Homeostasis Lab - Breathing Rate
For our Homeostasis project, my group did breathing rate. This was so we could test the body's reaction if more oxygen was required by the body. To do this, we needed to find a way to make our body require more oxygen, and to record how many breaths are taken per minute to provide the oxygen to the body. So, we first had to do some research. To organize our project, we used the scientific method, and the steps for this are listed below.
The Scientific Method:
When researching, we discovered that homeostasis is a state of equilibrium or internal stability of an organism, owing in part to the collaboration of its internal components. We also found that the organs used in our homeostasis for breathing rate were the lungs, heart, brain, and diaphragm. We found that the hormones Progesterone and thyroxine stimulate breathing rate, while Somatostatin, dopamine, and neuropeptide Y lower breathing rate.
Hypothesis:
After learning more about the average breathing rate of humans, we began to create our hypothesis. After a bit of tweaking, the hypothesis that we decided on was ,"The runner will have about 40-60 breaths per minute after they sprint a lap and between 12-20 breaths per minute before sprinting and after resting."
- Identify Problem
- Research
- Hypothesis
- Plan Experiment
- Do Experiment
- Analyze Data
- Conclusion
- Communicate Results
When researching, we discovered that homeostasis is a state of equilibrium or internal stability of an organism, owing in part to the collaboration of its internal components. We also found that the organs used in our homeostasis for breathing rate were the lungs, heart, brain, and diaphragm. We found that the hormones Progesterone and thyroxine stimulate breathing rate, while Somatostatin, dopamine, and neuropeptide Y lower breathing rate.
Hypothesis:
After learning more about the average breathing rate of humans, we began to create our hypothesis. After a bit of tweaking, the hypothesis that we decided on was ,"The runner will have about 40-60 breaths per minute after they sprint a lap and between 12-20 breaths per minute before sprinting and after resting."
For our experiment, we took the original breathing rate of our subject, and we had the subject run 100 meters. After, we took the breathing rate of the subject and noticed a boost in the breathing rate. We waited for the breathing rate to return to normal, then did the same test two more times. After the third test,we began to notice that the rest time was getting slower, and the runner was taking deeper breaths than during the first run. By this observation, we came to the conclusion that as you continue to use up oxygen, your body learns to take it in faster and more effectively. Below is the slideshow with all of the information for this lab and our woks cited.
Conclusion:
Finally, we concluded that our body begins taking deeper breaths with a higher volume of oxygen to maintain homeostasis in the body. We were off by about 15 breaths per minute for our after running recordings, but were spot on for our before running recording. The recovery time got slower and slower as the runner ran more and more, so the body was adjusting to the conditions to maintain homeostasis. Because of this, everything in the body is perfectly balanced, just as all things should be.
Finally, we concluded that our body begins taking deeper breaths with a higher volume of oxygen to maintain homeostasis in the body. We were off by about 15 breaths per minute for our after running recordings, but were spot on for our before running recording. The recovery time got slower and slower as the runner ran more and more, so the body was adjusting to the conditions to maintain homeostasis. Because of this, everything in the body is perfectly balanced, just as all things should be.
Murder Mystery Project
For the Murder Mystery Project, we had to solve a murder using forensic sciences like fingerprinting and DNA fingerprint. There was a murderer who killed a man named Carlton Comet, and all sorts of information was given to us like a pedigree chart and the suspects' blood types. This helped us use this info to deduce who was the real killer of Carlton Comet.
Evidence:
1. Fingerprints - We were given a fingerprint that was found on the scene of the crime, and compared it to all of the other suspect fingerprints. We found that the fingerprint belonged to Nancy Normal.
2. Blood - We found O and A type blood on the scene of the crime, and found that Nancy Normal had A type blood, while Carlton Comet had O. It is important to note that Nancy mentioned cutting her hand at the crime scene.
3. Chromatography - We used ink chromatography to determine who's pen was used to write a threat note about Carlton. After using the ink chromatography to separate the ink colors, we were able to determine that Nancy Normal's pen matches the note ink.
4. Pedigree - We used a pedigree chart to track Huntington's disease, and found that Nancy and Sam were the only suspects to have the particular disease.
5. Karyotype - We were able to find that on the crime scenes, there was proof of someone with triple X syndrome and one with XYY, and Nancy happened to have Triple X, while Carlton had XXY.
6. DNA Fingerprint - This process is done through gel electrophoresis, in which the suspects' DNA is inserted into wells of an agarose gel, and given an electric current. This makes a pattern in the agarose which is compared to the crime scene's pattern, to find who's DNA was present. In our test, we found Nancy Normal's DNA matched the DNA on the Crime Scene 1 well, and Carlton Comet's matched Crime scene 2.
7. Motive - Nancy Normal had reason to murder Carlton Comet. Carlton murdered Fred's aunt and sister, who Nancy Normal is deeply in love with, so she wanted to get revenge on Carlton for murdering her love's family.
1. Fingerprints - We were given a fingerprint that was found on the scene of the crime, and compared it to all of the other suspect fingerprints. We found that the fingerprint belonged to Nancy Normal.
2. Blood - We found O and A type blood on the scene of the crime, and found that Nancy Normal had A type blood, while Carlton Comet had O. It is important to note that Nancy mentioned cutting her hand at the crime scene.
3. Chromatography - We used ink chromatography to determine who's pen was used to write a threat note about Carlton. After using the ink chromatography to separate the ink colors, we were able to determine that Nancy Normal's pen matches the note ink.
4. Pedigree - We used a pedigree chart to track Huntington's disease, and found that Nancy and Sam were the only suspects to have the particular disease.
5. Karyotype - We were able to find that on the crime scenes, there was proof of someone with triple X syndrome and one with XYY, and Nancy happened to have Triple X, while Carlton had XXY.
6. DNA Fingerprint - This process is done through gel electrophoresis, in which the suspects' DNA is inserted into wells of an agarose gel, and given an electric current. This makes a pattern in the agarose which is compared to the crime scene's pattern, to find who's DNA was present. In our test, we found Nancy Normal's DNA matched the DNA on the Crime Scene 1 well, and Carlton Comet's matched Crime scene 2.
7. Motive - Nancy Normal had reason to murder Carlton Comet. Carlton murdered Fred's aunt and sister, who Nancy Normal is deeply in love with, so she wanted to get revenge on Carlton for murdering her love's family.
Analysis:
To recap, we found Nancy Normal's DNA, fingerprint, blood type, and pen all matched the crime scenes, which puts most of the evidence pointing and Nancy Normal as the killer. Furthermore, we found that Triple X was found at the crime scene, and Nancy is the only person carrying Triple X syndrome, which almost completely narrows it down to Nancy, and she had a motive. Nobody else has nearly as much evidence pointing towards them as Nancy does, so we chose her as the most likely killer of Carlton Comet.
To recap, we found Nancy Normal's DNA, fingerprint, blood type, and pen all matched the crime scenes, which puts most of the evidence pointing and Nancy Normal as the killer. Furthermore, we found that Triple X was found at the crime scene, and Nancy is the only person carrying Triple X syndrome, which almost completely narrows it down to Nancy, and she had a motive. Nobody else has nearly as much evidence pointing towards them as Nancy does, so we chose her as the most likely killer of Carlton Comet.
Conclusion:
To close, Nancy Normal is the killer. She had the most evidence against her on the crime scene, and she had a motive for killing Carlton Comet. For this reason we indict Nancy Normal with the charge of first degree murder. This is when the murderer has intent and a premeditated plan to kill the victim. The penalty for this charge is either life in prison or the death penalty.
To close, Nancy Normal is the killer. She had the most evidence against her on the crime scene, and she had a motive for killing Carlton Comet. For this reason we indict Nancy Normal with the charge of first degree murder. This is when the murderer has intent and a premeditated plan to kill the victim. The penalty for this charge is either life in prison or the death penalty.
Ecosystem Project
For this project, we were able to pick our own ecosystem to research and create an idea to solve a problem that was occurring in the ecosystem. We decided to research the Pacific Ocean. As a side project, we chose the Monk Seal as an animal from the Pacific to research.
Content:
Carrying Cap: The maximum amount of organisms that can survive in an ecosystem. For the ocean's carrying capacity, different areas have different capacities, mostly depending on light. Because very few plants can grow in deep areas with low lights, much less life can survive in those areas, and more can survive in brighter areas near the surface.
Abiotic: Any non-living factor in an ecosystem. An example of this in the ocean is sand, rocks, or water.
Biotic: Any living factor in an ecosystem. An example of this in the ocean is a fish or type of kelp.
Carbon Cycle: The rotation of carbon from the atmosphere, being absorbed by plants, the ground, and the ocean, and being put back into the atmosphere, while also being emitted by the burning of fossil fuels. The Ocean's carbon cycle differs though, because the ocean is able to sustain 50 times the carbon that the atmosphere can hold, making it a huge part of the carbon cycle.
Nitrogen Cycle: The rotation of nitrogen through the atmosphere to the ground and back. While the overall cycle is similar to the cycle on land, there are different players and modes of transfer for nitrogen in the ocean. Nitrogen enters the water through the precipitation, runoff, or as N2 from the atmosphere.
Water Cycle: The cycle of water evaporating or transpirating into the air, forming as a cloud in condensation, and raining down in during precipitation. This process also includes run off and groundwater flow. The water cycle is extremely important for the ocean because in most cases, the water flows into the ocean, whether it be from rain, runoff or groundwater flow.
Individual > Biosphere: One individual organism to the whole biosphere. An example for the ocean is Trout > Fish > Pacific Coast > Ocean > Earth
Symbiosis: The relationship between two different species of organisms. There are four main types: parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, and competition. An example of parasitism in the ocean is the tongue eating louse that eats fish tongue, and stays in place of the tongue, taking a fraction of any food the fish eats. An example of mutualism is a algae growing in coral, so it has a place to live while producing oxygen to protect the coral from bacteria.
Biomass: Total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.
Food: The chain of energy in the ecosystem. An example of an ocean food chain would be Sun > Kelp > Minnow > Trout > Tiger Shark > Great White
Limit Factors: A limit factor of the ocean is the areas with light, and because of the areas with certain sunlight, only certain animals can live there. Another example of this is the food chain, or simply predator eating prey.
Disturbance of Harmony: Humans are disturbing harmony in the ocean by causing disasters like oil spills, by polluting, and by over-fishing.
Biodiversity: The difference between animals and plants in an ecosystem. The more types of plant and animal, the more diverse the ecosystem.
Carrying Cap: The maximum amount of organisms that can survive in an ecosystem. For the ocean's carrying capacity, different areas have different capacities, mostly depending on light. Because very few plants can grow in deep areas with low lights, much less life can survive in those areas, and more can survive in brighter areas near the surface.
Abiotic: Any non-living factor in an ecosystem. An example of this in the ocean is sand, rocks, or water.
Biotic: Any living factor in an ecosystem. An example of this in the ocean is a fish or type of kelp.
Carbon Cycle: The rotation of carbon from the atmosphere, being absorbed by plants, the ground, and the ocean, and being put back into the atmosphere, while also being emitted by the burning of fossil fuels. The Ocean's carbon cycle differs though, because the ocean is able to sustain 50 times the carbon that the atmosphere can hold, making it a huge part of the carbon cycle.
Nitrogen Cycle: The rotation of nitrogen through the atmosphere to the ground and back. While the overall cycle is similar to the cycle on land, there are different players and modes of transfer for nitrogen in the ocean. Nitrogen enters the water through the precipitation, runoff, or as N2 from the atmosphere.
Water Cycle: The cycle of water evaporating or transpirating into the air, forming as a cloud in condensation, and raining down in during precipitation. This process also includes run off and groundwater flow. The water cycle is extremely important for the ocean because in most cases, the water flows into the ocean, whether it be from rain, runoff or groundwater flow.
Individual > Biosphere: One individual organism to the whole biosphere. An example for the ocean is Trout > Fish > Pacific Coast > Ocean > Earth
Symbiosis: The relationship between two different species of organisms. There are four main types: parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, and competition. An example of parasitism in the ocean is the tongue eating louse that eats fish tongue, and stays in place of the tongue, taking a fraction of any food the fish eats. An example of mutualism is a algae growing in coral, so it has a place to live while producing oxygen to protect the coral from bacteria.
Biomass: Total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.
Food: The chain of energy in the ecosystem. An example of an ocean food chain would be Sun > Kelp > Minnow > Trout > Tiger Shark > Great White
Limit Factors: A limit factor of the ocean is the areas with light, and because of the areas with certain sunlight, only certain animals can live there. Another example of this is the food chain, or simply predator eating prey.
Disturbance of Harmony: Humans are disturbing harmony in the ocean by causing disasters like oil spills, by polluting, and by over-fishing.
Biodiversity: The difference between animals and plants in an ecosystem. The more types of plant and animal, the more diverse the ecosystem.
Reflection:
For this project, I think I did some pretty solid work overall. I helped out a lot with the poster and the slides, and did good research into our project. I was proud of the amount of work I did and thought I stayed on track during the entire project. I was especially proud of the slides I finished and the poster we created. This project was overall one of the better ones that we have done.
For this project, I think I did some pretty solid work overall. I helped out a lot with the poster and the slides, and did good research into our project. I was proud of the amount of work I did and thought I stayed on track during the entire project. I was especially proud of the slides I finished and the poster we created. This project was overall one of the better ones that we have done.
Bio-Tech Project
For this project, we had to come up with some way to solve a problem using bio technology. The problem that we ended up choosing for this project was world hunger. We then went on to brainstorm ideas for solutions to the problem, and came up with the Potato Importable Sustainable Storage, or P.I.S.S. This was a simple but effective solution to a complex and overwhelming problem.
The Blueprint:
This was the basic blueprint for our idea (above). We chose potatoes because they are easy to sustain, and can be watered with salt water. It had stacks of 5, 10 by 20 by 1 planters that were able to grow 200 potatoes each, adding up to 1000 potatoes per building. Each planter is separated by a 7 foot space for easy harvesting and is held up by 4 wood rods. There are two large mirrors on each side and a mirror across the bottom of each planter to allow sunlight to reach the plants.
Content:
Photosynthesis: Plants use CO2, sunlight, and water to produce glucose and O2. This is used in our project to create a food source, as glucose, using cheap and easy to obtain inputs.
Proteins: Macromolecule used to do work in cells. These proteins will be provided by our potato farms, to keep the hungry alive.
Water Cycle: The cycle of water into the atmosphere and back to the ground. This process, and hand watering, will be used to keep our potatoes healthy and alive.
Carbon Cycle: The cycle of CO2 into the atmosphere and back into organisms through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, also including the burning of fossil fuels. This process will provide our potatoes with the carbon dioxide they need to preform photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis: Plants use CO2, sunlight, and water to produce glucose and O2. This is used in our project to create a food source, as glucose, using cheap and easy to obtain inputs.
Proteins: Macromolecule used to do work in cells. These proteins will be provided by our potato farms, to keep the hungry alive.
Water Cycle: The cycle of water into the atmosphere and back to the ground. This process, and hand watering, will be used to keep our potatoes healthy and alive.
Carbon Cycle: The cycle of CO2 into the atmosphere and back into organisms through photosynthesis and cellular respiration, also including the burning of fossil fuels. This process will provide our potatoes with the carbon dioxide they need to preform photosynthesis.
Our Pitch:
As said in our slide show, our idea provides a cheap and easy method for giving food to the countries in need. Not only will it provide them food, but it will give them a viable, easy way to continue producing food and keep them fed for years to come. The buildings will need little to no maintenance and will last for several years at a time with no repairs. For these reasons, our project is the most effective solution to world hunger.
Reflection:
I was extremely proud of this presentation, along with how our group worked throughout it. Our work was divided very evenly and we were all enthusiastic about doing it. We all got our work finished on time, were interested in the idea, and invested ourselves fully in the project. This was by far my best project and I had the most fun with it overall.
I was extremely proud of this presentation, along with how our group worked throughout it. Our work was divided very evenly and we were all enthusiastic about doing it. We all got our work finished on time, were interested in the idea, and invested ourselves fully in the project. This was by far my best project and I had the most fun with it overall.