Alexa's Elementary Science Methods Blog

What did you learn this week? This week in lab we started off by reviewing the concepts from last week. The main concept we discussed was mutations that can be harmful, as well as beneficial. Some mutations talked about are insertion, deletion, and substitution. The new material we talked about today was about predators and preys. We specifically talked about how a predators heritable variation has an effect on the number of prey they obtain, as well as how it determines a predators fitness. In the predator-prey simulation, each predator was given either a fork, spoon, or knife to collect the prey (beans). As we did the simulation, we determined that if you had a spoon you were able to pick up more beans and had a higher fitness level. As the population started to evolve, more people got a spoon and were therefore able to pick up more beans. This simulation was an example of natural selection and showed that with certain traits, you are more likely to survive.  How can you apply wh...

  What did you learn this week? This week I learned more about genetics, specifically, genotype vs phenotype, codons, and mutations. I learned that a genotype is two alleles (one given from each parent) that determine a specific trait that an organism will inherit. A phenotype is the physical trait that you can observe. Next, I learned about codons and how these are sequences of three letters (nucleotides). These codons code for amino acids that can be affected by mutations that can give an organism advantages or disadvantages. We looked more closely at amino acids and mutations through the two simulations.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I remember learning about genotype and phenotype previously in my education. After revisiting the topic in this class I feel that I understand it in greater depth now. I also remember learning about codons and how the code for amino acids. This part has always been something that has been a little more confu...

  What did you learn this week? This week I learned more about the structure of DNA as well as how an organisms traits are determined by alleles that are given to them by their parents. I specifically learned about the structure of DNA and what goes into forming the double helix structure, for example, the different bases. When discussing traits, I learned about genotypes and phenotypes. A genotype is the two alleles an organism is given (one from each parent), and a phenotype is the observable trait.    Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? I have learned previously both about the structure of DNA and traits. I learned about these things awhile ago so there were some parts that I forgot over time. When learning about these topics in high school, we didn't do any hands-on activities like we did in lab, so I think I have a better understanding of DNA and traits now then I did when I first learned about them.  How can you apply what you've l...

What did you learn this week? This week I learned about flower dissection and the parts of both a female and male flowers. The reproductive parts of a female flower are the stigma, style, and ovary. While the reproductive parts of a male flower are the anther and filament. Next, I learned about sea turtles and the risks and dangers they have when trying to survive. One of the risks when trying to make it to the ocean are raccoons. Some risks when they are in the ocean is plastic and sharks.   Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? A lot of the things we learned this week I do not remember learning about too much before. Something I did have some previous knowledge on was the dangers that sea turtles face in the ocean and on land as well. Some specific ones I have heard about the most are the plastic in the ocean, and the raccoons trying to get the sea turtles on land.  How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future?   ...