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%).

The Toughest Creature On Earth

This is a Tardigrade. A microscopic invertebrate animal, also know as a water bear or a moss piglet, it is what is know as a polyextremophile. Meaning an organism that can survive in environments that would normally be detrimental to most life on Earth. This little critter can live for over 100 years without food or water by taking a hibernative state called crytobiosis.

“They roll up into a dried little ball, and just stay dormant, with no sign of life whatsoever. Scientists have rehydrated them from a piece of moss in a museum collection that was a hundred years old. They’ve been frozen and defrosted, put under pressure, subjected to very high temperatures, and zapped with X-Rays. They come out alive and well. Just add water.” – How to Find Tardigrades, by Michael Shaw.

Now, Tardigrades are able to survive temperatures such as absolute zero and up to 300 degrees farenheight. But with these types of abilities what is their purpose? How do they benefit the Earth? They don't. They do absolutly nothing. They aren't know to cause any diseases, or benefit the human race in any way. But they are good at space travel. Yes, these cute little bears have been thrown into space multiple times to see how spaceflight effects organism on a molecular level. They are the first known animal to survive in space. For 10 days they were exposed to the vaccum of space and the majority of them survived to be healthy and reproduce back on Earth.
Tardigrades could also be able support the idea of Panspermia. When organims that can survive that vaccum of space are somehow ejected of Earth to land on another planet in order to activate the process of evolution.

They may one day help us with the future long-term goal of exploring and extending beyond our solar system.

Play Dough Bacteria

A Flagellum: A whip like tail made of thin protein fibres, it is used primarily for movement by creating a propellerlike motion.

B Pili: The small hairlike strands extending from the surface of the cell. They assist in helping to anchor the cell and with exchanging genetic material with another cell via conjugation.

C Capsule: Composed of complex polysaccharides and small proteins. It stores nutrients, is a depot for cellular waste products, and is a shield againts the harmful exterior.

D Cell Wall: Is a rigid structure that helps determine the shape of the cell. It is made of complec organic acids and found in all species of bacteria.

E Plasma Membrane: The layer of the cell that contains the cytoplasm, it is constructed of protein globules suspended in lipids. Is is vital in the transportation of materials in and out of the cell. It also contains many of the cells enzymes.

F Genetic Material: The DNA of the bacteria cell is not held in a nucleus and is instead floating loosely in the cytoplasm.

G Endospore: Ensures the survival of the bacteria through times of stress. It is highly resistant to gamma radiation, temperature, and starvation.

H Plasmid: DNA that is used to be passed from bacteria to bacteria.

I Cytoplasm: The substance that fills the cell. It's main function is to hold all the cells organells in place.

J Ribosomes: Ribosomes are where protein synthesis occurs within a cell. They link amino acids together by mRNA messages and are the catalyst for protien making.

Interim Report Post

Biology 11 with Mrs.Phillips in 5th period has been like no other class I've taken before. Resembling more of a laissez-faire style of learning, I've discovered new ways of learning and displaying my understanding of main topics. In the class so far, I am most proud of the Evolution Videos (Bio Sock Project) that we did to demonstrate our understanding of evolution, DNA, its role in Evolution, and the structure of DNA. I am proud of this project because, given complete creative range, I choose with my partner, to do sock puppets. But mostly because with such broad topics I was able to look deeper and answer the questions with a better level of understanding, even going so far as to learn things not taught in the class or curriculum. I feel I did more than what I thought I initial thought I could accomplish with this assignment. Secondly, I am proud of the two quizzes that we did so far because I got 100% on both of them. Lastly I am proud of the genus project we did earlier in the year. It wasn't a challengning project, but it was the most fun I had doing a project and drawing odd looking species was very entertaining.
If I were to look through my binder to see my work habits (even though most things are online) I would be able to easily say that I have completed all work and that I have no incomplete work, but I do not think my binder is as organized as it could be.
When I look through my blog I am most proud of my paragraph on the spanish flu because I learned so many new things about this pandemic that I had only ever heard about, and I was pleased to know that I retained most of the information aswell. I am also proud of my inquiry about the maned wolf and it's long legs because I learned something new about an animal I had always wondered about.
To me engagment means that you respectivly participate in discussion when the oppurtunity presents itelf. I have contributed by commenting on blog posts and by volunteering my ideas when I am able to.
My goal for this class would be to retain information. Since this class depends on learning by myself I hope that this way I will be able to remember things better. I also want to be better organized for the rest of the semeste.

Incubated Bacteria

Key: 1= door handle

        2=lock on a locker

        3= button on the water fountain

        4=the inside of a used straw

There is no further space for the bacteria to spread. It is mostly the same type of bacteria but in quadrant 4,some of 2 

,and 3 the Petri dish is overrun by what looks like mold. 

Done by Jaime and Jessica

The Flu of 1918

The flu of 1918, also known as the Spanish Flu, or the Great Influenza, took place in 1918 as World War one was coming to a close and it affected people all across the world even in remote pacific islands and the arctic. The virus infected 500 million people across the globe and killed 50 to 100 million of them ( 3-5 percent of the world population at that time). The flu was a type of H1N1 influenza virus and was spread by person to person contact and by indirect contact with contaminated surfaces or items and from sneezes and coughs. The victims suffered greatly, after feeling the initial symptoms of fever, fatigue, and headaches, the victims would turn blue. Sometimes the blue was so strong that it was hard to see what colour the person was before. There was a harsh cough, and sometimes the victims would cough so hard that they would tear abdominal muscles. Foamy blood came out of their mouths and noses, few people bleed from their ears, some vomited and some became incontinent. Many people died only hours after contracting it and some died days after.

 

A short video is below:

click to see video