Lost Identifier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e_09RNtN6I 

While my time at CSA, the Harvard program I do, I lost my rubber band which I used as an identifier in previous posts. At the time I lost it I went on a trip to the aquarium and I took a variety of pictures I could use on this summer homework assignment. However I did not have an identifier to indicate I took the pictures. But I do have videos that prove I was there and that I did take the pictures, so I hope this can excuse the lack of an identifier.

Asexual Reproduction

Asexual Reproduction:
Jellyfish are organisms that do both asexual and sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is a form of reproduction where the offspring is generated from only one parent. This is down by the parent splitting into two and creating an identical offspring. This process is the opposite of sexual reproduction which requires two organisms to have intercourse and mix genetic material to create an offspring. The photo of the jellyfish reveals the asexual properties of jellyfish. The jellyfish are able to go through asexual reproduction and make a vast amount of copies that are identical.

Mating Behavior

Mating Behavior:The photo reveals two penguins who are showing mating behavior. Mating behavior is the pairing of individuals of opposite sexes to result in reproduction. The interactions in the photo reveal the close intimate relations of the two penguins. This in turn shows how they want to mate and reproduce. This image is a great example of the mating behavior shown between penguins.

Adaptation of an Animal

Adaptation of an Animal:
An adaptation is a change that an organism makes in order to respond to its environment and enhance its chances of survival. The photo reveals sharks at the aquarium that have a unique adaptation that allows them to camouflage with the surrounding sandy environment. The patterns of yellow and stripes of black make the sharks seem like they are not even there which helps them when they are preying on the food they want. This picture reveals an adaptation made by an animal to increase its survival.

Genetic Variation Within a Population

 

Genetic Variation Within a Population:
Genetic variation is defined as the differences within the genetic makeup of organisms. Genetic variations within a population are observed through the phenotype, the physical characteristics shown because of the genetic makeup. In the photo you see the genetic variation within the population of leaves. Some leaves are big while others are small, some are colored dark green, while others are yellow. These differences are what make the genetic variations among a population.

Exoskeleton

Exoskeleton:
Creatures with exoskeletons have their skeleton on the outside of their body to protect their internal organs. In other words, creatures with hard shell exteriors have an exoskeleton. All arthropods have an exoskeleton, which means that cockroaches also have an exoskeleton since they are arthropods. In addition it is common sense that cockroaches have an exoskeleton because with the naked eye they look like the have a hard body. Therefore, the photo of the cockroach reveals a photo of a creature with an exoskeleton.

Endotherm

Endotherm:
An endotherm is an animal that is capable of the internal generation of heat. In easier terms the word endotherm is a synonym to warm-blooded animals. This word is the opposite of the word ectotherm, which defines cold-blooded animals that depend on their external environment for heat. The photo is a photo of humans which are warm-blooded animals that generate their own heat.

Enzyme

 Enzyme:
An enzyme is a substance that catalyzes chemical reactions and changes. An example of an enzyme would be salivary amylase, better known as saliva or spit. Saliva is an enzyme because it catalyzes the break down of starch's, such as bread, into sugars and smaller carbohydrates. Thus the photo reveals spit, one of the many enzymes in living organisms.

Amniotic Egg

Amniotic Egg:
An amniotic egg is an egg that can develop and live on land because it is protected by a water impermeable membrane. Within the membrane the egg goes through embryonic development with the help of a pool of liquid that is used as a food source. The photo I have is a photo of an egg that is usually used as a food source. This is an amniotic egg because the shell is the water proof membrane, within the shell the egg itself is supposed to develop with the help of a food source, the yolk.

Predation

Predation:
Predation is an action some organisms conduct to get food: this action involves the killing and eating of another organism. The photo here reveals a spider web which shows the predation done by spiders. Spiders are predators to insects, they get their food from insects who are caught on their web. The photo is a photo of predation because the spider feeds on its prey using the spider web to trap them and then eat them.

Fermentation

Fermentation:
Fermentation is a process that results in the production of carbon dioxide gas and other small products. The photo I have here is a photo of bread that my mother made. The bread here represents fermentation because when bread is being made you are supposed to put yeast into it to make the bread rise and take the nice puffy shape. The only reason the bread rises and takes shape is because of the process of fermentation. The yeast catalyzed fermentation and the bread ended up rising and taking form.

Eukaryote

Eukaryote:
In my hand I hold yeast, a eukaryotic microorganism. A eukaryote is an organism whose cells are composed of many organelles, especially a nucleus. Without a nucleus an organism would be declared a prokaryote because it would be a simpler cell that holds its genetic information out in the cytoplasm. Although the organisms of yeast are small, they are still eukaryotic because they have complex cell structures. They are composed of organelles and have a nucleus where the genetic information is held. Therefore, the yeast is a eukaryote.

Hydrophilic

Hydrophilic:
The word hydrophilic is also derived from the Greek. "Hydro" is water as usual while "philia" means love: thus the word hydrophilic is the love of water. This word is the opposite of the word hydrophobic which is the fear of water. Instead of repelling the water these molecules are attracted to water. Molecules that are hydrophilic tend to dissolve easily inside of water. In the photo I have salt in my hand to represent hydrophilic molecules. The salt is hydrophilic because salt is easily dissolved by water, ergo it is hydrophilic.

Hydrophobic

Hydrophobic:
The word hydrophobic is derived from Greek origins. From Greek definitions, the word "hydro" represents water and the word "phobos" represents fear. Together the word hydrophobic means the fear of water. In the photo you see vegetable oil: this vegetable oil is hydrophobic. This is because the oil is in simple terms "afraid" of water. When the oil and water come in contact they repel one another. An example of this would be trying to wash oil off of a plate. This is a hard job, the oil does not rinse off easily; it takes its time because the oil is fighting back the water. Thus the vegetable oil, like many other greasy substances, is hydrophobic.

Animal With a Segmented Body

Segmented Body:
The photo contains a pill bug, better known as a roly poly, that has a segmented body. The roly poly has a segmented body because its body is divided into three parts. These parts are the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The definition of a segmented body is a body divided into segments that are grouped into larger functional units. This is a characteristic that all arthropods have and a roly poly is indeed an arthropod since it is in the scientific Phylum classification of Arthropoda.

Keystone Species

Keystone Species:
A keystone species is a species that has a large effect on its environment and plays a crucial role to the way an ecosystem functions. The photo is a photo of a bee; the bee in the picture is a keystone species. The bee is a keystone species because bees have a very important role in the world regarding agriculture. Bees are important when it comes to pollinating our crops and plants, without bees we would lose a massive amount of crops. This loss of crops would then lead to hunger, loss of species, and many other negative things. Therefore, the photo is indeed a photo of a keystone species, a bee.

Autotroph

Autotroph:
An autotroph is an organism that is able to synthesize its own energy and nutrition. In the photo you can see a flower bush that is indeed an autotroph. The flower bush is an autotroph because it goes through photosynthesis to make energy. The process of photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide, the suns light, and water to create energy for the plant. This process is a process that synthesizes energy, thus the flower bush is an autotroph that makes its own energy.

Heterotroph

Heterotroph:
The picture reveals pigeons near my home that are eating rice. This is a photo that reveals heterotrophs because the pigeons depend on the rice for energy and food. A heterotroph is an organism that can not synthesize its own food or nutrition, it gains it by consuming organic substances. The bird in the photo is consuming the rice in order to gain energy and nutrition, thus revealing it can  not synthesize its own food. Organisms that can create their own food and energy are known as autotrophs. However, this is a picture of a heterotroph that is getting its energy by consuming rice, not by creating it.

Parasitism

Parasitism:
The picture shows a leaf that was used as a food source by an insect, my guess a caterpillar. The caterpillar and leaf have a parasitic relationship. This symbiotic relationship is defined by one organism benefiting while the other organism is harmed. To connect back to the photo the leaf is being harmed while the insect is benefiting by getting food. Therefore, this is a photo that reveals parasitism in the real world.

Population

Population: A population is a group of organisms of one species that live together in one area. In this photo you see a population of grass. This is a population because the grass is a living organism of one species that all live in this area. So, this photo reveals a group of grass organisms that reside in one place, a population.

Adaptation of a Plant

Adaptation of a Plant: This is a photo of a Paperbark Maple I took while at the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum. The definition of adaptation is when a living thing adjusts or modifies itself to suit new conditions. In this photo of the tree you can see a visible adaptation of the bark peeling off. This is a specific adaptation that helps the tree protect itself from harmful things in its environment; the exfoliating bark allows it to get rid of any parasites on the tree. This is an adaptation of a plant because the tree had to make a response in order to deal with the herbivory of bugs and many other harmful factors.

Homeostasis

Homeostasis: This is a photo of a dog I took while at the class trip to the Arnorld Arboretum. As you can see in the photo the dog is panting for air because it just arrived from running to its owner. This is a perfect example of homeostasis because the dog is trying to maintain internal stability. Because of the hot weather the dog pants in order to cool itself down and balance its internal temperature. The dog lacks sweat to cool itself down so it breathes in cool air in order to cool its body down. ( In the photo I was unable to put my identifier, by the time I tried to retake the picture the dog was long gone).

Intro into me

My names Fatah Adan, I am a rising junior ready to take on any classes from honors to AP because I am a scholar among the chosen few.