3rd Blog Post

The last 3 weeks of working on my 20 time project went great! I was able to better further my interest and gain more information about channelization. I have finaly come up with a solution to fix the problem of channelization. I propose that we as people can eliminate all concrete channelization from local streams of rivers and then plant native plants in their place, so the river can take control and make its own path. Slowly but surely, overtime the rivers and streams will be good as new. I learned more about how channelization is affecting the animal populations because it is destroying their habitat, and I also began to see how I am good at thinking through problems and coming up with solutions, especially involving animals or the environment. I had no major setbacks during these 3 weeks. I felt I worked quite efficiently and finish what I set out to do by 3 weeks. I will now create a diagram or repusentation to show the class how channelization affects the environment, then pitch my idea and see how they react. I can use these learning methods in class to help me better come up with solutions to problems.

Unit 8 Reflection

Unit 8 was all about change, and how organisms and the world have changed. We started off this unit with multiple vodcasts to get our minds wrapped around the idea of change over time and natural selection. We then did two labs to demon strait natural selection, and how only the species willing to change and adapt will survive. The first lab we did was the "bird beak lab"; in this lab each group member was given a utensil to use as a "bird beak". We all had a certain amount of time to pick up as much food as we can with the beaks, and get a good idea of how natural selection can really affect a population. The second lab that we did as a class was the "Hunger Games Lab". This lab had the same idea as the other lab; to teach us more about natural selection and change over time. Both these labs demonstrated to us the importance of natural selection. I can use the information that i have learned today in the future because i look forward to having a job that includes working with exotic animals. By knowing how these things work, i will better understand how they have changed overtime, and what contributed to their change. This unit was very informing and helped better further my knowledge.

Geologic timeline individual reflection

The earth has gone through so many phases and stages. Some major events in earths history are the big bang theory, the extinction of the dinosaurs' and the Proterozoic eon, the largest period in the earths history timeline. The bib bang was probably the most important time in history because from this the moon was formed. if the moon wasn't formed then the earth wouldn't b able to function how it does. The extinction of the Jurassic period was in my book a big historical event. Everyone knows about the dinosaurs and knows how they were killed by an asteroid that collided into the earth. Finally the Proterozoic eon was very important because it was the longest period in the worlds history! While exploring the earths history I was surprised to see how the continents moved drastically and how many extinctions there were. After each major period in earths history, there was an extinction of the population. During our time on earth we have affected the climate so drastically from population to the destruction of forests and habitat for other animals. I believe that if we keep up with our habits, then the world will soon become a wasteland, and we will no longer be able to live within its atmosphere safely. We humans need to figure out permanent ways to help decline the amount of pollution and destruction of the land. The only question I have is what can we do to help save our world?

2nd Blog Post

My 20 time project of how channelizing rivers is affecting the wildlife populations that would be living within that environment, and how we should find a way to create a better niche for the organisms living there. I spoke with my science teacher Mr. Orre on this topic and was able to better understand

Hunger Games Final Analysis

1. In the hunger games lab, we the class separated evenly into 3 groups, the stumpys, the knucklers and the pinchers. These three groups acted as subspecies of an over all population. The point of this lab was to show how natural selection and evolution work. The 3 different groups would hunt for food and then tally it to see how many offspring each person would have. Those people from the group with the best adaptions would survive.

2. Pinchers had the best phenotype for capturing food because they could use two hands, they had a large mouth size and they could pick up food the quickest.

3. yes. The overall population did evolve. Before the battle for survival began there was a total population of 21 individuals, but as the years went on the population began to decrease to a low of 13 individuals. The years that followed that the population size was able to reach a stable population of 18 individuals.

4. Some random affects in this lab were where and how the food was scattered. The food wasn't always put where it would be easiest to get. The non random parts of this lab were the type of food we were getting and the number of individuals in each group.

5. If the food was bigger or smaller the outcome of this lab would be most definitely different. If the food was larger it would be a lot harder for the knucklers to pick it up and gather food, but the stumpys would have an easy time grabbing the bigger pieces of food. If the food was small both the knucklers and pinchers would thrive while the stumpys would die.

6. yes. If there was not incomplete dominance, then the outcome of this lab would be different. If no single group had an advantage over the others, then all groups would have a similar number of babies and the population would stay steady.

7. Natural selection is the backbone of Evolution. When natural selection begins to knock out the bad alleles and traits of a species, then the species begins to evolve.

8. Some individuals or groups would "cheat" in this lab. They would collect food using a different method in order to survive. By doing this, the allele frequency would change because the population with the cheaters would grow. The alleles from the winners would be passed on.

9. The species as a whole evolves in evolution. In evolution both the genotype and the phenotype change, to better give that species an advantage to survive.

10. none

bird beak lab

I did an experiment called the "bird beak" experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to see how different species of animals with different alleles will prosper under different conditions. In our experiment,  we found that the birds with the biggest beaks survived the longest, and the ones that were able to adapt. The graphs show that the spoonbills and the scissors shaped beak birds got the most food, and made more babies. Darwins idea of natural selection is taking place. The animals that are best adapted to survive in the given environment will thrive and their population will grow, while the ones who aren't adapted as well will fie out. Although the experiment went very well, and our results were appropriate, we didnt do everything perfectly. An error that we made was not stopping right when the alarm went off. I noticed some teammates sneaking a few pieces of food into their cup (bird stomach) after the alarm went off. These mistakes could have affected the total number of our baby chicks per year. We can fix thee problems for next time, by having someone monitor us and make sure we all end right when the alarm sounds and don't sneak extra food into our cups. Another possible thing we could have done to monitor our food intake, and to make sure we don't cheat is make a vow that we won't, and if one of us does cheat then we will be punished. Once again the main purpose of this lab was to show how natural selection controls a population, and how well they survive. For instance in the experiment the birds with a spoonbill beak will survive better because do to the size and shape of their beak, they were able to pick up the most food. In class, the main topic we learned about was natural selection and adaption. The lab helped me better understand adaption, and the idea of natural selection. I learned that animal species change gradually over time in order to better survive the environment they live in. I can apply this idea in the future when I am working with animals and studying mammalogy or herpetology in college.

20 time first blog post

let nature be and live? or change and die?

20 time is the process of spending 20% of your time in the classroom to focus on a topic of your choice, as long as it focuses on biology and benefits the class. The idea of 20 time originated from google, when they began allowing their employees to use 20% of their time at work doing whatever they want, as long as it benefits the company. My 20 time project is on the effects of channelization to the environment, and how it affects it. The question being asked is should channelization be allowed, and can we come up with a compromise that doesn't hurt the environment? I chose this topic to be my 20 time project because i care a lot about the environment, and the animals that live within it. It occurred to me that by channelizing the rivers and streams in this area, we kill many local species of plants and by doing that, we also kill whatever eats those plants. Not only does channelization hurt the local plant life that would be living on the riverside, but channelization can cause bad erosion further down stream. My goals for this project are to come up with a new way to get the safe effects of channelizing streams and rivers without harming the local wildlife, and causing serious erosion. I will measure my project by writing a blog ever two weeks to give an overview on how it is going, and moving forward I will wright a letter to the governor and other organizations stating my idea, and what can be done to help the cause.