Pig Disection

PHOTOS ARE NOT WORKING!!!

Our pig was a boy because there was only one whole...

The thing that I found the most interesting about the pig disection was the internal organs and the digestive system. They are so similar to that of a human being which made the disection more interesting. It was cool to see the tiny heart and all the valves connected to it. The lungs and the intestines are also very similar to ours.

On the other hand the smell was really bad and the texture of the pig was rubbery. I was expecting the pig to be much smaller. I was actually sad, having to do this disection. :(

Engagement!

Engagement in our class can be seen in many ways, there are people who constantly talk and ask questions and then there are people like myself, who are quiet.

I usually demonstrate engagement by watching you talk, I make eye contact, laugh, and nod my head. On top of that I ask questions when I need to. I mainly do this when we work on projects, assignments or blogposts. I don't really ask questions during notes though because I am not the type of person to call out etc. I also come to class a lot, I'm on time ready to work and take down notes. I only miss class when I have dance or I am going on a field trip. You can also see that I constantly am on task and I do my work, even when I'm feeding a robotic baby!

I feel that I am enaged in class, it just may not be as noticed as others but I am. Engagement comes in many different forms whether a person is loud or quiet, everyone has a different way of showing it!

Living off of one kidney?

QUESTION:
How can a person life off of one kidney? Is it possible?

ANSWER:
Some people are born with one kidney and others have kidney failure which can lead to the removal of a kidney. How are they able to function?

If a person only has one kidney, that kidney has to adjust and filter, normally what two kidneys would do. The nephrons compensate by growing larger in size, through a process called hypertrophy. They do this so they can handle all the liquid that they need to filter in just one kidney. Usually heathly person with one kidney will have no other effects. If a person is born without one kidney, the other kidney usually grows much larger (almost the size of two kidneys put together) in order to porperly do its job.

FACTS:
Being born with one kidney is more common in males.
Having one large kidney, is delicate and is more prone to injury.
Those enrolled in sports must take extra precautions and wear more padding.
Those with one kidney should have more doctors checkups.
Slightly higher blood pressure can result.
Frequent urine tests should be done.
Should take precautions when taking medicines (Advil, Tylenol, etc.)

WEBSITES:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-can-you-live-without
http://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/health/factsheets/ckd-and-issues/living-with-one-kidney.php

PLAYLAND!!!

Heart-rate
As I came near the ride/the line-up became shorter my heart rate increased more. I did not get any readings on my heart rate, but I did measure my heart-rate manually. At the top of the wooden roller-coaster and at the top of atmosphere my heart rate definately increased, as I panicked a bit because of  being so high up.

I think heart rate is affected by rides because we develop some anxiety, our body becomes more aroused and our body needs to deliver blood around much faster than usual, as a result of being nervous.

My breathing rate was affected by rides. At the end of the line up my heart rate was really slow and I was calm, but towards the ride I became more agitated and my heart rate increased. Rides like the wooden roller coaster, breakdance, and atmosphere made my heart-rate increase. However rides like the scrambler, enterprise, music express, and corkscrew did not make me panick because I am use to going on those rides, and ride them more often than the others.

Other physiological effects I experienced were becoming sweaty, feeling nauseated, obviously an increase in heart rate, and becoming unappetized. To explain these symptoms, the sympathetic system became dominant and helped our body deal with rides.

Quiz Review

Labelling

 

Compare:
Pulmonary circulation includes sending blood to the lungs.
Starts in the RA with deoxygenated blood, to the RV, and then to the pulmonary trunk, pulmonary arteries, and then to the pulmoary capillaries (where the blood is oxygenated and the Carbon Dioxide is removed). Oxygenated blood returns to pulmonary vein via LA.
Systematic circulation includes sending blood to the body.
Starts in the LA with oxygenated blood, to the LV, and then to the aorta branching off into capillaries (gas exchange Carbon Dioxide in blood, Oxygen in cells). Deoxygenated blood enters the superior and inferior vena cava via the RA.

Veins mainly carry deoxygenated blood. They are stretch-able, and hold the most ammount of blood (acts as a resevoir). Carry blood to the heart, from the body.
Arteries mainly carry oxygenated blood. They carry blood away from the heart to the body.

Circulation:
Oxygenated blood starts at the carotid artery
Deoxygenated in the head
Deoxygenated blood moves down jugular vein.
Deoxygenated blood in through inferior vena cava (some from superior vena cava)
Enters the right atrium
Passes the right AV Valve (tricuspid)
In to the Right Ventricle
Up through the the pulmonary trunk/pulmonary semi-lunar valve
Deoxygenated bood leaves the heart via pulmonary artery
Lungs make the blood oxygenated
Blood enters pulmonary vein
Down to the left atrium
Passes the left AV Valve (Bicuspid)
Down left ventricle
Through the Aortic Semi-Lunar valve
Out through the Aorta!

Fetal Circulation:
1. The Foramen Ovale: hole between toe RA and the LA, serves as a povider of oxygen for the baby from the mom, obviously the baby cannot take in oxygen so the bypasses the lungs
2. Ductus Arteriosus: between pulmonary trunk and aorta, prevents blood from going into the lungs
3. Ductus Venosus: umbilical vein attaches to inferior vena cava, source of major blood flow

Lab: Heart Disection

The labeling of the heart is on Amber's blog!

1. The structure of the atria has thin muscular walls, is smaller, and flimsy. Whereas, ventricles have thick muscular walls, that pump blood to the body. The biggest difference is their size.

2. Veins mostly carry deoxygenated blood, they are a thin muscular valve, and have little elasticity. On the other hand arteries mostly carry oxygenated blood, have think walls, and have high elasticity tissues. The structure of veins are flappy because veins don't carry as high pressure of the blood in arteries.

3. The valves we found in the heart are tricuspid AV valve, mitral AV valve, and the semi-lunar valve. The tricuspid AV valve's function is to separate the right atrium and the right ventricle, preventing the flow back of blood. The mitral AV valve's function is to prevent the backflow of blood into the atria during the contractions of ventricles. The function of the semi-lunar valve is to allow the blood to flow from the atria to the ventricles, and to prevent the blood from
flowing back when the ventricles contract.

4. I was mainly surprised about actually noticing all te various structures in the heart that I did not notice last year as a peer tutor for science eight, or when I was in grade eight. I was also surprised about how bloody the wart actually was. It really made the whole dissecting "adventure" more interesting. Unlike when I was in grade eight, I did not know all the functions and structures I do now. This made me feel more intrigued and curious. I definitely enjoyed the heart disection the third time around!

What I have worked on today!

Here is a snapshot of my blog. I am finished I just have to proof read! Will be uploaded soon! :) 

Elephantiasis?!

Are you infected with Elephantiasis?
You actually might not know because the infection is acquired in childhood but manifests later in life.

Elephantiasis actually infects more than 1.4 billion people in 73 countries. This disease is caused by infection with nematodes. Infection happens when parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitos. When a mosquito has is infected with larvae and bites a person, the parasites become disposited on the skin, where they can enter the body. The larvae migrates to the lymphatic vessels where they develop in the lymphatic system into adult worms. Once the grow into an adult size, worms enter the lymphatic system and interrupts the processes that occur in the immune system. They can live in their for 6-8 years! EEEWWWW!

The symptoms are inflammation of the skin, lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels. When it the disease develops into chronic conditions, limbs have an increase in fluid accumulation. Most body parts are affected. As a result, the body grows larger in size.

The treatment is medication that can clear microfilarie from the bloodstream. Using mosquito nets and mosquito spray can help prevent mosquito bites and prevent infection.  Those are who infected with the disease are required to keep and maintain hygiene and take further precautions.

Tip: Mosquitos also cause other diseases so prevent yourself from becoming infected!
Below is a picture of a lady infected with Elephanitis.

Questions: Spirometer

1. My vital capacity is 3.15 liters. My vital capacity is above the average for females. My vital capacity is in the middle of all the ranges in the class because the lowest is 1.6 liters and the highest is 5 liters. I think my vital capacity is what it is because I have been dancing since I was three and I believe cardiovascular activites and running has also helped. I believe the lowest capacities are what they are because those people might not play instruments or exercise. I believe the higher vital capacities are what they are because those people are probably extremely physically active or plays instruments.

2. In a usual breathe there is about 500mL. Males can exhale 4L and females can exhale 2L. Our breaths are the way they are because females have a smaller build than males and therefore have smaller lungs. I also feel a females diaphragm is smaller causing her to inhale/exhale less air.

3. The mechanism of exhaling forcefully differs from the usual exhalation because when we are breathing it is automatic and we do not think about it. We also just expand our diaphragm a little/as much as our body currently needs. We control exhaling forcefully and we push our lungs to hold more air.  We make our muscles expand to release air voluntarily.
Practicing at this via exercise/instrument playing/singing makes you better at it because you are making your lungs work harder and as a result they become stronger and have the capability of holding more air. We also take large and longer breaths while doing these activities which help strengthen our breathing abilities.

Questions: Inhale - Exhale

Inspiration is the process in which the intercostals muscles receive multiple nerve pulses, which cause them to contract. When the muscles contract the diaphragm does too. When the volume in the thoracic cavity increases, the elastic lungs stretch out because they are connected to the walls of the cavity, by a membrane called pleura. The lungs expand and the thorax expands. The lungs increase in volume and the expansion lowers the air pressure. The air molecules move from high to low pressure.

Expiration is when intercostals muscles and the diaphragm relax. The lungs are able to return to its original dome shape. During the process of relaxation, the volume of the thoracic cavity deceases. This causes the lungs to compress so they return to their original size. The air within the lungs is compressed and the exhaled air then flows out.

Inflation of the lungs are caused by the contractions of the thoracic cavity which increase the size of the lungs. The lungs expand and increase the volume of space within them.

Deflation of the lungs are caused by the relaxation of the intercostals muscles and diaphragm. When the volume of the thoracic cavity decreases the lungs compress/deflate.

Part of the process requires a muscle contraction of the diaphragm is inhalation.

Interim - Biology 12 (Semester 2, Term 1)

1. An example where I felt successful in class was when I did well on my quiz. I felt that since this was the first thing we were being tested on I wanted to make sure that I actually understood the material I was being taught. Another moment where I felt I was doing well in class was when I was working on my digestive system t-shirt. Although, the project mainly consisted of coloring, I was able to learn and test myself on the various enzymes and pH levels throughout the digestive system. Lastly, the biology project, that I worked which included the various terms, enabled me to learn more about the parts of the unit that I did not understand (like lacteals, sodium bicarbonate, etc.).

2. I believe my work habits are really good. I finish all my assignments on time and work through the worksheets as they are given. I try my best to participate in class discussions and answer questions when I feel confident. On top of that, I come to the majority of classes and I am always on time. When I flip through my binder I see completed worksheets and thoroughly completed assignments.

3. I mainly like to work by myself on projects because I do not like to depend on others. On the other hand, when I am working on projects, I am able to ask my friends for help and they aid me on anything I am currently having troubles with. I also worked with classmates on the latest lab that we did in class with pipe cleaners. Baneet and I were able to help and teach each other about the various structures. It has enhanced my learning because I am able to learn and get a different understanding of the topics from another persons point of view. I am also able to further embed information that I understand when I explain it to others.

4. My goals for biology is to actually understand the material so it will help me in post-secondary when I take biology courses. In order to accomplish my goal I need to be able to do well academically. This means that I need to be reviewing my material/course work daily, preparing for tests as best as I can and putting in all my effort into assignments.

Lab: Questions For Biochemical Molecules

1. Describe a positive result for each of the tests that you performed in the lab.
A positive test for carbohydrates is when the substance in the test tubes turned a cloudy orange colour. A positive test for fats is when the residue left on the paper was clear, oily and transparent. A positive test for proteins when the food item turned a dark purple/black colour.

2. Starch molecules are large carbohydrate polymers. Find and post an image of the molecular structure of starch. What are the building blocks that starch molecules are made of?
The building blocks are made of glucose.

3. Thomas and Josh had interesting results to their simple sugar test - if you are following either of their blogs, look at their picture of their test tubes after they took them out of the hot water bath. After 2 minutes, only 2 of the test tubes were yellow/orange, and the rest remained blue. They took the two positive test tubes out of the hot water bath and left the others in the hot water bath for 2 more minutes. At the end of the two extra minutes all the test tubes indicated a positive result. Based on your knowledge of carbohydrate molecules, why do you think they got these results?
I think they got those results because after excessive heating to the substance, it breaks down further into glucose molecules. Therefore, the glucose plays a role in turning the substance positive.

4. Making connections - Describe the passage of one of your food items through the digestive system, starting with the mouth & ending at the anus. Include the specific enzymes, accessory organ secretions & internal conditions the food/chyme would pass through from start to finish.
Food first enters through the mouth (oral cavity). Once in the mouth, salivary glands secrete salivary amylase that break down the food by chemical digestion. The teeth also break down the food into smaller more manageable pieces by physical digestion. The tongue pushes the bolus of food to the back of the throat, to be swallowed. By peristalsis the food is pushed passed the pharynx. The epiglottis makes sure that the food travels to the stomach and not into the lungs. The cardiac sphincter allows the food to enter the stomach. Pepsin, HCl and mucus make up the gastric juices. They are a part of chemical digestion. The food inside is now called chyme. One teaspoon at a time food passes the the pyloric sphincter and enters the first 25 cm of the small intestine, the duodenum. Liver produces bile and stores it in the gall bladder. The liver also processes fats, proteins and carbohydrates. It even filters the blood. From the gall bladder, through a small tube, is the pancreas that produces trypsin, sodium bicarbonate, pancreatic amylase and lipase. Maltase, trypsin, pancreatic amylase, lipase and nuclease is excreted in the small intestine which helps with further break down of food. Villi and microvilli increase the surface area which helps in the absorbing of nutrients. After the small intestine there is the large intestine (starting with cecum) which compacts the left over material, absorbs water and contains e.coli. If the material gets stuck in the cecum it can go into the appendix and cause appendicitis. The rectum collects the feces and stores the waste. Finally, feces pass through the anus and anal sphincter.

 

Lab: Tests For Biochemical Molecules

This is my lab for the tests for biochemical molecules.

First we did the test for fats. We rubbed a piece of cupcake, cheese, apple, lettuce, tomato, bread, butter, orange and pancake on a piece of recycled paper. After a couple of minutes, the ones that consisted of fats left an oily residue behind. Here are some before and after pictures.

Next we did the test for starch. We used a spot plate and a couple of drops of Iodine to determine which ones were positive. We were able to figure that out because a dark purple colour indicates starch is present. Here are some pictures from before and after Iodine solution was added.

*Note: the foods circled on the chart in the photo tested positive.

Our last test was for carbohydrates. We used test tubes filled with water and pieces of the various foods inside a hot bath. We added Benedict solution and waited for two minutes. The ones that turned an orange colour indicated single sugars are present. Here are also some photos.

This is a chart I made that shows the positive and negative items for each category.

Items	Fats	Starch	Carbohydrates
Cupcake	Positive	Positive	Positive
Cheese	Positive	Negative	Positive
Apple	Negative	Negative	Positive
Lettuce	Negative	Negative	Not Tested
Tomato	Negative	Positive	Not Tested
Bread	Negative	Positive	Positive
Butter	Positive	Negative	Negative
Orange	Negative	Negative	Positive
Pancake	Negative	Positive	Not Tested