Midterm Project

/ Erica Crawford / Paul Quinn College /

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Class Mammalia

Vertebrae that most beneficial to personal life/ or environment: 

Class Mammalia

Mammals are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia, characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding their young, a neocortex, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. For example, humans, cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, cows, lions, elephants, kangaroos, whales, seals, dolphins, porpoises etc.

Mammals have hair or fur; are warm-blooded; most are born alive; the young are fed milk produced by the mother's mammary glands; and they have a more complex brain than other animals.

Mammals undoubtedly play an important role in ecosystems by providing essential services such as seed dispersal, pollination and regulating insect populations, and reducing disease transmission and there is some evidence that some groups act as indicators of general ecosystem health.

Mammals play many important roles in ecosystems, and they also benefit people.

Mammals have important roles in the food webs of practically every ecosystem. Mammals are important members of food chains and food webs, as grazers and predators. Mammals can feed at various levels of food chains, as herbivores, insectivores, carnivores and omnivores.

Mammals also interact with other species in many symbiotic relationships.

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The Cell

Cells are considered the smallest unit of life. Cells create living organisms and can be split between either prokaryotic and eukaryotic. We can consider ourselves, humans, as eukaryotes. Human cells consist of membrane bound DNA and various organelles with their own unique purpose. Examples of organelles include, mitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes, Golgi apparatus, cytoplasm, vacuoles, nucleus, peroxisomes, smooth ER, and rough ER. Plant cells are also considered eukaryotes and in addition to similar organelles as human cells also contain a cell wall, chloroplasts, and a central vacuole. Prokaryotes are used to define mostly bacteria which do not have any organelles or their DNA membrane bound. Prokaryotic cells contain a cell wall, cell membrane, capsule, DNA, ribosomes, and fimbriae and/or flagellum.

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Although the drawing may seem like an ordinary burger, this burger consists of macromolecules that we encounter every single day. The hamburger buns, tomatoes, lettuce, and ketchup represents forms of carbohydrates. The hamburger patty represents protein. The cheese represents a form of a lipid.

The major macromolecules include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. We do not consume nucleic acids, but they describe two of the most important substances to life. DNA and RNA. Carbs are mostly known for providing energy to organisms. Lipids are known for being nonpolar and poorly mixing or interacting with water. However lipids make up important structures such as the phospholipid bilayer within the plasma membrane of a cell. Proteins are an essential component of muscles and enzymes within the body.

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Carbon is capable of forming up to 4 covalent bonds in order to satisfy it's outermost electron shell.

Propane (C3H8) is a hydrocarbon consisting of only carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms. The carbon atoms form covalent bonds with the hydrogen atoms in order to satisfy their octet rule. Atoms want to be stable by having eight electrons within their outermost shell. Propane is a widely known fuel used to heat up barbecue grills or even fuel public buses.

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Water: States of Matter

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Water

• The chemical composition for water is H2O. A single water molecule is composed of one hydrogen atom and two oxygen atoms.

• Water is the most abundant molecule on Earth.

• Water forms hydrogen bonds with each other when the slightly negative oxygen molecules meet the slightly more positive hydrogens of another water molecule.

• Hydrophobic substances do not like to be mixed with water. An example is vegetable oil. When you mix water and oil they do not mix evenly. Instead the oil molecules float on top of the water molecules.

• Hydrophilic substances like to be mixed with water. An example is sugar. Sugar mixes will with water and we constantly use it to add into water based solutions such as teas, coffees, or juices.

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The Atom

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The Scientific Method

You may be using the scientific method on a day to day basis and not even realize it. One day you realize your phone isn't charging. This is an observation. You ask yourself "Is my charger broken?" as you scavenge your drawers for a spare cord. You predict that a different charging cord may resolve your dilemma. You experiment by plugging in the new cord into your phone. The results show that the previous charger you use was broken and needed to be replaced. You have just completed an example of the scientific method.