Critical Thinking

CHAPTER 2
1) If the pattern persists, Pacific Shrinking and Atlantic growing, then the most likely scenerio will be, amoung other things, Africa remerging with Arabia. The Red Sea will be something read about in books, lectures, or by the mad rantings of religious fanatics. The (now) HUGE Pacific plate will be rammed in from all sides by its neighboring plates thus forming a ring of mountain ranges that riseth out of the sea. The Pacific Ring Ranges that will grow through the millenia will bring up more land out of the watery depths. So, as the atlantic spreads out a valley will form where once the great Pacifc held sway. All that will remain will be a deep inland sea.
CHAPTER 3
2) The path of the wandering message bottle.
**Beaufort, South Carolina
--->Into the Gulf Stream swinging North East
--->Canary Current South East
--->Swing around the Equatorial Counter Current East
--->Floats & eddies near African Gulf of Guinea
--->Gets caught by South Equatorial Current going West
--->Swings hard around with the strong cold current East
--->Antartic Circumpolar Current
--->Slips out of strong current
--->Follows small cold current North to
**Perth, Australia

CHAPTER 4
2) The accumulation of certain marine organisms through diffusion is possible. Molecules have a tendancy to move around when imersed in water if not given any type of barrier to stop them. So if the cell in question do not have such a barrier errected then it can be deduced that said ions will have free movement in and out of the organism. However, since only a minute amount of the ion is free floating the the surrounding water as compared to the concentrated amount found within the organism itself, it can be concluded that there are indeed barriers keeping most of the ion in. The barriers of the organism must only allow a limited amount of the ions through, probably excess. If one could inject a dyed version of the ion into the organism till excess is reached then one might be able to see where such excess is eventually ejected to.
CHAPTER 5
2) When the organism moves from feeding on light to feeding on other organisms.
CHAPTER 7
2) The cephalopods followed a different path then thier sedentary cousins. Many eons ago an enterprising member of the molluscs familia felf deep within its squishy interior that there would be more food to be had out in the great blue younder. So it began the change. Its decendants also were of like mind and pushed for more development. The other molluscs thought them mad to leave thier safe shells, but the changing cephalopods developed traits that balanced out the need for a hard cover. In time this branch of the family became great and held sway in much of the world's ancient oceans. Alas, this time of glory did not last. The earth changed, lands and waters shifted, and greater beasts that brayed on the fleshy cephalopods came into being. With so much against them its a wonder so many varient species still exist today. The End.
CHAPTER 8
1) The most likely reason would be its high level of survival points ^_^ . Its found ways to adapt the other unfortunate cousins didn't. Thus it wins the survival contests.
2) To figure out its feeding habit I would study its teeth, jaw, and body structure. And the fact that this female shark still retains its eggs in its reproductive tracts makes the developement type an ovoviviparous.
3) To have more females than males means more eggs to be had, of course without enough males there will just more eggs that will not be fertilized. More males then females would result in more chances of eggs being fertilized. Unfortunately, not enough females means less eggs produced. In human beings, equal amounts male & female is a good thing. But, animals care more about survival and less about relationships (aren't they the lucky saps). One on one may decrease the chances of probable fertilization thus endangering the species.
CHAPTER 9
1) Because turtles always go back to the beach they hatched from and made thier first sea bound journdey. So only baby turtles that have never made the journy will retain such a memory and are ideal for planting at new sites.
CHAPTER 14
1) Motsly because atolls are formed from the ring of a volcano's mouth. the crater of the volcano that did not surface becomes the inner lagoon. The atlantic does not have many volcanic or other seismic activities that would produce such reefs.
2) Badly. Changes in water temperature could and will affect the smallest to largest members of the coral reef community. And since each memeber is interdependant with each other, recycling each others wastes and turning them into the nutrients that meets their needs, its not hard to see the whole coral reef crashing. Especially since reefs are located in normally barren waters.
3) Because they don't have enough reef-building corals.
CHAPTER 18
3) The tourists come to Saipan for two reasons: history of their people and the beautiful natural sights. History aside, Saipan is a lush and beautiful island with a variety of friendly people. To keep the tourists coming back certain precautions must take place. Safety measures for our tourists and our marine life must be put into place to preserve both for generations to come.

1. What is DNA? This blue print of life is stored in an organism’s genome. The letters stand for deoxyribonucleic acid. It appears like a twisted ladder with steps made up of four different molecules.

2. What are the 4 bases? Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and finally Guanine

3. What 2 peices of information did the scientists need to solve the elusive structure of DNA? How is the information in the DNA strand translated into protein. Which letter sequence makes what.

4. What are the specific base pairs? A and T / C and G

5. How does the pairing rule effect the shape and structure of DNA? The sequence of the pairings form a code, like a four letter alphabet that holds a genetic information.

6. What does the DNA do during cell division? Make a copy of itself.

7. How many base pairs does E. Coli have? How long does it take to replicate? How is the DNA packaged in the cell? 5 million base pairs. very quickly. tightly.

8. How many base pairs does Human DNA have? How long does it take to replicate? How is the DNA packaged in the cell? more then 3 million. very long. in a spiral?

AFTER YOU'VE ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS, TRY PLAYING THE GAME. THEN MOVE ONTO THE NEXT ACTIVITY.

1. What is RNA? How different is it from DNA? RiboNucleic Acid is the copy of the DNA. It has a single strand and the thymine base in DNA is replaced in RNA with uracil.

2. How are the RNA messages formed? By string together three of the four RNA letters (A,G,U,C). These are then called codons.

3. How are the RNA messages interpreted? Each codon corresponds with one single amino acid.

1. Describe cell cycle. An orderly sequence of events that starts when a cell divides to form two daughters to the time the daughter cell begins to divide itself.

2. What is nuclear division. This is when the nucleus divides and involves several subphases also known as karyokinesis.

3. What is interphase. A point that cells spend alot of time in. This is when they do alot of growing and changing getting ready to be synthesized and replicated.

4. Cytokinesis. The cytoplasm divides and two identical daughter cells come forth.

5. Homologous chromosomes. A pair of similar but not identical chromosomes identified as paternal and maternal.

6. Phases of mitosis (5 of them). Interphase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase, Cytokinesis

7. Phases of meiosis and how it is different from mitosis. Meiosis starts out the same as mitosis, but then it splits again after the first cytokinesis to form more chromosomes.

8. Describe the process and purpose of crossing over. The two parent chromosomes touch and switch.

The processes of feeding without mouths

1) Chlorophyll traps light.
2) Water enters leaf.
3) Carbon dioxide enters leaf.
4) Sugar leaves leaf.




very complicated, no?


((all images found online through google search))

Algae Cell

squee!!! ^_^ check this out, such an itty bitty thing with so much inside it. i mean, this thing is microscopic, hard to see with the naked eye and everything. it's eukaryotes which means its more organized then the prokaryotes. the reason it's a eukaryotes is because it has a nucleus, see the red dot?

now, answer these three very simple questions by posting in my comments.
1) What makes the algae an eukaryotes and not a prokaryotes?
2) Where are algae usually found?
3)How do they feed?

Microscopic!

Wow, last lab we got to play with microscopes ^_^ neat! I've always wanted to play with those things. i got to magnify a wee bitty letter then a strand of my hair then some scum from the tank. uck, there were MOVING itty bitty things in that sample i took. most of those things were clear and had lil yellow centers. though there was a few that had red dots. also the moving things would sometimes spin out of control, like its mixing up whats inside. it was very fun to look and watch those crazy lil things...too bad my eyes got strained from staring too long ^_^

CLAMP

kyaaaaa!!!! ^_^ okay, i am soooo tired of blogging serious stuff. now for some things i actually really like ^ ^ CLAMP no, its not a tool used by men to fix the sink. its actually a group of women manga writers. manga, not mango. manga is/are japanese comics. CLAMP does varied work, and are among the most popular writers to date. All thier work are beautiful and well drawn, and the stories compelling.
the artists ------------------------->














still the same ppl ^^


their works include but are not limited to: Cardcaptor Sakura



Magical Knights Rayearth X1999

Wish

Runoffs

During our last saturday lab, we went up to PauPau to see the runoff pipe. If it had rained harder and longer we could have seen the effects clearly. Seeing it without the action wasn't as informative as it would have been otherwise. Still, I can see and imagine what could happen. If there was alot of water coming down from the hills it will wash out into the sea, sometimes it even runs through these pipes directly. But, who knows what will slide off the hill directly into our seas? Hmmm...questionable...

Project in Progress

BEHOLD!!!!!

Okay, now that I have your attention ^_^ Listen! Some years ago we of the Northern Marianas Islands (Saipan in very particular) spent a load of cash in an attempt to plant some mangroves in American Memorial Park. The idea was that mangroves would serve as a natural filter and homeland to many small aquatic based critters. Its a wonderful idea...too bad they planted the wrong plant. The planting was, to be blunt, not a success...and for good reasons. Right now, I'm looking into those reasons and researching on which mangrove is the right kind to plant. From what I've manage to find out there are three (3) types of mangroves...and only one of them actually grows out of the water. The other two types grow more upland, but they still require very damp soil to florish at all. They are colorfully called Red Mangrove (rhizophora mangle), Black Mangrove (avicennia germinans) and White Mangrove (laguncularia racemosa). The pictures above are red mangroves. Hopefully I (and anyone who's willing to help me) will be able to find and reinstate these plants. It was found out in a research report (can't for the life of me remember where) that prop-rooted mangrove variety once florished here on Saipan. So with that hope burning in our hearts, we must perservere ^^ NEVER SURRENDER!!!

Hike Hike Hike!!!

For a great saturday activity I suggest a hike up and around Mt. Laulau ^_^ I can almost guarentee that you'll feel like a NEW person after that hike. New and exhuasted ^^ anyway, jokes aside. Imagine, walking up a steep hill, there are trees all around you so you have something sturdy to hold onto making falls less hazardous to your general wellbeing. Now, imagine that those trees don't last for very long. Stepping out of the trees you will suddenly find yourself with an unobstructed view of Laulau Bay. The relentless sun beating down on after the cool shade of the trees. Thigh high sear grasses and other sticklers covering large expanses of the hillside. And the burnt remains of the past still in evidence. I looked out on this scene and wondered. Wondered how long it would take for this man-influenced savannah to recover from its razing. Though there was a quiet beauty to the hillside, it was a dangerous beauty. Not an immediate danger, as I learned, but a real one none-the-less.
From what Angelo, our guide, said there should have been more trees growing. What actually took root does not look enough to prevent a runoff and other landslides. Hopefully, the kiddies that are going to be planting will have more flora that takes and florishes in the hydrophobic land. But, I only thought of this once I was able to find some shade to hide under. I can honestly admit that the hike exhausted me and the heat was not fun either ^_^ but, it was not intolerable...just not fun. The heat, not the hike. The hike is a good form of exercise. Go sometime.

The Shape of Life: Origins

A movie we watched. About the origins of life it was about. Interesting I found it to a point. ^_^
Okay, about that movie. It was sort've documentary-like. According to them the first mulit-cellular animal was and is the sponge. Its the same as modern day animals because it shares animal cells, is held together by collegens and feeds. Of course, a sponge doesn't have any internal organs, no limbs, and is about the simplist thing in the world. Scientists have concluded that the fact that it feeds and reproduces sexually makes it an animal. Using the very involved arts of gene splicing they've found that sponges have the very base genes that are shared by ALL animals. Still, after watching that...I'm still not totally convinced that the sponge isn't a plant.

Blood Red Moon

woooow! ^^ the moon last night was very interesting to see. i did a very unprofessional sketch and color of it, but it sooo does not come close to what i saw. the moon was bright at the start of the phaze and seemed to get brighter as more and more of it vanished. still, i could see the ring that outlined the moon. the line marking where the eclipse occured was very sharp and the contrast between dark and light was very strong. every-so-often i'd get whimsical and see faces in the moon. once i saw a jolly man laughing, but that was when the moon was half eclipsed. later i saw a very angry face...that was when the moon turned red and the full eclipse took place.
the moon, to me, look small, as if all the light was sucked out of it and all that was left was one small red marble. the marble was a bright red mixed with shadows of a darker red and a cresent ring of light at the edges. what really threw me was the apparent size of the moon. i'd never seen it so small before. i didn't realize how much bigger the moonlight made the moon. seeing it that way made me morbid and without thought i said out loud to my sister and cousins "that moon is a harbinger of a bloody war"

tide chart for august 31 assignment

What is tidal range? Difference in water level between succesive high and low tides.

What causes high and low tides? The pull of the sun, moon and the earth's centrifugal force.

What causes spring and neap tides? Spring tides are caused by the sun and the moon being aligned with each other. Neap tides are caused when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other.

How does tidal range effect the types of organisms and the shape and size of organism? Marine organisms can only live where there is water. The tide range is the ever changing boundary between high and low so though sometimes something will grow there it will not survive.