Honeybee Project
Honeybees are very important to the world. They make it possible for food to grow and they also account for billions of dollars of our economy. Without honeybees, very few plants would grow, animals and humans would not get necessary nutrition, and we would lose billions of dollars. We should be concerned about losing our honeybees. The honeybee population is rapidly decreasing due to CCD (colony collapse disorder), environmental changes, and pesticides.
For this project, I chose to focus on honeybee social structure. I learned several interesting things about the honeybee. I learned about the social castes: queen, drones, and workers and the differences between them. For exhibition, I created a poster board displaying the social castes and the timeline of the worker bee. I made three really cute bees on the board to represent each social caste.For this project I was most proud of the bees I made. It took over an hour to make each one from scratch. One thing I would have done differently is clean up the board a little more. Some of the paper edges were a little rough and I could have refined them.
For this project, I chose to focus on honeybee social structure. I learned several interesting things about the honeybee. I learned about the social castes: queen, drones, and workers and the differences between them. For exhibition, I created a poster board displaying the social castes and the timeline of the worker bee. I made three really cute bees on the board to represent each social caste.For this project I was most proud of the bees I made. It took over an hour to make each one from scratch. One thing I would have done differently is clean up the board a little more. Some of the paper edges were a little rough and I could have refined them.
Dissection Project
For the dissection project, I opted out and chose to do a virtual human anatomy lab. I chose to do this because I am very squeamish and would probably cry if I had to cut open a pig or a cat :). I learned a lot about the human body through this project, like the process of digestion, parts of the heart, and brain functions. I also learned about myself through this project as well. I learned that if I am left on my own during a project, I can get a lot done.
CSI Forensics Project
During this project we learned several things about the U.S justice system and several of the techniques that are used by CSI investigators to catch criminals. Specifically, we learned about how DNA has been used to exonerate wrongfully convicted men and women in prison. Thousands of innocent people have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, but with DNA they were proven innocent. We were split into pairs and assigned to a crime scene. We had to utilize research and writing skills to write several reports on forensic techniques. We performed several labs including fingerprinting, blood typing, and electrophoresis. Each test had a report to go along with it.
As a class we performed several labs. Electrophoresis, DNA Extraction, Superglue Fuming, and Blood Typing. During the DNA extraction lab, we extracted DNA from a strawberry. We learned about the process of extracting DNA and the purpose of a Lysis Buffer. A Lysis Buffer is used to breakdown the DNA so that it can be extracted. After the DNA has been extracted, Electrophoresis is used to identify DNA. The DNA is put into a container with hardened gel on the bottom, and water on the top. It is then electrified with batteries for an hour. We used these two forensic techniques to help identify DNA found on the suspect's car. We used Superglue Fuming to identify the fingerprints on the vodka bottle found at the crime scene. The fingerprints belonged to the victim. Each of these techniques allowed us to discover more about our crime, and eventually catch the killer.
The most interesting forensic science to me was fingerprinting. I really enjoyed spending time trying to match fingerprints and identify minutia (imperfections in the print). It was like trying to solve some kind of puzzle or code. One thing that I think I could have done better would be to spend more time on my tire track casting report. It was very challenging for me, because there was not a lot of information about it on the internet. Finding the history of tire track casting was the hardest part. My fingerprinting report is my favorite piece of work from this project. I worked very hard on it and I found great information for my report. It was by far the easiest one to write because there was a lot of information on fingerprinting available.
As a class we performed several labs. Electrophoresis, DNA Extraction, Superglue Fuming, and Blood Typing. During the DNA extraction lab, we extracted DNA from a strawberry. We learned about the process of extracting DNA and the purpose of a Lysis Buffer. A Lysis Buffer is used to breakdown the DNA so that it can be extracted. After the DNA has been extracted, Electrophoresis is used to identify DNA. The DNA is put into a container with hardened gel on the bottom, and water on the top. It is then electrified with batteries for an hour. We used these two forensic techniques to help identify DNA found on the suspect's car. We used Superglue Fuming to identify the fingerprints on the vodka bottle found at the crime scene. The fingerprints belonged to the victim. Each of these techniques allowed us to discover more about our crime, and eventually catch the killer.
The most interesting forensic science to me was fingerprinting. I really enjoyed spending time trying to match fingerprints and identify minutia (imperfections in the print). It was like trying to solve some kind of puzzle or code. One thing that I think I could have done better would be to spend more time on my tire track casting report. It was very challenging for me, because there was not a lot of information about it on the internet. Finding the history of tire track casting was the hardest part. My fingerprinting report is my favorite piece of work from this project. I worked very hard on it and I found great information for my report. It was by far the easiest one to write because there was a lot of information on fingerprinting available.