Vascular Plants

Vascular plants also known as tracheophytes are a large group of plants that have a xylem and phloem for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant.
Looking under a microscope we can see the roots, stem and leaves of vascular plants.
Roots
Roots have 4 major functions in serving a plant, 1) The absorbtion of water and nutrients, 2) Supporting and anchoring the plant in the ground, 3) storage of food and nutrients, and 4) in some cases producing vegetation.
The specialized structures that allow roots to perform these functions are the xylem and phloem. The xylem being the tube that transports water and the phloem being the tube that transports nutrients, sugars, and amnio acids.

Magnification : Medium

Stems
Stems have 4 major functions in serving the plant, 1) Support for the leaves/flowers, 2)Transport of fluids from the roots to leaves, 3)storage of nutrients, 4)Production of new living tissue.
The difference between woody stems and herbaceous are that woody stems are above ground and covered in thick bark. They are adapted to survive from one year to the next. Woody plants form new tissue each year.
Herbaceous plant are plants that die down after the growing season. They die completely when they have flowered or fruited and then grow again from seed.



Leaves
The major function of the leaf is for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy into chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugar. The formula for photosynthesis is 6CO₂ + 6H₂O (+ light energy) C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O_{2. The stoma is used to control gas exchange. Air containing oxygen and carbon dioxide are enters the plant though this opening and is used in photosynthesis. Which obviosuly benefits both the human and the plant.} 

Magnification: high

Jedi Training - Report Cards

Classification

I am proud of this poster project for the classification unit. Firstly because it was an incredibly fun project and I worked hard on the drawings and had fun with the binomial nomenclature. I also think the quiz on classification demonstated my learning very well as I recieved full marks.

                                                      Taxonomy
The following blogpost was also fun and demonstrates my learning because I was able to look into animals that always peecked my interestes and learn about their classification while comparing them and reflecting on their similarities and differences.
http://jessicatootsie.blogspot.ca/2013/09/classifying-and-comparing.html

                                                      Evolution

For this unit the assignment I am most proud of is the sock puppet video that was done by myself and Cathy. I feel like it showcased my understanding in a straight forward way that let me just explain what I know and to talk about it in a way that I found comfortable.
I am also proud of the evolution poster project. It required some honest to god thinking and a lot of "it can't evolve like that!" It was a nice visual way to see something evolve.

                                                      Viruses

                                                    
I believe the viruses quiz demonstrated my learning as I recieved a perfect score on it. I also think the questions answered on my blog about viruses demonstrated my learning because they were more fact based questions and helped me to understand viruses better
http://jessicatootsie.blogspot.ca/2013/10/viruses.html

                                                  Bacteria/Protist

I believe the bacteria and protist quiz shows my understanding of the unit as I recieved full marks on it.
The following blogpost also shows my understanding of bacteria and the functions of its parts by writing and defining all those functions with a labelled play dough bacteria structure.
http://www.jessicatootsie.blogspot.ca/2013/10/play-dough-bacteria_7621.html

Overall:

I know that my level of assignement completion and blog posts are constantly up to date.And on top of that I have begun to enjoy updating my blog when the oppurtunity arrises. I feel that I could participate in class more by offering my opinion on topics that are being discussed and by joining in on class wide discussions. But overall I feel my quality of work is consistent and that I always work diligently and hard when completing tasks.

My most powerful learning experience was when we looked at the different types of protist under a microscope through the slides. I thought it was amazing to see these amazing types of protist (Volvox!) under a microscope and then to calculate how small they actually are, It really puts all these things into perspection and makes you really think about how small they actually are.

Grades:

 After all is said and done this biology class has truly been something different and because of it I can look around my house and neighbourhood and look at things differently (I will never look at slugs the same way!)and for this report card I would want an A (specifically a 96%).