Magic of Molecules

             What if a random guy came up and said for a million dollars what is a macromolecule? Would you be able to win it? Well the answer to the is that a macromolecule is about everything biology. It is a protein, carbohydrate, lipids, and nucleic acid. They are involved in all structures and processes of organisms. When dealing with macromolecules you are able to determine whether it is a monomer or a polymer. A monomer is part of the macromolecules. It takes two or more groups of monomers to become a polymer. A polymer is another name for macromolecules which is a group of monomers. Macromolecules undergo reactions that include Dehydration synthesis and Hydrolysis Reaction. To take apart a monomer, water is taken away which is Deydration synthesis. To break down a polymer you do the complete opposite. All you have to do is add water which is called Hydrolysis Reaction. The bond between two monomers is called a Hydrogen Bond. This happens when a hydrogen atom and oxygen atom bond together. The enzyme that joins monomers together is called a Polymerase enzyme. To join sugar monomers together to build a polysaccharide by dragging them into the right position. Molecules not used in building a carbohydrate includes fatty acid, amino acids, and Necleotides. Sugar is stored as glycogen so that the human body is able to store the glycogen as energy for future use. It helps you perform longer and keeps your body going before it has to result to fat. Plants are used as Carbs, vitamins, minerals, and non digestible fibers. Fiber is used to help flush your valves. When you fart you really are putting out undigested proteins. With a low carb diet you are lacking stored energy and is nutritionally unhealthy. Now talking about your teeth. When sugar gets on your teeth everyone knows it can give you a cavity. A cavity is formed when the bacteria on your teeth is combined with a carbs in the sugar. This reaction creates an acid which then slowly eats away at the enamel on your tooth.

PH Lab

The Amazing Molecule

                      Water is only made up of three atoms that when bonded become one of the most important necessities of life. Our bodies are made up of about 70% water. It is a cohesive liquid which means that the molecules hold together using a hydrogen bond and stick to other water molecules. It also shows that water has a high surface tension. During our experiment we put drops of water on a penny. The water kept building up until the molecules couldn't fight gravity any longer. Another example of the hydrogen bond is when you start to boil water. When it starts to steam the water molecules are breaking off of each other with a lot a energy. Water is also adhesive with many things like string, paper, and tubulars of trees. As an experiment to explain this concept we took two beakers and filled one up with water and left the other empty. Our objective was to get the empty beaker full of water by having it travel along a string. We were able to a piece of wet string that was 16 feet 6 inches long. How we did it is we knew the water would bond together and travel down the string. This experiment showed both these properties of water. Water is a adhesive and cohesive molecule.

A controlled experiment

          

             In this experiment on the computer we tested factors that could cause differences in how corn grows. It was important to do a controlled experiment first. This let us know how we could compare the other experiments. When I added the independent variable which was the ECB, the corn didn't grow as healthy and lacked in growth. I also found that the more I added the less the corn was able to produce. The production was the dependent.
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_01/BL_01.html
           In labs there are many different ways you can conduct them. With plant/animal you can set up an experiment and watch and record your data. You can set up many different trials to find out what all affects the dependent variable. This is different when you start to conduct experiments with human trials. There are two different ways to do this; Interventional or Observational. Interventional is when the test subjects are given a treatment and then research is done on them to decide if it worked or not. Observational is when the test subjects are observed and outcomes are measured.
         Sometimes doctors will give you something called a placebo, this is a mind trick with the patient. The patient thinks its a normal drug but it really does nothing. A double-blind trial is when the doctor also doen't know that he just gave the patient a placebo.