For SP 8 and 9

This is to show how I have grown throughout the year as a student.

     One of the first things we did in class was to cut out a double helix and follow directions of going through DNA replication. We cut out enzymes and put them where they were supposed to go during DNA replication, such as helicase, RNA primase, DNA polymerase III, DNA polymerase I, and Ligase. The helicase cut the bonds, and the brought in RNA primase to pay out a polar substance so that DNA polymerase III could start laying out the Okazaki fragments. After DNA Polymerase III was finished, we took out the 3 RNA fragments and replaced them with DNA fragments. There were now 2 DNA strands, and ligase came in to bond the Okazaki fragments together again. In this activity, we learned about DNA and its replication process.
     Another lab we did was the PGlo Lab. We used the bacteria E. Coli that had been genetically modified to be able to glow in the dark, and were suppressed by an arabinose operon system. Without the arabinose to release the operon sugar, the bacteria cannot glow in the dark. After the operon system is removed and the RNA polymerase is allowed to read the gene and create more of it, then the bacteria can glow.
     One of the next activities we did was the Jello Lab. The lab was about proteins and enzymes, and how the enzymes in the fresh pineapple interferes with the proteins that stop gelatin from becoming solid. The reason we could use canned pineapple and have it still work is because the canned pineapple had been heated to such a high temperature that the active site of the enzymes were destroyed. Temperature and pH are the only things that can activate or deactivate an enzyme, or damage it so that it cannot function. Fresh pineapple, however, could still use the enzyme, and did not harden in the Jello.
     We also did the yeast lab to demonstrate cellular respiration. We used different temperatures to determine what the best environment for cellular respiration was (hot, room temperature, or cold.) We measured how well it worked by the syringes that were attached onto the top of the test tube. Our result was that the hot plate gave us the most CO2. However, there may have been a few errors in our experiment because the room temperature one gave out less CO2 than the one in ice-- in fact, it didn't give out any CO2, so we concluded that we may have not sealed the test tube tightly enough for the CO2 to go into the syringe.
     The last lab we did was the photosynthesis lab. We grew our own radishes, 4 of them (which Mr. Quick accidentally let die) and analyzed what the roots looked like and which ones grew the fastest. Photosynthesis is basically the opposite of cellular respiration, since it changes sunlight, carbon, and water into oxygen and glucose. The plants used the light that we set them in and converted it to carbon and NADPH (electron carriers) and carried out the Calvin Cycle, where glucose is made. The plants growing are proof of photosynthesis and how it works.