Protein Synthesis Lab Conclusion

1. When we modeled the process of protein synthesis, we had learned that there were a few steps to make a protein. The first step was to make a copy of the original DNA, and use that as a template. The next part was to use that template to make a copy that would be translated into RNA. Third Step would to leave the Nucleus, enter the cytoplasm, and bind to a ribosome. The fourth step is to read the first three bases or codons, and build amino acids that correspond to that codon. The last step is to bound up the amino acids, finish translating, and build the protein with the amino acids.

2. The effects of changing bases are different depending on what they changed. For example, substitution only ended up doing silent mutations in the lab, while the others drastically changed the code. The ones that did the most damage were the ones that added or removed the bases, while the ones that substitute barely did any damage. The damage does more if the mutation were to occur earlier on the code, rather than near the end.

3. I chose the mutation that added to the code, and placed it near the start of the code. This mutation does large damage, since like removing, changes the code. Also, the placement is crucial, since placing it near the start of the code maximizes the damage done.

4. Mutations could cause malfunctions in the body, or in critical points where the body needs to live. It could either kill the person, cripple the person badly, or just deal no harm at all. An example of a beneficial mutation is the Somatic mutation, where the genes make copies of itself, till at one point, the body would have mostly the mutated genes. These genes are harmless near the beginning, but could cause major damage if left unchecked.

Unit 4 Reflection

After the long days of working on Unit 4, I have gotten an in-depth review of genetics and have learned quite a lot. From the beginnings of how Mendel had first discovered genetics, this study had not been attempted for a long time, until recently, when Scientists were able to prove Mendel was right. What I managed to excel at was understanding the process and the punnett square, but I never really got the concept of the complicated parts, such as terms or segregation, and the Mendel's Laws of segregation and others. Even though I had already reviewed these parts before in 8th Grade, I had learned some more interesting things than what I was taught before. I plan to think back on what I learned back in 8th grade and compare it to what I have learned now.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit we began on talks about "walking the dogma" and is related to Chapter 12 in our textbook. It was about the DNA and its role in living organisms, which is to build the certain parts in certain places. The things to note where the steps which replicate DNA (Transcription) , and how they make proteins from reading off RNA (Translation) . The cells make copies of DNA by unzipping it using RNA polymerase, and then using nearby RNA/nucleotides, they make messenger RNA, which are temporary copies of the original DNA. When making proteins, the mRNA or messenger RNA, goes into the cytoplasm and binds itself to a ribosome. The ribosome reads the RNA in a 3-letter code, or codons, and has transfer RNA or tRNA, bring Amino Acids for each specific codon. I was excelling in reading the RNA and being able to figure out which amino acid goes where, with the help of a certain sheet of paper, though i still lack in my ability to remember certain parts of the things go where in a picture, and often forget, misspell them, or just put it in the wrong place.

I have learned much about the structure, roles and uses of DNA after reading the Chapter and watching all the vodcasts about the unit. After using the VARK questionaire, I had realized I was a aural learner, and that I learned more from talking, hearing and recalling things. I used this when I read the codes when translating them, to remember which part I was on, and quickly find the amino acid responsible for that certain codon.

Questions I have about this unit would be seeing an actual picture of DNA unraveled and in plain sight, which we could do if we had went further into the DNA lab. I want to know how long it really is, and the amazing sight of the long ladder which builds proteins.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/DNA_replication_split.svg/2000px-DNA_replication_split.svg.png

Human DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

In the lab on Wednesday, we were testing how DNA can be separated from cheek cells. We found that it is possible with several steps and patience. First, we took tiny pieces of the cheek cells inside our mouth using gatorade. We added drops of detergent, a pinch of salt, and a few drops of pineapple juice. We then transferred it to a tube and inverted it around 6 times. After that, we added alcohol to the solution in order to get the DNA, which was unraveled and clumped up together in plain sight, and had it float up, due to the contact between the non-polar alcohol and the polar gatorade mixture. The reason why this process worked was the importance of the materials we used. Detergent can allow homogeneization inside the solution, removing most of the cell. The salt helps easily clump all the DNA together, while the soap can lyse the cell, which dissolves it and lets the loose DNA out. The pineapple juice lets us further unravel the DNA by removing the histones that hold it together in a double helix. Finally, when we added the alcohol, the polar DNA would float into the alcohol as precipitate in between the solution and alcohol.

Even the best can make mistakes during experiments! Some mistakes that I could have made would be mistaking the DNA for something else. When the precipitate came out, it was the same thing as the ones that were floating around in the solution before adding everything else. This shows that I may have thought that the big clump of red stuff in the picture below the post may have been just been my cheek cells. Another mistake that I could have done was the order of the procedure. Before we began, we were only given a mixed-up order of the procedure, and were asked to unscramble them and see if it was right. My group could have done one wrong step and never realized it, because we were never told after and during the experiment if we did it right or not. My only recommendation is that we could do a little more by having an example to refer to after the experiment, so that we could see if the results we got were the same as the reference.

The purpose of this lab is to explore the DNA and how to extract it. This lab is a hands-on test on what DNA is, and its shape, which demonstrates the big points in the Unit: Walking the Dogma.
This lab could be used in other ways, such as further exploration of the DNA or finding certain things in the subjects DNA that could seem interesting, or just a plain old picture, like the one below!

Coin Sex Lab Relate and Review

In the lab we did, we used coins to model the process of meiosis and gene segregation, where we marked each side with specific letters, and flipped coins. The coin represented the gene, and the special variables we marked on each side of the coin represented the alleles. When we flipped the coins, the process we modeled as we were doing this was Sex. After each time we flipped the two coins, which represented the parents, we modeled the process of recombination, when we combine the results from the coins to make a new gene from the parent's alleles.
The many variables we tested in the lab were the Monohybrid crossings, which included the sex of the children, Autosomal alleles with disorders that are genetically linked, X-linked inheritance with traits only on the X-Chromosome, and Dihybrid crossing with 2 traits at the same time. The results we got when flipping coins that represent heterozygous or homozygous for each variable were different than the expected results. I had expected the results to be around equal numbers on both sides, but the results showed more on one side, close to the expected results or on the other side. The reason was when we were flipping the coins, the probability of getting the exact results is not 100% guaranteed, but rather unpredictable. The information we got before hand had shown that there was a 50% chance we get result A, and 50% chance to get result B. This proves that when we flip the coin, that there could be more or less of result A or B, and it all depends on probability.
The problem with relying only upon probability to predict offspring traits is that it is completely random. There are nearly limits to how far probability could go, as it could give your offspring traits from your decade old ancestors, or from your parents. At the same time, some traits could come out differently, due to codominance and incomplete dominance. There is such a huge variety of traits that offspring could get, that it is nearly impossible to predict something out of millions of traits to inherit.
In real-life situations, this could information could be used to find out past problems,traits or even diseases, know if you are normal, a carrier of a certain trait, or an affected person. This information is useful in many ways and depending on how it's used, it could even possibly breed new species into the world. I especially could relate to this information, when I always wondered why I had a sort of beard on me, and was always a little strange and lonely. This information does show that I could have gotten that trait from my parents or my ancestors.

Infographic

The thing wasn't really clear on the website, and I found out that the thing wouldn't post the finished product, so I posted a link to here to the Infographic which I posted on Easel.ly.

Derek's Infographic

Unit 3 Reflection

After studying about Unit 3, I have learned quite a lot about cells. From exploring the inside of the cells, to their history and evolution, Cells have gone a long way from the beginnings of Earth. I understand most of the history and reactions that occur within the cell, but struggle a little when trying to remember the many parts of a Eukaryotic Cell. Otherwise, I understand how prokaryotic cells evolved to become the very cells in our body, or photosynthesis, osmosis, diffusion and cellular respiration.

A quick summary of Unit 3 would be that it is about cells. Cells are either prokaryotic / singular or eukaryotic / multicellular. They evolved from the single celled organisms that swarmed the lifeless earth, to autotroph cells that produce oxygen and food for the cell, giving life to Earth. Later on, Heterotroph cells became more popular as it ate the autotroph cells. By accident, the autotroph cell sometimes would survive getting eaten and merge with the cell. This made the first eukaryotic cells, with an inside that produces energy and an outside that protects the inside. This type of cell became more and more popular till it had also evolved to different cells still related to the original. Photosynthesis was one way cells produced energy and food for themselves, and cellular respiration was the other part of the cycle, that used the products of photosynthesis to make its reactants. Osmosis and diffusion were ways that the cell adapted to changing environments and the transfer of materials.

From learning this unit, I have learned my many flaws, but also learned more about the subject and ways to improve myself. I hope this summary and overview about this unit was helpful, and can be used in studies.

Egg Macromolecule Conclusion

Derek Fung P5

Aug. 28, 2015

Egg Macromolecule Conclusion

In the lab we had finished, we were trying to test if macromolecule can be identified in an egg cell. For each part of the egg we had tested, we had found that there were some macromolecules in each parts, and little or none in other parts. In the egg membrane, we found lipids and polysaccharides; in the egg white, polysaccharides and in the egg yolk: lipids, polysaccharides, and monosaccharides. When we used special liquids on each of the egg parts, the part changes color, depending on the part or the substance used. For example, some parts turn green if the substance used identifies that there are monosaccharides in the part. This evidence proves that there are carbohydrates in the egg, because of the color changes when you use.

Even with this evidence here, we have made some mistake here and there in the experiment. One such example is during the test where we were looking for proteins in the parts. While we were doing so, we found that the substance turned all but one part mostly blue, except the egg yolk, which was a mixture of yellow and blue. To think that the egg had no proteins make me think that there was an error in the procedure, but several others had this problem also, which made it hard to know if I did it right or wrong. This error could take away an important part of the results that we could have lost if the procedure was done wrong. Another error that could have changed the results would be when we were using the pipette. While we were adding each of the egg parts to the containers, we used the same pipette for each of the parts, thus mixing a small part of each of the egg into the other. This error could have changed the effects of the substance we used on each part, making it produce a different color than what we had expected. A few ways to ensure that these errors could be avoided are by having a separate pipette for each of the containers when transferring a sample of each of the egg parts, and by spending a lot more time on the protein test to see if there is progress going on.

The purpose of this lab was to find the macromolecules and know its uses in each of the egg parts. This is a review of what we had learned in class about macromolecules and an in-depth review of how the macromolecules were used in each parts. This lab can be applied to parts other than the egg, such as the human body or animals, since egg cells are nearly the same as the humans or animals.

Egg Diffusion Lab Analysis

In the Egg Diffusion Lab, we had found that the eggs in the sugar water had shrunk, while there was no change in the egg within the pure water. When we put the egg in the sugar water, there would be more solute than solvent outside the cell. Because of this difference, the water / solvent inside the cell would come out, shrinking the cell. This, with the large amount of solute in the water, caused the mass and the circumference of the egg in the sugar water to shrink considerably. As the external environment changes, the internal environment of the cell adapts according to the differences between the outside and the inside of the cell. When we put the egg in vinegar, we dissolved the membrane that prevents materials from entering the egg. After we had done that, we were able to add the eggs without the membrane into either the pure or sugar water. Due to passive diffusion, the materials inside the water diffused into the egg and changed the amount of solvent or solute inside, causing changes in the egg. The high concentration of either solvent or solute goes into an area of low concentration in the egg.

This lab had demonstrated examples of diffusion and its effects, which we had learned in class, that we could apply to other situations. Vegetables are given water to add more solvent inside, making the cells inside the plant grow, and the plant itself will grow with it. People add salt to ice in order to add solute inside the ice, making the hypertonic ice shrink and disappear into water. The salt / solute makes the high concentration of frozen water inside the ice go towards the low concentration of salt, making the cells shrink and turning the ice into water. This experiment would lead others to try other experiments. One such experiment that I think might be tested would be putting salt onto ice and see what could make the ice melt faster. This experiment uses diffusion and also is a great example of other things.

20 questions about Life

In the article I had read about the 20 big questions in science, I found the 15th question to be the most interesting. The idea that people are trying to program robots with minds bigger than robots with A.I ( Artificial Intelligence ) is amusing. The hypothesis for this question would be how they could make robots that could do more than a task they were made for. Based on the 20 big question in Science, I have formed my own 20 questions that I have yet to answer:

1. Am I lucky or not?
2. How do I find happiness?
3. Is passion better than happiness?
4. Is Music better than nothing?
5. Why is Music so helpful?
6. Why are people so annoying?
7. Can I make my parents happy?
8. Can I make it through High School?
9. Is Band better than Orchestra?
10. Can we become environmentally friendly?
11. Is the world going to end?
12. Is Biology fun?
13. Is there a jacket that's really warm?
14. Is Hearthstone gonna be Number one popular game?
15. Is food gonna run out in Earth?
16. Will I make it into college?
17. Can I stop typing this?
18. What is the purpose of this blog post?
19. Why do I have to write 20 questions?
20. Why am I writing this anyways?

Identifying Questions and Hypotheses

Link to Source: ¨Galileo's experiment¨

In the experiment that I am research, I am studying the old experiments of Galileo. In the experiment that he is doing, he drops two balls, with different weights, from the leaning tower. He wanted to know if falling objects are dependent upon their mass. Through this idea, he made  a hypothesis where bodies of the same material falling through the same medium would fall at the same speed. This hypothesis was based on the ideas of Aristole's theory of gravity, where he believes that the heavier object would fall faster than the lighter one. If the heavier object is dependent on their mass, then it would fall faster than the lighter object. The results of this experiment disproved this theory, when both objects were found to have landed at the same time.

Unit 2 Reflection

After studying the many sections of Chapter 2, I had found out about many things. This chapter was a small review on what would be coming up later in the future. Such things would be on atoms, elements and others, which are reviewed on this chapter. In section 2.1, we began learning about the atoms in our body, how they function, and what they look like. Through Section 2.2, we learned how water's many uses by being polar and having many hydrogen bonds are used in mixtures and suspensions. On Section 2.3, we found out how the element Carbon was used in both our body and in other beings, and its many functions that are build the human body. Finally, in Section 2.4, we found out about the process of Chemical reactions, how enzymes help the process, and the many parts that begin and end the reaction. In the many vodcasts, we had watched and learned from, many of them were more detailed on the 4 sections of chapter 2 in the textbook. The first vodcast introduced the same things as section 2.1 in the textbook. It included an explanation about the nature of matter, water's many properties, and the pH scale, which include acids and bases. The next few were based on the things that the element Carbon was used for, Macromolecules, which include Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids. They listed the structure of the macromolecules, its functions, and its relationship with other macromolecules.  The last vodcast was about the enzymes that sped up chemical reactions. Its mentioned its many structures, and its effects that causes chemical reactions to speed up. This is a quick reflection that I made, and I hope this could be useful for others that read this.

Cheese Lab Conclusion

Class Data	Time to Curdle (Minutes)
Curdling Agent:	Chymosin	Rennin	Buttermilk	Milk (Control)
Acids	5	5
Bases
Cold
Hot	5	10
Temp. Control	15	15
pH Control	15	10
Average of Controls

Derek Fung P5

9/18/15

Cheese Lab Conclusion

In the Cheese Lab, we were looking for the optimal conditions and curdling agents for making cheese. From the results we gathered from everyone doing the lab, we found that the one with Rennin, in an acidic and hot environment, was the most effective at producing curds. The evidence we found in everyone’s experiments, which is shown in the graph above, is proof that the one in a hot environment produced more than the cold environment. The same goes when comparing the Acidic environment results to the Basic Environment. The reason for this is that when the substrate is put in a cold environment, the amount of activation energy needed to create products increase, due to the cold changing the shape of the substrate. When the thing is put in a basic environment, this also slows down the process, due to its effect on the active site. Because of these effects, there were no results produced when they were put in those environments.

During this lab, there may have been errors produced by others or by my group. Some of those errors I believe may have affected the results of the graph. One I believe is that we may have miscalculated the amount poured in when we were adding milk to the test tube and our enzyme. The effect of this could make it so that if there was too much enzyme, but too little substrate, then the effects would happen faster. Same goes for the opposite, where there is too little enzyme, and too much substrate, resulting in a very slow time. Another error that could have caused problems is the time. When people were pouring the enzymes in the test tubes, they may have not put the test tube in the required location in time. The time after the enzyme was inserted into the tube and the time before the test tube was put in their environment could affect the results. For example, the enzyme would have already began making curds before it was put in their environment, giving the subject a head start in the process. My suggestions when doing this lab is by being observant when pouring the milk and enzymes, and making sure when the enzyme is inserted into the tube, put it into their environment immediately, and don’t forget to check the time!

The purpose of this lab was to study the process of chemical reactions on milk to cheese. This is related to the many lessons on chapter 2, which we did in class, and also about activation energy. This same experiment could be reapplied to other things, such as knowing the amount of activation energy needed or, the process of chemical reactions.

Sweetness Lab

Derek Fung P5

Sep. 14, 2015

Sweetness Lab Analysis

The problem we were trying to solve was how the structure of a carbohydrate affect its taste/sweetness. When we tasted the carbohydrates, I found out that the monosaccharides, carbohydrates which have one ring, were very sweet, while the polysaccharides, which has three rings or more, were very bland and not so sweet, and the disaccharides, which have two rings, vary between being sweet and bland. Some of the carbohydrates we tasted and found sweet were Glucose, Fructose and Galactose. All three of these carbohydrates are monosaccharides, and most of them were found in plants, except Galactose, which is found in healthy living beings. The polysaccharides, which are Starch and Cellulose, is found in energy producers such as plants, and are also found in staple food items. The Disaccharides, which include Maltose, Lactose and Sucrose were different in sweetness. While Lactose and Sucrose were listed in between the bland carbohydrates and the sweet ones, Maltose was listed as very bland, blander than the polysaccharides. Another observation was that the sweet carbohydrates had a granular texture and had a white color, while the ones in between sweet and bland were powderly and also has a white color, and Maltose, the blandest of the carbohydrates we tasted, had a solid texture on it and a brown color. All this evidence shows how monosaccharides are the sweetest among all the carbohydrates and that most polysaccharides were very bland.

The structure of these carbohydrates simply amaze me, to know that it can be used differently by the plants that produce them, from the building blocks of the plant, to how it produces energy. The results others that have gotten from this experiment would be different than the ones you see here. A few reasons are that we might think that one is sweet, but the same one is bland in another person’s view, some people might have not tasted enough of the sample to make sure, or that they might have tried to be as exact as possible in the scales, instead of rounding it. People believe in what they taste through their taste buds. People could mistake some food as not sweet, or spicy, or anything. The taste buds have many enzymes that react to certain flavors. When people first drink beer, for example, they get a bad impression of it due to it giving off a bitter taste. Later on, this effect would pass away though, but this shows how the taste bud changes overtime.

Carbohydrate	Type of Carbohydrate	Degree of Sweetness	Color	Texture
Sucrose	Disaccharide	100	white	granular
Glucose	Monosaccharide	155	white	granular
Fructose	Monosaccharide	195	white	granular
Galactose	Monosaccharide	105	white	powderly
Maltose	Disaccharide	65	brown	solid
Lactose	Disaccharide	90	white	powderly
Starch	Polysaccharide	75	white	powderly
Cellulose	Polysaccharide	70	white	powderly

"What is Biology?" Collage

Jean Lab Conclusion + Tables

Derek Fung P5

Aug. 28, 2015

Jean Lab Conclusion

When we began the lab, we were intent on finding out which concentration of bleach is best used to fade the blue color out of new denim material in 10 minutes without visible damage on the fabric. From the results we have gathered, we believed that the 25% bleach solution was the best at bleaching out the blue color, and shown the least damage on the fabric. After observing the other fabric, one of the fabric was turned yellowish white by the 100% bleach solution, while the 12.5% and 0% solutions produced no change in color. Only the 50% and 25% solutions showed some small changes on the blue color on the jeans. Using the data on the damage on the fabric, the 25% fabric shown the least amount of damage compared to the other fabrics. Based on the data, the evidence here support our claim, because they show that 25% produced the best results on the fabric than the other fabrics.

Even though we were able to produce positive results, we have made some mistakes along the way to get where we are. Some of those mistakes were quite minor, while others might have caused huge unexpected results that we never noticed. One of the mistakes we have made was that we often spilled a small amount of the solutions when we were pouring them into the petri dishes. This error could have lowered the effects of the solution on the fabrics, and had different results on the 3 pieces of fabric in each of the petri dishes. Another mistake that we could have made could be the pieces we used. While we were cutting the pieces out, we might have made some bigger, while some were smaller. This could affect the amount of the solutions absorbed inside, where the bigger ones absorb too little of the solution, and the smaller ones absorb too much. This would mean that the smaller ones produced better results than the bigger ones. Some recommendations that I would suggest to future scientist attempting this lab is to have a set amount of pre-made fabric that are already cut equally. Another idea is to be more careful during the procedure, so that others wouldn’t spill the solutions, knock containers over, or fail to do other objectives in the experiment.

We did this lab in order to demonstrate using the scientific method to solve the lab, and gain experience by doing the lab through teamwork, cooperation, and support from other groups or teammates. This experiment was focused on the topic we learned this week, which was knowing the scientific method. We were able to apply what we learned from the vodcast to what we were doing in the lab. If I were to apply this experiment to other projects or labs, then I could use the experience from teamwork to improve lab results, while also using the Scientific method to its fullest potential.

Concentration (% Bleach)	Color Removal (Scale 1-10)		Average (Scale 1-10
100%	10	10	10
50%	8	8	8
25%	7	7	7
12.5%	1	1	1
0%	0	0	0

Concentration (% Bleach)	Fabric Removal (Scale 1-10)		Average (Scale 1-10)
100%	4	4	4
50%	5	5	5
25%	3	3	3
12.5%	2	2	2
0%	0	0	0

Concentration (% Bleach)	Average Color Removal (Scale 1-10)	Average Fabric Damage (Scale 1-10)
100%	10	4
50%	8	5
25%	7	3
12.5%	1	2
0%	0	0