Studying Interdependence of Organisms and Cycles: Weekly blog #14

http://www.smithlifescience.com/cyclesnature.htm

Summary

This week in science, we studied the works of nature that connects abiotic and biotic factors. A biotic factor is something in the environment that is alive, This could be something like the grass, people, animals, trees ect. An Abiotic factor is something in an environment that isn't alive such as the sky, cement, rocks, and even sunlight. We also learned about natural cycles, namely the nitrogen and carbon cycles. The carbon cycle is the cycle of carbon from plants and animals to the atmosphere to the ocean and several other place. Almost the same can go for the nitrogen cycle There are also other cycles in nature such as the water cycle and rock cycle but we already previously studied those so there is no point in learning them again.

S&EP - Communicating Information

I engaged in discussions with scientific peers. As I was researching about the different cycles, I had to show what I learned about our assigned cycle by communicating my ideas about the nitrogen cycle to a group that was assigned with the carbon cycle. They then told me about there journey through the cycle and what type of places they traveled to, as well as what changes occurred along the way. This is how I communicated information to other scientific peers this week.

XCC - Patterns

There is a large emphasis on the use of patterns as far as cycles go. Once the cycle goes through once, it will start again, thus making it a pattern. This can apply to all cycles because eventually they will repeat in the same or a similar sort of manor. However, if there were to a a disturbance or a change in the cycle, it would have a changed pattern, and would affect the whole system, including everything apart of it. This is how I communicated concepts about patterns this week.

Superhero Life Science - Project Blog Post

My Superhero that was the root of my project

Summary

I learned about a variety of things during this project. I now comprehend subjects about mutations, DNA, Genes, Heredity, Epigenetics, engineering, and GMO. A GMO is a genetically modified organism. This can be anything that is a organism, but can also apply to genetically modified foods. A mutation is when there is a change in genetic materials, that is found in a DNA sequence. This results in a substitution, insertion, or deletion of genes. Heredity is the inheritance of genes from parent to offspring. Epigeneitcs is the term used for the decisions a parent makes that can cause a changes in gene expression affecting the offspring. Another way to put it is affects on the offspring depending on the certain choices the parent makes. DNA is the instruction of genetic code found in the nucleus of the cell to develop and function. A part of the DNA is what get passed down from parent to offspring, and what make them look alike. I learned what a cam and cam follower are in engineering, as well as I learned how to create my own mechanism. These are the things I learned and now know over the course of this project.

Backward - Looking: Does this work tell a story?

I speak for myself, but I definitely think that my work tells a story. A great tale about the courageous Karmeleon. Besides the fact that this project is composed several story's in it, such as my origin story, love story, and rivalry story, I think that the work itself will tell the story of all the things that I learned and was able to convert into a story of a superhero. A story of a superhero that went to great lengths to protect the things that he cared about. The story of the rivalry of the corporation and the committee fighting for the greater good of the city. The committee has the help of Karmeleon, as well as his daughter, to serve in always saving the city from the evil corporation. This is why I believe that my project tells a story. 

Inward - Looking: What was especially satisfying to you about either the process or the finished product?

Something that was definitely satisfying in the end of my project was how much I wrote, and overall how much I created. Ranging from stories to drawings, I had a lot of elements in my project. I say that it was satisfying because getting all the work out of the way and getting done with that project after a few months will always be extremely relieving. Another thing that was satisfying was how much I got to write about in my stories. I was very satisfied about how in depth I got and what types of things I put into it to make it an interesting story.

Outward - Looking: What grade would you give it? Why?

I would most probably give my project an A. I put a lot of time and effort on everything that went into my project. This includes things like my story. I think my story's had a lot of thought into them as well as originality. Considering all the science we did, I believe that I filled out my worksheets and papers well and accurate according to what has been taught.  I also think that I did well and put considerable amounts of effort on my drawings and models. This includes my automata ,drawing of my superhero, villain, as well as child. This is why I think that my work deserves an A.

Forward - Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

I would most probably try to make my drawing overall a bit neater. I say this because on some of my drawings, the lines weren't as steady as I would have liked them to be, as well as they overall weren't as appealing as I would have wanted them to be. I would have also probably went in more detail in some of my body system description. I think I also think that if I was able to do this again, I would change a lot of things in my super-villain. I don't know why, but when you see the content that goes with my super-villain, it looked pretty rushed and overall not as good as I would have wanted it to be.

Finalizing Our Superhero Project: Weekly Blog #13

https://www.pinterest.com/agordon3082/animals-waving-goodbye/

Summary

This week in science, I worked on finally finishing up our superhero projects. I compiled all of the documents, drawings, and files that we worked on for the past few months, and taped them onto a poster to be submitted. I learned about several things during this project, I learned about GMO, Mutations, Genes, DNA, Heredity, Epigenetics, engineering, and so much more. A GMO is a essentially what it stands for, a genetically modified organism. This can be anything that is a organism, but can also apply to genetically modified foods. A mutation is when there is either a change in