Wrapping up the semester

     Looking back at the semester and what I have done throughout it I believe I have done fairly well.  I feel that I have grasped all of the concepts to an average if not above average standard.  Some of the standards I got better than others.  For example I think I got the cell structure section very well but had trouble grasping the respiration part.  My favorite part of the semester was playing with the microscopes, I liked the microscope camera.  I do feel that I was lazy with my blogs sometimes, I got them in but some were later than I wanted to get them done.  With that said next semester I plan to get my blogs done as soon as I possibly can.  Therefore I learn the topics in pace and not have to cram to learn them.  Now looking ahead I plan on having another good semester.

Green Human

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

     PKU is a very rare disorder, it only happens to 1 in 10,000 caucasians.  The percentage is a lot less with other races.  Most children are screened for PKU at birth.  If they aren't tested and they have the disorder the child will have a small head, epilepsy and mental retardation.  To screen the babies they test for high levels of phenylalanine in their blood.  If it is they have to make sure its not from another protein defect by BH4.  PKU occurs when a genetic mutation disrupts the function of a crucial metabolic enzyme PAH.  This makes high phenylalanine levels in the brain.  This poisons the neurons and causes mental retardations.  If a person has this disorder they should stay to a low protein diet until at least 12 years old and to be safe most people stay on it their whole lives.  It is a very rare disorder but if you have it, its not fun.

Enzyme lab results

     In this lab we got a beaker and filled it with water and H2O2.  Then we would add drops of yeast to the experiment.  The reactions of the yeast with the mixture makes pressure.  We then measured the pressure over a 3 minute time period and graphed it.  To set up for the lab we had to connect a pressure sensor onto the beaker.  Then run the data through a computer program to graph the data.

In this part of the experiment we tested with different amounts of drops.  We found that we got the most reactions and pressure at 25 drops.

In this experiment we tested how the yeast reacted in different temperatures.  It reacted the most at 38 degrees Celsius.

In this experiment we tested the pressure with different amounts of PH.  We noticed that there was a lot less reactions happening at the PH of 7.

Photosyntheses "Dry Lab"

1)  

Materials: 5 beakers, water, bromothymol blue, 3 snails, 3 Elodea (aquarium plant), a lighted area, a dark area

Do these tests on a lab bench at room temperature.  Use 100 ml. of water and 50 drops of bromothymol blue per beaker.

1. Put water and bromothymol blue together in the same beaker.  Observe what color it is.

2. Get a beaker of water and add bromothymol blue to it.  Then add an aquarium snail to it and observe what color it is after 3 hours.

3. Get a beaker of water and add bromothymol blue to it.  Then add Elodea, once you have done this place it under light and observe what color it is after 3 hours.

4. Get 2 beakers with water and add bromothymol blue to each of them.  Then place an aquarium snail and Elodea in each of them.  Once you are done with this place one in the light and one in the dark.  Leave them there for 3 hours then observe the colors.

2)

1. Water plus bromothymol blue is blue-green because the oxygen in the water turns the bromothymol blue a blue-green color.

2. Water plus bromothymol blue plus an aquarium snail turns yellow because animals respire in the form of carbon dioxide, which in water makes carbonic acid.  This turns the solution yellow.

3. Water plus bromothymol blue plus elodea is blue-green in light because green plants photsynthesize in the light and respire all the time.

4. a) Water plus bromothymol blue plus a snail plus elodea is blue-green in light because because the plant does photosynthesis.
    b) Water plus bromothymol blue plus a snail plus elodea is yellow in the dark because the plant has no light for photosynthesis.

3)
1. It doesn't give adequate information on where the acid comes from to make the solution yellow.

2. They did not try all of the experiments in the dark.  If it was in the dark there would be more accurate data.

3. What type of snail do you use that will stay in the water.