Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Interesting Biology of Bees - Expand Your Knowledge

Studies indicate that they are approximately 20,000 species of bees worldwide, thus bringing lots of attention and interest from beekeeper's. Having different types of bees helps in changing the productivity of honey produced because these bees change the species of flowers where they get the pollen from.

Beekeepers track the habit of bees by crossbreeding them with other species and in order to produce quality honey, beekeepers track the production from the different species of bees.

Many bees were imported into the United States from places in Europe, Asia and some African countries. They were brought over to the United States by immigrants over the centuries. Antarctica is the only place where you would not find bees. Bees were derived from Wasps. Which makes them ideal for beekeepers to adapt their way of living and production of honey.

The Interesting Biology of Bees - Expand Your Knowledge

When it comes to the bee species, female bees are in control and usually fight one another for control over the hive and colony. And they are more female bees born then male bees. African bees are often thought of killer bees, but its just not the case because honey bees are not as dangerous as people think they are. The African bees are mostly used in production of honey which is the most popular honey in the world. And these bees are very popular amongst beekeepers. African bees are known to be very aggressive and don't hesitate to attack a human being. But the only time they attack is when they are defending the hive and the Queen. When the Queen is pregnant most beekeepers remove only certain portions of the hive and leave the one with the Queen bee intact.

Since bees don't have a very good eyesight they are generally docile. Bees use the assets of smell to help them find flowers since they don't have very good eyesight. So they can sometimes be misled into thinking the food you eat is pollen. Which is the main reason you see bees swarming around trash and stuff in your dustbin. So you should make sure that you cover up your trash because this can endanger another human being.

The Interesting Biology of Bees - Expand Your Knowledge
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By the way, the beekeeping industry has come a long way from it being a simple hobby to where it's going on tables across the world. Many beekeepers that have not been brought up in a family that practiced this are going to have to really learn fast from an experienced beekeeper that has had years of experience from knowing the biology and study of bees and what to expect when they turn out a good product of honey.

Most people who are in this are actually doing this as a hobby. Having a hobby and a livelihood are two entirely different areas since one is something you invest time and in some cases money and one is when you're trying to make a living at.

HURRY and visit the link below for FREE access to the ultimate guide to beekeeping:

Getting Started In Beekeeping [http://www.information-guide.org/beekeeping/Getting_Started_In_Beekeeping.html]

Beekeeping is dependent on the activity of the bees and how well they produce honey since bees produce in certain climates and temperatures. If you're expecting to thrive in this business understand that it's a lot of work and a lot of time invested into making this work for the long run.

Research Source: [http://www.information-guide.org/beekeeping/Getting_Started_In_Beekeeping.html]

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Measuring The Transpiration Rate of an Uprooted Plant

Outline. The mass lost by an uprooted plant in a flask of water is compared with the mass lost from an identical flask with no plant.

Prior knowledge. Evaporation takes place from an exposed water surface

Advance preparation and materials

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Measuring The Transpiration Rate of an Uprooted Plant

Flask or bottle. Any pair of small, narrow-necked vessels will do, e.g. 100 cm3 conical flasks,
small fruit-juice bottle, small 'medicine' bottles. Allow one matched pair per group.

Plants. Any small plants which can easily be dug up. Wash the soil off the roots and store the plants in a container of water from which the student can collect them. One plant per group.

Balance. One or two per class.

Experiment

(a) Label each bottle or flask with your initials.

(b) Fill each vessel with water to within 1 cm of the rim.

(c) Place the uprooted plant in one of the vessels.

(d) Weigh the vessel with the plant and record its mass. Weigh the other vessel
(with no plant) and record its mass.

(e) Leave both vessels in a (potentially) sunny position in the laboratory.

(f) After one day, weigh both vessels again and record their masses.

(g) If there has been little change of mass in the vessel with the plant, the experiment can be
continued for several more days.

(h) At the end of the experiment, work out the mass lost by each vessel. Subtract the mass lost by the vessel with water only, from the mass lost by the vessel with the plant. This will give the loss in mass resulting from the plant's transpiration.

(i) Calculate the rate of transpiration in grams per day.

Discussion

1 The vessel with the plant will be losing water (a) from the shoot and (b) directly from the exposed water surface. The vessel lacking a plant enables us to calculate the amount of mass loss resulting from (b).

2 The mass loss in the vessel with the plant is made up of these two components. By deducting the mass loss resulting from direct evaporation, we are left with the mass loss caused by transpiration from the plant.

3 (a) The plant will interfere with the direct evaporation from the vessel, depending on the shape and size of the stem and the position of the lower leaves.

(b) In the vessel with the plant, the water level may drop below the neck, exposing a greater surface area of water for evaporation.

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Measuring The Transpiration Rate of an Uprooted Plant
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D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Monday, January 14, 2013

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Human Senses: Sensitivity to Temperature

Outline. One finger of each hand is acclimatized to hot or cold water and then dipped into lukewarm water.

Prior knowledge. The general idea of receptors sending impulses to the brain

Advance preparation and materials
A supply of hot and cold water

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Human Senses: Sensitivity to Temperature

Apparatus - per group
3 jars or beakers large enough to accommodate a finger
Thermometer

Experiment

(a) Collect three jars or beakers of about the same size. Fill one with cold water (10-15 °C), one with hot water (40-50 °C) and the third with warm water (about 25 °C).

(b) Place the first finger of the left hand in the cold water and the first finger of the right hand in the hot water. Leave both fingers immersed for at least one minute.

(c) After one minute, remove both fingers from the jars and dip them repeatedly but alternately in the warm water for about a second at a time Notice the temperature sensation in each finger.

Discussion

1 What impression did (i) the left finger, (ii) the right finger give about the temperature of the
warm water?

2 Why should there be any difference in the sensory information from the two fingers? How could you modify the experiment to test your suggestion?

3 Does the result mean that the skin of your fingers is incapable of judging whether an object is hot or cold?

4 What does the result suggest about the way in which the skin responds to temperature

Discussion - answers

1 The finger which has been immersed in cold water will register warmth. The finger previously held in hot water will register coldness.

2 The difference in sensations can be attributed to the difference in the temperature of the fingers after one minute's immersion. This can be tested by repeating the experiment with the left-hand finger in the hot water and the right-hand finger in the cold water. The sensation on dipping them both into warm water should be the reverse of the first experiment.

An alternative explanation is that the warmth receptors in the hot water become adapted, i.e. after prolonged immersion they no longer send impulses to the brain. Consequently, on transfer to lukewarm water, there are few impulses sent to the brain from the warmth receptors of this finger, whereas the warmth receptors in the cold finger fire normally.

3 The results suggest that the fingers detect whether they are gaining or losing heat rather than the actual temperature of an object. Metal objects at room temperature will feel cold to the touch because heat is conducted away from the fingers, while wooden objects at the same temperature feel less cold.

4 The results seem to imply that the thermoreceptors respond to change in temperature rather than to any particular temperature. In fact, there is a steady discharge of nerve impulses from cold and warmth receptors at all temperatures within certain limits but increased bursts of impulses occur during sudden changes of temperature.

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Human Senses: Sensitivity to Temperature
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D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Friday, December 14, 2012

Gamsat Preparation Suggested Books - Biology

We have already suggested a few books that would help you prepare for the chemistry part of Section III. We have also told you why it is important to have textbooks and use them liberally. Now, in our next episode we will tell you the importance of having a Biology guide with you for your GAMSAT preps.

There has been speculations about how important Biology is in GAMSAT. I mean GAMSAT questions are reasoning based, isn't it? All the information is given right there, so why do we at all study biology?
First: Good question.

Second: Let's answer this with an example. Say you've been asked a set of questions about the heart rate and pulse rate. All data is given right there. You need to understand and analyse the data and choose the right option. Sounds easy enough.

Gamsat Preparation Suggested Books - Biology

But you get only about 90 seconds to answer one question (110 questions in 170 minutes... you do the math!). Would you get enough time to remember what are the things you should have in mind to understand what the question actually requires? Probably not!

That is why we say, Non-science aspirants have a better chance to get an interview call since they don't take this for granted. They study from scratch. So, a word of advice for science aspirants: Study like how non-science students would study.

Now that I have made my point clear of why we should get a Biology textbook, let's proceed with what could be looked at from the heaps of books lying in the bookshop. Here, we are trying to help you choose the right needle from the haystack.

Biology

Biology by Campbell et al. is the book where you will get the basic knowledge. Try getting the latest edition of the book as science is always evolving. Now you know what Nobel Laureates are doing? Increasing the pages of the book of course!!

Other books that you can have a look at are Knox et al. Biology: An Australian Focus and Biological Science by Scott Freeman. The later though has too much information. If you know how to get info you need, from huge books, then pick it up, or else, let them stay at the shelf!

Till now, all we've talked about is general biology. The thrust topics in GAMSAT in this subject is in physiology and biochemistry. Here are some books that would help you with those specific topics.

First things first... don't be scared seeing "physiology" in the last paragraph. Surely you will be studying all about physiology in the 4 years you spend in the medical school. But before that you will need to know a little of this topic before the med-school can put in more into your frontal lobe.

To study that "little' of physiology, we will recommend you to get hold of the most basic and simple Schaum's Outlines Anatomy & Physiology. It will give you a concise information with better explanations than many other books. And in our opinion this will be all that you will need for Physiology in Biology for GAMSAT.

Coming to biochemistry... There are 2 books which you can take a look at. Before I tell you the names, a word... Library. Remember the following books when you visit that.

1. Lehninger's principles of biochemistry - BRILLIANT book (from personal experience). It's huge, but you will know more just browsing around the book.
2. Biochemistry by Garrett & Grisham - I've heard it's a fantastic book.

That's all for Biology from my desk here.

Gamsat Preparation Suggested Books - Biology
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With over 8 years of experience in teaching and training, I have done extensive work in designing assessment tests and creating test content for a great variety of competitive exams. I am helping GAMSAT aspirants to succeed in GAMSAT. Candidates who are willing to pursue a career in medicine in Australia, U.K. and Ireland have to clear GAMSAT in order to get into graduate entry level programmes. I have created my website prepgenie.com keeping in mind the specific needs of a GAMSAT aspirant and the original GAMSAT standard. In the website you will find sample test papers of all the topics that are covered in GAMSAT.

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Friday, November 30, 2012

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Binocular Vision, Eye Dominance and Location of Stimuli

Binocular Vision: Experiment

(a) Keep both eyes open and hold a pen or pencil upright at arm's length.

(b) Quickly move the pencil to come exactly in line with a more distant vertical object, such as a window frame or lamp-post.

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Binocular Vision, Eye Dominance and Location of Stimuli

(c) Close and open the left eye.

(d) Close and open the right eye.

(e) Note any change in the apparent position of the pencil and whether it was the closure of the left or right eye which produced it.

(f) Which eye did you use in lining up the two objects?

Discussion

Although both eyes are kept open to line up the pencil and the distant object, only one eye, the dominant eye, is used to determine the alignment. When this eye is closed, the pencil will appear to 'jump' sideways. It is closure of the dominant eye which produces the jump because, according to the eye now remaining open, the pencil and distant object are not in line. If the student is slow to line up the two objects he or she may be aware of a double image of the near object. Nevertheless, the student is still likely to select the image from the dominant eye.

Awarness of Location of Stimuli. Experiment

(a) Place a glass marble on a non-slippery surface, e.g. on the page of an open notebook.

(b) Cross the first and second fingers of one hand and press on the marble with the tips of these fingers.

(c) Close your eyes and roll the marble firmly, forwards and backwards, side to side and then with a circular motion for about 30 seconds.

(d) Notice any unusual impressions you receive from the fingers.

Discussion

1 The subjective impression should be as if there were two marbles with the fingers pressing
between the two.

2 The areas of the finger-tips employed, with the fingers not crossed, would normally be stimulated only by two surfaces separated in space.. The connections that exist between the receptors and the brain are, presumably, the foundation for this interpretation. When the two areas are stimulated simultaneously by the same object in the absence of visual evidence, the brain makes its usual interpretation, giving the sensation of two objects.

The results also show that we normally rely on information from several sources for our
interpretations. If the subject watches the fingers and marble, it is far more difficult to elicit the impression of two objects.

Biology Experiments for Teachers. Binocular Vision, Eye Dominance and Location of Stimuli
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D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Biology of Muscle Growth

The sheer number of articles, opinions, magazines and experts on fitness and muscle growth makes the field of weight lifting appear more like the practice of medicine in the 16th century than a concrete science. Every day new theories, approaches and miracle workouts appear, contradicting each other and proclaiming that they have the truth, and that by following their advice you will achieve the body of your dreams. Clearly, some of them are on the right track and some are not, but how to tell the difference between them all? The answer lies in understanding the basics of the biological process of muscle growth. Once you know some key principles, you will be better equipped to evaluate whether a new exercise routine is based on sound physical principles-or completely bogus.

The most basic principle to understand is that your muscles adapt to whatever stress they are subjected to. If you spend all day on the couch, then you will be in possession of a fine set of muscles equipped for couch sitting. If you jog forty minutes each day, than your body will adapt to that. If you always follow the same number of reps and sets and routine when weight lifting, then your body will adapt to that too. And once you've adapted, your system will stop growing, and simply rest at this new plateau, having achieved the bare minimum required to function at that level. Therefore the basic idea is that if you want growth, you need to continuously overload your system.

The result of progressively overloading your muscles is called muscular hypertrophy, and that is the increase in muscle mass and cross-sectional area. Note that the number of muscle cells does not increase ( a phenomenon called muscular hyperplasia), but rather the size increases. As you work out, your muscles are subjected to microtrauma, where small tears appear in the muscle tissue. These tears signal what are called the 'satellite cells' on the surface of your muscle to activate and multiply and go to the damaged sites where they fuse with the existing muscle fiber, helping them regenerate.

The Biology of Muscle Growth

While the satellite cells are multiplying and fusing with the damaged areas, your immune system kicks in with a complex series of reactions that ultimately lead to inflammation meant to contain and repair the damage as well as clean up the area of waste products. This process if key not only to the health of the muscle, but its growth, as numerous hormones and cytokines are released which stimulate muscle hypertrophy. Among these are hormones like insulin-like growth factor (IGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Growth hormone (GH) is also released, and is key to promoting satellite cell division and the release of IGF.

What is important to understand is that this entire process (microtrauma resulting in the complex interaction of satellite cells, the immune system, growth factors and hormones) is dependent not only on exercise, but also receiving the appropriate amount of rest and nutrition to optimize the healing process. Muscular hypertrophy occurs when the muscle heals itself, not when you are working out. Furthermore, your muscles will only adapt as much as they need to, resulting in a 'plateau' effect if you don't change things up and challenge them in new ways. This is why it is a good idea to switch up your exercise routines like they do in P90X, and always keep your body guessing as to what comes next.

The Biology of Muscle Growth
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Philip Tucker is a Fitness Product Review specialist for Miami based Extreme Fitness Results LLC. He enjoys keeping his body guessing with P90X's muscle confusion, a key principle of any P90X workout schedule.

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Biology - Characteristics of Fish - An Introduction

Fish are vertebrate animals, that is, they all have a vertebral column or 'spine'. There are two main groups of fish, bony fish (Teleosts) and cartilaginous fish (Elasmobranchs). As the common names imply, the skeletons of teleosts are made of bone while the elasmobranchs have cartilaginous skeletons. The elasmobranchs comprise sharks, rays and dogfish which differ from teleosts in many respects. The teleosts are far more numerous, with a greater diversity of species than the elasmobranchs.

All fish are aquatic and breath by absorbing dissolved oxygen in the water using their gills. The bodies of both teleosts and elasmobranchs are covered with scales but those of elasmobranchs are spiky and project through the skin. This makes the skin feel very rough, like coarse sandpaper. The scales of the teleosts have a flattened, discoid shape and are covered by a thin layer of skin and mucus which probably reduces friction between the body and the surrounding water and makes them very slippery.

The swimming mechanism in both groups is very similar. A series of muscular contractions pass down each side of the fish alternately bending it from side to side and pushing backwards and sideways against the water. The water resistance exerts an opposite sideways and forward force on the fish. The sideways forces cancel each other but the forward force propels the fish forward. In both groups there are variations in this method of propulsion. Skates and rays make undulatory movements in the vertical plane as do flatfish like plaice. Some teleosts, such as the sea horse, propel themselves by undulatory movements of their dorsal fin.

Biology - Characteristics of Fish - An Introduction

In general, the fins contribute to stability and steering rather than propulsion. The median fins, dorsal and ventral, reduce the sideways thrust of the swimming movements and also reduce the tendency to roll from side to side. The paired fins help to steer the fish upwards or downwards through the water and contribute to turning and braking. The paired fins of elasmobranches are held in rather rigid positions while those of teleosts, with their flexible jointing to the body, are more versatile in their movements and can often be seen moving gently to keep the fish in a steady position.

In the teleosts, there is a swim bladder. An elongated, air-filled sac just below the vertebral column. This air bladder keeps the fish buoyant and prevents it from sinking when it stops swimming. The volume of the air bladder can be adjusted to compensate for changes in pressure at different depths. The elasmobranchs do not have swim bladders and so they start to sink if they stop swimming.

Although water is H2O, aquatic creatures cannot use the oxygen from this. The oxygen they breathe comes from the air which has dissolved in the water. There are four or five pairs of gills situated inside the mouth cavity. In teleosts, they are covered on the outside by a bony plate called the operculum. By movements of the floor of the mouth and operculum, the fish creates, a current of water which passes over its gills. Water is taken in through the mouth and expelled through the operculum in the case of teleosts, and out through separate gill slits in elasmobranchs. The gills are, in effect, finely branched, thin-walled blood vessels which, because of their multiple branches, expose an enormous surface to the water and so facilitate absorption of oxygen and loss of carbon dioxide.

Biology - Characteristics of Fish - An Introduction
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D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of Biology Experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?

Everyone knows what a bird is, right? If I ask my seven-year-old son what a bird is, he'll respond with something like "a bird is an animal that has a spine, wings, two feet, hollow bones, and can fly." Or, if her remembers the little military chant his dad made for him, he might say, "hollow bones and scaly feet, feathered wings and goes tweet tweet."

Well, penguins can't fly. They have wings, feathers, two feet, and a spine, and they swim well but they cannot fly. Ostriches can't fly either, but both penguins and ostriches are considered birds. How is that possible? What's the deal?

It's all in the definition

Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?

There's a difference between the common usage of the word "bird" and the scientific use of the word. The common definition is based on features of the animal you can see with your eyes and discern with your other senses like feathers, wings, number of legs, and being warm-blooded. My seven-year-old son knows the common definition of the word "bird."

Scientists use a slightly different definition.

Evolutionary birds

The scientific taxonomy of birds is a bit different than common usage. The scientific groups are made based on fossil evidence and other biological evidence such as DNA and mitochondrial DNA when the DNA can be obtained. Birds are in the Domain Eukaryotes, the Phylum Chordata meaning vertebrates, and the Class Avians. Avians have descended from theropod dinosaurs. More specifically, birds have descended from Archaeopteryx, which existed in the late Jurassic period.

Many scientists think of birds as the only type of dinosaur that didn't go extinct 65 million years ago. In fact, my daughter who is obsessed with dinosaurs, calls birds "tiny dinosaurs."

Scientifically, birds today are descended from dinosaurs, have feathers, a beak with no teeth, and they lay eggs with hard shells. Birds have a high metabolic rate, meaning they need to eat a lot to maintain their body temperature. (Some refer to them as warm blooded.) They have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), and they have lightweight, strong skeletons. Most birds can fly, but flying isn't a requirement to be a bird.

And that's the crux of it. The scientific definition of "bird" does not require the ability to fly.

Biology - Why Are Penguins Birds If They Can't Fly?
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Gwen Nicodemus is a freelance engineer/writer and a homeschooling mom. Visit her website, Notion Nexus, for unit studies, worksheets, notes, and educational videos.

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

Biology Bingo Cards

When we think about science subjects, we often think of them as being about learning laws, theories, and perhaps mathematical formulae. Thus when we think about studying a science subject involves, we can easily overlook that it also involves learning many facts and details. Like other science subjects, studying biology requires learning numerous facts - for starters, the names of animal phyla and plant divisions, the parts of cells, the names of various biological processes, and other specialist terminlogy associated with the subject.

Since knowing the core facts of the subject is essential precursor to a decent understanding of biology, good teachers are always on the look-out for ways to help their students learn these facts. Sometimes a certain amount of rote learning may be unavoidable, but enjoyable and educational classroom activities are often a better way for students to learn. In particular, educational games can be very effective as a learning tool - and one such game that is gaining more and more popularity in the classroom, is bingo.

Bingo, it turns out, is perfect for educational use. This is because almost everyone knows how to play the bingo, and even if they don't the game is so simple that they can quickly learn, plus the fact that bingo can be modified to teaching pretty much any subject, including biology, by using bingo cards printed with words or phrases related to the subject of biology, instead of numbers. Additionally, the game has the advantage that it does not require expensive specialist materials, which is quite significant when you consider the financial limitations that educators work under nowadays.

Biology Bingo Cards

In order to play biology bingo, each student is given a bingo card, the teacher plays the part of the bingo caller, and then you play bingo. Of course, teachers have the option of modifying the game to better serve its educational purpose, perhaps by encouraging class dicussion after items are called out, or by asking students to describe the items that they have ticked off from their bingo cards.

Of course if you'd planning to play biology bingo in the classroom, you will need some bingo cards containing items related to biology. The simplest way for teachers to obtain them, is by the teacher printing them off using a standard Windows PC. This is very straightforward, even for computer novices, because you can either use ready-made bingo printables that are available online, or you can get easy-to-use and affordable bingo card creator software, which can print any sort of bingo cards that you might want.

Biology Bingo Cards
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By S. Tanna. For free science bingo card printables, please go to http://www.bingocardscreator.com/bingo_science.php

To create your own custom bingo cards, please go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/

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Sunday, September 2, 2012

Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

There are billions of brain cells (neurons) in your brain forming a highly complicated neural network. This very moment millions of brain cells in your brain are sending messages to one another by causing electrical firings and producing thoughts, emotions and feelings.


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The number of neurons in our brain increases from childhood until we reach adolescence. By that time our brain is ready to decide on the final set of brain cells it will keep throughout our life as an adult. Your brain will leave more room for expansion of the type of cells you use the most. These frequently used neurons will grow as time goes by forming new branches and expanding the neural network. The brain cells you don't use will be pruned.

But the question is how our brain selects what neurons to keep?

Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

Scientists claim that our brain cells have the ability to self-destruct. How often do you use a specific type of brain cells, is determined by the blood flow in our brain. Different areas of the brain, different blood flow. If the blood flow is high that means those areas of the brain are frequently used. Now, the brain has this chief-enzyme called Calpain. Calpain is an enzyme which helps determine which cells should self-destruct. Calpain can be spotted in those low-traffic areas with little blood flow.

Other types of enzymes and proteins are produced in the high traffic areas of our brain where blood flow is increased. These proteins form branches and connections between well/frequently used brain cells. Its the proteins' responsibility to further develop and protect the neural network by creating new connections/branches between brain cells.

Brain Activity Increases During Sleep

It is believed that the majority of work done by neurons to expand the neural network takes place while we sleep. This explains why sleep is so important for us humans. Our physical and mental performance is strongly affected by the amount of sleep we get. Especially during periods when we learn new things and expect from our brain to absorb and store new information. In order for our brain to form new neural branches storing the new information we need to sleep and give our brain time to work.

I bet you've heard the phrase "..If you want to learn something new then sleep on it.."

It's true. When we try hard to learn something new, we also need significant amount of sleep in order to own the information and store it in a long-term, complex network of new neural branches.

Programming Your Brain For Success - Basic Brain Biology

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Biology Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

Biology science fair projects are focused on the study of all living things and the relationships between them. Biology refers to any living thing; plants or animals and how they live, how they grow, how they interact with one another and their environment and so on.

Biology can be broken down into three separate categories; botany, which is the study of plants, zoology, the study of animals, and microbiology, which is the study of microorganisms. To do a successful biology science project, you should choose the category that interests you the most. If you like animals, you might choose a project on finding out how fire flies glow and what they can teach us about life. If you enjoy plants you might choose a project that focuses on plants, such as finding out if seeds can germinate without soil. If microorganisms interest you, you might choose a project like researching to find out if yeast is a living organism.

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Whichever biology science projects you choose to do your science fair project on, you should make sure you are capable of explaining your entire project. The judges want to know that you are knowledgeable about the subject you have chosen. You will also want to make your presentation pleasing to the eye, so be sure it's very organized and tidy. There are many different topics to choose from when it comes to biology, so you should have no problem finding one that interests you and will capture the attention of you audience and the judges. Good luck!

Biology Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments
Biology Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

For more biology science fair projects and step-by-step instructions, visit www.easy-kids-science-experiments.com. Be sure to check out the site for tons of simple science projects elementary science experiments, middle school, and high school science.

© Copyright 2008. Feel free to reprint this article on your site as long as the article is not modified in any way and the resource information (about the author) is listed as above.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

How Teachers Influence The Performance Of Biology In High Schools

Biology plays a key role in industrialization and other sectors of the economy. Biology is a practical subject, which equips students with concepts and skills that are useful in solving the day-today problems of life. The study of biology aims at providing the learner with the necessary knowledge with which to control or change the environment for the benefit of an individual, family or community.

In general, the importance of biology to humanity can be outlined as follows:

Biology

(i) The learning of biology helps us to know how to use natural resources more efficiently in industry e.g. in bio-technology, food production, building and textile and paper industries.

How Teachers Influence The Performance Of Biology In High Schools

(ii) The learning of biology helps us to understand changes in the environment and the factors affecting these changes, in order to know how human needs are influenced.

(iii) The learning of biology is important in helping mankind to find effective ways of preventing, treating and curing diseases and home management techniques e.g. better methods of food preservation, efficient food preparation and care of the family

(iv) The learning of biology is important in helping the improvement of agricultural yields through scientific research.

There has been public outcry and concern by parents, teachers, educationists in Kenya about poor performance in science subjects and mathematics in national examinations.

But do you know the biology teacher has a role to play in this poor performance?

Biology as a science subject requires an integration of both theoretical and practical work to make it easily understood by the students. The largest proportion of teachers still use the conventional lecture method while teaching biology.

Teacher expectations have a bearing on the attitude and science anxiety levels of the learners particularly when the learners are aware of the level of expectation the teacher has of them.

In relation to the teaching and learning of biology, attitudes begin to develop on the first encounter between the teacher and the learner, once formed they play a key role in determining students' learning and performance in biology.

Authoritarian and impersonal teacher- student interaction in class could be the major factor that contributes to negative attitude of the students towards learning biology. On the other hand, democratic and personal teacher-student interaction in class elicits positive attitude towards learning biology

The teaching approach, methodology and how the professional skills and practices of the teacher are displayed may be dependent on the level of science anxiety the biology teacher has.

A teacher who suffers from career dissatisfaction is likely to contribute negatively in terms of performance of the learners in biology; this is because the teacher will have lower self-efficacy and high levels of anxiety. This kind of teacher is likely to develop negative attitude towards the students and his/her interaction with the students will be negative and this may contribute to a negative attitude of the students towards biology with the likelihood of the students developing high levels of anxiety towards the subject.

Therefore, teacher perceptions, teaching methods applied, the type of teacher -pupil classroom interactions, teacher expectations of students in terms of performance and science anxiety levels of the teachers- partly contributed by lack of job dissatisfaction or satisfaction are the key factors that influence performance in biology in Kenyan secondary schools.

How Teachers Influence The Performance Of Biology In High Schools

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Biology Experiments for Teachers - Enzymes: Catalase

Safety. Although the hazards in the following experiments are negligible, you are advised to consult the latest edition of 'Safeguards in the School Laboratory' published by The Association for Science Education (ase.org.uk) before embarking on any experiment.

Outline. Catalase is an enzyme which occurs in the cells of many living organisms. Certain of the energy-releasing reactions in the cell produce hydrogen peroxide as an end-product. This compound, which is toxic to the cell, is split to water and oxygen by the action of catalase. 2H2O2 = 2H2O + O2

Biology

Samples of liver and yeast are dropped into hydrogen peroxide. Oxygen is evolved and the student is asked to extend the experiment to try and decide if an enzyme in the tissues is responsible. The experiments and the questions take about one hour.

Biology Experiments for Teachers - Enzymes: Catalase

Prior knowledge. The existence of inorganic catalysts; enzymes denatured on boiling; oxygen relights a glowing splint.

Advance preparation and materials - per group

20 volume hydrogen peroxide 50 cm3

splint

liver, about 1 cm cube

distilled water 20 cm3

dried yeast about 1 g

clean sand about 1 g

activated charcoal granules, about 1 g

Apparatus - per group

test-tube rack and 4 test-tubes

forceps or seeker for pushing liver into test-tube

4 labels or spirit marker

filter funnel

Bunsen burner

filter paper

test-tube holder

mortar and pestle

Experiment

The investigation below is a fairly critical examination of plant and animal tissues to see if
they contain catalase.

(a) Label three test-tubes 1-3.

(b) Pour about 20 mm (depth) hydrogen peroxide into each tube.

(c) Cut the liver into 3 pieces.

(d) To tube 1 add a small piece of liver, and to tube 2 add a pinch of dried yeast.

(e) Insert a glowing splint into tubes 1 and 2, bringing it close to the liquid surface or into the upper part of the froth.

1 Describe what you saw happening and the effect on the glowing splint.

2 How do you interpret these observations?

3 Is there any evidence from this experiment so far, to indicate whether the gas is coming from the hydrogen peroxide or from the solid?

4 Is there any evidence at this stage that an enzyme is involved in the production of gas in this reaction?

(f) In tube 3 place a few granules of charcoal and observe the reaction.

5 Could charcoal be an enzyme? Explain your answer.

6 Assuming (i) that the gas in (f) is the same as before and (ii) that the charcoal is almost pure carbon, does the result with charcoal help you to decide on the source of the gas in this and the previous experiments?

(g) Suppose the hypothesis is advanced that there is an enzyme in the liver and yeast, which decomposes hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water; design and carry out a control experiment to test this hypothesis.

7 Record (i) the experiment, (ii) the reasons which led you to conduct it, (iii) the observed
results and (iv) your conclusions.

(h) Wash out the test-tubes. Design and carry out an experiment to see if the supposed enzyme in the plant and animal material can be extracted and still retain its properties. The experiment should include a control.

8 Describe briefly your procedure, your results and your conclusions.

9 Assuming that liver and yeast each contain an enzyme which splits hydrogen peroxide, is there any evidence to show that it is the same enzyme? What would have to be done to find this out for certain?

Discussion - answers

1 Effervescence should be observed in each case but it is more vigorous with yeast than with liver. The glowing splint should relight.

2 Oxygen is being produced.

3 There is no evidence to indicate whether the liquid or solid is giving the gas. If the students think that a solid is unlikely to give off a gas they could be reminded of marble and hydrochloric acid in which it is the solid producing the carbon dioxide. It seems less likely, however, that yeast and liver would both give off oxygen when treated with hydrogen peroxide, than that hydrogen peroxide should give oxygen when treated with diverse substances.

4 So far, there is no evidence of an enzyme being involved.

5 A gas will come off but not sufficiently rapidly to relight a glowing splint. Charcoal could not
be an enzyme because (a) it is an element and (b) it has been produced by very high temperatures that would destroy enzymes.

6 Charcoal, as an element, could not be giving off oxygen. The gas must be coming from the
hydrogen peroxide.

7 (i) The experiment should involve boiling the tissues and then putting them into hydrogen peroxide.
(ii) If an enzyme is involved,
(iii) no gas will be produced.

8 The student should grind the samples with a little sand and distilled water, filter and test the filtrate with hydrogen peroxide. Oxygen will be evolved with a vigour proportional to that witnessed when the original substances were tested.

The student should boil half of each extract and show that it loses its activity.

9 There seems no fundamental reason why yeast and liver should not have different enzymes which catalyse the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. To be certain on this point, the enzymes would have to be extracted and their chemical composition determined.

Biology Experiments for Teachers - Enzymes: Catalase

D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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Monday, June 4, 2012

How Do Plants Grow - The Biology of Plant Life

Plants are amazing, especially when you wonder how do plants grow. There are over 350,000 species of plants, above ground and underwater plants. Each one has to survive some harsh conditions to grow, and you can see the tenacity of plants to grow when you see them perched on the side of canyon walls, or pushing their way up through old pavement. Their will to survive and propagate is intense!

Plants include flowers, trees, shrubs, bushes, grass, moss, vines, herbs, seaweed, and green algae. These have much in common. They depend on Nature for survival, and the contents of other living and natural things. They need sunlight (except deep sea plants), water, air, bees and insects, soil, animals, and fire for life. Some pine trees only release their seeds after a big fire; they need the heat to open the cones and seeds.

Biology

Some underwater plants get their nutrients from water, surviving without sunlight. In hydroponic growing, plants are grown in just water instead of soil, and you can see the root growth. The water must have the nutrients needed, or the addition of plant food for the plant to thrive.

How Do Plants Grow - The Biology of Plant Life

To answer the question of how do plants grow, you must look at propagation. Some plants have both male and female parts, others do not, but they all depend on wind, air, animals, bees and insects to help with pollination and fertilization. Others will send out runners and tubers, or create corms, bulbs, suckers, and adventitious buds to propagate new plants through the soil to new locations. Humans help with splicing for cross breeding and new growth on old plants.

Plants that have seeds create little packages (seeds) that contain a food store and a baby plant embryo, similar to a fertilized egg, and there is a protective seed coat over the seed. When fertilized through pollination, the seed forms after a flower dies. The flower contains male and/or female parts that create an ovum ready for fertilization. This becomes the seed or fruit containing seeds.

The seed drops to the ground and begins to soften with moisture until the seed coat opens enough for germination to break through with a tap root, root hairs, and the plant top begins to grow towards light and warmth. This is the seedling plant. The roots grow down to find more moisture and the top of the plant grows up to find food and energy.

Plant food comes from the water and soil. Plants take in food and energy through photosynthesis from sunlight, and respiration through their leaves (osmosis). They take in carbon dioxide from the air in the daylight and release oxygen during the night. It is important for plants to obtain the right minerals from soil. Fortunately, Mother Nature works just perfectly in most cases and plants thrive.

When you look at all it takes for Nature to be in perfect balance and answer the question of how do plants grow, it is an amazing thought, and a miraculous process.

How Do Plants Grow - The Biology of Plant Life

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about how do plants grow [http://classygardens.info/how-do-plants-grow-the-biology-of-plant-life/], please visit Classy Gardens [http://classygardens.info/] for current articles and discussions.

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Biology - Characteristics of Insects - An Introduction

There are about a million species of insect and many more yet to be discovered. They include, for example, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies and fleas. They range in size from microscopic soil-dwelling insects to large beetles and butterflies but they all share certain common features.

Their bodies are divided into about 20 segments which are grouped into the head (6 fused segments), the thorax (3 segments) and the abdomen (11 segments). All insects have an exoskeleton consisting of a firm cuticle.

Biology

The head bears sensory organs and mouthparts. There is a pair of antennae which are sensitive to touch and to smell. There is also a pair of compound eyes made up of hundreds of separate lenses and sensory cells. These can detect light, movement and colour and can form crude images of shapes. In bees and butterflies these senses allow the insect to find sources of nectar in flowers by their colour, shape and smell.

Biology - Characteristics of Insects - An Introduction

There are three sets of mouthparts carried externally on the head. A pair of mandibles (jaws) bites off portions of food and passes them into the mouth. A pair of maxillae help taste and manipulate the food and the labium (lower 'lip') has a variety of functions depending on the species of insect.

All insects have three pairs of legs, one pair on each thoracic segment. There are five sections to each leg with joints between each section which give the leg the ability to move in different directions. The exoskeleton at the joints consists of a flexible cuticle which allow freedom of movement.

Also on each of the second and third segments of the thorax there is, typically, a pair of wings though in some insects (e.g. flies and mosquitoes) these may be reduced to one pair and a number of species have no wings at all.

In the mature insect the abdomen carries no appendages other than some apparatus on the final segment to assist with egg-laying.

The firm exoskeleton supports the insect, maintains its shape and protects it from damage and from evaporation. The rigid exoskeleton prevents insects from growing in a continuous manner and growth takes place in spurts. The outer layer of cuticle is shed and the insect expands its body until the new layer of cuticle forms and hardens. This moulting process (or ecdysis) takes place 5 times or more until the mature insect appears, after which there is no further growth or ecdysis.

The intermittent growth takes place in the larval or nymphal stages of an insect's life cycle. Insects such as butterflies or bees, which exhibit complete metamorphosis, have larval stages quite unlike the adult e.g. fly maggots or butterfly caterpillars. The penultimate moult results in a quiescent stage, the pupa, in which the adult features are formed. The final moult reveals the mature insect.

In insects such as the cockroach or grasshopper, which have incomplete metamorphosis, the early stages are called nymphs and they closely resemble the adult except that their wings have not formed. Small changes of form take place at each ecdysis until the mature winged insect emerges.

Biology - Characteristics of Insects - An Introduction

D G Mackean is the author of GCSE Biology, IGCSE Biology, and many other Biology text books. He has a site of Biology Teaching Resources at http://www.biology-resources.com which includes a bank of Biology Experiments for teachers, sample PowerPoint presentations, and many biological drawings

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