Unit 3 Reflection

Unit three was about cells, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. We went in depth about the process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. There were things that I understood immedeatly, such as photosynthesis, but there were also things that I did not quite understand as well, such as the process of cellular respiration.

I have learned many things from this unit. I learned more about photosynthesis and the different steps of cellular respiration. I also learned more about cells and how their organelles funtion. I gained more knowledge from this lesson and I can apply what I learned to my life.

I would like to learn about how the human body works and how it compares to how plants work. It would be interesting to see if we really are very different from the nature that surrounds us or not. It would also be interesting to compare how the human body works to how other animals' bodies work. This unit was extremely useful and has taught me a lot of new things.

Photo Lab

Question: How does each of the different colored lights (white, orange, green, and blue), at full intensity, affect the plant’s release of carbon dioxide?

Hypothesis: If the plant absorbs a lot of blue light, then there will be more carbon dioxide bubbles it will let out in 30 seconds and 1 minute.

Experimental parameters:

• Dependent variable: light color change
• Independent variable: amount of CO2 bubbles that appeared
• Constants: the time
• Control: no light

	No light	White light	Orange light	Green light	Blue light
30 seconds	0 bubbles	6 bubbles	5 bubbles	1 bubbles	5 bubbles
1 minute (60 sec)	0 bubbles	12 bubbles	9 bubbles	3 bubbles	11 bubbles

Conclusion:

In this lab, I asked the question: “How do different colored lights, at full intensity, affect the amount of carbon dioxide coming out from a plant?” I found out that each of the different colored lights do affect how many carbon dioxide bubbles came out in 30 seconds and 1 minute. It turns out that white light caused the most carbon dioxide to come out. Within 30 seconds, six carbon dioxide bubbles had come out and 12 in a minute, under white light. Blue light came into a close second. 5 bubbles had come out at 30 seconds and 11 at a minute. Orange light also let out 5 bubbles in 30 seconds, but only 9 in a minute. The green light had caused the least carbon dioxide bubbles to come out. Only 1 came out within 30 seconds and 3 in a minute. The data does not support my hypothesis because I thought that the blue light would cause the most bubbles to come out, but the white light had caused more instead.

This lab was done to demonstrate that different colored lights do affect how much carbon dioxide comes out of a plant. From this lab, I learned even more about how plants work, which helps me understand the concept of photosynthesis and cellular respiration better. Based on my experience from this lab, I can predict when the plants might be letting out oxygen or carbon dioxide. This lab has been very helpful.

Microscope Organism Lab

Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Organelles found:

1. Nucleus

Ligustrum

Organelles found:

1. Nucleus

2. Chloroplasts

3. Vein

4. Guard Cells

5. Upper and Lower Epidermal Cells

6. Intercellular Spaces

Spirogyra

Organelles found:

1. Nucleus

2. Chloroplast

Bacteria Cells

Types of Cells Found:

1. Spirillum

2. Bacillus

3. Coccus

4.Diplo-

5. Staphylo-

6. Strepho-

Cyanobacteria (Blue-green algae)

Organelles found:

1. None

Euglena

Organelles found:

1. Nucleus

Amoeba

Organelles found:

1. Nucleus

2. Pseudopods

3. Food Vacuole

4. Cytoplasm

5. Cell Membrane

For this lab, we looked at different types of cells and tried to identify each of their organelles. Some organelles were difficult to find in some cells because they were so small. We also learned how to use a microscope properly. We also learned more about the different types of cells, such as autotrophs, heterotrophs, prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and protists.

Autotrophs are all plant cells, algae, and some protists. All autotrophs contain chloroplasts and performs photosynthesis.

Heterotrophs are all animal cells. All heterotrophs contain mitochondria and get energy from consuming other organisms.

Eukaryotes are multicellular. They tend to be larger than prokaryotes. All animal and plant cells are eukaryotes. All eukaryotes have nuclei.

Prokaryotes are single cellular. They tend to be smaller than eukaryotes. Algae and bacteria are examples of prokaryotes. All prokaryotes don't have nuclei.

Glencoe Photosynthesis Lab

Analysis Questions

1. Make a hypothesis about which color in the visible spectrum causes the most plant growth and which color in the visible spectrum causes the least plant growth?

If a plant is put under red or blue light, the plant will grow a lot more than it would under green or yellow light.

Red light and blue light would cause the most plant growth because plants absorb a lot of red and blue light. Green light and yellow light would cause the least plant growth because  green and yellow light are reflected off the plant.

2. How did you test your hypothesis? Which variables did you control in your experiment and which variable did you change in order to compare your growth results?

I tested my hypothesis by putting three different seeds underneath different colored lights. The types of seeds remained the same, but each time, I changed the color of the light to see how each of the different colored light affected the plant’s growth.

Results:

Filter Color	Spinach Avg. Height (cm)	Radish Avg. Height (cm)	Lettuce Avg. Height (cm)
Red	18 cm	13 cm	11 cm
Orange	15 cm	8 cm	6.67 cm
Green	2 cm	1.167 cm	3 cm
Blue	19 cm	14.67 cm	13 cm
Violet	16.167 cm	9.33 cm	7.83 cm

3. Analyze the results of your experiment. Did your data support your hypothesis? Explain. If you conducted tests with more than one type of seed, explain any differences or similarities you found among types of seeds.

The data did support the hypothesis. While the plants were underneath the red and blue light, they grew the most. While the plants were under the green light, the plants grew the least. For all three seeds, each plant grew the most under red and blue light.

4. What conclusions can you draw about which color in the visible spectrum causes the most plant growth?

Red, blue, and violet light will cause the most plant growth. Violet light contains red light and blue light so it will also be effective when growing plants.

5. Given that white light contains all colors of the spectrum, what growth results would you expect under white light?

White light would lead to even more growth than just having one colored lights. Even though green light does not cause much plant growth, the plant will still grow a little. The green light will add a little more growth when combined with the other lights.


Link to virtual lab: http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS12/LS12.html

Egg Diffusion Lab

In this lab, we put two eggs that had been soaked in vinegar and then water, into deionized water and sugar water (corn syrup). We left the eggs in the two liquids for a couple of days. We were testing to see how the egg would do in a hypertonic and hypotonic solution. We were asking how and why does a cell's internal environment change, as it's external environments changed.

The eggs that were in the water had changed 9.52% in mass on average and 16.85% in circumference on average. The eggs that were in the corn syrup had changed -44% in mass on average and -26.68% in circumference on average. The eggs in the water had expanded because of diffusion. The eggs in the water had too much solvent (water) in the solution so it tried to balance themselves out. The solvent from the water had diffused into the egg. The eggs in the water shrunk because there was too much solute (corn syrup) in the solution. The solvent from the egg had diffused into the water to balance out the solute in the corn syrup.

The cell's internal environment changes as its external environment changes because it needs to maintain homeostasis or keep themselves balanced. The molecules moving from high concentration to low concentration (moving from outside the cell into the cell through the membrane) is called passive diffusion, which requires no effort at all. The molecules moving from low concentration to high concentration (moving from in the cell to the outside of the cell) is called active transport because it requires a lot of energy and effort by the cell.

In class, we learned a lot about diffusion and solvents and solutes. This lab helps demonstrate exactly what each of them are. The solvent in the egg or water diffuses into the other. It shows what diffusion actually looks like.

Vegetables at markets are sprinkled with water to prevent the water that is in the vegetables from diffusing out. Also, the salt that people put on the road to melt the ice can affect the plants nearby. Salt absorbs water and the water in the plants will diffuse out of the plant because of the salt.

Based on this experiment, I would like to see how the eggs will do in other solutions. It would be fun to see multiple solutions instead of just water and sugar water. Also, I would like to see what would happen with some plants or even meats instead of just an egg. I wonder how those would turn out.

Egg Cell Macromolecules Lab

In this lab we asked: "Can macromolecules be identified in an egg cell?" We found out that it is possible to identify macromolecules in egg cells. We used a series of different methods to identify macromolecules. To find monosaccharides used Benedict's Solution where we mixed copper sulfate with the egg parts. If there are monosaccharides, then it will turn from blue to green or orange. We mixed iodine with egg parts to see if there are polysaccharides. If there are polysaccharides, it will turn from brown to black. For the lipid test, we mixed the egg parts with Sudan III/IV. If lipid is present, it will turn from red to orange. Finally, to identify the protein, we mixed the egg parts with sodium hydroxide. If protein is present, it will turn from blue to purple. The egg membrane should contain proteins in it to help protect the insides. The egg yolk should contain monosaccharides, polysaccharides, and proteins because it keeps the chick healthy if the egg is fertilized. The egg white should contain lipids to produce energy for the chick.

While our hypothesis supported our data, there could have been errors due to using the same pipette for multiple things. The pipette could have had other things that mixed into the egg parts or solution and affected the results. Also, the membrane of the egg and the yolk might of had some egg white on it, which might have affected the results. The egg white might have had some macromolecules in it that is not in the egg membrane or the yolk. Due to the error, in future experiments I would check and make sure that I do not use a used material and be more careful. I would also try my best to keep each part of the experiment away from the other parts and make them as clean as possible.

This lab was done to demonstrate how to identify macromolecules in an egg cell and to see what kinds of macromolecules are in each part of the cell. From this lab, I learned about the different types of macromolecules which helps me understand the concept of what each of the macromolecules actually do. Based on my experience on this lab, I can now choose healthier foods to eat and understand how the macromolecules work inside my body. This lab has helped me choose healthier foods to eat.