Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was all about DNA, protein synthesis, the types of mutations and genetic regulation. We learned a lot about DNA, but some things that were key is that DNA has 4 bases of A,T,C,G and that the structure is a double helix. Protein Synthesis is the process for the production of proteins. The first step in protein synthesis is when the RNA polymerase copies the DNA into a RNA strand. This process is called transcription. Then the mRNA leaves the nucleus to try and find a ribosome. The ribosome reads the mRNA at a rate of 3 letters, which is called a codon. The codons are translating into the language of amino acids. The amino acids code for a protein. This is called translation. That chain of amino acids that is made is then called a protein. The types of mutations are point mutations and also frameshift mutations. Point mutations, which include substitution, happen in one area of the gene sequence. Frameshift mutations, which include insertion and deletion, shift the gene sequence for the reader. Gene regulation is when the genes prevents itself from being copied by the RNA polymerase. My strengths for this unit is understanding protein synthesis because I have learned this process before and it Mr. Orre's lessons really helped reinforce the process in my mind. One weakness that I have is understanding gene regulation. The reason for this was I was confused while watching the vodcast, but now I have a better understanding after Mr. Orre's diagram. I am a better student than before the unit because I learned about protein synthesis, mutations and also gene regulation in more detail. Now I can tell people how the processes work. Some things that I want to learn more about is the detail in gene regulation for eukaryotes. I wonder about how detailed gene regulation can get.

Protein Synthesis Lab

Protein Synthesis has three steps. First of all, there is transcription. During transcription, the DNA is replicated into an mRNA strand. Then the mRNA strand leaves the nucleus and enters the cytoplasm. In the cytoplasm, the mRNA arrives in the ribosome. The ribosome reads the mRNA 3 bases at a time, which is called a codon. It translates the mRNA strand into a language that the protein can understand, and that language is called amino acids. The end result is a chain of amino acids and this chain folds and twists until it becomes a protein.

Based on the experiment, I can conclude that mutations are very random in a sense that they might have a large effect or maybe no effect at all on the organism. The mutations that seemed to have the greatest effect on the gene sequence and the protein is deletion. When I simulated deletion, the DNA sequence changed significantly. In the DNA sequence without any mutations, the protein had a long chain of amino acids. However, when there was a deletion of a base pair, the mutation formed a stop codon very early in the sequence. This made the protein very short. Other mutations that I simulated were insertion and substitution. Insertion made a difference big enough in the sequence to change the protein. When I simulated substitution, the protein did not change at all. This proves that the effect mutations have is completely random. Mutations do have a difference in the impact of where they are placed. The protein will have a bigger difference if the mutation is in the beginning instead of later on in the sequence.

In step 7, we got to choose our own mutation. I chose to do deletion and deleted the first and third base of the entire sequence. The reason that I chose to do deletion was because it made the biggest impact and I wanted to test how far a mutation can change the protein. After I finished translating from the RNA strand to the amino acid language, I found out that with my mutation, the protein never had the start codon, so the protein never started to be made. Yes it definitely does make a difference if you put the mutation in the beginning than in the end. The reason for this is if the mutation is at the beginning, there is a higher chance that there will be a mutation that will make an impact on the protein.

One mutation that causes a disease that we have not learnt in class this year is a disease called Hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis, also known as "werewolf syndrome", is a very rare disease and is a disease that is formed by a mutation in chromosome 8. The chance of getting this disease is one in a billion and only 50 cases have been reported. This disease creates a lot of hair on the face, ears and the shoulders.

DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

In this lab, we asked the question, "How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it?" We found that DNA could be separated from the cheek cells by alcohol through a simple procedure. First of all, we have to scrape the sides of our cheek with our cheeks. Then we had to put a little but of gatorade in our mouth and then we swished the fluid for 30 seconds. Then we spit it back into the cup. After that, we had to add 10 drops of pineapple juice, which served as the enzyme for the experiment, 10 drops of dish soap and lastly a little bit of salt. Then we put the liquid in a test tube and inverted it 6 times. After that, we added some cold rubbing alcohol, which made the DNA visible. The reason that the DNA became visible was because of a few key steps. One key step was the salt that was added. This facilitated the precipitation of the DNA with caused the DNA to become a solid. Also, the soap water helped lyse the cell membranes. The pineapple juice helped break down the histones of the DNA. Lastly, the alcohol, which is non polar, and the DNA, which is polar, were put together so that the DNA would come out of the solution and become visible. This evidence does support our claim because the procedure showed that the DNA separated.

One error that could have occurred was during the part when you added the alcohol. The alcohol could have mixed with the solution if you were not careful when putting the alcohol in. This could have effected the final result because then the DNA would not become visible. Another error that could have occurred was the amount of pineapple juice that was put into the gatorade. This could have made an effect because if there was too little enzyme that was put in, then the DNA would not precipitate enough to become fully visible and separated. This would also change the end result because then the DNA would not be fully visible. Some recommendations that I have for this lab in the future is that there should be more precise measurements because 10 drops is not very specific. Another recommendation is that there should be an easier way to make sure that the alcohol and the DNA do not mix rather than just tilting the test tube and pouring in the alcohol.

The purpose of this lab was done to figure out if DNA was indeed able to be separated from cheek cells. This lab relates to enzymes and how they work to separate DNA. Based on my experience from this lab, I could apply the knowledge that I learnt and apply it to separating DNA not only from our mouth but from different parts of our body.

Unit 4 Reflection

Unit 4 was all about sex and how it is so essential for life on Earth. The themes about this unit was all about the cell cycle and Mendel's laws in genetics. We also learned about genetics and the difference between mitosis and meiosis. Some of my strengths in this unit was predicting the traits of the offspring along with the process of mitosis. The reason that I was strong in mitosis was because I learned about the process in detail last year, One weakness that I had was distinguishing the similarities and the differences of the between mitosis and meiosis. I learned a lot from the infographics because the infographic made me understand the different topics in the infographic, in order to find the appropriate pictures to use for each block. The labs that we did for this unit really helped me understand Mendel's laws of genetics. I am indeed a better student now than before this unit. One unanswered question that I have is, what is the limit for the amount of crosses?(for example, is there a cross that involves 10 alleles? 10-hybrid?). After taking the VARK questionnaire, it showed me that I am a visual learner. My exact scores were visual 10, kinesthetics 8, read and write 7, and coming in last with a score of 6 is aural. The results were as I expected because I realized a year ago that I learn a lot better with visual representations. The things that I can do to prepare me for the upcoming test is to draw out diagrams of the processes of mitosis and meiosis. Also I can draw out Mendel's laws. These learning styles will help me understand the most in order to get ready for the test.

Coin Sex Lab Relate and Review

In this lab, my partner and I flipped coins to figure out the genotype and phenotype of the children. We did four mini experiments to find out if the predictions that we made were somewhat accurate. We tested to see if the offspring were either a male or female, if they had bipolar disorder or not, if they the offspring were colorblind and lastly we tested a dihybrid cross while testing the traits of brown hair, blonde hair, brown eyes and blue eyes. The colorblind experiment was an example of x linked inheritance because colorblindness is a x linked recessive disorder. The experiment that genetically linked through autosomal dominance is bipolar disorder. In this experiment we crossed monohybrids, homozygous recessive and heterozygous traits(bb*Bb), to find the probability of how many children will have bipolar disorder. The coins that we flipped were acting as the genes and alleles for the trait that we were testing. Another way that coins serve as a model for genetic concepts is that the chromosomes randomly split during meiosis which represents Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment. Also, the coins represent recombination or sex. When we did the experiment with the dihybrid cross, we predicted, using probability, we expected to have 9 offspring with brown hair and brown eyes, 3 offspring with blond hair and brown eyes, 3 offspring with brown hair and blue eyes and the last child to have blond hair and blue eyes. We used the punnett square to predict what is the outcomes. We crossed a double heterozygous allele with another double heterozygous allele. Our results matched exactly to the expected results. The reason that we got the results that we predicted was because of the Law of Probability held true. The law of Probability states that the there will be a higher chance of getting the most probable outcome. Some people will not get the expected outcome because of the law of independent assortment. The outcomes will always have the chance to be different, however it will have a less of chance to happen. Even though that punnett squares are very useful, there is a certain point where the results that you get from the punnett square are not reliable. Although punnett squares predict the most probable outcome, it is not always accurate. For example, when I flipped coins to try and find the sex of the offspring, the predicted result was 5 male and 5 female. However, when I flipped the coins, my partner and I got the result of 1 male to 9 females.  This shows that punnett squares are not always accurate. From this lab, I learned how to predict whether or not your offspring will be a male or a female, or for example if they will be colorblind. I can use this in my own life by predicting whether or not my child will be a boy or a girl and if they will have a disease

Genetics Inforgraphic: Bachelors of Science in Genetics

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/9346591-genetics-infographic

Unit 3 Reflection

This unit was all about the cell. We learned about the different organelles in the cell and their functions, along with a few very important processes like photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Some themes for this unit were how the cells function inside an organism and how their are different processes that keep us and other organisms alive. Some strengths that I have on this unit was the process of diffusion and osmosis because I learned about them last year. Some weaknesses that I have are the different steps in both cellular respiration and photosynthesis. After the vodcasts and the labs that we did in class, I feel like I am a better student than before this unit because before I had no idea that a cell was so detailed and had so many different parts. Also I had no idea that photosynthesis and cellular respiration were so complex. Now, I have a better understanding of what really goes on inside a cell. I want to learn more about how what we have learned applies in modern applications. For the test, I am planning on reading through the vodcast notes and also to try and create a chart of the different organelles and their functions just by memory. Also I will draw a plant cell and name the parts of the plant, along with naming the different parts that incorporate the process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Diffusion

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Egg Diffusion Lab Conclusion

In this lab we asked the question, "How and why does a cell's internal environment change as it's external environment changes?" To test this, we put two eggs in vinegar for 48 hours. That made the cell membrane degrade. After that we took the two eggs and put one in demonized water and the other in corn syrup. Before we put them in the water and the corn syrup we measured the mass and circumference. After two days, we measured the circumference and the mass again. As the sugar concentration increased, the mass and circumference of the egg decreased. The circumference decreased by an average of 22.94% and the mass decreased by an average of 47.25%. The reason that the egg shrunk is because the corn syrup is hypertonic. This means that there is less solute, or sugar, outside than inside the cell, so the solutes inside want to go from a high concentration to low concentration, but they cannot because of the membrane. Thus, the solvent goes outside, making the cell smaller. A cell's internal environment changes when its external environment changes because the external environment either had more or less solutes than inside the cell. This would make the internal environment to change because of diffusion and how the solutes and solvents always want to be balanced. This would occur because the solutes would not be able to enter or exit the cell, so the solvents need to go from the high concentration to low concentration. This lab demonstrates the principle that states diffusion, which goes from high to low concentrations, and also about hypertonic solutions which shrivel up the cell. Fresh vegetables are sprinkled with water because otherwise, the cells will shrivel up making the fresh vegetables not so fresh and good looking anymore. Salting the roads will make the plants on the sides of the roads shrink because there will be more solutes outside, the salt, which will make the solute inside the plants try and move to the lower concentration, but they will not be able to. During this process, the solvent will passively diffuse to the outside, shrinking the cell. One experiment I would like to test is doing testing a different fruit or vegetable. The reason that I would do this is because I would like to find out if all fruits and vegetables respond like the egg did.

Egg Macromolecules Lab Conclusion

In this lab, we asked the question, "Can macromolecules be identified in an egg cell?". We found that in the egg memebrane, one of the macromolcules present was lipids. The reason we found that lipids are inside the membrane was because of the indicators that we put in. For the lipids, we used Sudane 3, which changed the color from red to orange. This proves that lipids are infact present in the membrane of the egg. Also, we know that lipids should be inside the membrane because a membrane is made of phospholipids. Moving onto the egg white, one of the macromolecules present was proteins. The color changed from clear to white, when using copper sulfate. Since there is a color change, we know that proteins are present. Also, we know that proteins are supposed to be in the egg white because the enzymes help with the process of growth and development. Finally, when we tested for macromolecules inside the yolk, we found that monosaccharides were present. When I added the Benedict solution to the egg yolk, the color changed from turquoise blue to green blue. This shows that monosaccharides are present. The reason that macromolecules are inside the egg yolk is for energy. The yolk needs the energy to carry out the functions of the cell.

One possible error that could have occurred in the experiment is the amount of drops of each solution that is put in. For example, if someone puts more of the Benedict solution inside one of the test tubes. This could have affected the experiment because then there would be more pigment change in one of the test tubes, making the observations and ratings different. This would throw of the data. Another error that could have occurred is the egg was not separated properly into the three test tubes. For example, the egg membrane could have mixed with the yolk and when the solution was added there could have been an extra color change. This would tell the analyzer that there is that macromolecule in the yolk, when the macromolecule was not supposed to be found there. One recommendation that could improve the experimental procedure is being more careful with the droppers and the amount that is supposed to be put in the test tubes. Another recommendation could be when you are separating the egg yolk, you can use a strainer to get only the yolk.

The purpose of this lab is to show what macromolecules are used in different parts of the cell. This lab relates to what we have done in class because we have learned about the macromolecules and where they are used inside a regular cell and the lab was done to show where the macromolecules in a egg are located. The outcome from this lab could be applied to other things like understanding the reason of why macromolecules are found where they are in a cell.

20 Questions for the Future

The question that I was interested in was, "What makes us human?" The reason that this interested me was when I read the passage, I saw that the human genome is 50% identical to a bananas and this seemed very interesting to me that we are like bananas. The hypothesis for this question is, if language, looking in a mirror etc does not differentiate us from other animals anymore, then maybe our culture does.

1. Is there life on other planets in our solar system?
2. How were humans created?
3. Why is global warming occurring?
4. Will there ever be a time when time travel is possible?
5. Why is there so little water in Africa?
6. Will the drought in Africa ever end?
7. What is the smartest animal?
8. Will there ever be flying cars?
9. What is inside a black hole?
10. What is beyond space?
11. Will there ever be a space station that can bring anybody up into space?
12. What will the most popular sport in the 22nd century?
13. How will the technology change in the coming years?
14. Will the population increase or decrease in the next 100 years?
15. Will there be a World War 3?
16. Will Barcelona and Real Madrid still be the best soccer teams in the world in 10 years?
17. Will India and China still be the leaders for the amount of people in each country?
18. Will robots ever be apart of our everyday life in the future?
19. Who will be the best player in the world for soccer in 10 years?
20. Who will be the next president of the United States?

Identifying Questions and Hypotheses

Study on how a soccer ball curves

MIT news decided to make a study on how a soccer ball can curve. The experiment that MIT news did revolved around the question of "How does a soccer ball swerve?" After the 2010 world cup, researchers figured out that the jabulani, the ball used for that tournament, had a smoother surface to it, thus making the curve of the ball harder to control. Since scientists knew about this information, they can up with a hypothesis, "If the soccer ball has a rough texture, then the soccer ball will have more control over the curve."

The link to the study is below:
http://news.mit.edu/2014/explained-how-does-soccer-ball-swerve-0617

Unit 2 Reflection

Unit 2 was all about molecules and their forms. Also we learned about the pH scale and why some things acidic and others are basic. Finally we learned about the four main macro molecules along with the basics of enzymes. When learning about molecules, we first learned about the basic unit of matter, the atom. From there we expanded to molecules and how these atoms can make bonds with each other. We learned about covalent bonds and ionic bonds and how these differ from each other. Next we learned about the pH scale, which is a scale based on the amount of H+ a solution has. The pH scale is a scale between 1-14 with 1 being very acidic and 14 being very basic. Moving on, we learned about the structure and functions of the 4 big macro molecules, which are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Carbohydrates have a ring shaped structure made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbs are used mainly for energy and plants use them to build cell walls and for energy storage. Lipids are made up of amino acids, which consist of chains of hydrophollic and hydrophobic which are phosolipids. Lipids main function is for energy storage. Next we have Proteins which are made up of chained up amino acids. Their function is to support the body, help cells communicate, speed up chemical reactions and to let things in and out of cell membranes. Nucleic Acids are made up of nucleotides, which are sugars, bases, and phosphates. Their function is that they are the source of info of our characteristics. Finally we learned about enzymes and activation energy. Enzymes are biological catalysts that help speed up the process of chemical reactions by decreasing the activation energy needed to proceed with the reaction. Also, we learned about activation energy and how enzymes affect the amount of activation energy needed for a chemical reaction. My strength for this unit was the 4 big macromolecules because of the fact that I learnt about the macromolecules before. A weakness that I had was the concept of polar and nonpolar.
Lipid Structure
Carbohydrate StructureProtein Structure
Nucleic Acid Structure

Cheese Lab Conclusion

Cheese Lab Conclusion

By Akshat Patwardhan

Period 6

In this lab we asked the question, “What are the optimal conditions and curdling agents for making cheese?”. We found that chymosin, when hot and acidic, is the best condition and agent for making cheese. When we tested the evidence we found that the chymosin created curdles in 5 minutes. Even though the renin and buttermilk curdled in the same amount of time when acidic, chymosin beat both of them when it was basic. Chymosin curdled in 20 minutes when it was basic and buttermilk and renin did not even register during the 35 minute period. Also, chymosin and renin both tied on the times for the hot temperature test, which was 5 minutes, and the cold temperature test, which did not curdle in the time allotted, so the basic test was the factor that made chymosin the most optimal curdling agent to make cheese. This data supports our claim because this shows that the warm and acidic environments are the most effective when trying to make curdles.

While the data shows that chymosin is the best curdling agent, there could have been some errors. One error could be that the times of when the curdling agents made curdles could have been inaccurate because of the fact that we had to check for curdles every 5 minutes. The problem is what if the curdles formed in between the 5 minutes and we did not notice. This proves that the timings of when the different agents curdled could be inaccurate. This would affect the data because then the data with the timings would be off and then we would not know which curdling agent really was the fastest. Another error would be the number of layers the person was wearing while trying to make the curdles. This could be a problem because when we put the test tubes in our armpits to warm them, some people were wearing more layers than others. When you put on more layers, there is a possibility that the environment would be warmer than a person who is just wearing a t shirt. The effect of the number of layers a person wears would be that one test tube would be in a warmer atmosphere than the other test tubes causing the test tube in the warmer environment to have a better time because the enzyme will work faster to create curdles. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend that everyone would wear the same amount of layers and that the timings of when to check for curdles would be shorter. For example, everyone should be wearing 2 layers and they should check for curdles every minute.

This lab was done to demonstrate and learn about the optimal conditions and curdling agents of making cheese. Also we learned about the different types of enzymes that make the cheese making process go faster, along with the conditions in which they work best in. Through this lab, we learned the concept of denaturing, the pH scale and its significance, and lastly we reinforced the idea of activation energy and how enzymes affect it. Based on my experience from this lab, I could apply the knowledge I have gotten from this experiment and use it for future experiments by putting the enzymes in the environment that suits them the best so that they can perform to their full potential.

	Time to Curdle(Minutes)
Curdling Agent:	Chymosin	Rennin	Buttermilk	Milk (Control)
Acid	5	5	5
Base	20
ph Control	15	10
Cold
Hot	5	5
Temp Control	10	10

Sweetness Lab Conclusion

Akshat Patwardhan

Period 6

9/11/15

Sweetness Lab Conclusion

In this lab we asked the question, "How does the structure of a carbohydrate affect its taste(sweetness)? This supports our hypothesis, if simple sugars(monosaccharides) taste sweet, then fructose will taste the sweetest. We found that fructose does in fact taste the sweetest with a rating of 130 out of 200. Our scale for the degree of sweetness was 0 - 200, as 0 being very bitter and 200 being very sweet. The other monosaccharides that we tasted were galactose and glucose. However, even though these were monosaccharides we thought that fructose was still the sweetest, as it is the sugar that is naturally found in fruits. Also the dissacharides were around the 80-100 mark and the polysaccharides were both given a rating of 20. This data supports our claim because we realized that the more rings that a carbohydrate has the less sweet it is. Therefore fructose, a monosaccharide, is going to be the sweetest. The structure of the different carbohydrates could have an affect on how they are used because the more rings that the carbohydrate has, the more energy is stored which could affect how much energy is released to the organism. Some reasons why the rating of the sample could be different for different tasters is the amount of sweet a person eats, which means that if a person eats a lot of sugar and sweets, then the sugar ratings could be lower than the average person. Also, another example could be if a person eats a lot of spicy food, and does not incorporate much sugar into their diet, their ratings of the monosaccharides could be much higher since the person's taste buds have a different scale of sweetness. Lastly, if a person at something bland at first and then eats something sweet, then the rating of the sweet would be different because the bland flavor would be a factor in the rating. Students could give different ratings based on how we taste things because of the place where the person puts the sweet on. For example, if you put the sweet on the tip of your tongue, you will get a different degree of sweetness than putting the sweet on the back or sides of your tongue. The tastebuds on your tongue, like the ones on the front, side etc, will give you different sweetness ratings.
 

Carbohydrate	Type of Carbohydrate	Degree of Sweetness	Color	Texture	Other Observations/Connections to Food
Sucrose	Disaccharide	100	white	granular	tastes a little like the sweetness of a carrot
Glucose	monosaccharide	110	white	more grainy, didn’t dissolve as fast	Tastes less sweet than sucrose
Fructose	monosaccharide	130	clear	crystals, very sweet	tastes like regular sugar
Galactose	monosaccharide	80	white	smooth	milkish taste
Maltose	disaccharide	100	brownish, yellowish	as crunchy as sugar can get	toffee taste
Lactose	disaccharide	80	white	smooth, compact	tastes same as glucose
Starch	polysaccharide	20	white	powdery, smooth	tastes like flour
Cellulose	polysaccharide	20	white	powdery, smooth	also tastes like flour

What is Biology?

Jean Lab

Akshat Patwardhan

Mr. Orre

Jean Lab Conclusion

In the Jean Lab we asked the question, “What concentration of bleach is best to fade the color out of new denim material in 10 minutes without visible damage to the fabric?” After conducting the experiment, we observed that, in 10 minutes, the 50% bleach concentration had the best fade of color without damaging the fabric of the jeans to much. After we bleached the jeans and started recording ratings, and we realized that the 50% concentration was the best for some reasons. First of all, when analyzing which percentage was the best we had to consider two factors, the color removal and the fabric damage. The ratings that we took for the 50% concentration were well rounded. The average color removal was 5.33, which means that the faded color on the jeans is noticeable. Also, the average fabric damage for the 50% concentration was 4.67, which is almost 4 less of a rating than the 100% concentration. Next, it is widely known that higher concentration of bleach ends up with more color loss, but also making the item weaker. Lastly, when looking at the data of the 100% bleach concentration we can see that even though it has a rating of 3 higher than the 50%, making it fully faded, the damage in the fabric is apparent and visible. The 50% concentration adds a nice faded color to the jean, while keeping the jean sturdy and durable.

While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been errors. One example of an error is the amount of water that you put for the jeans to soak in. This could affect the procedure because then the bleach concentration percentage inside the jean squares would be different than others. This is true because the water could suck out more bleach from one set of jean squares than the others and then the data would not be completely true. One other error that could have happened is when we put in and took out the jean squares from the different petri dishes, some of the squares had more time inside the bleach. This could affect the experiment because the jean squares that had more time to soak in the bleach could have faded more than the others so the results would not have been completely accurate. Two recommendations that I have for this experiment later on is to try and make sure that the time of when the jeans are in the bleach are all the same so that it is completely accurate. The other recommendation is that the amount of water should be the same and a way that we could do that is by using a triple beam balance. We can have a beaker with the right amount of liquid, and then we can use a similar beaker to try and duplicate the amount of water accurately by making the two beakers to balance each other with their weight.

This lab was done to demonstrate the importance of the scientific method and how to use the steps of this method to answer the question in an effective way. From this lab I learned how to set up an experiment properly and how to analyze data which helps me understand the concept of the scientific method. This lab that we did represented the scientific method because we had to ask a question, write a hypothesis, collect information, conduct an experiment, record the results and finally analyze the data so that we can make a conclusion. The steps we took to answer the question are the steps of the scientific method. Based on my experience from this lab I can apply the skill sets that I learned to other experiments that we do and also I can apply these skills whenever I need a question that needs an answer.

Concentration (% Bleach)	Average Color Removal (Scale 1-10)	Average Fabric Damage (Scale 1-10)
100	8.67	8
50	5.33	4.67
25	2.67	1.67
12.5	1.33	0.33
0	0	0