Marine Phyla Lab

In our lab we were trying to find what was the most marine phyla found in the tidepools. The nine phyla we were looking for were Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthapoda, Echinodermata, & Chordata. To gather data we used a quadrat and a transect tape and we counted how many creatures of each phyla were in a quadrat, we repeated this about 5 times. I hypothesized that the Porifera and Mollusca would be most present during our lab. I was half correct, because the Mollusca phyla was represented the most. During our research we could have made many mistakes, the biggest would have been miscounting the data. I enjoyed doing this lab and going outside to the tidepools, it was really interesting to see all the little sea creatures. I learned many new things, before this lab I didn't even know what a phyla was, and now I know all the nine marine Phyla.

Geocaching

GPS

Geocaching is an outdoor activity using GPS devices to find a container called a "cache" or "geocache" anywhere in the world. By logging on the the website http://www.geocaching.com/ you will be able to disover all the information neeeded in order to find a specific "cache". During this unit everything I've learned was all so new to me. I learned how to work a GPS very well and about the coordinates and basically everything you need to know about a GPS device. I now know how to find geocaches and actually how to hide them in order for other people to find them. I found this unit very interesting, this information will definitley come in handy some day. During our team's final Geocache hunt we only happened to find one but we were very close to finding a second one. This was an exciting unit! :)

This is an example of the Geocache our team found !

Termite Jar Observation

In our science class we have created a jar, which inside is a mini termite enviroment that we have been observing. The jar consisted of 120 grams of Silica sand, Doughsfir wood, 19 mL of water and about 45 or more termites. In a couple of weeks the enviroment began to change as the termites became used to their new home. The termites began to make tunnels and holes in the sand to the bottom of the jar creating many different pathways. They started to eat the wood and for some odd reason, the water dissolved. As time passed their activity level started to slow down and some of the termites began to die off. At the end of our observation all of the termites have died, it could've had something to do with the enclosed enviroment. I enjoyed learning about these termites to a certain extent, their lifestyle is very interesting, especially the fact that they are blind and get so much accomplished. My favorite part of this section was when we viewed the protozoa under the microscope, it's crazy how such a little creature could have something so amazing looking inside of it. I think we kind of spent too much time in this section when we could've been learning something that is more benefical to our education.

Symbiotic Relationship: Termites and Protozoa

A Symbiotic Relationship is where two organisms depend on each other and are both benefited by their relationship. We have been learning about the symbiotic relationship between a termite and it's protozoa which lives in the termites guts. The termite benefits because the protozoans aid in their digestion of wood. The protozoa's get a place to live and survive off the termites. In the lab we did in class, we removed the back side of a termite, enough to pull out it's intestine with a pair of tweezers. Once removed, we studyed the protozoa's under a microscope, discovering what they looked like and their movements. It was interesting seeing the protozoa and how it flowed while under the view of the microscope.

pictures borrowed from Max Parella's Group!

How to Use the pH 10 Pen !!!

Today I'm going to Introduce the very simple to use pH 10 temperature pen. This tool is used to check temperature & the pH of water or any type of liquids. pH explains if the liquid is more of an acid or a base, which is a a more understandable way of saying how many hydrogen ions are in the solution.

I'm going to tell you how to work this tool, if you were ever in need of using it.
1. Turn on the device by pressing the on/off button
2. Set the time and date (so when you store the data you collected it will be programmed on the correct day)
3. Calibrate device
4. Immerse into solution with pH of 6.86-7.00
5. Dip electrode into test solution
6. Hold the data once the screen has legitamate pH information
7. Last but not least, store your data into device by pressing the store button