In Unit Two, we learned a lot about biology and the small things in biology. First, we learned about the parts of atoms (protons, neutrons, and electrons) and elements. We learned about some bonds, such as ionic, covalent and hydrogen bonds, and some properties of water.
Water is both adhesive and cohesive, meaning its molecules will attract to molecules of both the same and different substances. An example of water being adhesive as well as cohesive is a meniscus. The water is attracted to the glass (or plastic) of the graduated cylinder, so it creeps up the sides of the glass. But it is also attracted to itself, pulling it back down in the center. The thinner the tube, the more the water goes up on the sides.
We studied the four big macro molecules; carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Carbohydrates are used mainly to store energy. Lipids include fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, and phospholipids. We performed a lab about carbohydrates and how the structure of different carbohydrates affects its sweetness. Carbohydrates are separated into three groups based on how many rings they have in their structure: monosaccharides (one ring), disaccharides (two rings), and polysaccharides (three or more rings). The monosaccharides and disaccharides are sweet because they only have one and two rings. In the Sweetness Lab (http://kimisbioblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/sweetness-lab-analysis.html), we tasted different carbohydrates and judged them based off of their sweetness. The monosaccharides and disaccharides tasted sweet. Fructose (a monosaccharide) was the sweetest of all the carbohydrates that we tasted.
Unlike the ring structure of carbohydrates, lipids are long chains of carbon and hydrogen (also called fatty acids). Lipids have two parts, a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. Lipids are used as evergy storage, make up cell membranes, and make horomones.
Proteins are large molecules made up of amino acids, Their function is to support the body, speed up chemical reactions, help cells communicates, and let things through the cell membrane. Two types of proteins; structural proteins and enzymes. Enzymes make reactions faster and lowers the activation energy to make a reaction occur.
In our Cheese Lab, we experimented with enzymes and how they help speed up reactions. In order for cheese to curdle the fastest, it needs to be in a warm, acidic environment.
Nucleic acids are large molecules made up of thousands of nucleotides. Nucleotides bond together to make one or two strands. Ribonucleic acid(RNA) has one strand and deoxyriboneucleic acid(DNA) has two strands. DNA is information used to make proteins.
In conclusion, my strengths in this unit were the carbohydrates and the atoms because I learned them relatively quickly and I remembered them. The enzymes were probably the hardest parts because I didn't understand them completely at first.
Water is both adhesive and cohesive, meaning its molecules will attract to molecules of both the same and different substances. An example of water being adhesive as well as cohesive is a meniscus. The water is attracted to the glass (or plastic) of the graduated cylinder, so it creeps up the sides of the glass. But it is also attracted to itself, pulling it back down in the center. The thinner the tube, the more the water goes up on the sides.
We studied the four big macro molecules; carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Carbohydrates are used mainly to store energy. Lipids include fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, and phospholipids. We performed a lab about carbohydrates and how the structure of different carbohydrates affects its sweetness. Carbohydrates are separated into three groups based on how many rings they have in their structure: monosaccharides (one ring), disaccharides (two rings), and polysaccharides (three or more rings). The monosaccharides and disaccharides are sweet because they only have one and two rings. In the Sweetness Lab (http://kimisbioblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/sweetness-lab-analysis.html), we tasted different carbohydrates and judged them based off of their sweetness. The monosaccharides and disaccharides tasted sweet. Fructose (a monosaccharide) was the sweetest of all the carbohydrates that we tasted.
Unlike the ring structure of carbohydrates, lipids are long chains of carbon and hydrogen (also called fatty acids). Lipids have two parts, a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. Lipids are used as evergy storage, make up cell membranes, and make horomones.
Proteins are large molecules made up of amino acids, Their function is to support the body, speed up chemical reactions, help cells communicates, and let things through the cell membrane. Two types of proteins; structural proteins and enzymes. Enzymes make reactions faster and lowers the activation energy to make a reaction occur.
In our Cheese Lab, we experimented with enzymes and how they help speed up reactions. In order for cheese to curdle the fastest, it needs to be in a warm, acidic environment.
Nucleic acids are large molecules made up of thousands of nucleotides. Nucleotides bond together to make one or two strands. Ribonucleic acid(RNA) has one strand and deoxyriboneucleic acid(DNA) has two strands. DNA is information used to make proteins.
In conclusion, my strengths in this unit were the carbohydrates and the atoms because I learned them relatively quickly and I remembered them. The enzymes were probably the hardest parts because I didn't understand them completely at first.
Comments
Post a Comment