Two Week Biology Sum-Up

Over the past two weeks, AP Biology has been action-packed. We have managed to squeeze in three chapters (give or take), an extra credit assignment. and an educational, outdoor fieldtrip!

The three chapters covered genetics, DNA replication, and protein synthesis. Genetics was more of a review of Mendel’s laws and punnett squares. I feel that genetics is the most interesting portion of biology because genetics and genes is what make our society diverse. DNA replication is interesting because in learning DNA replication my class and I could “connect the dots” about how DNA replication is the precursor for mitosis. In going in depth into DNA replication, I was able to grasp a better understanding of both concepts. Lastly, protein synthesis is where RNA is produced and used in order to code for specific proteins. This is important because through cell signaling, our bodies can produce the necessary proteins to keep the functionality of our bodies.

The extra credit assignment was to extract DNA from a strawberry using hose hold ingredients. I worked in a group of three with Bharathi Chinnakotla and Jennifer Parascandolo. The experiment is shown on all three of our blogs. Their links are: https://bharathisbioblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/26/strawberry-dna-extraction/ and https://biologybloggerr.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/strawberry-dna-extraction. This experiment really opened my eyes on how easy it is to extract DNA from a strawberry and that aspect really interested me. As Jennifer stated, “Me and my partners screamed of happiness because we thought we were not going to be able to do the project.” The joy we felt lifting the DNA up was that of no other. We felt smart and capable of doing such an intricate experiment. Bharathi states that the experiment could have been improved if we “placed the DNA under a microscope.”

The outdoor field trip encompassed within this two week period, was at the bay front park in Palo Alto. This field trip, although educational, was very fun as well. My class and I collected data on many aspects of the soil found at the bay front that could be used in order to better the environment there and improve the lives of the species.

Works cited

All pictures taken by Jennifer

Parascandolo and myself.