Monday, September 13, 2010

Biology Collection #2- Kaitlyn Allen

While visiting the San Diego Zoo, I took this picture of a fern, which is known as a frond. A frond is a plant containing large leaves in separate sections.






Keratin is made up of proteins, these proteins make up our hair and nails.





This picture of a woody stem is from my Aunt's backyard. A woody stem is covered on the outside with bark.





This herbaceous stem is from my begonia, most flowers and vegetables have herbaceous stems. A herbaceous stem is not covered in bark, instead it is soft and usually green.




This is a picture of my brother's tongue, amylase can be found in saliva. Amylase is an enzyme that helps convert sugar into starch.



Deciduous leaves are leaves that fall off during a particular season, this leaf that I found while taking a walk through my grandmom's backyard is an example of a deciduous leaf.


These roses outside of my Aunt's house have thorns on it's stem. A thorn is a sharp point attached to the stem of a plant.


The flowers on my begonia plant contain pollen. Pollen is the fertilizing element of a plant, usually consists of a yellow powdery substance.

These flowers are from my mom's garden, they are considered angiosperms because an angiosperm is a plant that flowers; has seeds contained in it's ovaries.

These flowers are all examples of autotrophs, autotrophs create their own food using the process of photosynthesis.





















Monday, August 16, 2010

Biology Item Collection 2

Auxin is a plant hormone produced in the stem tip that promotes cell elongation. This shows a tip of a plant that is in my house. Auxin have an essential role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in the plant life cycle.
Gibberellins are a plant hormone that regulates growth and influences various developmental processes, including stem elongation, germination, dormancy, etc. This is a picture of Begonia that we are growing. Every plant has this hormone in it.

Ethylene is a plant hormone which differs from other plant hormones in being a gas. Ethylene is released by fruits such bananas (like seen) and tomatoes during their ripening process.


This shows radial symmetry because they are similar on both sides if a line is put through the middle



Keratin is a protein that makes up nails, hair, hooves, and horns and other such vertebrate structures. Our outer layer of the skin is an example of a keratin.


This picture is an example of modified stem of a plant. Normally the stem grows straight up but this picture shows the stem looping around 2 times.


Woody Stems are the stems of plants that have been growing for two years or more. After two years, a plant's stem thickens to accommodate growth and increased circulation in a plant. This shows the same plant as above but it shows the full stem


Insects are arthropods in the class insecta. This shows a picture of a dead insect. Insects normally have three parts: the thorax, the head and abdomen

This is just a picture of a plant next to my begonia. All plants have enzymes in them. Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts.


Long-day plants are those that require a long period of exposure to light each day in order to produce flowers. Lettuce is an example of long day plants and this shows lettuce that I had in my house

Biology Item Collection 2

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Biology Collection 2: Heather Shinn

It's hard to tell from the lighting in my kitchen but in this old jar of grape jelly there is mold growing. Because mold is a bacteria and bacteria are comprised of just one cell, mold is a unicelluar organism.

Biology Collection 2: Heather Shinn

My unpainted and dirty fingernails are an example of keratin. Keratin is a family of fibrous structural proteins. It is also the key structure of human skin, hair and nails.
This is picture of my coleus plants the first week I planted them. A coleus plant contains meristem which is the tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells. It can be found in all places growth occurs.

The term frond means large, divided leaf. These leaves are held together through a single stem but are all seperate and live in their own space. I found these leaves on the tree infront of my house. My begonia plants outside on my porch are considered autotrophs. An autotroph is an organism that produces it's own food through photosynthesis. All plants are autotrophs.





Clearly, this is my tongue. Amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar is present in salivia, which is produced in my tongue.




Biology Collection 2: Heather Shinn

A woody stem is the stem of the plant that has been growing for more then two years. After two years of growing a plants stem thickens to accomodate growth. This particular tree was planted infront of my house when we put our patio in five-six years ago.

Although not the most intact flowers, this is my family's rose bush. Roses are an example of angiosperm. They have the ovules and seeds enclosed in an ovary and each flower is surrounded by "floral envelopes."


If you look closely at this flower it's easy to tell it's radial symmetric. All the pedals and part are pretty much identical from the center out.



My four year old cow Tina is an example of a genetically modified organism. For generations dairy farmers have been breeding cows for certain characteristics such as milk production and reproductive success. As you can see Tina is very tall, that is also a trait we breed for. Through genetic modifications we are able to use semen from any bull in the world and pair it with our best cows to better our herds.





















Saturday, August 14, 2010

AP Biology Collection 2: Bryan Cargil

AP Biology Collection 2
Location: Behind my neighborhood in the area between Greene and Cross Creek

I am using this camouflaging insect for two different terms; Adaptation of and Animal and Chitin. I found this insect on my walk behind my neighborhood on the ground. It seemed to be a butterfly/moth type of insect though when stationed it looked very similar to the leaves on the ground.
Adaptation of an Animal: This insect shows adaptation of an Animal because the insect easily camouflages with the leaves in its environment as well as the ground. I only was able to notice it because it took flight as i stepped near it. So though its adaptation it is able to hide in its surroundings.
Chitin: Chitin is a primary component of an insect's exoskeleton. It is the main component in the cell wall of many different organisms and without it many insects wouldn't be able to survive.


Conifer Leaf: I found this evergreen plant on my way to the area between Cross Creek and my neighborhood. Conifer Leaf plants are non flowering, naked seed bearing plants like this one. Evergreen plants are very persistent and they absorb moisture efficiently making them all year round plants.














C4 Plant: I found this Crabgrass embedded among the other grass on my way to the ecosystem behind my neighborhood. A C4 plant is one that undergoes a different cycle of CO2 sequestration. It undergoes an additional part of the cycle which involves a fourth carbon molecule. These C4 plants are commonly found in high temperature, dry areas.







Deciduous Leaf: I found this leaf on a neighbor's tree near my house. Deciduous leaves are found on trees that go through a cycle in which the leaves are lost during a specific time of year. This particular tree, like many others, loses its leaves during fall.









Enzyme: I found this treacherous creature in the deepest depths of my neighborhood. He is known as Andrew Cargill, one of the world's most feared mammals. The Enzymes in his saliva are capable of many things. Which brings me to my term. Enzymes are proteins that catalyze the rate of a reactions making them occur at a greater rate. Amylase is an enzyme that allows you to taste starches by turning it into a sugar called maltose.






Cambium: I originally wanted to use this tree that I found for its vine however I realized that it would work for Cambium. By the way this isn't my arm. It is my brother's. Cambium is found in this tree. It is one of the many layers of bark, between the cork and primary phloem. It also is responsible for the secondary growth of plants.








Rhizome: I found this Cattail plant directly outside the area where I took most of the other pictures. Cattail plants have examples of Rhizomes within them. Rhizomes are basically horizontal roots that grow underground and they spread and reproduce that way. The cattail plants use Rhizomes (the way its roots are categorized) to reproduce underground through the soil.







I am using this plant for both Cuticle Layer of a plant and Cellulose. I found this plant in the area between Cross Creek and my neighborhood.

Cuticle layer of a plant: The cuticle layer of the plant is the protective layer of the outer cell layer and it lacks cells. The protect the cells from many different threats and I can conclude that it must be present because the leaves are healthy.



Cellulose: Cellulose is an organic compound found in plants that serves the primary function of acting as the structural component for the cell wall in most green plants. I can't physically see the cellulose but i know that it is there for one main reason. Without the cellulose aiding in the structure of the cell wall in plant cells the cells would fall apart.









Biology Collection #2: Jessie-Mara

The following pictures were taken during my recent trip to the Philippines.



1. Stem (herbaceous) - Pictured in the center, you can see the yellow trumpet plant growing by the waterfalls. The stem of the plant does not have any woody tissue, which makes it herbaceous. The stem is soft and bendable, but provides support for the plant.




2. Stem (woody) - This picture shows the durian tree that my dad planted about 12 years ago. The trunk of the tree is its stem, which provides structural support and storage for nutrients. Durian wood can be made into various products, including furniture.




3. Eukaryote - If you look closely, you can see a praying mantis resting on the leaf. The praying mantis itself is an example of a eukaryote. Unlike prokaryotes, eukaryotes are organisms whose cells have a nucleus and other membrane-enclosed organelles. Eukaryotes include animals, plants, and fungi.




4. Angiosperm - An angiosperm can be defined as a flowering plant. I feel that this picture of a hibiscus I took is an ideal model of the term. The hibiscus is also capable of producing seeds insides its ovary.




5. Frond - In the Philippines, there are coconut palm trees everywhere. Palm trees have many fronds, which are its large, leaflike parts.




6. Endotherm - I found these two adorable stray kittens playing in the woods. Like most warm-blooded animals, they are endothermic, which means that they are capable of regulating their own body temperatures by keeping them constant.




7. Adaptation of a plant - I took this photo of a madre de cacao tree located by the beach. As you can see, the ground is pretty rocky, yet the roots of the tree have managed to maneuver their way around them. The tree has adapted to its surroundings, and roots are able to set themselves in the ground so that the tree may receive its nutrients.




8. Ectotherm - Unlike an endotherm, an ectotherm, such as the frog picture above, has its body temperature dependent on the environment. An ectotherm regulates its body temperature by exchanging heat with its surroundings.




9. Lichen - I found this large rock covered with lichen, which is a plant-like growth resulted from the cohabitation of algae and fungi. Lichen is slow-growing, but can live for a long time.





10. Exoskeleton - Providing support and protection, an exoskeleton is an external skeleton that covers an animal's body, especially in some invertebrates. I was fortunate enough to catch this millipede crawling all over a coconut husk. The millipede's exoskeleton protects its segmented body.


Friday, August 13, 2010

Definitions list two


The function or position of a species within an ecological community. A species niche includes its phsical environment. This is an example of my niche within my home.





Ethylene is a natural colorless, oderless flamable gas however as a plant hormone it colors and ripens fruit. Generally being found in citrius type fruits or other fruits like this apple!

An insect is a small animal of the class insecta generally composed of a three part body (Head, thorax, abdomen) and having three pairs of legs and one pair of wings just like this fire fly!

An hermaphrodite is an orgamism like this flowering plant having both male and female reproductive organs in a single individual.



Human beings like my brother are examples of deuterostomes. Deuterostomes is a broad classifications of triploblastic animals including echinoderms and chordates that share embryologic traits.

Keratin is scleroprotein or albuminoid found in the dead outer layer of skin and is one of the main components of finger nails, hair or horns of animals.

An endotherm is an animal that generates heat to help maintain its body temperature which is typically above that of its surrondings, also known as a warm blooded animal! My dog bodhi is a perfect example of this!




The seeds contained in this apple are an example of angiosperm. An angiosperm in a basic sense is a plant that has its seeds contained within the ovary of a flowering plant.

Unicellular organisms can be found in a range of places the smallest of which can even be found in water.Unicellular organisms are exactly what they sound like (organisms with only one cell!) They can seperateded into two groups being bacteria and archaea.

This chickens egg is an example of an amniotic egg. Amniotic eggs are eggs layed by reptiles, birds or any egg laying mammal in which the embryo forms inside an amnion.