Maria Gillis Assignment #8: Ailish's Seed Story

From this project i have learned that plants have a lot of determining factors that can either help them to survive or kill them. It amazed me how fast our plant grew in a short amount of time. It certainly was a stressful project that made me actually think about different elements that can affect the way my plant grew. I was also amazed by how many factors helped me to grow this plant. It has been a truly unforgettable project. 

Maria Gillis Assignment #7: One of a Kind: The Wonders of Biology

     For this project my team and I have been working with kale. This is a specific kind of Brassica Olercea. Kale is able to store lots of nutrients and water better than other types of Brassica Olercea.
     Since our kale is a drak green, i can ussume that its parents wer also this color green. Using a Punnett Square could predict the traits our plants offspring would produce, but in order to do that i would need to know the alleles my plant has. Meiosis creates genetic diversity, and the offspring would get the same traits through the process of meiosis. The plant's offspring would have some of my plants traits along with the other plant that is involved with the reproduction. All of the Brassica Olercea look different becasue many other plants were involved with the reproduction . 
     

Maria Gillis Assignment #6: How Does Your Garden Grow

Our plants are getting larger through three main components; mitosis, photosynthesis, and respiration. In mitosis, our plant is able to become larger because the constant dividing of cells increases the height and adds biomass. Even though the cells get smaller and smaller as they divide, the amount of them rapidly increases. Each cells divides into two new separate  cells. The carbon dioxide that the plant contains through photosynthesis helps the leaves and stems grow because it is created into the plants food. The last component that adds biomass and helps the plant grow is respiration. In this process, the sugars are converted back into energy for the growth of the plant, which is also adding biomass.

If the nucleus sent signals to proteins to make enzymes, the proteins inside of the plant would break down amino acids. Thus, the amino acids would string together in a chain to form enzymes. Enzymes helps to speed up chemical reactions.

Maria Gillis Assignment #5: Living or Not

I definitely can conclude that my plant is living. I know this because they rely on nutrients to survive. Each plant is made up of cells, like all living things. Cells are the basic form of life. My plant adapts to its environment and it obtains energy from the sun.

Since we put our seedlings in plastic bags in the beginning of the year, they have dramatically changed. They went from small black dots on a paper towel, to little black dots with a small stem, to a small plant, to a giant plant that takes up a large part of the garden. You could put the seedlings under a microscope and possibly see the actual cells of the plant as another way to tell it’s in fact living.   

Maria Gillis Assignment #4: An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and Your Plants

Some abiotic factors that affect our plant is soil, space, temperature, exposure to weather patterns, and the amount of water the plant takes in. For example, the weather that our plant is exposed to is important because the plants need enough sunlight to grow, and in very cold temperatures the plants roots can freeze limiting the amount of moisture it gets. If the plant doesn’t get enough water it becomes weak and it eventually dies due to limited nutrients. Some biotic factors that affect our plant is other plants, animals/insects, and humans. For example, animals and insects negatively affect our plants because bigger animals can dig up the roots completely killing the plant. Other plants are constantly in competition with each other. If our plant loses it may not survive.

I know that these plants are in competition because there is a limited amount of resources such as water and space. Plants need room to spread their roots to become powerful and grow till their full potential.

“Losers” are the plants that do not get enough space, water, and nutrients. So, that means that the “winners” get all of these abiotic factors. The winner is clear because it physically is growing faster and larger rather than the losers who struggle to grow till their full potential. Sometimes, it is hard to tell who is the winner or loser because some plants are naturally smaller than others. For example, sunflowers can grow up to 6 feet, while kale plants can range from only 1-3 feet.

Another interaction between plants is the different cycles. All of these cycles (as you read in #3) all affect the growth and well being of every plant.

There is evidence of succession in the garden because all of the plants are sharing sunlight, water, and soil. This is primary succession.

Maria Gillis Assignment #3: Bichemical Cycles And Our Plants

This week, I have noticed a significant change in my plant. The stems and leaves have grown dramatically. The leaves are bright green and I noticed little holes which mean insects have been eating the plant. The stem of my plant is very white which is easy to see in the leaves.

Plants obviously need water to survive, they play a very important part in the water cycle. They take the water through their roots up to the pores, where it changes to water vapor, then it is released into the atmosphere through transpiration. This is process is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves. Our plants have the ability to grow through this process.

Our plants are also apart of the carbon cycle.They absorb carbon dioxide from the air, and through photosynthesis, release oxygen back into the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the process where plants use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. This week, our plants are using carbon dioxide and sunlight to create their own food which helps them grow stronger and become healthy.

Finally, the Brassica Oleracea uses the nitrogen cycle. Using assimilation, plants can take in nitrates from nitrogen to make nucleic acids, amino acids, proteins, and chlorophyll which is necessary parts for a plant to survive. This process has affected my plant because it helps the plant go through photosynthesis.

Maria Gillis Assignment #1: Brief Bio

My name is Maria Gillis, I am from San Jose, California. I have lived here my whole life with my mom and my sister. At my new house, in the backyard we found an apple tree, an orange tree, and a lime tree. We continuously water the trees and wait for the food to be ripe enough to eat. One person in my life that knows about growing her own food is my grandma, she has been making her own food from scratch since he was a little girl. Now, in her backyard she grows tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and has an orange tree. My grandma also makes her own pasta and uses her tomatoes to make sauce. She is the most important person in my life.