Hey. This post I will be talking about what I learned in module 3 and hopefully it will cement the concepts in my mind enough so I will know them for the test.

This module is about Kingdom Protista. Kingdom Protista is made up of eukaryotic cells. For those of you who haven't taken biology yet, eukaryotic cells are cells that have distinct membrane-bound organelles that each perform a different function.

At the beginning of this module I was supposed to perform an experiment where I took water from a pond and cultured different organisms. I would then look at them under the microscope. Unfortunately it is too cold right now to do the experiment. I hope to do it later though.

Basically this module I studied the different phyla (plural of phylum) in the Kingdom Protista. This is what I get for not posting about the other modules. I have to explain everything to you. Kingdom, and phylum are different classifying terms. Here are all the terms in order.

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

Kingdom Protista has two sub-kingdoms; Protozoa and Algae.

This post I am going to discuss sub-kingdom Protozoa and its phyla. Sub-kingdom Protozoa contains the phyla;

Sarcodina

This phylum contains organisms like Amoeba. This is probably an organism that you have heard of or seen.

This is what an amoeba looks like.

Amoeba use pseudopods to move themselves. They also use the pseudopods to surround and capture their food. Here is the technical definition of a pseudopod.

Pseudopod: A temporary, foot-like extension of a cell used for locomotion or engulfing food.

They use them by pushing the dense cytoplasm in their cells into a pseudopod and then they push them selves into the pseudopod. I would love to see this but like I said I couldn't perform the experiment.

Amoeba have a nucleus where their DNA is stored and two kinds of vacuoles. A vacuole is:

Vacuole: A membrane-bound "sac" within a cell.

The first kind of vacuole is a food vacuole. It stores extra food so it can be digested. Contractile vacuoles control how much water is in the cell.

Phylum Mastigophora

Almost all members of this phylum use flagella (plural of flagellum) for locomotion.  A flagellum is a long thin structure that looks like a tail.

Euglenas can perform photosynthesis but they also ingest the dead remains of other organisms.

Here is what a euglena looks like. (Sorry for the home drawn pictures but I didn't think I should post the book's picture.)

Euglenas have eyespots. An eyespot is not an eye but it detects light so the euglena can move towards it, as it needs it for photosynthesis. The euglena also needs Chlorophyll for photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll: A pigment necessary for photosynthesis.

It stores the chlorophyll in a chloroplast.

Euglenas have contractile vacuoles and a nucleus. The euglena's form of locomotion is very interesting. In addition to whirling its flagellum it pushes its cytoplasm to the middle of the cell so it looks like a + sign. Then it pushes all that cytoplasm to the front of the cell and resumes its normal shape.

I will briefly mention another Mastigophorite. It is called the Volvox. It usually forms a colony.

Phylum Ciliophora

If you know what cilia are you probably already guessed how members of this phylum move themselves.

Cilia: Numerous short extensions of the plasma membrane used for locomotion

Cilia move the organism by beating rhythmically. And if you have ever watched Dr. Menton's talks (From Answers in Genesis) you know how they beat. They use the Metachronal Rhythm. (I have no idea if I spelled that right) The Metachronal Rhythm is like the wave in ballparks.

The representative of the phylum ciliophora is the paramecium.  Here is my version of what a Paramecium looks like.

The most interesting part of the paramecium is that it has something called an oral groove and a gullet. The oral groove has lots of cilia on it that sweep food toward the gullet. When the gullet becomes full it pinches off and becomes a food vacuole.

The paramecium also has a macro-nucleus and a micro-nucleus. The micro-nucleus controls reproduction.

Phylum Sporozoa

Last one! My work is almost finished.

This phylum contains organisms that form spores sometime in their life.

Spore: A reproductive cell with a hard protective coating

The sporozoa form spores usually in this manner. They reproduce several new nuclei inside their cell walls and then the new nuclei have cytoplasm form around them. The original cell then breaks apart and the new cells form spores.

The primary example of this is Plasmodium. This is a pathogen that causes malaria. The organism lives inside a female mosquito. Some of it ends up the the mosquito's saliva and forms spores there. When the mosquito bites somebody the spores end up in the bloodstream. There they invade the red blood cells and reproduce until the red blood cell explodes. This keeps occurring until it kills so many that the person dies.

I was wondering; if there is really know way to stop the infection once it is in the bloodstream, how are people cured from malaria? Does anybody know?

Well that is the end of my tour through module 3. I hope you found it informational and educational. Even if you didn't it should still help me remember the concepts.

~~~~~~Lulu

UPDATE:: Sorry I still haven't finished the new post but it should be done tomorrow. I worked on it a lot today but when I lost some of it my frazzled brain just said, "No more."

I just thought I would post a quick note to say that I am working on some posts about Module 3 and some experiments. I hope to post them next week, Lord willing.

Hi sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been working on module 2 and I took the test today. I got a 100%!!!!  I haven't had one of those in forever. I hope to post soon about what I learned in the module. Very interestng, and fun!

Yesterday I took my first test. I passed with a 93%. I missed about three questions.  But I got all my definitions right.  Today I wrote all my defintions for module 2.

Today I completed the study guide. For those who haven't used Dr. Wile's books before, the study guide is a list of questions that you are supposed to answer. Most of those questions will be on the test in some form. I am feeling a little lazy today so I didn't take any pictures to post. Sorry.

I won't be posting over the weekend, because I don't do science on the weekend (which I am sure you already knew). Have a great weekend and you will hear from me again on Monday!

I am considering making this an interactive thing where you can post about what you did in science that day, too. It wouldn't have to be biology, just any course would do. BUT I will only do if enough people leave me a comment and say that they would like to do it.

Yesterday I wrote about my last experiment in my notebook. Today I started my study guide. And anyone who has used Dr. Wile's books knows that the study guide always starts with definitions. In biology there are lots of definitions. In module 1 there are 25!!!!!!!

I wrote them on flashcards since I have to know them ALL for the test. Gulp. I think I will be studying for a long time. Here was my stack of flash cards when I was done.

I am considering making this an interactive thing where you can post about what you did in science that day, too. It wouldn't have to be biology, just any course would do. BUT I will only do if enough people leave me a comment and say that they would like to do it.

I am going to tell you what I did yesterday (I didn't do any science today). Let me give you a little background before I begin my discussion of what occurred today.

I am almost finished with my first module of biology, well at least reading it. I mostly learned about the 4 criterion for life and classification. But yesterday at the end of the module I was introduced to the microscope.  I have always wanted to work with a microscope and now I was finally able to. Here is the microscope.

Sorry the pictures are kind of fuzzy.

First in the experiment the book told me the parts of the microscope and how to work it. My older sister helped me with it because she has used microscopes a lot in college. Here is the setup

My first task was to put a drop of water on a slide and some threads.

I was then supposed to find the threads on the first magnification, the second, and the third. On the second magnification they looked soooo neat. I could see all the little strands that made up the thread.

Next I was supposed to collect some cells from inside my cheek and put them on a slide. Then I put some stain (dye) on the cells so I could see them.

This part of the experiment didn't work very well. Even after three tries I still couldn't find any cells. The slides were a little dirty though, so it was fun to look at dust and air bubbles.

Since the second portion of my experiment failed I decided to do my own little experiment. I pulled out a piece of my hair and cut it so it was short. I then placed it on the slide and took a look. Again the second magnification was the most interesting.

Well that concludes my post on that experiment, which by the way was Exp. 1.2. I hope you enjoyed this and that you will come back for more.

I am considering making this an interactive thing where you can post about what you did in science that day, too. It wouldn't have to be biology, just any course would do. BUT I will only do if enough people leave me a comment and say that they would like to do it.

I have created this blog to chronicle my journey through biology. I am using Apologia Exploring Creation through Biology. The main writer is Dr. Jay Wile. I have done both his General Science and his Physical Science. I have found them very interesting and fun.

I am going to try to blog everyday about what I did that day in biology. This biology is going to be fun like my template indicates.

In this course I will be learning new things, working with a microscope , and dissecting animals(that part won't be so fun) I will be posting pictures from my book and experiments.

I hope that you will be able to capture the fun and interest that I find in this course through my posts. Please come by often and see what I'm doing.

If you want to have latest posts sent to you leave a comment with your e-mail address in it and I will put you on the mailing address. If you don't want your e-mail posted on the internet, tell me in the comment and I will delete it.

Also if anyone would like to be nice, I would be VERY appreciative if someone could make a button for me for this blog. Let me know if you are interested.

~~~~Lulu