Letter to a Biology Student

Dear biology student,
   My name is Sophie. I was 15 at the beginning of this school year and starting my sophomore year. I went to Redwood Middle School prior to coming to Saratoga High School. I was very interested in my English class this year because it was more challenging than my freshman English class. But my favorite class this year was newspaper because it is extremely difficult and takes up a lot of time and energy, but it is all worth it because looking at the finished product is so satisfying. I am very interested in writing so my first elective is newspaper and my second elective is Spanish. I approached my sophomore year surprised that the difficulty level had increased a lot more than freshman year. I participated in Cheer and learned that I really love throwing people and yelling. I expected my first biology class to be difficult and intense, but it ended up being very informative and welcoming.
   Mr. Orre expects you to listen very respectively. You should refrain from conversing with your table partner while he is talking. NEVER talk when he is talking. Once you enter Orre's class, you are expected to stop talking, sit down, get out your notebook and look at the Do Now and start writing the assigned task. A typical class day includes going over last night's Vodcast asking Mr. Orre questions, discussing in a group to review it,  then doing a lab or class work that has to do with what has just been learned. The homework takes about 30-45 minutes to take thorough notes of a Vodcast + the CFU. There are no quizzes, only tests. The tests are very fair and only ask questions about the topics that have been covered and thoroughly discussed in class. The notebook is your most prized possession. It is where you keep all of your assignments organized and it is was truly helps you study. You have to keep each assignment organized and listed in your table of contents. REMEMBER to put the date on each assignment to receive full credit in the notebook check. Your biology blog is where you write about labs and reflections for the unit. The blog posting was difficult in the beginning of the year, but it progressively became an easier task. My favorite lab/blog post here This is my favorite blog post ever because it includes my best friend John, the fetal pig my group dissected. I had the most fun during this lab because we all worked together to create our own Vodcast about our pig. My blog evolved over time because I figured out how to explain labs more concisely.  I personally changed over the course of this year by taking a LOT more naps, not procrastinating, eating healthier, and making my main priority school. Another important thing to know about the class is that sometimes there are moments of silence where Mr. Orre rings a bell or chime thing which is a signal for everyone to be quiet and compose themselves into relaxed human beings. It is important for you to use this silence to clear your mind and ready yourself to learn biology.
    Some of Mr. Orre's pet peeves are unnecessary noises being made such as the click of a pen, tapping of a foot, humming, or whistling. It takes a lot of time and effort to receive a good grade on an assignment. You can't just bs your way through homework, you have to really make an effort to understand what you are writing. It takes a lot of studying and listening to achieve a good grade on a test. Retaking the CFU's is very helpful. To get the most out of this class, a student can participate, listen attentively, absorb the information, and ask questions. Three mistakes I made this year were talking, not checking canvas, and not forgetting to put one Vodcast notes into my notebook.  I was caught talking once and it angered Mr. Orre so I refrained from having side conversations the rest of the year. My second mistake was that I turned in one of my labs late because I thought I had an extra day to complete it. If you turn in a lab late you receive zero points out of fifty. I never turned a lab in late again. My third mistake was forgetting to glue one of the vodcast notes into my notebook because it was a separate piece of paper. During the notebook check, I received no credit for the Vodcast notes because I forgot to glue in the notes for that ONE Vodcast. I never forgot to glue in Vodcast notes after that. I grew from these experiences and did not repeat them, making me a better student.
   I would rate the class a 9/10 because I really enjoyed the flipped classroom. It allowed more time for labs, and the labs we do are very fun. I am either taking Chemistry or Physics next year. To sum it up, do all of your homework on time, don't talk while Mr. Orre is talking or make any unnecessary noises, and lastly, try to enjoy the class and really absorb the information. By listening, you will get the most out of this class. What you learn is more important than the grade.

Sincerely,
Your Homie Sophie Z

20 Time Individual Reflection

I chose to research and base my 20 time project on Green tea because I truly do have a love for green tea. It is just such a fascinating substance that I want to continue finding uses for.  I was focused on spreading awareness of the positive affects of green tea. My initial plan to achieve my goal was to do plenty of research about green tea to find out which rumors were true and which were false. After educating myself about the topic, its origins, and effects, I decided to conduct an experiment. My experiment involved two test subjects drinking green tea daily to see the affects of the substance. It went very well, I learned that I it can improve skin quality and even help with weight loss. I did have a setback when one of my test subjects forgot to drink green tea one day, which led to the experiment restarting because of that mistake. I learned that it can be hard to conduct experiments alone and to keep data organized. At times it was difficult because this project did not have a set of instructions, so it was hard to figure out what my next steps should be. I am still very interested in green tea and how exactly it has such positive effects on people. I plan on continuing my research and I will be continuing my love for the healthy tea.

Group 6 Pig Dissection

The fetal pig dissection was a very new and enjoyable experience. At first, the thought of even making physical contact with the pig made me cringe. Watching Mr. Orre's demonstration of how to make the first few incisions made me feel more comfortable, so immediately after being instructed on what to do, I turned around to my group and said "I WANT TO MAKE THE FIRST CUTS." I went from completely disturbed by the pig to completely in love with it. At first it was hard to figure out how deep each incision should be, then we finally got the hang of it. Each of my group members and I tried to be extremely careful that we didn't accidentally cut an organ. Breaking the ribs was kind of difficult, breaking the jaw was easier. I specifically liked the texture of the liver. On the second day I was suffering from a cold and did not want to go near the pig so Gabbi and I did most of the paperwork, figuring out the function of each part of the pig. It was really interesting to me that the intestines are very tightly together, and not actually able to fall out of a stomach if a person was stabbed. The overall experience was very fun, and my favorite part was holding the pig's hoof. I'm glad I got to experience this because it opened my eyes to new possible career options.

Here are some photos I took: 

Unit 9 Reflection

Unit 9 taught me about taxonomic rank and the different levels and groups belonging to each. The order goes Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, then Species. One species I learned about was the sponge. The sponge belongs to the Phylum Porifera because sponges have specialized cells but no tissues. Every organism can be classified into a Phylum for a specific characteristic it has; yet the protist group is miscellaneous. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Taxonomic_Rank_Graph.svg/2000px-Taxonomic_Rank_Graph.svg.png

Next I learned about Anthropods, a type of invertebrate which has an exoskeleton made of chitin,  with joining appendages and segmented body parts. Anthropods are classified into five groups: Trilobites, Crustaceans, Chelicerates, Insects, and  Myriapods. Trilobites are extinct bottom feeders. Crustaceans live in oceans, streams, and on land. Chelicerates have specialized dagger-like mouthparts(Scorpions). Insects have 6 legs and usually live on land. Myriapods have long bodies with many pairs of legs (Milipedes). 

https://pixabay.com/p-87721/?no_redirect

I want to learn more about sand dollars because I don't completely understand how they function. Sand dollars have always interested me and I used to collect them. I wonder who thought of the idea to base kitchen sponges off of the actual sponge creatures living in the sea. 

My What on Earth Evolved Presentation was done about Roses. I truly enjoy public speaking so I liked getting a chance to share and teach the class about my topic. My presentation went well I'd say, I could have gone more in depth about the anatomy of the flower to make my presentation longer.

Sophie Z

I am very happy with how the presentation went well because I spent a lot of time researching. It is actually very difficult to find information about the origins of roses and how they evolved. During this presentation, I started connecting the rose to modern day movies to explain and show the relationship of how people view these flowers. I am going to try to make more connections in my presentations in the future.

Geologic Timeline Individual Reflection

In the Hadean eon, Earth was formed, along with the first life forms. In the Archeozoic period shows the earliest evidence of plate tectonics, as well as organic carbon. The Cambrian period has a diversity in which fossils have been recovered. It surprised me that there was evidence of plate tectonics in the Archeozoic period. It is amazing how much humans have impacted the Earth over time. I wonder how old the oldest rock is.

Hunger Games Final Analysis

To simulate the affects of natural selection, my class stood in a circle and fought for our survival by attempting to collect as much food as possible while being 3 different phenotypes: "stumpys," "knucklers," and "pinchers." The "Knucklers," who had to pick up food between their second knuckles of their index and middle fingers, ended up being the most successful with their survival. The "Stumpys" started dying out around trial 4. The population evolved to consist of "Knucklers" and "Pinchers." The results would be different if the food was smaller because it would allow the different beaks to pick up pieces faster. This relates to the real-world because in nature sometimes food becomes larger or smaller. When this happens certain species that don't have large or small enough beaks to pick up the food, die out. The relationship between natural selection and evolution is natural selection is necessary for evolution to occur. Individuals started cheating by turning around to see where the food would be located, as well as picking up food with their hands and not their correct beak form. This behavior could occur in nature if an animal hid or hoarded all of the food from the rest of its kind. In evolution, natural selection acts on both the genotype and phenotype. Positive or negative traits can be inherited that are not physically seen, such as an allele for a disease. Phenotype can also be affected, causing members of a species to have a certain beak. I wonder what kind of bird has the best beak to eat any kind of food.

Unit 8 Reflection

This unit was mainly about speciation. Isolation is necessary for speciation to occur. The three factors that contribute to speciation are behavioral isolation, geographic isolation, and temporal isolation. Behavioral isolation is where there are changes in mating behavior. Geographic isolation is where a physical feature separates a species into groups. Lastly, temporal isolation is where reproduction is prevented because of the timing. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Mutation_and_selection_diagram.svg/2000px-Mutation_and_selection_diagram.svg.png

This unit also taught about Darwin's conclusions. Darwin's first conclusion is that there are winners and losers in the natural world. His second conclusion is that due to natural selection, populations usually end up looking like the winners. An essential theme for this unit is that natural selection causes evolution. I want to learn more bout birds and why some have very colorful feathers, such as parrots, while others have bland colors, such as crows. In an attempt to be more assertive, I have been trying to sit up straighter and make more eye contact. My goal is to very assertive by June.

Below are Darwin's finches.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Darwin%27s_finches_by_Gould.jpg