the codominance and incomplete dominance I tried thinking of real life situations that have happened to be or my family that helped me remember which on is which. 

My scores were:

• Visual 12
• Aural 13
• Read/Write 8
• Kinesthetic 8

My scores surprised me a little because I thought I would have scored higher on the kinesthetic and much lower on aural. 

Coin Sex Lab Relate and Review

Coin Sex Lab Relate and Review

 In the lab, we tested how coins can represent gene segregation or meiosis. The coins represented the gene. We labeled the coins with specific capital and lower case letters. We flipped the coins randomly to see what we got. For one part of the lab we used a capital B to represent a bipolar allele and a lower case b to represent a normal allele. The probability of having a bipolar offspring would be 50%. Homozygous is two of the same alleles and heterozygous is two different alleles.

In the dihybrid experiment, we modeled the process of recombination when we combined the results of our coins to make traits for the "offspring". X-linked inheritance will give you traits on the x chromosome and Autosomal alleles are disorders that are genetically linked. Monohybrid is the mating between two people with different alleles. 

The limit of using probability to predict an offspring's traits would be how many possible traits the coins have that represent the "parents". 

This understanding relates to my life because now I know how I got my genes and how my parents received their traits. My grandfather had blue eyes and know I know why none of my mothers' brothers and sisters never got blue eyes. This also relates to my life because if I ever have children I can use the punnett square to determine the probability that my children will have certain traits. 

My Infographic

Here's the larger version of my infographic that I published on the original website 

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/9419259-untitled-infographic-conflict-copy

Unit 3 Reflection

Unit 3 Reflection

This unit was about Cells and what is inside them. It was also about photosynthesis vs cellular respiration. We learned about the different organelles in a cell and what there structure and function is. 

In this unit, some of my strengths were learning the difference between prokaryote and eukaryote cells. Prokaryote cells have no nucleus and are typically smaller that eukaryote cells that have a nucleus. One weakness in this unit for me was learning all the different roles of the organelles and how each one is used. One topic that I completely understood was passive transport vs active transport. Passive requires no energy but active requires energy. The labs that we performed in class really helped me use what I learned and apply it in the labs. 

For this incoming test I had/am going to review all my notes and watch the hardest vodcast agin. I'm also going to read the chapter that I didn't chose to take notes on which would be chapter 8. 

Egg Diffusion Lab

 Egg Diffusion Lab

 In this lab we asked how and why does a cell's internal environment change, as it's external environment changes? During this lab we first placed the eggs in vinegar for more than 48 hours and after we took them out of the vinegar we washed them and then placed them into a different substance. The vinegar removed the membrane. 

 While looking at the class data I notice that after the sugar concentration increased the mass and circumference of the egg decreased. The change was cause by passive diffusion when an area of high concentration moves to an area of low concentration. Also more solute inside the cell 

A cell's internal environment changes as it's external changes because of diffusion. It would move from areas of high concentration to low concentration until they reach eqilibrium. After placing the eggs in vinegar, water, and sugar the eggs had shrunk and grown. After placing it in vinegar it shrunk but when we placed them in water and sugar the egg grew. 

This lab demonstrates the biological principal that a cell's internal environment changes as it's external environment changes. This lab demonstrated this principal. 

I can relate this lab to real life with examples like why fresh vegetables are sprinkled with water at markets the water is keeping the vegetables fresh with hypertonic solutions. They are solutions with less solute concentration that what is inside the cell with cells gaining water.  

Based on this experiment the next thing I would want to test would be placing the egg in oil because vinegar and oil are opposites and they don't mix so I would like to know if it would do the opposite of what the vinegar did to the egg or if it would do the same thing. 

Egg Macromolecule Lab

In this lab we asked the question Can macromolecules be identified in an egg cell? We found that for the cell membrane, there were polysaccharides and lipids. The polysaccharides turned black and the lipids turned orange. Membranes are made of phospholipids. For the egg white they had all four macromolecules, proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, and monosaccharides. The proteins turned purple and they were their because they are important for growth and development. Also enzymes are for immunity. The lipids turned orange, the polysaccharides turned black, and the monosaccharides turned green. They are all easy for growth and development. The yolk also carried all the macromolecules and they all made proteins. They turned the same colors as for the egg whites.

A few errors that we made during our experiment that may have affected our results were that when I was pouring the egg whites, yolk, and membrane into my test tubes I accidentally used the same pipet for everything but when I realized we weren't supposed to do that I stopped. I don't know if this affected our results but I won't do that next time because it might affect the data. Another error was that one of our table partners more water into the test tubes and it was inaccurate. He had pours either more or less and that might have affected our colors in the results. In future experiments I will definitely be more careful with accuracy because in some labs it can affect your data greatly. We have to be more careful when we read the directions and also try to be as accurate with the water.

The purpose of this lab was to show what kinds of macromolecules are present in different parts of the egg. I don't have much to relate this lab to but I can relate this with previously working with eggs in cooking. In this lab we went in depth on the different parts of the egg. Mr. Orre was saying that there is a thin cell membrane around the yolk and thats what keeps it together. I remembered seeing the membrane during cooking when I cracked the egg and there was a shiny layer over the yolk which now I know is called the membrane. Overall from this lab I learned a lot about eggs and what things affect them. I also learned about the different types of macromolecules in the egg and what their purpose is. I am definitely more familiar with the roles of macromolecules and that could help me on a test.