Biology Reflection

In the fourth lab completed in Biology 101, we discovered more about the cell. I learned that the cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life. The cell theory states that are composed of cells and that all cells arise from preexisting cells. There are unicellular organisms such as E. coli and multicellular organisms that are composed of more than one cell. In this lab, we discussed the importance of the cytoplasm and the basis of DNA. We used microscopes to observe prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and compared them to each other. We even used microscopes to compare plant and animal cells. If there is one thing I learned most about in this lab, it was about the structure and function of the plasma membrane. Everything that enters

All organisms need their cells to have energy. I learned that eukaryotic cells store their own food by a process called cellular respiration. The metabolic pathway transfers energy by breaking the chemical bonds in compounds in order to make ATP. Producers like plants, make their own food by using photosynthesis. But cellular respiration is not limited to just plants, it occurs in animal cells too. I learned about the aerobic and anaerobic processes that take place in the cells. Carbohydrates fuel cellular respiration and that creates ATP energy. For example, Meal worms, also known as beetle larvae, can supply energy necessary to complete metamorphosis. In this lab, we explored the effects of an experimental variable on the rate of cellular respiration in insect larvae. The experimental variable I chose was energy drinks. The results showed that the rate of respiration increased after the beetle larvae was exposed to the energy drink. Therefore, the hypothesis that I came up with was

We used a chromatogram to identify the pigments that each plant produced. In the last lab, we discussed how chemicals can be used as indicators and carbon dioxide is one chemical that was needed to be detected during photosynthesis in this specific lab. In the presence of light, plants used carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrate and oxygen during photosynthesis. One product of cellular respiration is carbon dioxide. Bromothymol blue was used to detect the carbon dioxide from the plant and if it was detected the solution should turn yellow. But this lab wasn’t all about detection, it was also about how different light conditions effected the photosynthetic rate of plants. The plant we used to determine the effects was Elodea. In class, we tested the plant under light, no light, and green light. As a result, the photosynthetic rates ended up being different than what was predicted. Overall, this lab helped me to understand how photosynthesis effects life on earth and how it is effected by different light