Learn From My Mistakes

Hey readers! I thought that I would leave you all off with a word of advice that is especially geared towards those of you who are going to be taking AP Bio. Personally I think that the best advice that I have ever received is to learn from the mistakes that others have made... so here is a chance for you to learn from a few of my mistakes in this class.
1. That first test that you are going to take... it isn't a joke. I thought that I could easily pass any test given in AP Bio just by glancing over my notes the night before. How did that turn out? Lets just say that I was quickly put into my place after that first test was handed back.
2. Don't always pick your friends. I hate to say it, but our friends are not always the greatest people to work with. If you know that you aren't going to get any work done when you are with certain people, then PLEASE don't always hang out with them in AP Bio. I am not saying that you can't ever work with your friends, but you owe it to yourself to not have to do all the work in a lab and to actually understand it.
3. The class is only a semester long. You aren't going to have forever to try and learn all that information, so you'd better pay attention while you are in class.
4. You aren't going to learn anything if you don't look up from your notes. I am the type of person who wants to write everything down that is on the board. This hurt me in the long run. For a class like AP Bio the discussions are going to help you the most. Write notes like you are texting in class. Make them short, sweet, to the point, and always make sure to look up so the teacher doesn't suspect you!Please take these tips to heart! They really will help you in the long run. If you don't take this class seriously, you will seriously regret it at the end of the year... I know I am. If I could go back to the beginning of the year I would be studying every night, engaging in class discussions, and not thinking that I had all the time in the world to master the subject of Biology. Good luck!
Finally
No Longer
The AP Bio Student

Cell War Up-Date

Well... Ribosomes unfortunately did not win the SHS cell war of 2012. We came in 6th out of 14. We had a great run though! Looking back on our entire campaign I am so proud of what my partner and I were able to accomplish in the amount of time that we had. We were able to get our message out and into the world (Synthesis for a change!), and have a lot of fun making our campaign. This will not be the end of Ribosomes! We will still be working hard for your cells each and everyday!
Okay, back to buisness. In all serious this cell project was great! I learned so much about the organelle that was assigned to me, and all of the other organelles that make up the cell as well. I also experienced many new things throughout the project. What you may ask? Twitter... Honestly, before this project I had never even consided twitter as something that I might even remotly enjoy. However, with the help of a couple of kind classmates I was eaisly "tweeting" my way to the top. (Pause for laughter) Although I don't think I will ever use twitter again after this project (I'm too long winded), it was great to learn how. I also learned that I may or may not have a career in rapping one day... Okay, probably not. Yes, as part of our cell campagin, I made up a rap to help premote my organelle. Here is a little bit of it:

I made a rap

to help you understand

why you should vote for me

and not these others in the stands

I'm a Ribosome

I live with in the cell

I make all the proteins

In case you couldn't tell

My wonderful campagin partner gave me a beat as I rapped throughout the pod. And to top off the entire project, I was able to make an awsome Ribosomes shirt! Here is a picture of the Ribosomes shirts that Jacky and I made: (to visit Jacky's blog go to: http://jackyapbio.blogspot.com/) 

I know all of you dedicated followers will be dissapointed in the loss of the Ribosomes, but don't worry, AP Biology is far from being over!

For Now

Yours Truly,

The AP Bio Student

RIBOSOMES 2012!

Congratualations, you have just entered the SHS Cell War of 2012!
Right now my AP Biology class is in a HUGE cell war. We have all split into partners, and were assigned different organelles of the cell. We now have to create an entire camapaign for our organelle to become the next cell president. The campagin includes a campaign video, poster, speech, a twitter feed, and our blogs (yay!). I am proud to announce that I am officially part of the Ribosomes cell presidential campaign of 2012!
What exactly is our campagin? Well How about I tell you what a Ribosome is first. Here is a little about their structure, function, and why you should vote Ribosomes 2012! :)
A Ribosome is an organelle that is found in both animal and plant cells. A Ribosome is responsible for the process of protein synthesis within the cell. The process of protein synthesis is when the Ribosomes copy strands of RNA to make proteins. Proteins are essential to the cell life because they have many different functions. (For more on exactly what proteins are, and why they are essential, check out my previous post!)
Now to the campagin...
Here is a picture of our campagin poster: (more to come)

 And here is our campagin video! (A HUGE thanks to all of those who helped out!)

There will be plenty more videos to come, along with updates on our campagin! If you have a twitter account you should follow us @RaRa_Ribosomes. You can then go to our cell war page at #shscellwar, and see the other organelles that we are competing against.
Enjoy the election!
For Now
Yours Truly,
The AP Bio Student



If you could be anything what would you... PROTEIN!

Do you remember when you were younger, and you were always asked the question "If you could be anything what would you be..."? Most of the times we would answer with a favorite superhero or animal. For me it was always a waterbender.... Yes that was an Avatar the Last Airbender reference for those of you fellow fans! But since this is my AP Biology blog I decided that if I could be any macro molecule of course I would be a protein!
I know most of my friends are probably laughing at this point because it is well know that I can't spell, and protein happens to be one of those words that I can never seem to get right. (If you take a gander at my AP Bio notes you would see protine written all over them.) Although proteins and I have had our difficulties in the past, I have grown to love them. Part of that new found love may just be because of the Cell War project that we recently started in AP Bio last week, but you will be hearing about that in my next post! ;)


Enzyme

Proteins. Where to start? Well... proteins pretty much do everything. (shout out to Mr. L's bio class!) Proteins have many different structures due to their many different functions. The 3D shape of a protein different depending on the job that it is made to do. Proteins are formed within cells by the Ribosomes. Ribosomes create proteins through the process of protein synthesis, which is the process of pairing RNA. Proteins as I said earlier pretty much do everything. They are involved in the transportation of substances, structure of cells, cell communication, and much more. Here is a picture of an enzyme, one of the most important proteins made.
I would choose to be a protein because they are involved in so many things. They truly are essential to life, and it is amazing how the difference of their structures can completely change their function. Anyways, I hope this post may inspire you to think about what macro molecule you would like to be? And if you're not into biology, you can just stick to being a waterbender. :)
For Now
Yours Truly,
The AP Bio Student
Photo Credit:http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADSA_enUS389US389&biw=1366&bih=596&tbm=isch&tbnid=lzCZXGzTkivxlM:&imgrefurl=http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/06/061011.ied.shtml&docid=rzMukc_Zf18wJM&imgurl=http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/06/images/061011.enzyme.jpg&w=1250&h=1250&ei=CT2tUOyZMsSoyAGi1YHoAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=298&sig=111805202
718627583709&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=149&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:190&tx=106&ty=63

Darwin, your tortoises may still be here!!

How cool would it be to stumble across the same tortoise that Darwin studied and then used as a basis to his theory of evolution?!? Like this little guy! (Just kidding, these giant tortoises can reach up to and over 800lbs.!!)

When Darwin visited the Galapagos islands in 1835 he noticed how each island had different ecosystems. The different ecosystems on the islands lead to great genetic variation among species. Researchers have recently gone to the Galapagos islands to do DNA testing on some giant Galapagos tortoises. The DNA testing proved that the island must still contain some pure bred Floreana giant tortoises. This excited the researchers because the  Chelonoidis elephantopus (the species of giant tortoise that Darwin had studied on the island of Floreana) had been believed to be extinct due to whalers. Researchers believe that there may still be some Chelonoidis elephantopus still alive, only living on the Galapagos island of Isabela.

The discovery of the Chelonoidis elephantopus still being alive was assisted by the DNA findings of a previous expedition to the Galapagos islands in 1994. The researchers on the 1994 expedition had found some tortoises that were extremely genetically different that the native Isabela giant tortoises. The researchers then placed these tortoises into a separate group which they classified as "aliens" because their genetic make up was so different. This more current expedition to the Galapagos islands in January of this year (2012) resulted in the discovery that the DNA of the "aliens" matched that of the Chelonoidis elephantopus.
Cool right?!?
Anyways...I hope you enjoyed my most recent ramblings!
For now
Yours truly,
The AP Bio Student

P.S If you would like to know more about the Chelonoidis elephantopus discovery, this is a link to the article that I read about it .
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/environment/story/2012-01-06/galapagos-turtles-extinct/52467768/1
P.P.S Thumbs up to those researchers who had to get a blood sample from a giant tortoise!

Do you really ever come home during Homecoming?

Yes, I know this blog post may be a little bit after the fact (since homecoming was almost 3 weeks ago) but that doesn't mean I can't tell you about my last Homecoming experience at my beloved SHS.
Homecoming at Sparta High School is unlike any other schools Homecoming. Not only do we have a homecoming football game and a dance, but we have an entire week filled with Homecoming competitions. Our Homecoming week is a battle between the classes for the coveted prize of the red apple. *SPOILER ALERT* Seniors won!!! Throughout the week we have different dress up days, and mini competitions where the students can earn points for their class. The points add up throughout the week, and come to an epic conclusion on the day of Homecoming Games. On the Friday of Homecoming week is when the final battle between the classes is fought. We spend the entire day competing as a class against the other classes in games such as relay races, orange passes, and pie eating contests. However, the best part of the day is when our classes preform their Mock Rock dances.
Every year we have a theme for Homecoming. This year it happened to be musicals, and the seniors chose Rock of Ages. Our Mock Rock is a dance that our seniors work together to come up with that displays our theme. (Rock of Ages) Let me just brag a moment and say that our senior class mock rock was the best that I have ever seen. Mock Rock is not only a way for our class to show off the talented dancers and actors that we have, but it is also a way for our class to bond as a whole. I had so much fun hanging out with my friends, teasing our hair and taking pictures, before the actual dance. Although I did not actually dance with my class, I was extremely proud of my class and how we came together to pull of an amazing performance. Although we had a rocky start with the music, we were able to engage the entire school in spurt of the moment rock and roll beat.
The end of our Friday was concluded with the classes coming together as one big Spartan Nation cheering on our amazing football team. I am so proud to be a Spartan, and part of the Spartan Nation.
GO SPARTA!
For Now
Yours Truly,
The AP Bio Student
P.S

One of my favorite dress up days was western wear. This is one of my best friends Sarah (left) and I (right) after we completed our western looks with moustaches. It was a great day... as I am sure you can tell from the glee that is just about written across our faces. This is the point in my post where I am questioning whether this picture deserves a YOLO?? But I feel as if that may just be as cliche as wearing a fake moustache on a western day... :)

Evolution Vocabulary Ch. 22-24

Have you ever wondered exactly what AP Bio is all about??? Well here is your chance to find out! This is a set of flash cards that I made on Quizlet to study for my Unit 2 test on Evolution. Enjoy!
For now
Yours truly,
The AP Bio Student