Camila+'s+Science+Journal

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=Title Page=

Glossary

 * Living Systems**
 * By Camila**
 * "What is a living system?" This was the question that rippled through my class**
 * one day... And then, the answer came to my head. What are living systems?**
 * Well, here are a few:**
 * **humans**
 * **mammals**
 * **reptiles**
 * **fish**
 * **amphibians**
 * **trees**
 * **plants**
 * **Viruses**
 * **grass**


 * So many!!! Everything living is a living system... cool!**

24/2/09 1.Tap water • I saw that even though with the naked eye the water looked perfectly clear, it had cells that could be seen with a microscope • The cells… well, there were a lot. It surprised me! I didn’t expect the tap water to be completely full of cells and other things I don’t have the name for! Or were they all cells?
 * Microscope Observations:

2. Pond water • I saw that the water was cloudy, but not DIRTY. In fact, it was actually quite clear! • It had even more cells than the tap water, which was my hypothesis.

3.Leaf • I saw that the leaf was fresh and still alive. It had just been picked from the plant in our classroom. • I saw (up close, in the microscope) that it had many multi-colored things, and green and blue bumps. It was amazing! I also thought I could see some water…

4. Dead leaf • I saw that the lead was dried up and dead, and I expected to see almost nothing under the microscope. • When my teacher adjusted the knobs I saw (quite strangely) little (very little) drops of water all over it. It wasn’t dry after all! Conclusion: Everything seems to be made up of smaller pieces, cells, water, air, and maybe other things we can’t see with the naked eye.**

What are some of things that ALL organisms need? • Water • Exchange of gas O2 to CO2 • Food/nutrients • Shelter (X) • Blood (X) • Warmth (X) • Ambient temperature • Energy • Body parts • Protection against predators(?) • Skin, fur, covering • Waster disposal**
 * 24/2/09


 * Human Cells Challenge**

They get the food (everything they need) from us (humans). When we eat food, they (may) take some of the nutrients. When we drink, they (may) take some of the water. When we breathe they (may) take some of the gas. And when we need to release waste, they (may) release it through our genitals (and such). But how do we get air? We breathe in oxygen, them we breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants take this carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. That way, we will always have oxygen. Maybe they get food from the water around them or from the blood around them OR from other cells (meaning they eat them). (was partially correct)
 * How do human cells get the things they need to survive?
 * How do they get food?
 * How do they get water?
 * How do they get oxygen?
 * How do they get rid of waste?

How do they get food?: Our blood carries food to the cells. How do they get water?: Our blood carries water to the cells. How do they get oxygen?: Our blood carries oxygen to the cells. How do they get rid of waste?: Our blood carries the cell's waste away. What I mean to say is that our blood brings most of the cells the resources they need to survive, from bringing the cells the food (and nutrients) they need to survive, to carrying their waste away! Where does the blood get the resources? From the food we eat, water we drink, and gas we breathe. **
 * What I know after reading a few pages from Living Systems:

=**Circulatory and Respiratory Systems Video **= We watched this video in class and these are my notes on it:


 * Your lungs contain a large amount of air sacs
 * Your lungs can be filled by blood (not filled, but blood can pass through them)
 * Our lungs contain lots and lots of blood vessels
 * We have a voice box, and our oxygen passes by it
 * People have blood disorders
 * There are 4 different types of blood (A, B, O, AB)
 * There are cells in your blood that can stop the bleeding
 * The white blood cells in your body fight the diseases and viruses that enter your body
 * You can find out what your lung capacity is
 * You don't need a warm-up for your (internal) body
 * The right side of the heart's blood goes to the lung and then comes right back to the heart
 * The left side of the heart's blood goes all around the body before coming back to the heart
 * The two numbers for blood pressure are the highest it will go and then the least
 * Blood cells (red) are filled with hemoglobin, that attracts oxygen
 * For every white cell, there are 750 red blood cells!

Discussion after video:
 * 1) Your heart pumps faster when you exercise.
 * 2) Because your heart needs to meet the demands of the cells.
 * 3) It helps the cells deliver more oxygen to the lungs and blood to the heart. It will help the runner (athlete) breathe easier. (take another breath) It will keep the cells active.
 * 4) When a blood vessel is cut, platelets go through the blood to the wound and block the blood cells from going out, and the platelets form fibrin, and together they form a scab.
 * 5) If to much blood drips out, then the cells die because the cannot get the nutrients or gas or can they take away waste. With to much blood loss, the human could die too.
 * 6) These are a few cells: red blood cells, white blood cells. White blood cells battle diseases, and usually keep you from being very sick. Red blood cells carry their waste (carbon dioxide) and let us breathe freely.

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM REVIEW

Answer these questions: 1. What are the basic needs of all living cells? All cells need food, water, oxygen and waste removal. correct OK! 2. How do the cells in multicellular organisms get the resources they need to stay alive? In multicellular organisms, cells get what they need from the resources that the multicellular organism breathe in or eat or drink. Wrong! x The blood transports the nutrients to the cells, and the blood then carries away the waste. 3. What is the main function of the left side of the human heart? The left side of the human heart is used to take the blood from the lungs (the oxygenated blood) and pump it around the body. Correct! Great! 4. What is the main function of the right side of the human heart? The right side of the heart is used to collect deoxygenated blood and to pump it into the lungs to drop off carbon dioxide and to pick up oxygen. Correct! Great! 5. What is the function of the red blood cells? The function of the red blood cells is to deliver oxygen, nutrients, and water to cells. Correct! 1/2 Should have added more description about the red blood cells, not just what they BASICALLY do. More about the path they take... 6. What are the main kinds of blood vessels and what functions do they perform? There are three main types of blood vessels. Correct! Great! <span style="color: rgb(45, 211, 225);"> This is what they are used for: Veins: They carry the blood from the capillaries back towards the heart. Arteries: The arteries take blood away from the heart. Capillaries: The capillaries enable the exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and tissue. Great! 7. Describe what happens when blood flows through the lungs. <span style="color: rgb(45, 211, 225);">The deoxygenated blood drops off carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen. <span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Correct! Great! 8. Describe what happens when blood in capillaries flows past cells. <span style="color: rgb(45, 211, 225);">The blood cells release their oxygen, which passes through the surrounding wall and into the surrounding tissue. The tissue releases its waste, like carbon dioxide, which passes through the wall and into the red blood cells. <span style="color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">Correct! Great!

Score: 6.5/8 Check these, Camila! 15/3/09 Ms Hahn's corrections for you: 1. Food, water, gas exchange, and waste removal! 2. Blood flowing through the circulatory system delivers nutrients and removes waste 3. It collects blood from the lungs and pumps it to the body tissues. 4. It collects blood returning from the body tissues and pumps it out to the lungs. 5. They carry oxygen from the lungs to the cells, and carbon dioxide from the cells to the lungs. 6. Arteries carry blood away from the heart. Veins carry blood to the heart. Capillaries touch all cells and carry out gas exchange and nutrient delivery. 7. Red blood cells release carbon dioxide for elimination and pick up oxygen for delivery. 8. Cells take water, food (sugar), minerals, and oxygen from the blood and transfer wastes to the blood.

=<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> =

What did we do?

 * 1) First we cut the right side of the heart to show the right atrium and the right ventricle. I saw dried blood, and a connection between the superior vena cava and the right atrium. I put my finger through it. It felt slimy and cold. I was amazed I had had the courage to do that and to cut it (the heart) open in the first place. We were looking for the superior vena cava, the right atrium, the right ventricle, and the right valves.
 * 2) Second, we cut the left side of the heart and we saw more valves. Reina cut it open this time.

Digestive and Excretory Systems
 * Saliva is released from glands in your cheeks and jaw
 * When you eat food, it gets chewed up by your teeth and then it goes esophagus, and goes to the stomach
 * Acid in your stomach turns the food into small particles
 * Your stomach contracts and makes noises
 * After submersing food into four different liquids (acid, gastic juices, pepsim, distilled water) I think the food will dissolve in the acid, will also dissolve in the gastric juices, will get a little smaller in the pepsim, and get just a TINY bit smaller in the water.
 * Gastric juices completely dissolved the egg, though nothing else dissolved the egg white!
 * 95% of your urine is plain water, and the other 5% is broken down protein
 * Your small intestine is as long as three men
 * Your small intestine has the width of two fingers
 * Your big intestine is as long as one man
 * Your big intestine is three times the width of your small intestines
 * The ville suck up the nutrients
 * Waste exits your body through sweat, lung, and anus
 * 0.6 acid doesn't dissolve

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM REVIEW <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">1. Why do people eat food? <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">People eat food to feed their cells. The body (because you feed the cells) will keep working, thus, keeping your body alive and healthy! 2. What happens to food in the digestive system? <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">When a human eats food, the acid in the stomach will grind the food into tiny particles, and these tiny nutrients go to the blood. And these nutrients feed the cells 3. Describe the path taken by food as it passes through the digestive system. <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">The food travels down the esaphigus, and to the stomach. The nutrients go to the blood. This recently enriched blood travels around the body, feeding the cells. The things that the cells don't need becomes waste for the body, goes down to the intestines and exits the body. The kidneys make sure that all waste exits the body. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">The food gets mashed and chopped in the mouth. 4. Explain what happens to food at each place in the digestive system. <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">The food is turned to tiny, tiny nutrients in the stomach by acid, and that goes to the blood. The blood travels around the body, feeding the cells. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">The food gets mashed and chopped in the mouth. 5. How does digested food get to cells? <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">It travels in the blood, around the body and to the cells. 6. Why do people need kidneys? <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">People need kidneys because without them, there would be a lot of poison in your blood, and the cells wouldn't be able to live like that in those conditions, because it is... well, poisoned! <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">The waste from the cells would travel around the body (freely) if it weren't for the kidneys that filter the waste from the clean blood. 7. Describe how kidneys work. <span style="color: rgb(0, 255, 0);">The kidney's clean the blood from waste and then transfer the waste to the intestines. The intestines then make the waste exit the body. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">The kidneys SEPARATE the clean blood from the cell's waste. The kidneys clean the body 20 T0 25 TIMES in a DAY. That makes the body a clean place for the cells to live in!
 * //<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">THE DISASSEMBLY LINE //<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">REVIEW **

Questions:

1. What support does the digestive system provide for cells? It makes sure that the food that the multicellular organism eats actually gets transformed into nutrients and simple chemicals that all cells will use for energy.

2. What support does the respiratory system provide for cells? We breathe in the oxygen that is needed for the cells to live, and then breathe out their waste.

3. What support does the circulatory provide for the cells? It transfers the nutrients to the cells, then takes away the waste.

4. What support does the kidney provide for the cells? It cleans their environment, making it a place where they are able to live.

=Vascular Plants=

Examples of vascular plants: Vascular plants are everywhere!
 * tomatoes
 * wheat
 * lettuce
 * raspberries
 * celery
 * trees
 * leaves

But we decided to focus our study on leaves! I learned that there are three types of leaves: Pinnate Palmate

and Parallel. Our class then went on a search around the playground and field, trying to find different leaves that follow under one of the categories. How was it easy for us to find leaves that fell under each category? Our substitute teacher, Mrs. Kent explained and showed pictures of the difference. Pinnate leaves had a main (line) that is known as the mibrid, and had other vessels branching off. In PALMate leaves, the vessels coming off of the main line (the mibrid) spread out, similar to your PALM. Last, but not least, the parallel leaves didn't have a main mibrid, but had a series of lines that are lined and parallel. Below is a palmate leaf: Below is a pinnate leaf: Below is a parallel leaf: Palmate Pinnate Parallel This is all the different types: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">

CELERY EXPERIMENT A
Design an experiment to get information about rootless celery and water. The materials available to you include: 2 Stalks of celery with leaves 2 Stalks of celery without leaves 4 Vials
 * Experimental Design**

1 vial holder

measurement tools While you work on your experimental design, think about these three things. • Leaves might affect how celery interacts with water. • The mass of the celery might change. • The volume of water in the vial might change. ** Plan to answer our question: ** Step 1: Measure out (30) millimeters of water and poor it into each vial (30 each)
 * Testable question:** Will a plant with no leaves grow more or less than a plant with leaves?

Step 2: Record current mass of celery

Step 3: Place all four celery sticks into the vials

Step 4: Leave the celery for one, two or three nights

Step 5: Record changes in amount or water and mass


 * Plant ||  ||   ||
 * Starting mass of celery (g) ||  ||
 * Ending mass of celery || Starting volume of water (mL) || Ending volume of water (mL) ||  ||   ||
 * Plant A with leaves ||  || 24 grams || 29 grams || 30 || 8 ||   ||
 * Plant B with leaves ||  || 19 grams || 19 grams || 30 || 6 ||
 * Plant C without leaves ||  || 21 grams || 26 grams || 30 || 26.5 ||
 * Plant D with leaves ||  || 20 grams || 23 grams || 30 || 24.5 ||   ||
 * Plant D with leaves ||  || 20 grams || 23 grams || 30 || 24.5 ||   ||

**CELERY OBSERVATIONS AFTER 1 DAY BUT //BEFORE// MEASURING 1. What is the general condition of the celery stalks compared to yesterday? ** To me they look a lot fresher and greener. Before (when we just got the celery sticks) plant A and B were sloping quite a lot, almost touching the desk. But now they are barely drooping, actually, they seem quite straight. = = ** 2. How did the water in the vial change from yesterday? The celery with leaves had noticeably less water than the day before, but the celery leaves' water looked about the same 3. What do you think happened to the water? It got sucked up by the plants, and the ones with leaves needed more water for their leaves. I have a little bit of proof to base my theory. The two celery stalks without leaves had a LARGE amount of water left after having all night to "suck it up". The two celery stalks with leaves had a LITTLE amount of water left. This means that for some reason the ones with leaves needed more water. The most logical explanation that (for me makes sense) is that the leaves needed more water to grow, so that water that the leaves need plus the water the stalk needs, is more than just what A STALK needs. RED DYE CELERY OBSERVATIONS 1. What did you observe when you first looked at the red-dyed whole celery stalk? There is a whole trail of pink or red lines. 2. What did you observe when you then looked at the cross section of the celery stalk? There are red dots in the stalks. 3. What do you think the red dots are in the celery stalk cross section? I think that the red dots are water that is in the celery stalk cross section. 4. What is the relationship between the red dots and water in the celery stalk? Since the water was red, then the red dots are symbols of the water, so that you can see them clearly. The water traveled there. ****MY CONCLUSIONS FOR CELERY EXPERIMENT B:**

Question 1: What structures do vascular plants have for transporting water? The xylem gets the water from the roots and (defying the laws of gravity) travels up the stem (or trunk) to the leaves. The water then evaporates.

Question 2: What structures do vascular plants have for transporting sugar? Thanks to the xylem delivering water to the leaves, sugar can be made. All the plants need is carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. If they have all of this, they make sugar. The phloem delivers this sugar-rich sap to all the cells that can't make their own sugar, thus, feeding them!

**Video Notes:**
 * Photosynthesis occurs in the mesophyll
 * Plants are always growing
 * There are plant characteristics: multi-cell organisms, cell walls, and chlorophyll (most)
 * The oldest living things living are plants
 * Roots take in water and nutrients
 * Roots always grow downwards
 * Leaves need carbon dioxide, sugar, and sunlight to make sugar
 * Xylem transfers water and nutrients up
 * Phloem transports sugar everywhere
 * Some plants get water out of the air
 * Every spring a new xylem and phloem is formed to make rings
 * All plants are multicellular
 * Cells are rigid walls not moving
 * They need chlorophyll to make sugar and to survive
 * All plants have tissues and organs
 * Xylem and phloem are the two types of vascular plant tissue
 * The trunk of a tree and stem of a flowering plant both have vascular bundles (xylem and phloem)
 * The rings of a tree form every spring when new tissue is formed
 * The old tissue is in the middle, and the new tissue on the outside
 * Rings are wider depending on how much water there was that year; the wider the ring, the wetter the year
 * Some are narrower because the year was dryer, and some are wider because the year was very wet
 * Both the vascular system (in plants) is the same as the circulatory system (in humans) because they both eliminate waste, exchange gases, and transfer water and nutrients

**Making Food-Article**
 * 1) Plants do not produce food when they don't have water, because water is one of the ingredients to make sugar, for them to live! <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good!
 * 2) Plants do not produce food when they don't have light because (like water) light is an ingredient needed to make sugar! <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good!
 * 3) Plants can produce food without nitrogen, because it is a gas they do not need to make their food. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good!
 * 4) Plants can produce food when they don't have oxygen because oxygen (like nitrogen) isn't a gas they need to make food. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good!
 * 5) Plants cannot produce food without carbon dioxide because carbon dioxide is a gas they need to make sugar, to feed the cells to produce food! <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good!
 * 6) Yes, because the water had to be sucked up by the roots from the sand. Without the sand, the water would be really hard to be sucked up by the roots.<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> They don't need it, even though it needs something to sit in, but that could be water as long as it has all that it needs.
 * 7) The variables essential for plants to produce food are carbon dioxide, light, and water. Why? Because these are the things or ingredients needed to make sugar. Without sugar, there is nothing to feed the cells! So (unfortunately) the plants wouldn't be able to grow or produce food. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Good! Not light, water and carbon dioxide (just a teensy mistake)
 * 8) The mass of the produced food comes from the ingredients needed to make sugar (I think, though I am not 100% sure). The ingredients that give it mass are water, carbon dioxide and light. Though light has no weight, it creates sugar, that does!
 * 9) Paco and Eva wrote on their chart that the only beans that increased in mass were those that had everything except nitrogen, and oxygen. The other ingredients, light, water, and carbon dioxide coincidentally are the things needed to make sugar.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS This is the equation:**
 * The form of food produced in plants is sugar. The process that makes sugar is called** PHOTOSYNTHESIS**.** PHOTOSYNTHESIS **happens in green cells.

Photo- light or picture Synthesis- putting together Photosynthesis- light, put together

Solar energy must also be present with the 6 molecules of carbon dioxide and the 12 molecules of water in order for photosynthesis (the making of food, sugar) to occur.

Everything we eat must be turned into sugar during the digestive system because it is the only thing the cells can eat. Everything converts into sugar.

Photosynthesis:
1. Sugar is the 'food' made for cells in the green parts of the plants. The sugar is made of carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight. Without these, sugar wouldn't be made. 2. The raw materials needed by the plants are sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. These materials are taken from the air, and the soil. Water is sucked up from the soil by the roots, the leaves take in sunlight, and the carbon dioxide is taken in from the stomata. 3. Chlorophyll is the molecule in the leaf cells that make the leaf green. The chlorophyll is takes in red or blue light, and reflects the green light (that is why the leaves look green!). 5. Plants produce food in the leaves. The xylem tubes carry up water to the leaves, and (miked with carbon dioxide and sunlight) that becomes sugar. The sugar, feeds the cells. So the food, or sugar, is made in the leaves! 6. We run on solar energy because we take in the sugar that plants make (the energy) and that is made by sunlight. Without that vital ingredient, the plants would die because they had no food. So then, we are obviously running on the sun, that feeds the plants, the plants that feed the animals, and then the humans that eat the animals! (It's really cool if you think about it!)

Cellular Respiration 1. People eat food to nourish their cells.Without food, humans would die, because (since they can't make their own sugar or food) their cells wouldn't have any energy, and the human body wouldn't be able to work. 2. When we eat, our food goes to our stomach, and broken down. The sugar then travels around in the bloodstream, feeding the cells. 3. Plants get energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. They make sugar out of these things (all this happens in the leaves), and the sugar goes around the plant in a liquid called sap, feeding all the cells. This gives the plant enough energy to live and grow. 4. During cellular respiration, the cells break down sugar into carbon dioxide and water molecules. That is cellular respiration.

What we did: We chose 2 cereals that we thought would be high and low in sugar content. We chose Koko Krunch and Corn Flakes. We put 3 grams of each into two separate bags, one labeled 'high' and the other 'low' (Corn Flakes was low, and Koko Crunch was the high). Then we added 100 mL of yeast into each bag.

After that, we got a little hot water. It was over 50 degrees, so we had to cool it down to 50 degrees. See, yeast will die if it isn't in a temperature between 35-50 degrees Celsius! So we had to wait patiently (adding cool water every now and then) until it was at the correct temperature.

Then we sucked up 50 mL of water in the syringe and put it into both bags (50 mL in each).

At the same time everyone in the class put the bags into the warm water bath, and waited 10 minutes. This is what we got:


 * Food tested: || Amount of carbon dioxide in 10 min || Amount of carbon dioxide in 20 min ||
 * Koko Krunch || 100 ml || 200 ml ||
 * Corn Flakes || 0 ml || 0 ml ||
 * Corn Flakes || 50 ml || 100 ml ||
 * Captain Crunch || 100 ml || 230 ml ||
 * Choco Bits || 100 ml || 0 ml ||
 * Corn Flakes || 50 ml || 0 ml ||
 * Cookie Crisp || 150 ml || 150 ml ||
 * Frosties || 100 ml || 50 ml ||
 * Corn Crunch || 150 ml || 150 ml ||
 * Cheerios || 50 ml || 50 ml ||
 * Sugar (control) || 50 ml || 50 ml ||

Observations:

We noticed that the Koko Krunch had a ton of bubbles! Corn Flakes also had bubbles, but no where near the Koko Krunch!

Conclusion: I know now that the more sugar a organism is provided with (in this case, yeast) the more it is going to act up, or produce more gas. We knew that Koko Krunch is much sweeter than Corn Flakes, so it obviously has more sugar. Because of that, the yeast would produce more gas, because of the waste products!

Observations:

We found that the sugar in the yeast (it was a plastic bag with yeast, sugar, crunched cookies, and warm water) acted up, so that the average volume was 75 mL, and the flour was only 10 mL! We haven't found out why, but the sugar seems to have acted up more. There is more activity in the plastic bag that had the sugar! But why...?

Conclusion: The yeast needs the sugar to act up! The yeast broke up the sugar and produced energy...!


 * Glossary:**


 * Cell- is the basic unit of life!!!

Oxygen- is an atmospheric (in the air) gas needed to support life!!!

Carbon Dioxide- A waste gas produced by all LIVING systems.

Blood- is a liquid that flows to and from cells in the blood vessels

Pulse - the result of the blood being pushed through the blood vessels by the beating of the heart

Heart - the organ that pumps the deoxygenated blood to the lungs and the oxygenated blood around the body. The human heart has four chambers, the right atrium, left atrium, right ventricle and left ventricle.

Blood vessels - the arteries and veins and capillaries that carry the blood around the body

The circulatory system- includes tissues (blood and blood vessels) and organs (for example the heart) that transport life-support substances to cells AND remove waste!

The respiratory system- includes the tissues and organs that (as in lungs) that provide gas exchange (from oxygen to carbon dioxide)between the blood and atmosphere

Cross section- is a cut across an object and exposes its internal structure

Vascular plants- is a multicellular plant that has vessels for transporting water, minerals, and sugar to all its cells

Xylem- found in vascular plants. Tubes to transport water and minerals to cells

Phloem- found in vascular plants. Tubes transport sugar to the cells

Sap- the sugar-rich liquid found flowing in the phloem **

**2.** ** My Terrestrial Environments Journal ** spoonful of clover seeds. 500 milliliter of sand and 50 milliliters of stones, and of course, 1 liter of soil! ** **
 * We used one large basin, 800 milliliters of water, 8 each of barley seeds, corn seeds, radish seeds, and pea seeds and a tiny
 * 1. We put the stones on the bottom of the basin and then put the sand on top.

** Questions to consider: ** · How do the sides and the top of the terrarium look? 22/4/09 The top and side looked wet and fogged up. It was difficult to look to see if any seeds had sprouted, but when I bent close I could make out most of it. 29/4/09 There is condensation on the top and sides of terrarium. Drops are hanging off the lid and dripping down the sides. 6/5/09 The condensation is dense. When I took off the top, a very hot wind gushed out! · How does the soil look? 22/4/09 The soil looked flooded, too wet! 27/4/09 Our garden was not flooded, but the soil was damp, well at least it looked damp. A good place for plants, but we should add water soon.29/4/09 The water is circulating and keeping it damp. The soil looks darker than when we first put it in, like soil when wet, but I can't be sure. 6/5/09The soil looks... not damp, but not dry. · Have any seed sprouted? 22/4/09 It was difficult to see if any seeds had sprouted because it was foggy, but no. 27/4/09 At last! When I came to school I noticed three fresh sprouts growing. I was very happy our garden was prospering.29/4/09 The seedlings look the same as the last time I observed them, just a little taller. But, I try to be patient. You can't speed up the growing process. · What kind of seed sprouted first? 27/4/09 We aren't sure which one did, but when we came to school radish, barley, and clover had sprouted. So those sprouted first. What kind of seed sprouted last? The last seed to sprout was another corn seed, that sprouted right next to the corn, so I was able to identify it as corn. · What kind of plant grows best in your terrarium? The corn was the only one to grow over 5 cm. But, then again, corn is a tall plant. Maybe the clover grew best, but it is such a small plant that I thought it was still a sprout, a seedling! · How have the living factors of the environment changed? 27/4/09 Now that the seeds have sprouted, all the plants may compete for water and nutrients, but for now there are only three little plants and lots of water and nutrients. · How have the nonliving factors of the environment changed? 27/4/09 Rocks, water, sand, and soil. The qualities of all of these may affect the growth of the sprouts. When we first started, the terrarium was flooded, but not anymore, so that certainly changed. The rocks may disturb the roots, and so might the sand! · Which organisms found your terrarium a favorable environment? Why do you think so? · How would you recommend planting seeds in a terrarium? I would recommend that you plant the seeds under a (not-so-thick) layer of soil, one, so that the roots can reach and plant themselves firmly, and for them to get water, and two, so that the plants don't have to grow so much to be able to get sunlight. How much soil should be on top of the seed? Like I said on the previous question, the seeds should be planted under a (not thick, but not thin) layer of soil. Do different types of seeds require different planting techniques? I do not know much about gardening, but I would hypothesize that yes, different seeds do require different planting strategies. I would give an example, but I cannot be sure I am correct. · How is the environment in your terrarium different than the more common environment for corn, barley, clover, radishes, and peas? 29/4/09 Corn usually grows in fields, so our small terrarium is smaller. Clover grows in gardens, with other plants and on grass, not soil. · If you were going to set up a terrarium again, what would you do differently and why? 6/5/09 I would not put the lid on the terrarium at all, and just add water every day. · What factors might affect the growth of the plants in your terrarium if you repeated the investigation during a different season? 6/5/09 If it had been... December for example, then it would be much colder, which might affect the seeds. In a different room in the school? 6/5/09 If it had been in a room that has AC on all day, then it would be much colder than outside, so the temperature would affect the seeds. In a different part of the country? 6/5/09 In a different part, the temperature might vary, thus, affecting the seeds. Terrarium observations 27/4/09
 * We noticed that three little plants sprouted, one barley, one radish, and one clover sprout
 * We noticed they are still tiny
 * The terrarium is still damp even though it should have evaporated over the weekend
 * Only one of the sprouts has leaves, all the others (two) are just stems, and one appears to be white
 * We measured the plants, and found that they were 1/2 a centimeter, 1 centimeter, and two centimeters tall
 * 30/4/09 There are four little plants!
 * Our new plants is a clover, with two little leaves.
 * It is shorter than a centimeter
 * One of our other plants, the one that didn't have leaves and was green, it grew a leaf and is much taller
 * 4/5/09 There are FIVE sprouts!
 * The soil was cracked and dry so we added 100 mL of water
 * The plants in order of height: 7 cm, 2 cm, 1 cm, under 1 cm. We had five sprouts, but Brianna didn't know there was one when she measured.
 * 6/5/09 Now there are six little plants. And this time, the sixth one passed unnoticed by Reina, so we do not know the height of that one.
 * The plants in order of height: 5 in (Reina changed the measurement to inches), and all the others were less than 1 inch, but it was difficult to get the exact height.
 * 11/5/09 We noticed (or at least I noticed) that the plants looked quite parched and dry. The plants are dead (:!

Vascular Plants Thinking:

 * 1) The xylem transports water (one of the things needed to make sugar) up to the leaves. Then carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water make sugar. The phloem then transports the sugar to all the cells that can't make it themselves in a liquid called sap.
 * 2) The phloem transports the sugar in the sap (a liquid) to all the cells. The sugar contains water, so the cells get water, sunlight and nutrients at the same time. The sap does most of the job!
 * 3) When a celery stick is placed in red dye the leaves turn pink because the water travels up the stem, or xylem, and to the leaves. So you can see the red dye in the leaves. The same thing happens with water, but the water is invisible.
 * 4) Blood and sap are the same in some ways:
 * They both transport water and nutrients to the cells
 * They are both liquids
 * They are both essential to the multicellular organism

=Brine Shrimp Hatching= =My letter to Dr. Bryans=
 * **We wanted to find out if the brine shrimp would survive depending on the quantity of salt in the water in which they were. We had one cup with no salt, another with 1 spoon of salt, then 2 spoons of salt, then 3 spoons of salt. All the other variables are fixed (one mini-spoon of brine shrimp eggs in each cup, and 150 ml of water in each cup). The salt was our independent variable. See, due to global warming, the salt in lakes and oceans are increasing, we need to find out if the brine shrimp can survive in saltier environments. Without the brine shrimp, then migratory bird would die because the brine shrimp is their main source of food as they migrate. All goes back to the food chain. It's amazing how things are linked.**
 * **What we did is that we put one mini-spoon of shrimp in each cup that had 150 ml of water, and either no salt, 1 spoon of salt, 2 spoons of salt or 3 spoons of salt. We waited 24 hours...**
 * **Twenty-four hours later, we observed the shrimp. This is what I noticed.**
 * Nearly all the shrimp hatched in all the cups except the one that didn't have salt. I wonder why...? The shrimp looked energetic, swimming around. They appeared a brownish pink. Their tails wagged to and fro as the swam with repeated, jerky movements.**
 * **After 48 hours, we noticed that the eggs were brown specks, and that they floated to the surface, or stuck to the sides of the cup. Before, I mistook the eggs for the shrimp, so I thought that many of them had died. But then I remembered the color of the eggs in the vial, and I saw the pink little shrimp swimming around... so I knew they hadn't died. This is just in the 2 spoons of salt cup... but wait... I see little pink specks on the bottom of the cups. ALL of them. In the one with no salt, it is full of them. And in the others, less, but still a lot! Oh...**
 * **After 60 hours, all the shrimp in the cup with one spoon of salt are dead! It is sad, seeing a pink layer of little bodies on the bottom, swaying gently when the cup is disturbed. I feel sorry for them. In the other cups, there are new dead ones, but some still look pretty healthy and energetic (not in the cup with no salt. As I said earlier, they all died in that one... No, I am talking of the OTHER two cups, the one with two and three spoons of salt).**

Dear Dr. Bryans, I am happy to announce that we have found a answer to your question! ("Can brine shrimp survive when the salinity in the water is increased?")! We have tested it, and this was our procedure, if you wish to try it again:

Supplies:
 * 1) A vial with brine shrimp eggs
 * 2) 4 plastic cups
 * 3) 4 labels (one each that says: 'no salt', '1 spoon of salt', 'two spoons of salt' and 'three spoons of salt')
 * 4) A base, some flat place to put the plastic cups
 * 5) Salt
 * 6) A small spoon (check what the EXACT measurement is)
 * 7) A big spoon (a 50 ml spoon would be good)
 * 8) Water

What to do:
 * 1) Put 150 ml of water in each cup.
 * 2) Label each cup with the label. Put the label in a place where it still is comfortable to observe inside the cup

**How can we find out if the eggs that have not hatched in the cups are still viable? (Alive or able to grow)

Our Plan:

1.We decided to increase the salinity in each cup (except the control) by three. So the one spoon cup is now four spoons (50 ml x 4), the two spoons cup is now five spoons, etc.** **We didn't change anything else. We kept the same variable. (the salinity) We just poured in 150 ml more of salt in each cup, except the control. Now we have, instead of cups that have labels that say this: 0 spoons of salt, 1 spoon of salt, 2 spoons of salt, and 3 spoons, we have these labels: 0 spoons of salt, 4 spoons of salt, 5 spoons of salt, and 6 spoons of salt.** 3. Now all we can do is wait to see if the eggs hatch!**
 * 2. As soon as we put the salt in, a white layer formed at the bottom. So, to make it dissolve, we gently stirred the cups until we couldn't see the salt anymore.