9/30 Scribe Post

Today in Biology class, Mr. Paek was late for class and he brought Jimmy Johns, but did not share his sandwich with the rest of the class. Mr. Paek also told us how his son is starting to like garbage trucks.

We first started to talk about cell theory. Cell theory is all living things that are composed of cells. Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living things. New cells are produced from existing cells.

Prokaryotes- cells that does not have a nucleus, and they are older cells.

Eukaryotes- a cell that contains a nucleus. They are a newer type of cell.

Organelle- a specialized part of the cell. Example: Cell membrane, Nucleus, Endoplasmic reticulum, Ribosomes, Cell wall, Golgi apparatus, etc.

LAB

Today our class started The Cell Structure and Function lab. The objective of the lab was to observe an elodea leaf, human cheek cell, onion cell, and frog blood. During the lab we prepared a wet mount slide for the elodea leaf, cheek cell, and onion cell. Next we put the slides under a microscope and viewed the various organisms on 400X. (The highest magnification) Then we recorded our observations and tried are best to draw the organism. We did this until the end of class.

HOMEWORK:

Section 7.2 that is due Monday

Notice: There will be a pop quiz on how to focus a microscope on the highest power in under 45 seconds sometime soon. So make sure everyone knows how to focus a microscope.

Complete Will and Donnie Oil Spill Project n Stuff

The Gulf Oil Spill Destruction to a Company, the Animals, and the World

Oil Spill w/ animals

Oil Spill

OIl spill project

Oil Spill Project

By Caroline Ryba and Jiyoon Jung (Period 4)

Oil Spill Movie Project

These pictures in the following video just are showing you what is going on in the gulf and how it is affecting the wildlife along the coast.

Oil Spill Movie and Scientists Point of View

http://buildaroo.com/news/article/us-oil-companies-unprepared-offshore-oil-spill/



http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/5-reasons-you-wont-see-worst-gulf-oil-spill.php



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/25/2010-06-25_gulf_oil_spill_costs_bp_billions_but_how_else_could_they_have_spent_that_money.html



http://www.dougsuttles.com/news/bp-denies-existence-of-plumes/



http://vabranchpcs.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html




http://www.truthistreason.net/kevin-costner%E2%80%99s-oil-skimmer-goes-to-work-in-gulf




http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/24/microbes-providing-major-aid-to-gulf-of-mexico-cleanup/

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/where+has+all+the+oil+gone/3727627

http://johndenugent.com/jdn/2010/09/03/english-obamas-oil-spill-killing-gulf-stream-water-temperature-dropping-10-degrees-kagan-represented-obama-against-birther-legal-challenges-he-nominates-her-to-supreme-court/

http://adaptiveradiation.wordpress.com/

http://chriskolba.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/the-biggest-dangers-of-the-bp-oil-spill-whats-really-going-on/


http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2010/0803/Static-kill-won-t-end-Gulf-oil-spill-drama-even-if-it-works

oilspill project, kelsey and colleen

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & A Fisherman's Viewpoint

This is an informational video about the BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the effects that were caused by the oil that spread across the waters. Thus,making many businesses that were owned by fisherman were severely ruined with the fact that they weren't able to catch any fish to sell. This oil leak was caused by a major company called BP (British Petroleum).

09/22/10 scribepost

Wednesday,September 22, 2010

Anouncements

Today Mr. Peak started out by telling us important anouncements. The oil spill project was originally due on Thursday, 9/23 but it is now due on Friday, 9/24 because we will not watch the videos until friday. The invading species project is due on Monday, 9/27. After that Mr. Peak told us how to load your oil spill project as a blog.

Posting Video on Blogger

First log on to blogger and click on new post.

Then enter the name of the project in the title box and the view you choose for the second half of the photos. For example if its about a fishermans point of view put (Oil Spill and fishermans view).

Next on the top bar with all the gadets click on (add video) it looks like a film role. Make
sure you save it as a movie maker video. Upload video and then you will need to fill in the
lable as (OilSpill, and the screenames of your partners).

Human Impacts

Biological Magnification


-Phenemenon in which cocentration of certain compounds in organisms of a food chain increases as you moce up the food chain

This photo represents biological magnification. In the photo the zooplankton eat the ddt as the they get eaten and the bigger fish get eaten the amount of ddt in the final host will have gotten much higher because as each prey get eaten the more they eat the more that it really affects the last animal compared to the first. So in the end the bird will have the most ddt and the zooplankton will have the least.

Bio Oil Project Danielle_Jessika

Scribepost Format

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Homework -  put any here

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5.2- LImits to Growth

Vocabulary:
Limiting factor- a factor that controls the growth of population
Density-dependent limiting factor- operate strongly when population reaches a certain level
Density-independent limiting factors- affect all populations in similar ways , regardless of population size and density


Key Points:
1. Acting separately or together, limiting factors determine the carrying capacity of an environment for a species
2.Density-dependent limiting factors include competition, predation, herbivory, parasitism, disease, and stress from overcrowding.
3. Unusual weather such as huricanes, droughts, or floods, and natural disasters such as wildfires, can act as density-independent limiting factors.


Limiting Factors
-The productivity of an ecosystem can be controlled by a limiting nutrient.
-Limiting factors keep most natural populations between extinction and overrunning the planet.


Density-Dependent Limiting Factors
-Density-dependent limiting factors do not affect small, scattered populations as much

Competition
-Competition is an example of a density-dependent limiting factor, because the higher the population density, the sooner the resources are used up.
-Competition for food can lower birthrates, raise death rates, or both.

Predation
-Another example of a density-dependent limiting factor is predation
-Population of predators and prey cycle up and down over time.
-Herbivory can contribute to population changes
-Herbivores are predators to plants, so the population of herbivores and plants raise and lower, as well.
-Sometimes, human activity limits populations
Parasitism and Disease
-Parasites and disease-causing organisms feed at the expense of their hosts
-This is another example of density-dependent limiting factors

Stress From Overcrowding
-If populations are too crowded, species can sometimes fight amongst themselves


Density-Independent Limiting Factors
-Populations can "crash", or drop

True Density Independence
-It is difficult to say that a limiting factor acts only in a density-independent way
-Human activities can also place ecological communities under stress

Friday 9/17/10

9/17/10 Scribepost

Today in class, the first thing we did was take lab 58 (pages 355-361) out of our workbook. After that, we discussed on how to measure the population density of an area.

To measure the population density:

1.) Set up a quadrant of 1 square meter. Measuring carefully, place four stakes (tongue depressors) 1 m apart at the corners of the square.

https://mail.google.com/mail/s/?view=att&th=12b2c54a0063067f&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

2.) Then tie a piece of string around the perimeter of the quadrant.

3.) To count the plants in your quadrat accurately, you will have to divide the quadrat into smaller areas. Lay the meter stick along one side of the quadrat. Lay a piece of string across the quadrat 10 cm from the boundary. Count the number of the different types of plants in section 1 of the quadrat.

https://mail.google.com/mail/s/?view=att&th=12b2d9e5c0eb79a5&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

4.) Repeat step 3 until you have counted the 10 sections of your quadrat. Use the meter stick and string to mark off the section you are counting.

5.) Total the numbers of the different types of plants counted in your quadrat.

6.) Copy the data. Then add the columns to get the totals for each plant. Divide each total by the number of groups to calculate the population densities of the types of plants/m2.

After talking about how to measure the population density, we went outside and measured the population density of a location. We counted the total number of the plantains, clovers, and dandelions.

https://mail.google.com/mail/s/?view=att&th=12b2c556132537c6&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

*Note- Homework:
•Project due 9/23
•Test 9/28
•Read 5.1 and 5.2 - Quiz Monday
•Invasive species poster 9/27 - UP 27-28
www.invasivespecies.gov
www.issg.org
www.nps.gov/plants/alien
www.usgs.gov/invasive_species/plw
www.invasive.org
www.great-lakes.net/flora-fauna/invasive/invasive.html

The Scribe List

This is The Scribe List. Every possible scribe in our class is listed here. This list will be updated every day. If you see someone's name crossed off on this list then you CANNOT choose them as the scribe for the next class.

This post can be quickly accessed from the [Links] list over there on the right hand sidebar. Check here before you choose a scribe for tomorrow's class when it is your turn to do so.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you label all your Scribeposts properly (Your display name, unit title, scribepost, and p8sts2010) or they will not be counted.

Quinn          Gabriela          Nick          David          Matt           Lauren           Jessika           Eleanor            Will           Drake          JakeJ           Alex          Zach           Afroza    Patrick       Anthony            Max             Colleen           Joel           Donnie            JakeN           Sami         Su            Kelsey           Danielle             Star

5.1 Text - Growth Curves

Main Ideas:

The textbook pages that should have been read over the weekend were sections 5.1 and 5.2. In section 5.1, the book described how to read a “J-Curve” graph. It shows the point where the growth is of the highest rate, and it shows how the higher the population, the faster it will grow. The J-Curve shows how a population increases in a certain habitat, and gives you an idea of how the species survives in the habitat. Another name for the J-Curve is called Exponential Growth.

Key Point: under ideal conditions with unlimited resources, a population will grow exponentially.

Another important graph that was reviewed was the “S-Graph”, also known as the Logistic Growth. This graph shows phases 1, 2, and 3 of the growth of a population. The first phase shows the population growing rapidly, the second shows the slowing curve of the population growth, and the third phase shows the complete halt of population growth. The third phase shows the carrying capacity. The carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that a particular environment can support.

Key Point: logistic growth occurs when a population’s growth slows and then stops, following a period of exponential growth.

Things of importance:

A population’s allocation in a specific environment can vary, too. Some environments will have sparsely populated inhabitants, while others will be closed concentrations of species, dotted along the specific environment. Some species are allocated in their environment randomly, so they can be all over the place. Another type of allocation of a species is uniform, where the species will be populated accordingly, and neatly, so there is no overcrowding. Most commonly, a species will be clumped together for purposes including safety, shelter, and resources.

The area inhabited by a population is called its geographic range. These areas are entirely controlled by that species, and its range extends until the area that is not inhabited by that species is found. For example, a bacterial population in a rotting pumpkin may have a range smaller than a cubic meter.

The growth rate of a population determines whether the population increases, decreases, or stays the same. Species that are in their original or natural habitats often have the same population over time. These populations have a growth rate close to zero. Populations can also decrease in size, depending on the habitat that they are in. That specific population would have a negative growth rate.

Limiting factors can also be introduced into an environment that ultimately limits the population of a certain species. A limiting factor could be things like predation, parasitism, and disease. These limiting factors do depend on the population density though. If there is a shortage of prey for predators, the predators will starve, and most likely die of starvation. If it was the opposite, and there was more prey than there are predators, than the predator’s population will most likely grow, making an onward cycle. These limiting factors are very important to control a fast growing population. These limiting factors are density-dependent.

Density-independent limiting factors affect all populations in similar ways, regardless of population size and density. Things like monsoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes will happen no matter what, and do not depend on the size of a population in that specific environment. In such events, populations will “crash”, and the population will fall rapidly. After the crash, a population will grow rapidly because there is an abundance of food and shelter, considering there is less of a population of that species than there was before.

All of this information can be found on pages 130-140 in the textbook. Do it if you haven’t done it, or else.

Thursday 9/16/10

Today, the first thing we did was turn in pages 35-41

from our UP packet. The Biome charts (pages 30-31

from or pink UP packet) were also checked in.

Next, we talked about population density.

population density: The size of the population within a particular unit of space.

For example, the picture to the right shows the population density of the United States.

We will be focussing on population density tomorrow while we do lab 58.

Note: If you have not already gotten the lab book, bring money tomorrow and buy it from the bookstore. We will be using it while we do the lab.

Next, we watched a video. It was a seven minute video on counting the population of plants and animals. While watching it, we learned how people find the average population of these things.

We will have to do a project on an alien invasive species. We will have to create a "most wanted" poster for a problem alien species. It should include:

• Common Name(s) and Scientific Names
• Description of organism, characteristic
• Color illustration of organism (8.5 x 11), detailed
• Origin: country or world region, Year it first arrived
• How/Why it was introduced
• Ecological Impacts
• Control methods

Some alien invasive species include:

Northeast: Green crab, gypsy moth, purple loosestrife, etc.

Southeast: Melaleuca, water hycinth, Chinese tallow, etc.

Midwest: Zebra mussel, rusty crayfish, sea lamprey, etc.

West: Scotch broom, Chinese mitten crab, goldfish, etc

Southeast: Fire ant, Africanized honey bee and tamarisk

websites for more information on these invasive species include:

www.invasivespecies.gov

www.issg.org

www.nps.gov/plants/alien

www.usgs.gov/invasive_species/plw

www.invasive.org

www.great-lakes.net/flora-fauna/invasive/invasive.html

In case you don't know what an invasive species is, it's a species that enters into new ecosystems and spreads, causing damage to native species and their habitats.

This project is due on 9/27, but you can turn it in on Tuesday (9/21) for one extra credit point.

For the last twenty minutes of class, we watched a video on lions and predators.

Note: On Monday, we will meet in the IMC. We were supposed to work the the invasive species project but we decided we'd rather work on the oil spill project.

Homework: Pages 43-48 in the pink UP packet are due tomorrow (9/17). Start working on the invasive species project which is due on 9/27, and you can also start working on the oil spill project which is due next Thursday (9/23).

Wednesday 9.15.10

The first thing we did in class today was take notes on niches and controlling population size.

-Niche: physical and biological conditions of an organism.

>where it lives

>role in food chain

Mr. Paek showed us this picture of a niche in class.

-Controlling population size
>not enough resources
>predators
-Density-dependent limiting factors: affects large populations more than small
Examples:
1. lack of food, water, and space-these are the 3 main ones
2. Predators
3. Parasitism (disease)
-Density-independent limiting factor: controls population size regardless of how large the population is at that time. Mostly natural occurances like drought/monsoon, hurricanes, weather, fire, and volcanic eruptions.

After taking those notes we worked on our homework while watching part of a video, we will watch the rest later. The video was called Planet Carnivore: "Lions". It is about an isolated volcanic crater in East Africa, where there are lions that compete for food against other animals like hyenas.

The homework is: pgs 35-41 and 43-48 in your pink packet, due tomorrow. You can also work on your oil spill project which is due 9/23.

4.2 Niches, and Community interactions

Chapter 4.2 Niches Community interactions

First question, whats a niche? A niche si when organisms live in different places so that the organism can live according to its needs. The conditions define how and organism will live and where it will live

Every specie has its own tolerance level. Tolerance meaning the ability to survive and reprodouce under a range of enviromental circumstances. Basically, it means what an animal can live in that good for its needs. If something in its enviroment changes, like a rise in temprature, the organism or animal starts to become stressed. When it becomes stressed, it has to use more energy to keep homeostasis (maintaing internal stability), thus, having less energy to grow and reproduce. Organisms have an upper and lower tolerance limit, but go beyond the lower or higher tolerance limit, and the organism will die.
An organism's tolerance level will define its habitat, or "adress" of where it lives.

To follow up on Niches, a niche not only describes what an organism does, but how its reacts with living and non living things
Other things about niches
-Resource can mean any nessecity of/for life (light, food, air, etc) Resources are needed for a niche to survive.
-For the physical aspects of a niche, the weather/climate has to be ideal for the organism to live in the niche.
-The biological aspects of a niche is the biotic (living) features that it needs to live.

In niches, competition is a big part of life. For example, plant or tree roots might compete for rich soil and water. Competition happens when two organisms try and use the same resource at the same time. A winner and loser is produced everytime theres competition, then the organism that lost dies out. Theres a principle called the Competitive exclusion principle that says that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in the same habitat at exactly the same time.
Sometimes, organisms/species will even split up, or divide the resources.

All animals must eat other animals to get the nutrients and energy they need. Predator and prey relationships are when a predator hunts and feeds on the prey, this is called Predation.
There are also herbivore (plants) relationships where the animal eats only plants and vegitation.
Changed in population or a single specie is called keystone species. And that can make big changes in the community it lives in.

Symbioses is any relationship in which two species live closely together. And there are three main classes of symbioses.....
1)Mutualism: when both species benifit.
2)Parasitim:A relationship when one benifits when the other is harmed
3)Commensalism: Where one benifits and the other is not harmed.

And thats the 4.2

By: Colleen lynch

P.8 Scribe Post 9-13-10

Today in class, the first thing we talked about was the oil spill project. For Tuesday, we need to have 10 pictures total, 5 general about the oil spill, and 5 in depth on the topic you want to research. On Tuesday we are going to the IMC to work on the project with our partners.

Next, we watched a video on leemings and their population/ environment. We sa

w how they kept together in groups and how their population increased and decreased. It increased when they reproduced and it decreased when there wasn't enough food. After this, we talked/took notes on community interactions.

Exponential Growth Curve

-Predation: when an organism kills and feeds on a different one.

-Symbiosis: organisms "living together"

-Mutualism: Both animals benefit

- Commensalism: one benefits and the other is not harmed.

- Parasitism: One organism benefits while one is harmed.

Next, we talked about exponential growth curves and logistic growth curves. The big difference between them is that the exponential is constantly rising while the logistic only rises to a point and then stops.

Lastly, we had time to work on pages 35-41 in the UP ecology packet.

Homework: Make SURE you have your oil spill pictures ready on your student email account.

Friday 9/10/10

Today, the first thing that we did in class was Mr. Paek opened up every groups google doc lab report write up. Then he showed us what we did right and wrong so that the groups could correct it over the weekend.

Then, he talked about our upcoming project about the oil spill. He told us to find 10 pictures total, 5 general pictures and 5 pictures of someone else's perspective. But don't print the pictures out you should email yourself the links to the pictures. On Tuesday we will be going to the IMC to work on the project on computers.

After explaining the project he talked to us about Succession, which watched a video and took notes on. Here are some definitions that you need to have.

• Succession: The series of changes an ecosystem goes through over time.
• Primary Succession: Happens when nothing was ever there.
• Secondary Succession: Happens after a natural disaster or drastic change in the ecosystem.
• Pioneer Plants: Grow in ungrown land.
• Climax Community: Final stable stage of succession.

Lastly, he gave us the homework which was to find the 10 pictures, pages 29-30 in the UP packet (use the textbook for help) and the pages are due on wednesday.

Wednesday 9.8.10

Today in class we started off by talking about the upcoming project involving the pictures. Mr. Paek will assign that sometime next week.   Also make sure you are logged into blogger.

Next we went over the different kinds of consumers. First you have Primary consumers, they feed directly off of producers. They can also be called herbivores. next you have secondary consumers they feed off of the primary consumers. after that you have Tertiary consumers they feed off of secondary consumers. The last type of consumer is quatemary consumers and you guessed it they feed off of  tertiary consumers.

We also went over what is called the pyramid of energy. The pyramid of energy is another way to show the way energy passes through different organisms. on the bottom is producers then primary consumers, then secondary consumers so on and so forth ending with quatemary consumers.  Mr. peak explained that when energy passed to another level of the pyramid it losses 90% of the energy. so producers have a 100% energy but when a primary consumer eats a producer it only gets 10 % percent of that energy. it keep decreasing by 90% all the way down so it goes  100% 10% 1% .1% and .01%. there are two other pyramids called number pyramids and biomass pyramids. number pyramids show the total number of organism in each level. Biomass pyramids show the total number of mass in each level of the pyramid.

For the end of class we worked on pages  15,16,19 and 20 in the pink ecology packets

Homework:   15, 16, 19, 20(whatever you dint finish in class).  Also you can do page 17 in the pink ecology packet for extra credit

Tuesday 9/7/2010

Today at the beginning of class Mr.Paek collected, UP 33-37- Microscope lab and gave use four pictures to glue into our notebooks and look at. then he explained some important vocabulary from last nights notes (3.2 & 3.3 from bio. book).

Ecology-the branch of biology dealing with the relations andinteractions between organisms and their

environment,including other organisms.

Biosphere-portion of our planet where life exists.

Biome-areas with similar climate, plants, and animals

Ecosystem-unit of the biosphere in which living and non-living things interact.

Community-assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area.

Population-members of the same species.

Biotic-biological influences on organisms in an ecosystem (living factors).

Abiotic-non-living factors.

IMPORTANT: plants trap the energy of the sun during photosynthesis.

Mr.Paek then showed us a video that was called " Battle at Kruger "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM (click to watch video)

Mr.Paek showed us an example of a food chain like the one above during class, but

his was a lot simpler. He also showed us an example of a food web like the one below and explained how producers are always at the start of a food chain or web because consumers eat the producer for it nutrients.

this is not a great example of a food web because we don't know the material and what are the producers and what are the consumers of this food web.

We did not have any homework unless you didn't do your notes that were due today.

Friday 9.3.10

              At the beginning of class today Mr.Paek gave us a homework sheet that has all of the assignments for this unit.  On that sheet it says we have a deer project to do.  He has changed that project to finding 10 pictures on the internet about the oil spill in the Gulf.  Five of the pictures can be the general aspects of the spill, and the other five have to be on five specific aspects of it such as:  animal life, fisherman, tourism, BP, or local people. Keep in mind that all five pictures have to be on the same subject.  Then we have to narrate each part on a digital storyboard, which he will give more details about later. 

                After this we went on a nature walk in the back of the building.  There we had to finish page 14 in the new unit packet we received at the beginning of class.  Two things we learned were that producers produce air, and consumers eat, and are live.  Producers consist of plants, while consumers are animals and bugs.

When we got back we logged onto the Glenbrook South website, and went to Google apps at the bottom left, and then logged onto that. From there agree to the terms and answer their questions (for the birthday make sure you are over 18).  Next we went to Google docs on the left. We had to create a new document and to do that you go to Create new near the top left.  Before you do this though decide who will be the one to create it.  The person that creates it must then go to share and type in the name of his/her lab partners and Mr.Paek for the Rip-o-meter project.  From there once you are do that each person has to give a color to their name and put it at the top so that Mr.Paek knows who did what(you must use your color for all of your writing).  Next he taught us how to change the name of the document, and what to change it to.  The person that created the Google doc goes to the top left where it says Untitled Doc, click on it and then changes the name to: Period 8 leaf lab and everyone in the group's name.

Then go back to the home page and go to student email on the bottom.  Type in your username and password, once you are in open the blog invitation.  You need a Google account and if you don’t have one go to create Google account and use your own email to create a Google account.

The homework is to read sections 1.2 and 1.3 for Wednesday, and finish page 14 of the new unit packet.

3.3 Energy Flow in Ecosystems

In every ecosystem, primary producers and consumers are linked through feeding realationships. Food chains can vary at length. Many herbivores will eat plants or grass and then the carnivores will eat them. Carnivores are at the top. Most feeding realationships are very complicated. The bigger animals often feed on the herbivores. They call this the food web.

The web can be different depending on the area. A lot of species have been left out. Decomposers are as important as composers are. They can convert dead material to things aniamls can eat. They also release nutrients.The area around the animals often chages the food chain so it is hard to predict what will happen. If one of the chains of the foods have disturbance then it will effect the whole chain in a bad way.



Pyramids are another way of showing the food chain. The primary producer is at the bottom. Then comes the frist-level consumer ,then the second-level , then the third-level consumer. It illustrates the way to the top of the food chain.

Food Chain-a series of steps in which oranisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Phytoplankton-primary producers are mixture of floating algae
Food web-network of feeding interactions
Zooplanton-diverse group of small swimming animals
Ecological pyramids-the relative amount of energy or matter
Biomass-total amont of living tissue within a given trophic level

Chapter 3.2-Energy, Producers, and Consumers

Every living thing needs energy for growth, reproduction, and its own metabolic processes (processes by which food is converted into the energy and products needed to sustain life). If there is no energy, there are no life functions. Organisms can't create energy by themselves, so they can only use energy from other sources. On Earth, sunlight is a vital energy source for many living things.

Not so long ago, researchers found out that there are other energy sources for life. Autotrophs are organims that are able to capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce their own food. They use solar or chemical energy to make food by putting together inorganic compounds into complex organic molecules. Autotrophs are also called primary producers because they store energy in forms that make it available to other organisms that eat them. HINTS: auto means "by itself. Trophikos means "to feed." so autotroph means "self feeder."

Most primary producers use the sunlight through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis captures light energy and uses it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates. If there were no photosynthetic producers like trees, there wouldn't be enough oxygen for humans to breathe.

Biologist found organisms around volcanic vents on the deep ocean floor. There was no light for photoshythesis, so the scientists were trying to find out what the primary producers were. These orgainisms used chemosynthesis. It is a process which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates. Chemosynthetic organisms are mostly found in deep ocean floors, but several types of producers have been found in other parts of the bioshere such as hot springs.

Consumers such as animals, fungi and many bacteria can't directly use energy from the environment as primary producers. They are also called heterotrophs because they must get energy and nutrients from other organisms by eating them. There are many different types of consumers. Below:

• Carnivores-eat meat
• Herbivores-eat plants
• Scavengers-eat food killed by other animals. ex. vultures
• Omnivores- eat both plants and animals
• Decomposers-they "feed" by chemically breaking down organic matter. The decay caused by decomposers is part of the process that produces detritus-small pieces of dead and decaying plant and animals.
• Detritivores- digest decomposers that live on detritus particles. They chew or grinds them into even smaller pieces. ex. mites, snails, shrimp, crab, worms
  

Organisms in nature usually don't stay inside the categories ecologists placed them in. For example, herbivores that eat different plant parts often have various ways of getting food. Most birds don't eat leaves. That is because seeds and fruits are easy to digest while leaves are difficult to digest. Also, some carnivores such as hyenas will try to scavenge if they get a chance.
Photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide +Water +Light Energy = Carbohydrates+Oxygen

Chemosynthesis

Chemical Energy-Carbon dioxide+Hydorgen sulfide+Oxygen = Carbohydrates+Sulfur compounds

Wednesday 9.1.10

Soo what did we do in class..? Well we finished up the microscope lab and did a little before the quest (test+ quiz like thing) review.

For the first 20 minutes, we finished up the microscope lab and if we had time we could finish the pages in the (up) packet which were 33-37. We did not go through all of the organisms but went through the microscope lab questions.                                                                                                                                       

 1. It is best to go low power to high power.

2. The organism is always going/ or is in the opposite direction. 

 3. Times the lens power with the low/medium/high power to get your total power 

  4. Sometimes perfect circles could have air bubbles. So you should push down on it.

 5. If it is too dark then adjust the diaphragm.

  6. If you can’t see the object in high power then adjust it back to low power.

 7. If you do everything right but still can’t see the specimen then try moving the stage.

 For the test there are tons of quick method practice problem and what I mean is independent, dependant variable and also control group. There will be a situation where you will need to figure out the   independent, dependant variable and also control group. Also there will be graphs for the quest. Then there should be a conclusion of the graph.

1. There should be a title
2. Bottom should be independent variable.   3. The left side should be the dependant variable.   
4. You should put titles for them both. 

In summary of this all, you should STUDY for the quest. Also look at page 1 for the chapter objectives so you can see if you need to study something, if you don’t know how to. Finish pages 33-37 and test is tomorrow!