Breeding Bunnies

• My original hypothesis was that if a trait survives from its natural selection, there is a possibility that this trait will be more frequent and appear over the next generations.

•  No changes are needed, my hypothesis was correct.

• The dominant alleles are the rabbits with thick fur and the recessive alleles are the rabbits with sparse fur. Both alleles remain almost equal during each generation.

• In the first generation, both dominant and recessive were equal in number with 50 each.

• Immigration and emigration affect the population and the gene frequency. Maybe the rabbits with thick fur might run slow and get hunted down while the rabbits with sparse hair might be able to run faster and survive. This might affect the gene pool also because if the gene pool decreases, the population will decrease and will reduce the chances of biological fitness and sometimes lead to extinction. If the gene pool increases, the chances of survival are higher.

• My results are most likely to be different than from the other groups because the location affects the survival of the rabbits (top and bottom of the mountain) and survival of heterozygous and homozygous is different (but there was no comparison in class).

• The results of this stimulation are an example of evolution as it demonstrates how specific specie will adapt to its habitat and atmosphere with maybe undergoing mutation over a period of time and also on the basis of survival of the fittest. 

Broméla project part II

Measurements of my plant Bromélia:

Size:

• Height of total Plant: 1.12 m
• Length of Leaf: 28 cm
• Height of Flower: 14 cm
• Width of plant Stem (not DBH because plant was small): 1 cm
• Length of 1 Petal: 4 cm
• Canopy: 46 cm

Light penetration of leaf using apparatus placed in the sun:

• Light penetration without leaf: 61,000 lux 
• Light penetration with leaf 1: 2250 lux 
• Percent difference of leaf 1: (61000-2250)/61000 = 0.9631 * 100 = 96.31 %
• Light penetration without leaf: 61,000
• Light penetration with leaf 2: 2160 lux 
• Percent difference of leaf 2: (61000-2160)/61000 = .9645 * 100 = 96.45 %
• Average penetration of both leaves: 2205 lux 
• Average penetration without leaf: 61,000 lux
• Average percent difference of both leaves: (61000-2205)/61000 = .9638 * 100 = 96.38 %

pH level of Soil:
pH is a measure of the acidity of basicity of an aqueous solution based on the hydrogen or hydroxide ions. The solution is measured on a scale from 0 to 14, where 0 is very acidic and 14 is very basic and where 7 is neutral (pure water).  

Global variation in soil pH. Red = acidic soil.
 Yellow = neutral soil. Blue = alkaline soil.
Black = no data.

• Weight of empty beaker: 30.09 g
• Weight of beaker with soil: 50.09 g
• Amount of liquid: 40 ml
• pH of soil taken from near the stem: 5.31 pH (strongly acidic). 
• Using the chart provided on the right, I can predict that the soil in my plant has measures of Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium, Boron, Iron and Manganese  and fungi. This shows that my plant has a variety of nutrients present in the the soil and that my plant will remain healthy in the present and future. 

• Based on the map (provided on the right), one could predict that the pH soil in Brazil is acidic. 

Soil temperature: 
A device that is used to measure the temperature of soil. The device includes a thermometer, that is to be stuck in the soil which is connected to a reading device that would tell the temperature of the surrounding/ atmosphere. 

• Location 1 (below the plant, near stem): 21.9 ^oC  
• Location 2 (end of one canopy): 21.5 ^oC  
• Location 3 (other end of canopy): 22.3 ^oC  
• Average of temperature of all three locations: 21.9 ^oC  

Bromélia is mostly grown in the Mata Atlantica and Cerrado, which means these places are its natural habitat. The family Broméliaceae is a type of vascular plant and there are various habitats for the different genres of the family. My plant gets sufficient water and sunlight. The gardeners take care of every plant and make sure that the plant receives enough water to survive. When I visit my plant, the soil is usually wet, which tells me that the plant has been watered. 

Bromélias can resist pathogenic organisms however they are very sensitive to fungicides and insecticides and soak these products easily. There is a tank where the water and nutrients are stored for a certain period of time which makes sure that the plant does not die with the lack of water in a dry climate such as Brasilia, this  makes a higher chance of my plant to survive and reproduce successfully. 

Mutualistic relations between plants and fungi are very common. The fungus helps the host plant to absorb inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil. Another mutualistic relation is that ants carry seeds away from their mother plant because they are most likely to survive and sprout if they are farther from their mother plant and sometimes also protect the plant from other insects/animals to eat its leaves while the plant provides shelter to the ants with its flower. 

Correlation between factor and skill

My hypothesis was, the lower the ratio of head/body, the more balanced the children would be. When I added the line of best fit to the graph, the hypothesis was correct. But, when I looked at the graph as a scatter plot, by viewing each point individually the hypothesis didn’t match in this situation. My conclusion is that the correlation is weak because ratio of head/body is not a big factor to interfere with the balance time. Therefore, the ratio of head/body can not predict the balance time.

Future prediction of Brazil's population

According to the current population status of Brazil, we can predict many changes in both long and short terms. In the next 15-20 years, I think that Brazil’s population will grow. Although, due to low fertility rate the population might decrease over a very long period of time. Brazilian life expectancy at birth increased from 44 to 68 years and the total fertility rate declined from 6.2 to 2.2 during 1950-2000. So, there will be more older citizens that children which will decrease the total population. This might take centuries unless there is something special that occurs like a war which is most unlikely to happen. After 50 or more years, I think that Brazil’s population growth model will become a zero growth and after more years a negative growth.

The population has a very big effect on the environment and economy of every country. Brazil will undergo the same economic and environmental impacts. The changes in the short term will be advantageous for the economy because it will provide strong labour force.  But in the long term, the labour force will weaken as there will be fewer amounts of upcoming workers while old workers retire. A benefit is that there will be no unemployment and higher salaries because of no competition. As a low population, less environmental resources will be utilized which may increase the economic status by exporting the resources. 

Plant project (Bromélia)

                              

Common name: Bromélia

Scientific name: Billbergia pyramidalis

Location of plant is behind the photocopy room shown below

After zoom

      Map of school                                                              Plant location

4 pictures of the plant are given. 
The beautiful red flowers attracted me as they were different and unique.

The changes in the plant that I expect is the plant to grow taller.

Surprises after studying for 20 minutes or aspects not noticed before were that there is only one flower in the entire plant and is located on the top center. The plant has alternate leaves and scalar venation. There are many plants located near my plant therefore; there may be competition for water, nutrients, space and sunlight. 

How is pyramid like science process?

The pyramid project involves four people to create a pyramid out of plastic cups, by using four tied strings to an elastic band. Each person of the group has to pull the string to maximize the size of the elastic band from each side. The size should be able to fit around the top of the plastic cup which would make it easier to move.

This project was like a science project because thinking, imagery and ideas were needed before starting the project. If a small error was made the process was to be started all over again. Scientific method requires various steps to be followed and initiated again if the result does not come through. Equal pull force by other team members with focused attention was needed to accomplish the mission. Once the pyramid was created, our results were reported to the teacher. 

Why did I choose IB Biology?

IB stands for International Baccalaureate which is recognized worldwide. IB Diploma is a two-year programme that involves maximum six IB standard and higher level courses including IB Biology. IB Biology will prepare me for a college level understanding of the subject.

Biology creates awareness of how researchers work and exchange information with each other.  In simple words, Biology is the study of life and its main objective is to make understand the world around us.

I chose IB Biology because my interest in this subject had developed last year. I constantly want to keep my interest in Biology and increase my knowledge by studying at a harder and advance level. 

How is puzzle like Science?

Science is knowledge which helps us to understand the world around us. There are both discovered and undiscovered solutions of questions or problems we have for science. Science has left some unsolved puzzles to solve for us to come up with new conclusions. These conclusions are drawn by a step by step process known as the scientific method. 

Puzzle is an unsolved game that involves perceptions and careful observations. In puzzles we try all different alternate options until we reach a perfect solution to the puzzle. A puzzle is similar to the scientific method because one cannot reach to its solution easily, it takes time and is solved after repeated efforts i.e. bit by bit. In a puzzle we make mistakes in the beginning but we correct those mistakes by replacing the puzzle pieces. 

Science is a puzzle because science is somewhat solved, somewhat unsolved, correct, incorrect, missing, found, just as a puzzle would be. Puzzle is solved by using scientific methods. First, we are given a question (or puzzle) to solve, then we make a hypothesis or guess what the solution would be. Afterwards, we test our possible solution and analyze our data to reach out a conclusion.