Aquarium Field Trip

New England Aquarium

In the New England Aquarium I really took some time to observe the Leidys Jellyfish.  they were little jellyfish and they lived in dark water where they would light up due to electric flow going through them.  the electricity made the jellies light up rainbow. the jellies would float around and bump off of each other sometimes latching on to one an other. 
   the aquarium was filled with many cool organisms from penguins, fish, sharks, eels and more.  one part of the aquarium that I really enjoyed was the shark and ray tank.  there was one ray who would come up to my hand every time and try swimming up my arm while sucking on my skin.  the rays were soft and slimy in touch.  their stomachs shouldn't be touched because the stomachs are very sensitive in comparisons the top of them. 
  Another cool thing about the aquarium I saw was the giant fish tank in the middle of the aquarium that was filled with all sorts of organisms.  one animal was myrtle the sea turtle.  she was 85 yrs old and still living. they also had a turtle named Carolina.
   over all I thought the aquarium was a fun and educational field trip.  I learned a lot about marine life and how we need to protect it.  I also thought the movie was awesome! I learned a lot about saving coral reefs and it also made me want to travel.

Here is a picture of a ray just like the ones in the touch tank!
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sting+rays&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=3BAC55B1C6741A31BBD4984DF7A7F0837A5BDECA&selectedIndex=0

seaweed web quest

Here is a picture of seaweed under water. 

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2012/03/seaweed.jpeg

Pre-Lab: Diversity of Algae and Seaweed Questions:

Why are seaweeds assigned to the Protista rather than Plantae?

They aren't  plants because they don't have a vascular system like regular plants have.

List, describe, and state the function of the four basic parts of a seaweed. Also, state the name for the entire seaweed body. 

The stalk or stem of a seaweed is called a stipe and its main function is to support the rest of the plant. Blades function is to provide a large surface area for the absorption of sunlight. Holdfasts, attach them to the sea floor. Floats or pneumatocysts help to keep the photosynthetic structures of the seaweed buoyant so they are able to absorb energy from the sun.

What are the most important ecological roles filled by seaweeds?

They provide shelter for other organisms and they are also a source of food for other organisms.

List several types of environmental stress seaweeds encounter.

seaweeds can have stress by many things.  one they can be exposed to the weather and air.  also changes in temperature in the water can cause stress along with the constant motions of the water.

Briefly describe sexual and asexual reproduction in seaweed.

They  reproduce asexually through fragmentation or division.Seaweeds can reproduce sexually, by the joining of specialized male and female reproductive cells, called gametes. 

Upon what characteristic are seaweeds classified?

The red algae , the green algae , and the brown algae .

1) What are diatoms?

Diatoms are photosynthesizing algae

a) Explain the role of diatoms in the carbon cycle.

They reduce the amount of CO2 in the air during photosynthesis.

b) What are the major characteristics of diatoms?

 Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotes that are microscopic in appearance. For the most part, they are photosynthetic micro-organisms, although some may live heterotrophically

c) Describe the life cycle of a diatom. 

When a cell divides each new cell takes as its epitheca a valve of the parent frustule, and within ten to twenty minutes builds its own hypotheca; this process may occur between one and eight times per day.

d) List five human uses for diatoms. 

 clean the human colin, reduce one's weight, lowers cholesterol, reduce high blood pressure, and finally strengthens hair, nails, gums, and teeth.

e) To what division and class diatoms assigned?

Division Chrysophyta, Class Bacillariophyceae

Algae Type	Brown	Green	Red
Division	Phaeophyta	Chlorophyta	Rhodophyta
Specific Example	Egregia menziesii	Codium fragile	Chondracanthus exasperatus
Form(s)	Large and complex	single-celled	simple, fleshy plants
Pigment(s)	chlorophyll	chlorophyll	chlorophyll, phycocyanin and phycoerythri
Habitat(s)	intertidal zone,	intertidal zones	Deep water
Human Uses	food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals fertilizer	food	toothpaste
Useful Substances	food and medicinal use	lettuce	toothpaste, canned meats

Photosynthesis Lab

   Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light into energy, and nutrients. The chemical equation is 6CO₂ + 6H₂O ------> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O_2.  In this lab we took  spruce and placed it in to water. We then put baking soda into the tube with the plant, and placed this under the light. We then watched the test tube for signs of photosynthesis. When the water began to bubble  this showed photosynthesis. The more light we had and the longer the water was under light the more bubbles, meaning more photosynthesis. We then added phenol red to the test tube and covered it with tinfoil. Then we inserted a straw and blew into the straw and the solution turned yellow because of the carbon dioxide in the oxygen. though when the test tube was left in the dark it turned back to red. 

Here is a picture of the process of photosynthesis 

Geographical TimeLine

Geographical Timeline:


During this learning activity the skills and knowledge that was gained was being able to learn about different time periods.  i gained a lot of knowledge on each time period and characteristics about each of them.  i also learned the orders in which the periods went.
  During this project i contributed to many things.  i made the index cards for both of out time periods, which were permian and Triassic.  that involved digging up information and researching the periods.  i also drew the picture for the Permian time period.  other work i did was i wrote 150 words on the Triassic time period.  Along with that i made the clay fossil and a silohette.  doing all these things allowed me to gain more knowledge and learn more about the permian and triassic periods.
    what i gained from others in this project was information from the time periods they were assigned.    by everyone going up and talking about their period helped me learn about the other periods besides my own.
   Finally i think group collaboration went well and we all talked well in such a way the the others would gain knowledge about our period of time