11/18 Biology Recording - Getting materials into and out of the cell

Part 1

Part 2

11/18 Biology update and homework due 12/2

 Hi folks,

First off NO CLASS next week due to  the Thanksgiving Break.  Here's wishing you all a safe and tasty Thanksgiving holiday.  Be sure to count all the biological molecules you'll be consuming in the turkey, potatoes and stuffing!!

By the way, take a look at this game if you have a chance.  It's quite a bit of fun and really helps get to know quite a few complicated systems that keep cells healthy.  https://www.kongregate.com/games/cellcraft/cellcraft

Be sure to get me any missing homework!  Email me if you're not sure if or what you're missing.

This week we learned about passive and active transport and diffusion and osmosis. 

Homework due next class is to:

Read Chapter 5 pages 96 - 106

answer questions 5-15 on page 108

Also, Answer the following questions.  (Be sure to check yourself with the answers below.)

1.  Why is active transport important to the cell?

2.  What is the definition of diffusion?

3.  What is the definition of a concentration gradient?

4.  What is the definition of osmosis?

5.  Do materials flow from low to high concentration or from high to low concentration?

6.  What is the definition of hypertonic solution?

7.  What is the definition of hypotonic solution?

8.  With today's potatoes, when they were in the salt solution, were they in a hyper or hypotonic solution?

9.  With today's potatoes, when they were just in water, were they in a hyper or hypotonic solution?

10.  When the potatoes were in the salt, did they swell or shrink?  Why?

11 When the potatoes were in the water, did they swell or shrink?  Why?

12.  Does water tend to flow towards solutes or away from solutes?

13.  Draw a picture of a cell in a hypotonic solution.  Be sure to label where the concentration of solutes is greater and whether water is entering the cell or moving out.

14. Draw a picture of a cell in a hypertonic solution.  Be sure to label where the concentration of solutes is greater and whether water is entering the cell or moving out.

Answers:

1.  It is a way that cells can get nutrients in and waste out.  it's important because many molecules are too large to pass through the cell membrane and because sometime you need to move things agains the concentration gradient. 

2.  Materials spreading out along a concentration gradient.

3.  Things tend to flow from a high concentration gradient to a low concentration gradient.

4.  Diffusion through a membrane.

5.  They flow from high to low naturally.  It takes energy to make them flow the other way.

6.  A solution where the concentration of solutes are high.

7.  A solution where the concentration of solutes are low.

8.  They were in a hypertonic solution.

9.  They were in a hypotonic solution.

10.  They shrank because the water left the cells to go towards the highly concentrated salt.

11.  They swelled because the water in the glass moved into the cells since the concentration of solutes was higher in the cells.

12.  Flows towards solutes.

13 and 14 see pic below.

11/11 Bio Recording - Cells

Part 1

Part 2

11/11 Bio class and homework due 11/18

Hi folks,

Today we got into cells and cell structure.  

For homework this week please read chapter 4 (pg 68) and answer the following questions based on the reading and on your notes.  (I've included the answers below for you to check yourself.) 

I would also recommend watching the video  we saw in class today again.  It's a fantastic overview of everything we discussed today.  

WARNING!  WARNING! WARNING! THERE WILL BE A QUIZ NEXT WEEK and it will be based strongly on these questions.  Be sure to memorize ALL of these answers.  I would recommend doing the homework, studying the homework and then printing off a blank version of these questions to take as a practice quiz.  If you can get all of these questions right without looking at your notes your grade will thank you.

1.  What does tRNA do?

2.  What does mRNA do?

3.  Which comes first, transcription or translation? 

4.  For each of the following,  tell me whether it takes place in transcription or translation.

A.  DNA gets split by RNA polymerase. 

B. TRNA brings amino acids to ribosomes. 

C.  Base pairs are matched in the nucleus. 

D.  Amino acids are strung together. 

E.  MRNA is formed.

F.  Protein is created. 

G.  mRNA joins a ribosome. 

H. mRNA leaves the nucleus. 

5.  For the following,  tell me if it relates to a prokaryote or a eukaryote cell or both.  

A.  More complex. 

B.  DNA in a ring

C.  May have a capsule.

D.  Has organelles.

E.  Has a nucleus. 

F. Has cytoplasm.

G.  Has a flagellum.

H.  Has a cell membrane. 

6.  Of the following,  tell me if it relates to a plant cell or an animal cell or both. 

A.  Has a chloroplast.

B.  Has a mitochondria.

C.  More than likely has a vacuole.

D.  Has a cell wall.

E.  Has a nucleus. 

F.  Has a Golgi body. 

G.  Can have a flexible shape.

7.  What 3 things do all cells have in common?

8.  What does a rough endoplasmic reticulum do?

9.  What does a smooth endoplasmic reticulum do? 

10.  What does a Golgi body do? 

11.  What does a lysosome do? 

12.  What two things does cytoskeleton do? 

13.  What is the cell membrane made of?

14.  What does a mitochondria do? 

15.  What is a vacuole?

16.  What is a vesicle and what does it do?

17.  Which monomer consists of a carboxyl and an amino group? 

18.  Which monomer consists of a sugar, a nitrogenous base and a phosphate. 

19. Which monomer consists of a ring of carbon and a lot of hydroxyl groups? 

20.  What 6 jobs do proteins do?

21.  What 5 jobs do enzymes do?

22.  Draw pictures of a plant, an animal and a prokaryote cell.  Include at least 7 cell structures in the eukaryote cells and 5 in the prokaryote cell.

23.  What are the full names of the 4 DNA bases?

24.  Which base is replaced in mRNA and what is it replaced with? 

Answers :

1 tRNA tranfers amino acids from the cytoplasm to the ribosome to be made into proteins.

2.  mRNA carries the code from the DNA to the ribosome to be made into proteins.

3.  Transcription comes first.

4. a. Transcription

b.  translation

c. Transcription

d. Translation

e.  Transcription

f. Translation

g. Translation

h. Transcription

5.  a.  Eukaryote

b. Prokaryote

c. Prokaryote

d. Eukaryote

e.  Eukaryote

f. both

g.  Prokaryote

h. Both

6.   a. plant

b. both

c. plant

d. plant

e. both

f. both

g. animal

7. Cell mebrane, Nucleus, DNA

8.  Makes proteins, puts finishing touches on proteins and ships them off.

9.  Puts together lipids and adds molecules to lipids.

10. Puts final touches on proteins and ships them to other parts of cell or outside of cell.

11.  It's the recycling person.  Takes apart waste into parts that can be reused.

12.  Gives structure to cells and makes "roads". 

13. Lipids, specifically phospholipids. 

14.  Powerhouse of the cell.

15.  It takes up space in the cell and can contain waste products.

16.  The vesicle is a "bubble" made out of lipids that is the shipping container for molecules.

17.  Amino Acid

18. Nucleic Acid

19.  Carboxyl

20.  HANSET  Hormones, Antibodies, Nutritional, Structural, Enzymes, Transfer.

21.  FRECC Functional group transfer,  Rearrangement, Electron transfer, Condensation, Cleavage.

22.  Please compare with your notes.

23. Guanine, Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine

24.  Thymine is replaced with uracil and it pairs with adenine. 

Please bring Cell Phones!

Hi folks,

Please bring something that you can connect to the internet today.  Thank you.

Best,

Jim Mueller

(919) 907-3217

11/4 Biology Recording - Introduction to Cells

Part 1

Part 2

11/4 Biology Class and homework due 11/11

Hi folks,

This week we spent a bit of time doing a small lab.  Using simple materials such as rubbing alcohol, dish soap and gatorade we were able to actually see our very own DNA.  It's pretty amazing to think that those teeny tiny little threads contain all the information that makes us us and makes us work.

For homework this week, let's get creative!

From looking at today's quizzes it looks like we could still spend some time with protein synthesis.  I want you to imagine that you are teaching a class of 5th graders and you need to come up with a way for them to understand how protein synthesis works.  I want you to come up with a story, a comic, a movie, a poster, a song, an interpretive dance (like today's video), a painting, a picture made from pasta, a diorama made out of pizza, a sculpture, sky writing ANYTHING that you feel would teach all the steps of protein synthesis to your class.  Be sure to start your story in the nucleus of the cell and end your story with a new bouncing baby protein.  Along the way you must describe and define; cell nucleus, cytoplasm, translation, transcription, mRNA, tRNA, codons, ribosomes, amino acids, proteins, and RNA polymerase.  Pages 206 to 209 in your book has as nice description if you need.  

This will be graded as a normal 10 point assignment but if you really go above and beyond with this I'd be happy to give some extra credit.  Good luck and have fun.

Best,

Jim Mueller

(919) 907-3217