Honeybee Project
Honeybees are pollinators of the food that we consume and play a very important roll in our ecosystem. Worker bees are pollinate 80% of fruit an crops that we consume which ads up to one third of our diet. Bees are the only insect that produces food that is consumed by humans. We should be concerned about the extinction of honey bees because the elimination of fruits and vegetables along with threatening other produce industries would occur.
For this project I chose to focus on how the structure of the hive is effected by colony collapse disorder. I learned that the hive structure is affected when colony collapse disorder occurs by killing off the worker bees and the hive begins to deteriorate and break down. For exhibition I created a brochure that had honey been fun facts, common information, news about the function of the hive, colony collapse disorder, and the affect of CCD on the structure of the hive. I also created an art project that was a canvas with painted honeycomb and working bees glued to the comb. For this project I was most proud of the brochure that I came up with. I thought that this was my best work because this brochure was visually appealing while being very educational. If I had done this project differently I would have wanted to look into the chemistry of the honeybee and how they work mentally and physically. I find this very interesting because of how the bees work together and take on their work jobs.
For this project I chose to focus on how the structure of the hive is effected by colony collapse disorder. I learned that the hive structure is affected when colony collapse disorder occurs by killing off the worker bees and the hive begins to deteriorate and break down. For exhibition I created a brochure that had honey been fun facts, common information, news about the function of the hive, colony collapse disorder, and the affect of CCD on the structure of the hive. I also created an art project that was a canvas with painted honeycomb and working bees glued to the comb. For this project I was most proud of the brochure that I came up with. I thought that this was my best work because this brochure was visually appealing while being very educational. If I had done this project differently I would have wanted to look into the chemistry of the honeybee and how they work mentally and physically. I find this very interesting because of how the bees work together and take on their work jobs.
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Dissection Project Reflection
In biology we did a dissection unit where we learned about the anatomy of animals. During this unit I dissected a male cat. There were three options of animals for us to dissect and between a shark, pig, and cat, the cat dissection was the most complicated dissection that would be carried out. I chose to do a cat because I wanted a challenge and it is also the only animal out of the three that I have not dissected. I was incredibly excited to dissect the cat because there were more internal organs than the other animals as well as it was larger than the other animals. Through this animal dissection I learned a lot about all of the organs inside of animals. I gained knowledge of sphincters and organs and arteries that I didn't know about before. I learned how to be delicate with the body and how to properly dissect it. Through this process I learned about all of the vital insides and I learned about how the body functions and works all together with every organ. I learned what every organ does and why it is important. During this dissection I learned a lot about myself. I have known previously that I really enjoy learning about bodies and health issues. I love watching TV shows about working in ERs and medical shows. Through this dissection I learned that I really want to be involved in the medical field and that I can handle working inside of a body. This project was by far my absolute favorite project in my high school years so far and I was so interested in the entire process of the dissection.
Crime Scene Investigation
In biology the sophomores have been studying forensic science and with the techniques that we learned about we investigated crime scenes to determine every detail about the crime. We began this unit by talking about exoneration. Ken Marsh a guest speaker came to speak with us about his own personal experience with being wrongly convicted then with further investigation he was exonerated. We learned that exoneration is the act of freeing someone who was wrongly accused and put in jail. Through all the new improvements in the justice system like further investigation tests that have been created impact the justice system by helping prove innocent or guilt on someone. Forensic science has greatly improved our justice system and helped to further investigate crimes. We started studying these forensic science techniques through our crime scene investigation. I was assigned to crime scene 1 with my investigation partner Grace Wolf-Cartier. The crime scene consisted of a body laying over a desk with a bullet hole through the head, arm, and wall and the gun left laying in-between the hands of the victim. There were liquor bottles scattered around the desk and letters of eviction and IRS notes along with medical prescription bottles. We investigated the crime for about 2 weeks identifying the body and the cause of the death. With the information that we were given we discovered that the victim Aaron Lee was shot at approximately 1:35am. The main suspects were Michelle Lee (wife) and Scott Henderson (stepson). The main part of this project was using the forensic science that we learned about to perform tests at the scene to decipher exactly what had happened and the events in order of the crime.
The work was split up between both Grace and myself. Each of us studied a different forensic science and wrote a full report on it. I studied Blood Spatter, Blood Typing, Superglue Fuming, and with all of these performed I also wrote a Coroner's Report. At the crime scene there was a significant amount of blood spatter on the wall next to Aaron Lee. We used the science of blood spatter to learn the angle of the blood spatter and the velocity of the spatter that was created by the bullet. Blood Typing was used at the scene to confirm the owner of the blood that was spilt at the scene. With this science we discovered that Aaron Lee's blood was not the only blood present at the scene. The final science I studied was Superglue Fuming. Using this technique we superglue fumed the medication bottles and the bottles of liquor. With this technique many prints were exposed that were invisible to the naked eye. Gathering all of the information with these forensic science techniques that we learned I wrote a Coroner's Report. This report was all of the evidence that we gathered and the final conclusion of what happened at the crime scene.
The forensic science that is most interesting to me is the Superglue Fuming. I found this technique of developing fingerprints that can not be seen with the naked eye into a well defined fingerprint showing every mark intrigues me. I found this interesting because the method of heating the superglue to develop the prints is rather easy. It is a technique that is greatly needed in the criminal investigation world and is a very important part of investigation. Without fingerprints it would be very hard to decipher the events of the crime and the suspects of the act. I enjoyed superglue fuming more than the other sciences because it was very hands on and I enjoyed watching invisible fingerprints appear with the chemicals of a little amount of glue. During this project I think that my strong point was writing. I was well informed on the techniques we were writing our papers on and I took all the information that I could to write the strongest paper that I could. I think this was my strong point because my writing skills were used correctly and very strongly making my writing performance stand out in the sophomore grade. With this project I think that I could have stayed a little more organized with my work and hand written assignments. My binder was a little messy and I think that I could have improved it with staying more organized.
The work was split up between both Grace and myself. Each of us studied a different forensic science and wrote a full report on it. I studied Blood Spatter, Blood Typing, Superglue Fuming, and with all of these performed I also wrote a Coroner's Report. At the crime scene there was a significant amount of blood spatter on the wall next to Aaron Lee. We used the science of blood spatter to learn the angle of the blood spatter and the velocity of the spatter that was created by the bullet. Blood Typing was used at the scene to confirm the owner of the blood that was spilt at the scene. With this science we discovered that Aaron Lee's blood was not the only blood present at the scene. The final science I studied was Superglue Fuming. Using this technique we superglue fumed the medication bottles and the bottles of liquor. With this technique many prints were exposed that were invisible to the naked eye. Gathering all of the information with these forensic science techniques that we learned I wrote a Coroner's Report. This report was all of the evidence that we gathered and the final conclusion of what happened at the crime scene.
The forensic science that is most interesting to me is the Superglue Fuming. I found this technique of developing fingerprints that can not be seen with the naked eye into a well defined fingerprint showing every mark intrigues me. I found this interesting because the method of heating the superglue to develop the prints is rather easy. It is a technique that is greatly needed in the criminal investigation world and is a very important part of investigation. Without fingerprints it would be very hard to decipher the events of the crime and the suspects of the act. I enjoyed superglue fuming more than the other sciences because it was very hands on and I enjoyed watching invisible fingerprints appear with the chemicals of a little amount of glue. During this project I think that my strong point was writing. I was well informed on the techniques we were writing our papers on and I took all the information that I could to write the strongest paper that I could. I think this was my strong point because my writing skills were used correctly and very strongly making my writing performance stand out in the sophomore grade. With this project I think that I could have stayed a little more organized with my work and hand written assignments. My binder was a little messy and I think that I could have improved it with staying more organized.
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