The past week in science

In the past week in science, we learned and worked on adaptation and natural selection. We talked about how animals have certain traits for adaptation (example, a bird's bones so they can fly). We also learned how animals can adjust to certain climates and environments. I learned that if the environment changes too fast, the organism will not be able to reproduce. If the environment changes slowly, the organism will be able to reproduce. We had a quiz on natural selectiona nd adaptation on Friday.

What I learned with the roach experiment

We worked on our cockroach experiment this past week. Every table did a different experiment that they chose to work on. Our table (Andrew, Matt, Don and I) decided we would tie a fishing string around the roach's back and attach a piece of cardboard on the other end. The main test was to see how much the roach could pull. We used one ounce cubes to add to the cardboard one at a time to measure it. We started with one and eventually got to twenty one. We learned that coackroaches are strong and determined. Many of them have different personalities. We saw some that would barely move, but we luckily had one that was active and strong. When we tied the string around him, he was fiercly running and trying to go faster. If we had one that was slow and just bland, we wouldn't of been able to add that many one ounce cubes. It sort of acted like a truck like an 18 wheeler, the roach being the truck and the piece of cardboard being the cargo. I learned that cockroaches are strong and get angry easily.

Another week in science

This week in class we worked on our projects. In the beginning of the week we were on the computers typing our Wiki's, blogs and essays for the Reebop project. The things that we had to do for the project are write an essay on how Meiosis and Mitosis play a role in the creation of a new Reebop, create a new blog about how genetic variety is involved in the creation as well. I said different genetics affect the outcoming results of the bug. I also said how you can see some of the traits being passed down in different generations of the Reebop. Another thing that we did for the project is recording how to make a punnett square on Smart Notebook. We also had to make gametes for a sperm and egg cell with genotypes. After finishing that, we worked with the cockroaches. We had two in a cup and made observations. All of them hiss when you touch them on the back. We realized that they don't have eyes; they move around with their sense of smell.

Reebop project entry

Genetic variety is one of the most important roles in the creation of a Reebop. Different genetics affect the results of a new generation bug. If I have a yellow mutation bug with wings and spots and a green bug without wings and has spots, you will get a certain result. The features of what color the Reebop is and the traits it has are genetic varieties. Dominance and recessiveness also matters when it comes to creating another generation. Traits are passed down by generation and are inherited. If there wasn't such thing as inheridence, the whole project would be completely different. I can see some of the traits being passed down in people's Reebops. Their bug might have a certain trait and then they mate with another bug and their trait takes over.

Wow another week in science...

This week in science class we worked on genotypes and traits. We worked on punnett squares and codominance. We talked about heterozygous, homozygous dominant and recessive. We had the fourth SpongeBob sheet for homework. Some people said it was easy while others said it was hard. That sheet worked on genes and traits and the chances of getting a certain outcome of a trait. We also did a bug activity where we got a piece of paper and we had to trace the bug depending on what traits it had. It could have spiky legs, non spiky legs, spots, a certain body shape and other body features. This week wasn't the most interesting out of the majority mainly because parents have to complain about Blogger.

This past week

This week in science we worked on genotypes, phenotypes and genes. We had the second SpongeBob sheet for homework, where we had to fill in the genotypes for genes. We did an activity where we had them written on rectangles and circles to see what results we would get if we pulled them out of a cup. One of the traits my table did was musical abilities and after mixing the egg and sperm, the results we got were all homozygous recessive. We also did athleticism, hair color and loudness. Athleticism had split results with two of them being homozygous domininant and heterozygous. Loudness had a result of all of them being heterozygous.

Another week in science...

The week in science before winter break we worked on genes and genetics. We did a "more than just peas" activities, which shows how genes are carried down from different sets of parents to their children. Most of the results turned out with something like "yy" or "rr" or "rR". We played the game when the substitute was in. We had to take notes. These are the ones I got:
-All living organisms inherit characteristics from their parents
-Each form of a gene is called an allele
-Any individual has two alleles for each gene
-And plant with two of the same alleles is called a Homozygote
-A plant with different alleles is called a heterozygote
-This gives peas a pink color because the pink is dominant
-When organisms reproduce, each parent can only pass one if its alleles for a characteristic to its offspring
-When it's passed, it's completely random