Formal Lab Report
(basic overview below)
Introduction:
The immune system is made up of different defenses in order to protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. We explored previously the exterior parts of the human body that make up the first line of defense, including skin, mucus membranes, and acidic environments. In this lab we explored the humoral system, which is part of the body’s second line of defense. The humoral system is considered to be “specific”, given that each antibody links with only particular antigens on the surface of cells, rather than in the innate system.We tested the antigens within our own blood to see how they would react with specific anti-antigens, which would allow us to determine which antigens exist in our blood.
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab was to determine which antigens exist on the surface of our red blood cells, which would allow us to classify our blood type.
Hypothesis:
If my blood has antigen A presenting on the surface of my red blood cells, then the blood sample will agglutinate or clump when placed in the anti-antigen A, because the humoral system will attack the foreign invader.
Materials:
Procedures:
Data Table:
Conclusion:
The immune system is made up of different defenses in order to protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. We explored previously the exterior parts of the human body that make up the first line of defense, including skin, mucus membranes, and acidic environments. In this lab we explored the humoral system, which is part of the body’s second line of defense. The humoral system is considered to be “specific”, given that each antibody links with only particular antigens on the surface of cells, rather than in the innate system.We tested the antigens within our own blood to see how they would react with specific anti-antigens, which would allow us to determine which antigens exist in our blood.
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab was to determine which antigens exist on the surface of our red blood cells, which would allow us to classify our blood type.
Hypothesis:
If my blood has antigen A presenting on the surface of my red blood cells, then the blood sample will agglutinate or clump when placed in the anti-antigen A, because the humoral system will attack the foreign invader.
Materials:
- 3 mixing sticks
- Bleach bath
- 1 Cotton ball
- 1 Lancet
- Blood typing slide
- Antisera A and B
- Anti-Rh factor
- Paper towels
- 1 pair of disposable gloves
- 1 band aid
Procedures:
- Arrange a sanitary area for the lab to take place
- Place a drop of each Antisera A, Antisera B, and the Anti-Rh factor into separate places on the blood typing slide
- Have one person, wearing gloves, to prick the subject’s finger
- Rub a bit of the blood on the tip of each of the mixing sticks
- Place the tip of each stick that contains the blood into each of the anti-antigens on the blood typing slide
- Wipe of the remaining blood on the cotton ball and place in the bleach bath
- Wrap the subject’s finger in a band aid (for sanitary purposes)
- Mix the sticks in the anti-antigen and observe
- Indicate that clumping, or agglutination, has occurred by marking yes in the data table with the given anti-antigen. Mark no if the anti-antigen has turned clear, with no clumps
- Place all used materials in bleach bath and dispose of appropriately
- Compare results to table below in order to determine your blood type
Data Table:
Conclusion:
The conducted experiment worked seamlessly, and we were able to witness the agglutination firsthand. Just as hypothesized, the presence of antigen A on the red blood cells caused agglutination, and for my personal blood type, the clumping also occurred with the Rh antigen. No clumping was witnessed with antigen B, and we were able to use these results to determine my blood type to be A positive.
The results led me to conclude my hypothesis correct, although as always additional trials would lead to further conclusiveness. There did not seem to be an errors, although it is always possible that some element in the classroom affected the results. Nonetheless, I feel strongly that a group repeating this lab in a sanitary environment would reach conclusive results.
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Blood Testing
The blood-typing lab that we did tested for antigens on the outside of red blood cells, and provided the blood type of the subject tested. This type of blood testing relies on a key principle of antibodies. Antibodies attack specific pathogens and link themselves to the antigens on the surface of the pathogen. Because antigens are unique to the given pathogen, the antigen that the antibodies connects to can be used for identification purposes. The blood samples we took contained antibodies made by our bodies. Specific anti-antigens were added to individual samples and whether or not a reaction occurred determined whether the antibodies' antigens reacted with the given anti-antigen. We concluded that this reaction occurred if we observed clumping, or "agglutination". The combination of reactions with the different antigens distinguished our blood types from the others.
My person results to the blood testing:
My person results to the blood testing:
Lab Questions:
What are the other cell types and do they have the same blood typing systems?
White blood cells and platelets are other types of blood cells and they have different blood typing systems.
What blood type is needed for a transfusion for a Type O positive patient?
Only another Type O, positive or negative, blood type would work for safe transfusion.
What would happen if someone was transfused with an incompatible blood type?
They would experience a severe reaction where their body’s immune system would attack the foreign substance and could die.
Reflection:
This lab was interesting because we got to do an experiment related to ourselves, which is as applicable as any experiment could be. Understanding how red blood cells are tested in order to find one’s blood type was actually a very interesting topic, as was transfusions. It seems somewhat ironic that those who can donate blood to all the other blood types cannot receive a transfusion from anyone with a different blood type. This is a lab that would like to repeat with multiple trials just to ensure that the results are positive.
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| Pricking to acquire blood for testing. |
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| Mixing of anti-B reagent, anti-A reagent, anti-Rh reagent, and blood drops to look for agglutination. |
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Our Bodies' Defenses
To illustrate the body's various defenses from outside material that could be damaging, Neto performed a quick lab for us.
The lab did not really go into the body's second line of defense, although we did get a more visual understanding of the first line of defense. We also were reminded of DNA replication when the "skin" was cut open and had to replicate itself to bond the slit.
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The plastic wrap around the table represents the skin of the human body, and it is part of the body's first line of defense against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Mucus membranes and acidic environments like stomach acid also make up the first line of defense. The straws in the photo below represent entrances to the body such as the nose. Soap was put into the straws to represent mucus that keeps pathogens from entering the body.
Science Assessment #7 Revamp
The following activity is a deeper dive into the more difficult/confusing questions and concepts within our most recent science assessments.
Everyone in our social media group got a question wrong regarding primary consumers, so we looked into this video:
We deemed this video as reliable, being that it is from a nonprofit, world-renowned website: Khan Academy. The information aligned itself with out prior knowledge, and does not send off any red flags. Thus, we decided to believe the following material and to add it to our biological knowledge.
Basically, energy within an ecosystem usually comes from photoautotrophs whom absorb it through photosynthesis, from the Sun. These photoautotrophs are called "primary producers", and the animals that consume them are called "primary consumers". From there secondary, tertiary, and apex consumers consume either the producers or organisms higher up on the food chain, passing the energy along stored in biological molecules. When these organisms die, decomposers enter the picture and recycle the energy back into the ecosystem. The video allowed us to confirm that the question we had all missed should have actually been right, and we were able to rectify that error. Other than that, the video was a good refresher and solidified what we had learned prior.
Another question we shared in misunderstanding was about whether or not mushrooms were photoautotrophs. To clarify, we found another video:
Similarly to with Khan Academy, we consider the information to be reliable given the high quality organization. Crash Course is a generally accepted source of material for various academic sources, and the concepts are logical.
After looking up "mushrooms in the food chain" we immediately saw "Fungus: The Four Kingdoms" which pretty much answered our question right there. All of us had forgotten that mushrooms are not, in fact, plants, but actually fungi. Whoops! The video was still intriguing, nonetheless, and enlightened us on the somewhat mysterious heterotoph: fungi. There are other types of fungi in addition to mushrooms, such as yeast, basidiomycota, and zygomycota. Fungi get their energy by consuming the decomposed, and they recycle this energy back into the ecosystem. The way they do this is by braking down enzymes within decayed, organic material and absorbing the nutrients. Obviously fungi are important within the food chain, but they make up their own category separate from the consumers and producers, as decomposers.
To wrap up all our knowledge, we created this sketch note:
To wrap up all our knowledge, we created this sketch note:
Fossil Fuels
(Teach back by other students)Fossil fuel = a natural fuel formed millions of years ago from the remains of living organisms.
- Oil
- The majority of plants and animals that form oil are tiny pieces of zooplankton and algae
- Diatom - the main organism in oil
- Collected from under the ground from drills
- Sand and acid force oil out of its reservor and up pipes
- The oil extracted has to be refined before it can be used
- Refinment - To purify
- Common products with coal in it: rubber, perfume, asphalt, paint, ink, crayons
- 394.8 million gallons of oil produced by the US everyday
- Oil can cause explotions if caught on fire
- Releases CO2 and SO2, both toxic chemicals
- Oil spills kill thousands of organisms
- Coal
- A black or dark-brown substance consisting of vegetable matter
- Needs natural gas to form
- Plants submerged cannot decompose without oxygen, therefore they just slowly are covered in sediment
- Types of coal - peat, lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite
- Peat - all the plant matter that decomposed underwater
- Lignite - peat subjected to more heat and pressure
- Subbituminous and Bituminous - Same but subjected to less heat and pressure
- Anthracite - takes longer to form and is the most efficient type of coal (stage before a diamond)
- Primarily used for heat an electricity
- 2,400,000 tons of coal mined in 2015
- 1.7 billion tons of CO2 emitted by coal plants in the U.S. in 2015
- China uses/has the most coal
- CO2 (emitted by coal) breaks down the atmosphere
- Natural Gas
- Fracking causes air pollution and water pollution as well as global warming
- Hydraulic fracturing - the process of extracting natural gas from mines via highly pressurized water
- Hydraulic fracturing causes methane (natural gas) leaking
- Causes contamination in water when the methane leaks into it
- Methane can actually ignite in water
- Fracking sites contaminate water nearby
- The rocks that get punctured can cause leaks into the groundwater
- Storage tanks leak 9% of the methane within because of the high pressure
- Basically all the equipment dealing with methane causes leakages
- Natural gas becomes more potent over time, although it starts off less toxic than CO2
- Fracking can also cause earthquakes because of the creation of cracks in the Earth
- Political Ramifications
- Export - to sell products overseas
- Fossil fuels - hydrocarbons that become oils and gases over millions of years from pressure and heat
- Energy dependence - for a nation to be capable of managing itself with only energy resources within their borders
- Every type of energy source has a flaw
- Fossil fuels are limitted and can cause global warming
- Nuclear power plants can cause eruptions, killing tons of organisms
- Wind energy requires tons of turbines - inefficient
- Solar and geothermal = inefficient
- Hydro stops up waters and dries up part of the river = really bad for environment
- Global warming is totally stoppable, but it needs a replacement
- U.S. has lost tons of profit due to oil wars
- Conflict between renewables and non renewables
- Need non renewable forms of energy until a replacement is found
- Environmental Impacts
- Air pollution - the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.
- Global warming - the gradual increase in the Earth's temperature attributed to the greenhouse effect
- Coal emissions can lead to acid rain and smog
- Coal accounts for 1/4 of the Earth's co2 emissions
- Petroleum (natural gas) emits CO2 and SO2
- Oil spills destorys the insulating ability of animals with fur
- Natural gas is used in methane, ethane, and propane
- Main contributor of CO2 emissions = cars
- Fossil fuels = extracted from the ground
- Alternative Energy
- Conditions that create fossil fuels - pressure, heat and time
- Renewable resource - a substance that can be replenished just as fast as it is being drawn out and used
- Fossil fuels = nonrenewable
- Energy efficiency - the corresponding amount of energy produced by a given amount of fuel
- 11 billion tons of oil is used by the US every year
- Expected to run out of most fossil fuels by 2088
- Clean energy source - an energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used
- Examples - solar, wind, biomass, tidle, geothermal
- Energy efficiency for clean sources = much lower than fossil fuels
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| A student adding heat to clay, representing one of the key factors in creating coal. |
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| Sediment pushing down organic material; part of the fossil fuel creation process. |
Additional Demo:
To conclude the fossil fuels demo, one student led us through determining how "dirty" various types of fuel are. He ignited each fuel, and we saw that the cleanest ones were close to pure blue, whereas dirtier ones came out orange. In addition, the dirtier forms emitted lots of smoke, allowing us to see that burning the fuels could lead to air pollution. It appeared that the forms of natural gas were the cleanest, however we learned that natural gas increases in toxicity over time. Nonetheless, the natural gas was still significantly cleaner in the demo, being that it contains much less carbon, therefore I would determine that to be the cleanest burning fossil fuel.
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What is in the Water We Drink?
Mini-Lab:
This mini-lab tests bacteria, led, total nitrates, total chlorine, total hardness, pesticides and pH contained within normal tap water, ocean water, and bond water. The results take 48 hours to fully develop. This lab is based off of a kit, therefore the science behind each strip is not totally known. Each water is separated into different cups for each aspect tested. Special strips are added into each container of water to test for the materials within the different waters.
Results:
- Tap
- Bacteria = Negative (no bacteria was detected)
- pH = 6.5
- Chlorine = 0
- Total hardness = 250
- Total nitrate = 1.0
- Nitrite = 0.75
- Pesticide = Invalid
- Lead = Invalid
- Pond
- Bacteria = Negative (no bacteria was detected)
- pH = 6.0
- Chlorine = 0
- Total hardness = 0
- Total nitrate = 2.0
- Nitrite = 1.5
- Pesticide = Invalid
- Lead = Invalid
- Ocean
- Bacteria = Negative (no bacteria was detected)
- pH = 7.5
- Chlorine = Invalid
- Total hardness = Invalid
- Total nitrate = 0
- Nitrite = 0
- Pesticide = Invalid
- Lead = Invalid
Of the tests that were ran, the only one that we attained concrete numbers for was the pH. The values may not be totally accurate, as the pH was observed approximately 48 hours later, however the graph is shown above as practice graphing scientific values. From this data it appears that the ocean water was significantly more basic than the pond water and the tap water. This observation can be made because the value on the y-axis represents the pH, and a higher value indicates a more basic solution. Because the ocean water appears to have a higher pH, it can be concluded that it is more basic. The pond water has a lower apparent pH, or 6, meaning that it is more acidic than the other solutions.
Notes:
- Location of Tap Water
- Water we drink comes from rivers, sewers, ponds, and ground
- Potable = clean and safe to drink
- Filtration Process
- Goes through treatment plant
- Minerals are added to increase cleanliness
- Recycles to houses and places where water is drank
- Chlorine
- A toxic, irritant, pale green gas
- Kills bacteria and microbiologicall organisms (small organisms - fungi, algae, etc.)
- Chlorine's Effect on Environment
- Reacts with other chemicals and can become more harmful
- Low level of harm by itself
- Lead
- Very unsafe
- Soft of corrosive
- Lead piping causes it to get into water
- Lead's Effect on Environment
- Pollutes air
- Git's into soil and effects plants
- Can cause organ damage to humans
- Macroscopic
- Visible to the naked eye and alive
- Microscopic
- So small that it can only be seen through a microscopic
- Autotrophs - the producers
- Photoautotroph - makes energy through photosynthesis
- Chemoautotroph - makes energy through chemicals
- Heterotrophs - the consumers
- Organisms that consume other organisms for energy
- Ponds
- Are stagnant - no movement
- Organisms' outputs remain in the pond
- Bacteria
- There are 184 different types of bacteria
- Most bacteria are not dangerous - lab tests only for harmful ones
- An unbalance in the materials within the water can cause other materials to not function as well, creating a lack in reproduction and overall death to the pond
- pH in Oceans
- Acidity or alkalinity of a solution
- Normal range is 8.0 - 8.4
- High number = basic
- Low number = acidic
- To test pH, dip pH strip into water for a few seconds, remove, wait a few seconds, and compare color to color range
- Made of filter paper soaked with weak acids and bases (pH indicators) that change color at specific pHs
- pH relation to environment
- Extra release of carbon into the environment that is consumed by the ocean and turns into carbon acid - creates lower pH level in ocean which can harm many organisms within the ecosystem. The normal pH of the ocean was 8.2, but now it is nearing 8.0 as a result of the extra carbon pollution.
- Acid
- Molecule or other entity that can donate a proton of accept an electron pair in reactions
- Bases
- Molecule that accepts protons
- Proton
- Particle found in a nucleus with a positive charge
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Water Cycle Demo
Materials:
- 6 mL salt
- 1000 ml (1 liter) normal tap water
- 1 liter glass flask
- Small flask for salt
- Large bowl
- Small cup
- Cup of ice cubes
Procedures:
- Heat up water in the microwave for 2 minutes
- Pour salt into warm water - this salty water represents the ocean
- Place cup in the middle of bowl
- Tightly place saran wrap over entire bowl - this acts as a ozone layer
- Place ice cubes on the saran wrap (on the bowl)
- Let the ice cubes sit and observe
Questions:
- Is the water in the small cup drinkable?
- Yes, as evaporation occurs the water is separated from the salt it was initially paired with.
- How does the water from the ocean change if water evaporates, but does not precipitate?
- When the water is removed from the oceans it levels decrease, and it therefore needs precipitation to refill it. If this does not occur than the entire ecosystem is tampered with.
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Ecology Introduction
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Romeo And Juliet DNA Lab
After discovering that the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet may have not been a suicide, but a murder, we set out to discover to murderer. Their DNA was discovered at the crime scene, and we would use that to compare to each suspect. The suspects are as follows:
Suspect #1: Friar Laurence
Suspect #2: Lady Capulet
Suspect #3: Montague
Suspect #4: Romeo
Suspect #5: Juliet
Suspect #6: Script writer
Suspect #7: Cue card holder & script writer
Suspect #8: Benvolio
Suspect #9: Paris
Suspect #10: Capulet
Suspect #11: Friar John
To extract the DNA of each suspect, each person chewed gently on the inside of their cheek, grinding off epithelial tissue. They then swished a water and salt combination and proceeded to spit it out into a labelled cup. This was repeated for a total of two trials to get two different samples.When each person spit out the salty water, cells from the tissue came out with it, containing their DNA. In the nucleus of the cell their are molecules that are actually strands of DNA. This means that we had the cells at this point, but we still needed to extract the DNA from within. Real scientists would be using protease (an enzyme) to break open the cell and the nucleus to get to the DNA (chemical break down). However, because we could not actually access protease, we would be using an alternative.
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| The nucleus within the cells (gathered from the cheek tissue) and the DNA molecule within. |
The following class we continued in the extraction of the DNA, by adding chilled ethonal to each test tube. We got to see the DNA risen to the top and we moved the layer at the surface to smaller test tubes. Next we added methylene blue solution to stain the DNA, and glycerin to weigh it down (this would keep it from raising up to the top in the gel chamber). Our gel chamber from the previous class had now solidified, so we cut two slits into it and inserted specially bent steel strands into the slits, that would be used to connect the gel chamber to electricity. We created some more buffing solution and pored it atop the gel layer.
On the day of completing the experiment, we tried to gently remove the comb from the gel, but it unfortunately ripped, causing up to have to inject the DNA straight into the gel, instead of using the little pockets that were supposed to be created by the comb.
This error was minor compared to that of the steel. Apparently the lab was supposed to be conducted with stainless steel, but we used steel which created rust and ruined the experiment. We were not able to determine anything from the ruins of the gel box, but we learned from a reliable source that Friar Laurence was the culprit (as expected). View the complete lab report below.
Romeo and Juliet DNA Lab Report
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Stress - Harmful or Helpful?
Schoology Response
Personally I consider stress to not be harmful, because the whole purpose of stress is to aid in survival, thus being helpful. In nature we recognize stress to often be the response to danger, and it causes the senses to become more alert and quick. It therefore is intended to help the affected member persevere, or survive through the given situation. Obviously our society has diverged away from the ways of living in the past, being that our lives are not consistently dependent on finding food, fighting, etc. While we may not receive stress from the same occurrences, the reaction is quite similar. The induced stress creates focus and pushes the person involved to find a solution. In my personal experience, stress has helped me to avoid procrastinating. Stress is what allows me to become ultra focused, to get on task, and get through the situation. A phrase I often hear in my family is, "If you're nervous, it means you care," and I think that that correlates with the whole way we perceive stress, anxiety, and such feelings. To be nervous, or to feel some stress before or during something, means that you care and your body is going to help you through the experience.
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12/7/16
Brain Anatomy & Injuries
Being that we are in our mental health unit, we have been concurrently studying the brain. In a recent project we worked as a group to diagram the brain on a cauliflower, which happened to look a lot like a brain.
Unfortunately the key seems to have disappeared (most likely because of the other class that shares a room with our class). Anyway, this was only part one of the project, and the next involved Neto drawing in red marker all over our creation. Or more specifically, all over the frontal cortex located in the left frontal lobe.
She informed us that the person of whom this brain belonged to had suffered a stroke, and we were to create the whole scenario in the form of a narrative. So without further ado, I introduce you to Shay Clark.“Can you hear me? Miss Clark can you hear me?” The medic’s voice is steady, but not enough to help me process the information he has just relayed. “I think she’s going into shock,” I hear him say to someone else on his side of the line.
“No, I’m okay,” I say, my voice cracking. “I’m on my way.” I quickly pull the car out of the school parking lot.
“Mommy what’s going on?” says Ginny. She has a slight quiver in her voice, frightened by my sudden intensity in driving.
I pause before responding, keeping my eyes on the road. “Daddy is a little sick,” I say, carefully choosing each word. “We are going to head to the doctor to make sure he’s okay, but don’t you worry. He’s in good hands.” We meet eyes in the rear-view mirror and I smile, trying to comfort her. Or maybe I was comforting myself.
The moment the car is in park I swoop up Ginny in my arms and rush us through the automatic doors of the hospital. I barely hear the attendant who directs me to Jackson’s room. And suddenly there he is: lying asleep in a bed of white sheets. My heart pounds and I try to convince myself he is not dead. The steady heartbeat on the monitor proves that. Still, seeing him so pale, asleep in a hospital bed was not comforting. Ginny looks at me with fear in her eyes. She is heavy, a 5-year-old now, but I hold her close. “Daddy’s just sleeping right now but we are going to hang out for a little bit, okay?” Ginny nods and nestles closer to me.
It is then that the doctor swiftly appears from behind a curtain. He gives me an encouraging smile before introducing himself, “Hi Miss Clark, I’m Doctor Adams and I’ve been looking over Jackson since the stroke. I’m happy to say that he is in a good state right now and on the way to recovery.”
I breathe for the first time since the phone call. He pulls out a clipboard with a large stack of papers. “I’m not sure how familiar you are with stokes, but basically Jackson had an abrupt blockage of an artery in his left frontal lobe. Luckily he was in the middle of a meeting with several people around to notice his symptoms. Apparently he suddenly went very weak and there was another stroke survivor present who recognized the seriousness right away. An ambulance was able to get there quick enough, and that is very fortunate for Jackson.” Dr. Adams smiles again but I am still trying to compute the fact that my husband was just minutes away from death.
“So what now?” I ask once I have gathered myself enough to speak.
“Well with the internal bleeding that occurred there is definitely permanent damage, but we were very fortunate that it occurred on Jackson’s non-dominant side of his brain. The particular type of stroke he had was an ischemic stroke in the left frontal lobe. Had he been dominant with his right hand then the left frontal lobe would have been what controlled language. Fortunately he is left-handed.”
I realize immediately what he is saying. If Jackson had been right-handed then he would have not been able to talk, or talk little. But he is not done.
“Each patient comes out differently from a stroke, depending on the brain area damaged. Obviously we are very grateful that Jackson’s right frontal lobe is responsible for language. That is rare, and something to be really thankful for. However, he certainly will experience other long-term effects.” I breathe slowly and am grateful that Ginny has fallen asleep in my arms. I don’t want her to hear this. Dr. Adams continues, "The part of his frontal lobe that was most significantly damaged was the prefrontal cortex, which is an especially vital part of the brain. It is divided into sections, being a rather large part of the brain, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is the part we predict most issues with Jackson to occur from. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is known for its involvement in executive functions, which involve working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, inhibition, and abstract reasoning.”
Dr. Adams kindly gives me some space to take in the information, disappearing behind the curtain. Jackson had always been so intelligent, and to picture him struggling in all his ordinary endeavors killed me. Nonetheless, I had to be grateful he was alive and could still speak. I glanced over at him lying on the bed and held Ginny close. We could make it. We had no other choice.
It has been a month since the incident and things had failed to return to normal. Unfortunately I did not think there would ever quite be a normal for us again. I sit in the driver’s seat of the car with Jackson in the passenger’s side. We have just pulled into the school parking lot the pick up Ginny and I can almost see the wheels in Jackson’s head go haywire with the cars noisily honking for their children, yard duties in bright vests waving cars around tall cones, and kids pouring out from all directions. The doctor mentioned at the appointment earlier that Jackson will be overwhelmed with too much going on at once, and that we should consider ways to make the house quiet for him.
Ginny climbs into the car and I turn on soothing music to help Jackson concentrate as she talks. There are times in conversation that he seems perfectly normal, but at others, like when he is forced to make a decision, his brow furrows are he looks like he is searching for something just out of reach. He cannot handle sitting still too long, so he immediately gets out of the car with Ginny when the car pulls into the driveway.
Needless to say, Jackson has not been to work since the incident, and it’s hard to say when he will go back. Being involved in business involves so much planning that it might never be possible. Dr. Adams has had him working on different exercises to improve his cognitive skills, and I am hoping it will have an effect. His diagnosis keeps getting altered slightly as they investigate more, and we were tremendously lucky with his outcome, as unfortunate as it may appear.
The neighbors and our friends have been of a great help, spreading their love and helping Jackson, Ginny and myself get through the trauma of it all. Fellow stroke survivors have communicated advice with us which has made a world of difference. Right now we are still on the uphill, but I am trusting things will improve and Jackson does too. It was an awful situation, but we all came through it alive and mostly functioning, and I will forever be appreciative of that.
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Iron Chef Lab Report
Corn is Much Tastier Without Toxic Chemicals in It
Iron Chef Lab Report
Corn is Much Tastier Without Toxic Chemicals in It
Introduction: 90% of Americans contain bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical found in plastics, within their bodies (Rogers). In an increasingly industrial world, most foods are preserved in plastic containers, allowing for leakage into these foods. It can be assumed that the leakage of toxic chemicals into food has the potential for harm, both to the cells within the substance as well as those who consume the contaminated foods. However, further investigation is necessary to determine what the overall effect BPA has in terms of cellular damage.
Purpose: How does the application of BPA to corn affect the cellular composition?
Hypothesis: If a plastic water bottle is melted down and BPA is collected and placed on kernels of corn, The corn kernel that received this BPA will experience more cellular damage in comparison to unaffected corn because BPA is a toxic chemical and will kill aspects of the cell
Materials:
Acetone (Amount does not matter - According to Mr. Ahmad)
Hydrochloric acid (Amount does not matter - According to Mr. Ahmad)
1 Pair of Metal tongs
1 Striker (To start Bunsen Burner)
1 Bunsen Burner
1 Liquid Dropper
1 Polycarbonate plastic bottle
Approximately 50 mL Pure water (Enough to neutralize BPA)
1.0 Molar HCI (Fume hood)
1 Evaporating dish
2 Glass Beakers
5 Pairs of Safety goggles
5 Lab aprons
4 Cotton Swabs
1 Pair of Tweezers
15 pH strips
2 Paper Plates
2 Glass Vials
One Vial Container
6 Microscope Slides
1 Glass Bottle
Procedure:
- Procedures (New):
- Put on protective gear, including safety goggles and lab aprons.
- Write out expected reaction and procedure map on glass of fume hood. This is because if the experiment is viewed by another scientist, they should be able to fully understand what reaction is occurring in case of an emergency.
- Add Acetone (amount does not matter) into a beaker. Keep all materials under the fume hood, so toxic materials are not being breathed in.
- Hydrochloric acid goes into a different beaker
- Put small portion of Polycarbonate plastic bottle into evaporating dish with acetone (amount does matter)
- Start flame by lighting bunsen burner with the striker
- Use the tongs to put evaporating dish over flame
- The acetone will catch fire and then add hydrochloric acid atop the plastic using the dropper.
- Lift the plastic up into the flames a couple times for a second, so it cools for a second and does not get too hot. The plastic melts at 250 degrees celsius, whereas BPA melts at 150 degrees. By taking advantage of this difference in melting points, the combination could be placed at a heat hot enough for the BPA to melt, but not hot enough for the plastic to melt.
- Leave the plastic in there until the flame goes out, therefore causing all the acetone to burn off and hydrochloric acid to evaporate.
- The remaining materials are only water and BPA, but mostly BPA because most of the water will have evaporated.
- Add some pure water (without any other molecules inside) to the BPA in order to level out the acidity.
- Test the ph level of the BPA and add additional water if it is not at a neutral level of 7.
- Swab 4 corn kernels with BPA.
- Store 4 corn kernels with BPA, and 4 without in separate glass vials. Refrigerate for 4 days.
- Extract portion of corn cell and place in microscope slides.
- View under microscope and take pictures.
- Observe photos and look for potential differences.
- Conclude results based on photos and differences.
Conclusion:
The independent variable in this experiment was whether corn kernels had BPA applied or not, and the dependent variable was the changes created by BPA interference. Unfortunately the dependent variable did not end up being quantifiable, keeping the lab from being entirely successful. The conducted experiment provided no concrete evidence that BPA directly damages corn cells. Comparison of the BPA infected cells to the control group demonstrated a lack of significant differences, and prevents definite conclusions to be made. The lack of significant differences, as predicted in the hypothesis, conveys that the BPA either failed to break through the cell wall of the corn, or the results were invisible to the microscopes available to us over the course of the experiment.
The results of this experiment disallow us to either accept or refute our hypothesis. We did not accumulate any proof that the BPA harmed the corn cells, however the consensus remains that the BPA had a negative effect on the cells. Unfortunately, the end result did not support this, most likely because the potential differences between the two cells may have been invisible to our microscopes. Had we access to microscopes of increased visibility, it appears very likely that cellular damage would have been determined. Thus, further experimentation is necessary to fully respond to the initial hypothesis. Aside from the mentioned issues with the microscopes, the amount of time given for the BPA to potentially break through the corn membrane could have been errored. Assumptions were made as to how long it takes for this process to occur; however, for further conclusiveness a separate experiment could be conducted to determine a concrete number. This could them be used to shorten or elongate the interval given for the BPA to sink into the corn. If the amount of time necessary exceeds the lifeline of the corn, then we could conclude that BPA is unable to have any direct effect on corn when applied exteriorly. Apart from the troubles demonstrated in these two areas, the procedures worked seamlessly for us, especially with the extraction of BPA. Future experiments should definitely adapt this process for accumulated the BPA, just adjust their experiments according to the previously mentioned issues. With these alterations made, I am fairly confident that visible differences in the corn could be found, and the lab could reap positive results. Regardless of the results, seeing firsthand the toxicity of BPA, and researching the negative health effects steered us towards wanting to avoid BPA in our own foods, and we still believe it is something that could affect corn and essentially the bodies of anyone who consumes it in all types of foods.
Citations:
Ignacio A. Rodriguez-Jorquera, Yun-Ya Yang, and Gurpal S. "Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Bisphenol-A." EDIS New Publications RSS. Soil and Water Science, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2016.
Hepler, Kendra. "How Harmful Actually Is BPA?" Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy. Pennsylvania State University, 1 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
Rogers, Kara. "Bisphenol A (BPA)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
"Gram Stain Technique (Procedure)." Microbiology Virtual Lab I : Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Virtual Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.
Howard, Jacqueline. "Canned Foods Linked to BPA Risk in New Study." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 June 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
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Microscope Work:
We worked with microscopes today! Knowing how to use these correctly will be critically to our Iron Chef lab, where we will be observing differences in cells. An example of different cells, as seen through a microscope, is shown below. The one on the left shows an onion cell put through salt water - therefore dehydrated. The picture on the right show the normal, unaffected onion cell. The difference in color is in part due to the light shone up by the scope. This is something we need to make sure we are aware of with our lab: keeping the lighting consistent.
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10/13/16
Plant Cell or Animal Cell? Fermentation Demo
Notes:
- Yeast = unicellular
- Sugar and oxygen = two things needed for cellular respiration.
- When the yeast hits the water, it "comes alive"
- When the yeast reacts with the water and glucose, it should either create carbon dioxide or oxygen.
Questions:
- Because it is neither a plant, nor animal cell, does it produce oxygen or carbon dioxide?
- What conditions does yeast need to work at its optimal?
- How long does it take yeast to chemically react with sugar?
- How does temperature and pH effect the reaction with sugar?
Materials:
- 4 sets of 200 ML of hot water
- 200 ML of room temperature water
- 200 ML of cold water
- 6 sets of 50 ML sugar.
- 6 glass flasks
- 25 ML baking soda
- Funnel
- 6 packs of powdered yeast (21 g each)
Procedures:
- Arrange three flasks (flask 1, 2, 3) with the different types of water.
- Add 200 ML hot water to flask #1.
- Add 200 ML room temperature water to flask #2.
- Add 200 ML cold water to flask #3.
- In separate three flasks (flask 4, 5, 6), add 200 ML each of room temperature water.
- To flask #6, add 25 ML of lemon juice (makes water acidic).
- To flask #4, add 25 ML baking soda (makes water basic).
- Add 50 ML sugar to flasks 4-6.
- Simultaneously add the yeast to each beaker (1-6) and cover the flasks with balloons.
- Observe throughout the day.
Photos taken 45 minutes after experiment.
End of the day (approximately 4 hours later)
Results:
Clearly the balloons inflated throughout the day, some not as dramatically as others. A foamy sustenance was generated, most significantly in the flasks containing room temperature water. This substance was determined to be alcohol, which is what plant cells create during fermentation. Yet the air contained in the balloon was carbon dioxide - the air exerted by animal cells. This was somewhat unsuccessfully found when tested for flammability, because the CO2 did not ignite, because carbon dioxide is not flammable. So overall, we found that yeast is basically in between a plant and animal cell, as with a few other bacteria/fungi.
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10/12/16
Cellular Respiration Lab
Once again we have a lab (containing food), that helps illustrate a scientific topic. On today's menu we have Cellular Respiration, which is essentially the creation of ATP. ATP is short for Adenosine Triphosphate, which is the energy our bodies use to do work. Cellular Respiration is broken up into three stages: Glycolysis, the Krebs/Citric Acid Cycle, and the Electron Transport Chain. Using the analogies in this lab, we will go over each step, but first here is a brief overview of what Cellular Respiration is, and how it relates to the material we have covered thus far.
As exhibited in the Poop Lab (bottom of this page), the small intestine absorbs the pivotal nutrients from ingested food - glucose, so that it can be transported by insulin to the cells and create energy. However, the broken down food that has just traveled through the digestive system is still not broken down enough. It is energy, but energy in a different form than what our bodies can use. This energy is basically just in the wrong units, and needs to be converted. Along with the glucose delivered to the cell after being absorbed by the small intestine, we have oxygen involved in the Cellular Respiration process. As seen in the Respiratory System, oxygen is transported by the hemoglobin to the cells, where it meets with the glucose for the first stage of Cellular Respiration: Glycolysis.
Glycolysis is the simplest of the steps in Cellular Respiration. The obtained glucose is too large for the cells to use, and thus this six-carbon ring is deconstructed into two, separate three-carbon rings, called pyruvates, and occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell. The Glycolysis process takes two ATP to occur, but generates a net value of two ATP. So coming out of the Glycolysis phase we have four ATP and two pyruvates.
Glycolysis is an anerobic process, meaning it can take place without oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, the pyruvates gets “rerouted” to a process called fermentation. During fermentation some of the NAD+ gets freed up, creating byproducts. The byproduct in plant cells is alcohal, whereas it is lactic acid in animal cells. When your muscles use up all the oxygen they have, they kick into anaerobic respiration creating lactic acid in your muscle tissues
To visually see this step, first two ATP were consumed, represented by chocolate cupcakes.
The students who consumed these then had enough energy to break apart the sugar molecule, that being a box of chocolate cupcake mix.
The cake mix, or pyruvates, experienced this split within the cytoplasm. An egg mix was used to represent the cytoplasm because of its gel-like consistency.
The complex more complex stage of Cellular Respiration comes to play during the Krebs cycle, which is also called the citric acid cycle. The two pyruvates, two ATP, and the oxygen that initially came from the Respiratory System have now traveled into the mitochondria. Remember the pyruvates are each three-carbon compounds...now one of these carbons get "oxidized", or combines with the oxygen. This creates carbon dioxide, which is known as the byproduct of the Krebs cycle. This carbon dioxide then travels back out to the lungs and continues with the respiratory system.
Now that one of the carbons has left, the pyruvate is left as a two-carbon compound called acetyl coenzyme A. A hydrogen molecule is then picked up from NAD+ and transported to the inner membrane of the mitochondria.
If that was too many scientific terms for you, just remember that the Krebs cycle is, in fact, a cycle. It is constantly repeating, and sending more hydrogen molecules to the inner mitochondrial membrane. In the lab, the cycle was illustrated by the stirring of the cake mix/eggs, which was also a cycle.
Then, the hydrogen molecules, or the batter, is transported by the NAD+, the spoon, to the inner mitochondrial membrane, the muffin tin.
Finally, in the last stage: The Electron Transport Chain - the enzyme ATP synthase chemically bonds this hydrogen molecule and ADP, which is the same as ATP but with one less phosphate.
The chemical bonding of these ADP and hydrogen results in approximately 38 ATP. However, because two ATP were used in both gycolysis and the Krebs cycle, there is a net gain of approximately 34 ATP.
An over (or cardboard box) was our ATP synthase, that took in the ADP and hydrogen and turned it into ATP...
...a.k.a. very good tasting chocolate cupcakes!
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Soil Lab:
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Making Poop Lab
It all began with an innocent looking Cup of Noodles, an apple, marshmallows, and a few other commonly consumed snacks. Most people chow these down without giving a second thought: How often do you ask yourself what happens after you are done chewing?
As most people would guess, the first step of digestion takes place in the mouth. Two types of digestion are at work while your canines and molars rip the food to bits: mechanical digestion and chemical digestion. Mechanical digestion involves the physical breaking apart of the food by teeth. The chemical digestion aspect involves, quite predictably, the chemical reactions between saliva and the foods. Enzymes such as amylase in the saliva catalyze these reactions.
As a class, we attempted to show the process of digestion, beginning with the stage in the mouth. As shown in the picture below, the Cup of Noodles and other foods mentioned, were torn apart by the scissors (canine teeth) and the cups (molars). Before long these tasty snacks were left unrecognizable, leaving many students disgusted that this is actually what happens inside them!
After the food was broken down into sizable pieces, the tongue propelled it all down the esophagus. The esophagus is essentially a tunnel connecting the mouth with the stomach. This was illustrated by a cardboard tube which the food from the mouth was propelled through.
From there the food arrived in the stomach. Here substances such as Pepsin, Lipase, and Hydrochloric acid work to further digest the food. Pepsin is an enzyme of which works to digest and break down proteins which enter the stomach. Lipase, on the contrary, focuses more on the digestion of fats, fatty acids, and types of alcohols. Hydrochloric acid has many jobs, one being that it activates an inactive enzyme pepsinogen, turning it into pepsin. It also breaks down proteins, digests a variety of foods, and kills bacteria that reaches the stomach.
The stomach is constantly contracting, thus the illustration as a giant plastic bag. At this step, students introduced different liquids, representing enzymes, into the stomach where they chemically broke down the food. Also, students made the bag contract and mix around its contents by squeezing it.
Next the food entered the small intestine, represented by a pair of tights. As you can see below, much of the liquid leaked out. This is because when you consume food, much of it is absorbed as nutrients and used to help your body function. This leakage is the nutrients that the body deemed important, and decided to keep to be distributed to the cells. The waste would then travel from the small intestine to the large intestine.
The food is now a smaller portion of waste as it reaches the large intestine. The function of the large intestine is predominately to absorb water and vitamins in the food, before shaping it into feces. Feces are just waste, which are temporarily stored in the rectum, which is the concluding part of the large intestine. Once some of this waste is stored up, the feces exit the body through the anus.
These final steps are shown by what was once a Cup of Noodles, apple, etc., entering from the tights (small intestine), into a thick, absorbent tube sock (large intestine). Once the sock had absorbed most of the liquid and shaped the waste into a solid (the feces), the waste exits through the rectum and anus.
Hope this helped you understand the digestive system further, and have fun making poop!
Works Cited:
Bradford, Alina. "Colon (Large Intestine): Facts, Function & Diseases." LiveScience. TechMedia
Network, 25 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
"HCL Acid in Stomach." Healthy Eating. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
Healthline Editorial Team. "Rectum." Healthline. Healthline Media, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Sept.
2016.
Ruiz, Atenodoro R., MD. "Rectum and Anus." Merck Manuals Consumer Version. Merck Sharp &
Dohme Corp, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
"Large Intestine." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
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