Genetics

While reading these two interesting topics, I learned allot from them. As I was reading What is Heredity, I learned that humans have two complete sets of 23 chromosomes. Also, I learned that every child receives half of it's chromosomes from the mother and half from the father. As I was reading What is a Trait, I learned that there are different types of traits. They consist of Physical traits (hair/eye color), Behavioral traits (the way you act), and Predisposition to a medical condition (a disease that can be passed down from parent to child). Lastly, we describe a straight thumb allele with a big H, and a hitchhikers thumb allele with a little h.

Class Response

So far during this school year, we have learned so much about different things. My favorite activities that we did were the owl pellet dissection and when we went outside searching for prey (toothpicks). But between those two, I would have to pick the owl pellet dissection. While doing this experiment i learned allot. One thing I learned was the owls can not chew their own food. They are not able to chew, because they have no teeth, so they just swallow their prey whole. When the pellet comes out, it is full of bones from various prey. I also learned that the owls diet mostly consists of rodents and small birds.
My opinion on this lab is kind of grossed out. I really wasn't into touching owl regurgitation, but I got over that feeling and just got it over with it. I think you should continue doing this lab over the years.

Current Events #2

I did my current events on the American Bison in Yellowstone National Park. This article is about the American Bison and how it's becoming extinct. Some of the reason is because the wolf predation. In Yellowstone, they are the only one's in the lower 48 states that have persisted since the prehistoric times. Unfortunately, people are fearing the extinction of the bison, so they imported 21 to private herders in the 1920's. Presently, the population in Yellowstone is up to 4,000.
While reading this article, I was upset about the almost extinction in the 1920's. Although, I was relieved to read that the bison population has been increased. I enjoyed reading this article because I thought it was jam packed with good information. I also found it interesting how the animals population isn't very consistent. To view my current events, click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yellowstone_National_Park_related_articles#Geology

Current Event

My current event is on the article: Whos's Afaid of The Big, Bad Wolf? Coyotes. This article is about how the coyote's (the top dog in much of the country) population decreases when they share teritory with the wolves. Scientists are studying how the wolves limit the number of coyotes in the places where both animals live together. They found out that coyotes are the dominent predator, but the coyotes densities were substantially lower in areas containing both wolves and coyotes. They also figured out that the coyotes densities declined thirty-nine percent when Yellow Stone National Park reintroduced the wolves. Suprisingly, humans are more of a threat than wolves to coyotes!

I thought this article was interesting. It was really informational and I learned a lot from it. I would have never guessed that the wolves and coyotes were in competition with each other for territory. I also didn't know that the wolves and the coyotes eat each other.

If everyone feels that bullying is wrong then why can't society or our own school community put an end to it?

If everyone feels that bullying is wrong then why can't society or our own school community put an end to it? Relate your answer to either
I think that some kids don't believe that it's wrong or it's even funny. The kids keep bullyong each other because they find it amusing or they are just mean. I don't think that the community can stop them beacause they can still do it, but the adults won't know about, unless the victim tells somone about, but they might be to scared of what the bully will do so they might not tell anyone.

Summer Reading Question

I imagine the author of Bud, Not Buddy, (Christopher Paul Curtis) to be very creative and down to earth.I imagine him this way because his book is very alike to what real life was a few decades ago. I think he described what was going on very well.

About Me

My favorite subject is science because I want to become a vet when I get older. So I like to learn about animals. The best book i ever read was The Mist by Stephen King. I liked this book because it was very suspensful and it held my interest. I couldn't put the book down. My favorite food to buy in the cafeteria is the chocolate chip cookies. Especially if they are warm and soft. On the weekend, when I am done with my chores, I like to hang out with my friends and do gymnastics. If i won a free airline ticket to any place I wanted, i would go to Ireland. I would go to Ireland because my family is from there and it is very pretty there. My favorite color is green. If i had a pet, i would get a horse and I would name it Zippy. This year, if work hard enough, i hope to get straight A's through the year.