Auxin

I wasn't here when we were learning about auxin due to some unforeseen circumstance, but, from what I can see from my peers' work they have done on auxin, I can gather that auxin is a hormone that plants have, which causes plant cells to elongate in their shoots.  Auxin is involved in the regulation of plant growth.

In this presentation that Rita has done, it shows auxin in action.  Basically what is happening is that whilst the sun moves along in the sky and at the same time, auxin is being produced in the tip of the plant.  The side where the sun is not shining, is the side of the plant where the auxin travels.  Photo-tropism then occurs.  The cells in the side of the plant that the auxin is diffusing then starts to elongate.  Now, because the cells on the shadier part of the plant are longer than compared to the cells on the sunnier side (of the plant), the stem is then forced to lean over to where the sun is shining.

Credit to Rita for the presentation.

My Critter

This is a flurtle.  It burrows underground when disturbed.  What is the adaptive advantage of this?

Assessment Reflection

We have recently just finished our first assessment, and I think I did okay.  The assessment was on the topic of homeostasis, and how homeostasis helps to regulate the blood glucose levels within our body.

I think this assessment was pretty difficult.  There was a lot of researching to be done, and then that research had to be put into our own words - something that is hard to do, especially when the words are big and science-y.  The hardest part was probably trying not to plagiarize, and to put the big, science-y words into my own words.  The easiest part was doing the research.

Compared to Year 12, I would say that Year 13 Bio is a tad bit easier.  I think this is because we already have prior knowledge from last year, and that's helpful because many of the assessments and stuff that we're learning about, we already learnt last year.

Some tips for next years Year 13 Bio class are, listen to Miss Wells.  Also, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.  Procrastination will almost always lead to failure.

Stuff I remember about Diabetes

In Year 11 we had to do an internal assessment about Diabetes.  This blog post is about the information I remember from that internal.  It is possible that the information in this blog post will not be 100% accurate.  But here we go anyway!

I remember that there are two types of Diabetes - Type 1 Diabetes, and Type 2 Diabetes.  Diabetes is a non communicable disease that affects the production of insulin and glucose within a person.  However, if a father or a mother have a kid, it is possible that their child will inherit it.  People who have type 1 diabetes are usually born with it, rather than acquiring it from environmental factors.  Getting type 2 diabetes is mostly due to environmental factors such as the food you eat.  Type 2 Diabetes sufferers are commonly from low income communities.  The tie between low income communities and Type 2 Diabetes is that foods high in fat and sugar are usually cheaper than healthier foods, and so with not much money, these people (from low income communities) are more likely to buy the junk food.  Junk foods that are high in sugar and fat are dangerous if ingested too many times because it throws off the balance of your glucose and insulin production.