Adv Science

Summary: During this week, I learned about epigenetics. I also learned about mutations and GMOs. In fact, while writing my superhero origin story, I wrote how she had shark powers due to a mutation where her blood mixed with a shark's after she was attacked by it. That was how I learned one way of a mutation. SP1: Asking testable and/or scientific questions. I asked scientific questions when we were learning about GMOs and mutations, such as, "What is a mutation? What does it mean?" and "How are mutations formed? How can someone's genes be modified in the first place?"   Image link:  How did you get such a great picture? Well, I guess it's in my genes.

Summary: During this week, I learned that Punnett Squares were a way of determining the types of traits of animate objects (for example - in our Superhero project, we have to assign traits to our "super baby" by using Punnett Squares). I also learned that a heterozygous trait was when there were one of each allele (for example - Rr would be a heterozygous trait). SP1 - Asking Scientific/Testable Questions: I asked scientific questions when I was doing my Punnett Squares coin toss (at the end of our packet, we had to do a coin toss and if we got heads then our "super baby" would have a trait that our superhero/mate had. Tails meant that they didn't the trait), such as "Could there be two capital letters for both alleles?" (could there be a genotype of RR?). Image Link: Mendel's Pea Flower Punnett Square

Summary: During this week, I learned about Gregor Mendel who worked with pea plants because they had many different traits the determined the differences between pea strains. I also learned that cross fertilization was  when one species mated with another, like for example, Mendel cut off the stamens of an immature flower and then when the flower matured, he sprinkled the pollens of another plant onto the pistil of the mature pea flower. SP: Asking Questions and Defining Problems  —  I asked scientific questions when I was doing the Heredity with Dogs activity, such as, "If a one dog has floppy ears, yet the other has straight ears, then how is it that if the two were to mate, then they could end up with a puppy that has a mix of both floppy and straight ears?"  Image Link:   PBS Kids - Dragonfly TV | Heredity With Dogs | Dog Breeding