Photosynthesis

What is photosynthesis? (other than a big word (; )
It is a process, in which, protistans (mainly plants) use energy from the sun to make sugar.. then cellular respiration converts it into ATP (or the fuel).

Here is the reaction...
6H2O + 6CO2 ---> C6H12O6_6O2
or in other words..
six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen!

Here's how it works:
When we breathe out Carbon Dioxide the plant takes it up in the leaves. Then when it rains the plant takes it up through the soil. These two mix together in the chloroplast where light is trapped. These to make the substance glucose.

The plants use the energy from the sun(which is converted into chlorophyll) to mix together the Carbon Dioxide, water, and light. This creates food for the plants.

From here on, the process restarts itself.

Just incase you wanted to know, the green pigment in chlorophyll is what makes the plant green! (:

CELLS!

So basically science isn't my best subject! But, the one thing I do enjoy learning about is cells. (thanks to Robert Hooke -- the man who discovered them!) (: Don't ask why, because i'm not sure! ha but here is some information that i gathered...

Bacteria is single celled.. but certain things like animals (us) are multicellular.. we have about 100 trillion cells!

Most cells are not visible to the unaided eye because, they are so tiny. In fact, one of the only visible cells to the unaided eye is the human egg.. BUT cells are pretty important in all living things. They are so small that even under a microscope they seem tiny. You may be able to see things like the nucleus with the help of a microscope. In other words, cells are pretttttty small! This is one place size doesn't matter, cells carry out a number of tasks.

There are two different types of cells: plants & animals. The main difference between the two is a cell wall, which a plant has and the animal doesn't. This shapes and supports the cell.

Here's what each cell does have:

Cell membrane: think of this as "skin" it let's things in and out.

Chlorophyll: (in plants) this traps light and is used to produce food.. yummy.

Chlororplasts: (again in plants) think of this as the kitchen! food is made here..

Chromosomes: think of this as the computer (: these contain codes that guide cell activites..

Cytoplasm: it's just a jellylike substance

Endoplasmic reticulum: surface for chemical activity

Golgi bodies: these little things store & release chemicals

Lyosome: think of this as the tummy! it's the digestive center

Mircotubule: hollow cylinder that supports and shapes cell

Mitochondria: the powerhouse!

Nuclear membrane: holds the nucleus together!

Necleolus: body inside the nucleus

Nucleus: where the chromosomes live!

Plastid: stores food. -fridge (:

Ribosomes: another kitchen! proteins are made.

Vacuole: this contains water & dissolved minerals

I know it's not easy to remember.. so here's a picture of an animal cell

and.. a plant cell:

Cells are the center of living things. Without them, we wouldn't exsist. There are plenty more details that I could explain about cells, so know these are just the basics. (:

Here's a YOUTUBE video on cells (:

PKU

PKU is a treatable disorder that is inherited. Children get it from both parents that have one of the mutated genes. If their PAH enzyme is off then the child is at risk for this disorder. It affects the body’s ability to break down an amino acid called Phenylalanine (Phe).  If it's not treated the child could suffer from mental retardation. It can also cause Hyperphenylalaninaemia which can damage brain tissue. In infants, if this happens it can trigger brain related issues throughout life if it's not treated. In adults, it's bad for this to happen because it causes slow reaction and decrease of intellegence. It also may cause anxiety. This also effects children greatly because they have to change their lifestyle because of it. They have to change their diet and the way they eat for as long as possible because it is a form of treatment. They can not eat things with high protein like meet, cheese, milk, and such. In order for doctors to catch this disorder they check newborns blood so they can see if they have elevated levels of certain things or, the protein BH4. This disorder is found mostly in white children (1 in 10,000) and the number get lower in other races. It's very rare in African Americans. This basically happens when you have both parents that have an enzyme that isn't working correctly and the child inherits it. The child gets a build up of a certain protein, which isn't good. The only good thing about this disorder is that it is treatable if it's caught early enough. In the past, doctors placed kids with PKU in a state of severe mental retardation but now it's understood that it is treatable which is great! 

Enzyme Lab - Kiel, Leigh, Jodi, & Ali!

On the first day, our task was to place a variation of drops of yeast in the test tube and see what happened. This graph shows that the more drops of yeast makes the rate go up. The more enzymes placed into the test tube creates more pressure in the test tube.

On the second day of our experiment, we tested what would happen if we changed the temperature of the test tube. The first test tube we place into ice old water at about 25 degrees. The pressure was lower than the normal temperature. The second test tube was placed into luke warm water. This test tube had the most extreme reaction to the yeast out of the three. As you can see in the graph, as the temperature climbs between 25 and 80 degrees the pressure is building greatly. When we got the last test tube (hot water) and put the same amount of yeast into the test tube, we experienced about the same thing that we did with cold water. The pressure was going back down to where is was. I can conclude that enzymes work better in a luke warm temperature than an extreme cold or hot. 

Heres a video of our experiment... IN ACTION(:

(this was probably the coolest part! glad I got it on video right?)

This was day three I believe. The lower the pH level of the test tube made the pressure lower. As the pH level climbed after a certain amount of time the pressure climbed also. Therefore, the higher the pH level the more pressure you got. 

CONCLUSION: After this lab, I learned a lot of things. I wasn't aware that temperature effected enzymes from working like it did. I had figured that the more enzymes you had the more they worked, as you do with anything. There are many things that can effect how enzymes work.. but I did end up learning a lot!!

Article Research (:

So on my quest to get caught up before the semester ends I ran across this article about cells and how researchers built genetic devices to program cell's actions. I figured it would go great for one of my standards (research) so I decided to read more on it.

Here is the link: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/66729/title/RNA%2C_obey .... check it out!

I thought it was pretty interesting because a biochemical engineer, Christina Smolke, and her colleagues have created RNA devices that can pretty much be programed the way we can program a computer! They think someday they might be able to do this to plants that way they can alter their cells to make certain protiens during droughts to stay alive. This also may be a cure for cancer because of the way the cells can be programed. They can be "told" to make certain protiens or do certain things that way things with your body go a certain way. Cool right? The new invention is based on eons-old genetic material, or RNA molecules. Since the cells can be altered they had to come up with a sort of "security system" so make sure only one intruder can alter the cells. Their first device made the human kidney cells glow with a fluoresent protien when the RNA deteced a protein from a virus that infects bacteria. These are just examples of what researchers are going to be able to do in the future! It's crazy how far we have came with technology.

Photosynthesis "Dry Lab"

Materials:
3 Aquarium Snails
5 medium size beakers
Heat lamp
100 mL of water per beaker
BTB (bromothymol blue)
3 Elodea (aquarium plant)

Procedure:
1. Take all your materials out.
2. Put 100 mL of water in all four beakers
3. Take Beaker 1 and put 15 drops of BTB in the beaker. Let the beaker sit for a couple minutes until you notice changes.
4. Take Beaker 2 place 15 drops of BTB
5. Place the snail into the beaker
6. Observe what happens & record it.
7. Take Beaker 3 and place 15 drops of BTB into the breaker with the Elodea
8. Place under heat lamp until you notice changes.
9. Record changes
10. Take Beaker 4. Place 15 drops of BTB in the beaker along with the snail and Elodea
11. Place under light until you observe changes.
12. Record them.
13. Take the last beaker (5) and place 15 drops of BTB in the beaker along with the snail and Elodea.
14. Place in the dark for three hours.
15. Observe changes.

This is probably what you noticed:
Water plus BTB is blue-green
Water plus BTB plus a snail turns yellow
Water plus BTB plus Elodea is blue green in the light
Water plus BTB along with the snail and plant is blue-green in light and yellow in the dark after three hours.

This is why:
Carbon dioxide in water produces carbonic acid.
BTB is blue-green in liquid which changes to a yellow color in acid and back to blue-green when returned to a neutral pH.
Carbon dioxide plus water yields sugar and oxygen when chlorophyll and sunlight are present.
Animals respire.
Green plants photosynthesize in the light and respire all the time.
Sugar plus oxygen yields carbon dioxide plus water and energy.

Each fact above has something to do with why you noticed the changes you did in your lab. Photosynthesis is important for plants to get their food. This is important for us because we eat plants to get our energy.

So, I want to get my grade up(:

I did REALLY bad on one of my standards so therefore, I am trying to make up for it by posting information on a graph & exaplin exactly whats going on in the graph.. So.. Here we go!

If you want the full infromation go to this website here: (:
http://www.jbc.org/content/236/5/1372.short

Since the graph is on a PDF file I am not able to copy and paste it :( but I will give you some background information and explain the graph to you that is on page 5 on the right side! I believe it is Figure 5 in the text.

This article is basically about finding a method to determine sedimentation behavior of of enzymes. Since we are currently talking about enzymes in class I figured this would fit best for what I needed to make up! After they finished up their experements the results were shown. Figure 5 in the text is one of the graphs that show what the sedimentation behavior was.

Catalse, Alchohol Dehydrogenase, Rabbit liver soluble RNA, and Lysozme were all tested for 20 hours at 38,000 RPM. Catalase, which is the soild circle, had the greatest gain of the four enzymes. The distance of peak from meniscus started out at about .65cm in approx two and a half hours. After approxamently 17 hours the catalase had gotten to about 3cm. At 20 hours it was up to 3.59cm. The Alcohol Dehydrogenase, or the open circle, started out at .4cm in two and a half hours. After 20 hours the Alcohol Dehystrogenase was up to about 2.61cm. The Rabbit Liver Soluble RNA started out with one of the smallest numbers. After 5 hours it was up to about .35cm. After 20 hours the Rabbit Liver Soluable RNA only rose to about 1.31cm. The lowest enzyme of them all was Lysozyme. After 20 hours the Lysozyme was only up to about .65 cm. I can conclude after looking at this graph that Catalase had the greatest distance from the Menisus, and Lysozyme had the smallest peak from the Menisus.

FOUR CLASSES OF ORGANICS

FOUR CLASSES OF ORGANICS:

2-LIPIDS

Insoluble in water

Long chains of repeating CH2 units

Renders molecule non polar

four: carbs, nucleic acids, proteins, lipids

TYPES OF LIPIDS:

Fats: Long-term energy storage & thermal insulation in animals ; butter, lard

-carbs ultimately turn into fat.. fat is good in moderation

Oils: Long-term energy storage in plants & their seeds ; cooking oils

Phospholipids: Component of plasma membrane ; no-stick pan spray

Steroids: Component of plasma membrane; hormones ; medicines

Waxes: Wear resistance; retain water ; candles, polishes

BLUBBER. - fat, no meat.

TYPES OF LIPIDS: Triglycerides (1)

Triglycerides (fats)

Long term energy storage

Backbone of one glycerol molecule

Three-carbon alcohol

Each has an OH- group

Three fatty acids attached to each glycerol molecule

Long hydrocarbon chain

-saturated - no double bonds between carbons

-unsaturated - > double bonds between carbons

Carboxylic acid connects to -OH on glycerol in dehydration reaction

Carboxylic acid at one end

BASICALLY--

saturated - single bond, be sticky (bad for arteries) can bond together easier EXAMPLES: milk, butter

unsaturated - more than one bond EXAMPLES: corn, veg oil (slightly better for you)

TYPES OF LIPIDS: Phospholipids (2)

Phospholipids:

Derived from triglycerides

Glycerol backbone

Two fatty acids attached instead of three

Third fatty acid replaced by phosphate group

-the fatty acids are non-polar and hydrophobic

-the phosphate group is polar and hydrophilic

Molecules self arrange when placed in water

Polar phosphate "heads" next to water

Non-polar fatty acid "tails" overlap and exclude water

Spontaneously form double layer & a sphere

BASICALLY:

EVERY membrane in your body is like this.. it's confused doesn't know if it wants to be in water or oil so it can be in both

TYPES OF LIPIDS: Steroids & Waxes (3)

Steroids:

Cholesterol, testosterone, estrogen --body responds soo different to each, but basically the same.

Skeletons of four fused carbon rings (steroids because of their shape -- just in side group)

Waxes:

Long-chain fatty acid bonded to a long-chain alcohol (tend to be sticky, keep water out or in)

High melting point

Waterproof

Resistant to degradation --being degraded (broken down)

EXAMPLES: fruit, leaves, beeswax



SELF EVALUATION:
I've realized that i learn SO much more by taking notes & putting things into my own terms while Mr. Ludwig is teaching. It helps me understand more of what's going on. Therefore, I should start looking at the powerpoints online.. I know it isn't the same as him teaching but I believe it will help somewhat!

Phospholipid & Cholesterol Molecules

In class we created Fluid Mosaic posters in groups that modeled a cell membrane and how it worked. Over the next few days in class Mr. Ludwig lectured and we took notes over the models and what each part did. I did my notes in "dummy" terms so they were easy for me to understand. So, I figured I'd post them (:


Phospholipid & Cholesterol molecules

Polar head groups
Cholesterol - stiffened region
More fluid region
BASICALLY...
Phospholipid = phosphate
Tails = fatty acids

INSIDE-hydrophobic region
OUTSIDE-hydrophillic regions

Transmembrane protein = transports stuff
-ability to be lots of different things ( across whole membrane, size, shape)

WHATS IT DO?
protects - keeps things from going in or out (sort of like a cell wall)
basically its the outside of the WHOLE cell

300 (movie) - city is the cell. city makes persians come in & out.

if it is deemed harmful, the cell membrane keeps it out completely.
it chooses who it lets in & keeps out

size of the object trying to get in doesn't matter, if the cell membrane doesn't want you in YOUR OUT OF LUCK.

most important part


FUNCTIONS of membrane proteins -

*PROTEINS DO MOST JOBS

CHANNEL PROTEINS -
tubular
Allow passage of molecules through membrane
(Really specific -only let certain things in)
hollow tube
CARRIER PROTEINS -
Combine with substance to be transported
Assist passage of molecules through membrane
-latch on to them on the outside and go with them through.. carry things across.
change shape!
CELL RECOGNITION PROTEINS-
Provides unique chemical ID for cells
Help body recognize foreign substances
(Antenna like protein that recognizes different substances like bacteria or bad stuff to take a way)
RECEPTOR PROTEINS-
Binds with messenger molecule
causes cell to respond message
(wiggle your little toe)
passes signal to inside of cell -almost like someone yelling FIRE & then the other fires
ENZYMATIC PROTEINS-
carry out metabolic reactions directly
chew up & build up things


TYPES OF TRANSPORT:
Active VS Passive
Plasma membrane is differentially OR
(selectively permeable) selective, somethings get & in somethings get out.
Allows some material to pass
Inhabits passage of other materials

PASSIVE TRANSPORT:
No ATP requirement (doesn't spend energy) ATP(for now) = energy
Molecules follow concentration gradient(change)
LOTS = high concentration cell is bathes in it, inside low concentration
gradient - shift or change across a region (powerpoint- black to white)
-WORKS EASY

ACTIVE TRANSPORT-
big yucky thing trying to get in & it doesn't want it to.. bounces off (needs carrier)
need energy to get the big dude inside!
-DOESN'T WORK EASY

WATER- size of water lets it pass even thought it's sort of polar
CHARGED MOLECULES- only with channel
GLUCOSE, MACROMOLECULE - needs active transport

DIFFUSION-
a solution consists of:
a solvent (liquid), and
a solute (dissolved solid) --salt, proteins
Diffusion-
net movement of solute molecules down concentration gradient
MEANS- random motion - moving from high concentration to a low concentration (blue dye in water's movement)
water moves independent, dye moves independent

WHY DONT YOU USE DISTILLED WATER IN IV
-too much concentration of water will make cell expand.. needs more molecules

OSMOSIS-
diffusion of water down it's concentration gradient. (reverse osmosis = water treatment)
water moving across membrane
when you start dissolving particles in water - few molecules are free to be the actual concentration of water
a lot of dissolved stuff sitting in your cell
water surrounds particles to dissolve them.
salty water has a low concentration of water bcuz the water is busy dissolving the cell
put cell in salt- more solutes for the water to be attracted to.. water sees low concentration outside (waters going to gush out of cell) shrink like crazy.
almost pure water - (water follows to dissolve stuff, low concentration)

EVERYTHING GOES FROM HIGH TO LOW CONCENTRATION

Antacid Lab

Here is our lab write-up!



Self Evaluation: During this activity I learned a lot & The reaction of the antacids & the vinegar was fun to watch. The lower the Ph Number the more acid something has. Therefore, the higher the numbers get, the more the solution is a base. An antacid is a base so it balances out the Ph level making you feel more comfortable when you have a lot of acid in your stomach. I learned that different antacids effect some PH levels different while others don't. I wasn't aware that vinegar has a similar PH level as stomach acids or that the antacids work as fast as they do. Just because some antacids are labeled "maximum strength" or "extra strength" doesn't really mean they work any different then the other. In the end, I did learned not to use liquid antacids before Tums because it won't work! (:

Properties of Water!

 The class performed a water lab in groups and I had tons of fun! (: We tested a variety of things as far as: how many droplets of water or alcohol a penny would hold before it spilled, the form water takes when it's placed on a sheet of wax paper, and also how far water can travel down a string without hitting the floor before it gets into the cup.

• As far as the water on the penny, the highest number one of my group members got was around 35. With the alcohol, the highest number was 27. 

• Water was placed onto the wax sheet. When we attempted to cut the drop apart with a toothpick, it just moved around the paper. 

• In order for the water to travel down a long length of string you had to wet it. My group, of course, wanted to break the record (: so we took just over the record holding amount and attempted it! We got water about 3/4 the way down before it spilled onto the floor. Before we had another chance to try again, the bell rang. BUT, we were suprised at how far the water actually did travel without hitting the ground. 

After the lab, we did research for some reasons why the water molecules acted the way they did during the lab... & here's what i learned!

Here's just a cool picture I created on wordle with a bunch of words related to the topic(:

‘Dead simple’ way to see atomic structure

http://www.futurity.org/science-technology/dead-simple-way-to-see-atomic-structure/

Soooo.. Here's what i learned! :D

Researchers believe water coats just about every surface at room temperature. So with just a sheet of carbon reasearchers have found a new way to visualize the structure of the molecules. The water molecules are hard to study because they are always in movement but, by accident a group found a better way to look at these molecules. They discovered that Graphene, a honeycomb like lattice, should be flat when layered onto a flat surface. This proved that water molecules exsist on every surface :D They tested further and discovered the water molecules' pattern became more odd at a higher humidity. This also supported their idea that the molecules exsisted on all surfaces. After performing this experiment, they discovered the molecules form in a two layers of two-molecule-thick of ice forms. On top of this is where you get your droplets. As they work further they are trying to make is possible to photograph these molecules.


Self Evaluation: 
I would just like to point out I wasn't aware of ANY of this. I learned a lot! I would like to work more with articles and summarizing them because I'm not very good at understanding things when i read them. I have to have a visual picture. Although, I did learn a lot from this article. 

Clinical Trials (:

http://photopeach.com/album/17kscxl#

Since I wasn't able to get the video embedded into my blog your going to have to copy & paste to watch my video of a clinical trial! :D

Self Evaluation:
I believe my strongest area would probably be standard 6 because i used appropriate technology. (: My weakest area would probably be standard 8 only because sometimes I have a hard time at recognizing my weakest areas, especially in science. Therefore, that's what I'll be working on :]