Unit 6 Reflection

In this unit we really reinforced our understanding of Anatomy and Physiology. After all, this unit really reiterated the differences between structure and function within the bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments of the skeletal system. We are first off refreshed with a little taste of Unit 1, where we learned that bones are split between axial and appendicular. Then we learned about the regeneration of bones known as bone remodeling with osteocytes running it, osteoblasts breaking down bone, and osteoclasts rebuilding bone. Different bone types include long, short, flat, and irregular, which all serve different purposes in different parts of our body. We also learned about disorders, or essentially when our "perfect" system has some mishaps or undergoes accidents. Arthritis, osteoporosis, and scoliosis are examples of disorders, and accidents include complete and incomplete fractures. We then dived into a little bit of physics to learn how levers worked to gain an understanding of how our joints worked. We also learned about the different classifications. Functional classifications include synarthroses, amphiarthroses, and diarthroses, which reflects little to no movement, slight movement, and free movement, respectively. Structural classifications are fibrous, cartilagenous, and synovial, which fit relatively into the different functional classifications as well. For example, a synovial joint is almost always diarthroses.

Most of the labs we did in this unit were just investigations into the different bones in our bodies, but one particularly exciting one was the owl pellet lab. It was interesting to discover for our own the different bones in a different animal. Learning how their bones worked and fit together was also very insightful. I am actually really satisfied with the amount of knowledge we hopefully acquired from this unit. I've been thinking for a while now, and I really don't have any questions. I think we learned about this system rather holistically, and I don't see anything that we could've missed. I can't think of anything that I want to learn that I haven't already learned. I'd say good job to myself for learning the material, but I think the credit really goes to our teacher as he was able to fit all the right information into the time allotted for this unit.

I think I've been able to balance all my events rather well, although I could really use some more sleep. 20 time is going to be a blast, but I don't want to reveal anything about that quite yet.

All in all, I learned a lot about the skeletal system, and am really satisfied with everything I've learned.

Owl Pellet Lab

In this lab, my partner and I dissected the pellet of a barn owl, which is essentially the result of regurgitation after the digestion of flesh. The pellet usually contains bones and fur as those are not digested or broken down in the digestion process of the barn owl. We used forceps to dissect the pellets and discovered many bones after clearing away all the fur from them. We deduced that the bones in our pellet were from moles and voles. The first piece of evidence is the piece in the upper right hand corner in the following picture. The only bone that would look like this is the pelvis or hip bone of the mole. Additionally, the other bones in the picture resemble the fibulas and tibias of moles and voles. There are even joints, which look like holes, in them that make them clear to be the lower legs of moles and voles.


For a final touch, we discovered some teeth and some vertebrae. What this tells us is these organisms were definitely not birds, as birds do not have teeth, and their vertebrae is not nearly as large as the ones we found.



1) We noticed that the hip joints were similar to our hip joints as there is a hole for the liquid filled sac to allow for rotation and movement flexibility.
2) In the picture above, the vertebrae resemble ours as they stack with thin layers to prevent friction, just like ours.
3) Although it may seem really obvious, we(humans and moles)both have teeth. This alone, surprisingly, already distinguishes us from birds. Mammals are more closely related to mammals, not birds.


1) We walk on two legs, but moles and voles walk on four legs. Consequently, their hip bones are a lot longer than ours.
2) Again, we walk vertically. So our vertebrae is axial, or up and down. Their vertebrae doesnt exactly have to take as much stress from gravity as we do, so they can be smaller or weaker.
3) Some hip bones look very odd compared to ours, especially the one belonging to the moles. The small, almost rectangular shape really baffles me as it looks literally nothing like our own pelvis.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit largely talked about more systems in our body that we probably know less about than others. The digestive system unit taught us about the structures and functions of our super long digestive track, shown in the lab in the following link.

http://mzguo.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-digestive-system-lab-how-long-is.html

Additionally, we learned about diabetes 1 and 2, which really shows us the importance of learning about health to actually stay healthy and avoid diabetes. Finally, we learned about the endocrine system and the lymphatic system, which also taught us a lot about the different ways our bodies take care of themselves. I already knew about our immune system for the most part, but I really found the Ted talk regarding sleep and the lymphatic system particularly interesting as it tied into the importance of sleep and actual connections to Alzheimer with evidence through research. One thing I liked about this unit was the further investigation/research we did at the end of the unit. It was brief and easy enough to not become a burden of an assignment, yet it broadened our horizons, especially when we were able to share and discuss with other students. It's all just part of the learning process, and that activity made it enjoyable and informative. I was really able to discover more about a topic I was genuinely curious about, and it was great to finally get some more information about prediabetes. In terms of my goals, so far I think I'm doing well. I've been pumping out covers, but I need to make sure I maintain my grades for all my classes. Glad I'm doing okay so far in this one. 

The Digestive System Lab- How long is your digestive system?

Mouth(Red)- 8 cm
Esophagus(Gold)- 45.6 cm
Stomach(White)- 20.5 cm
Small Intestine(String)- 650.24 cm
Large Intestine(Green)- 162.56 cm

Total Length- 886.9 cm or 8.869 m

1) For this lab, I measured ribbon according to the predicted length of these organs from my digestive system. Putting them all together gives me a bigger and a better picture of the size of my digestive system. According to the instructions, my small intestine is 4 times my height. Combined with my large intestine, that length would be 5 times my height. I always knew these organs were very long, but this gave me a definitive picture.

2) My height is 162.56 cm or 1.6256 m, which means approximately 5.4558 of me stretched out would be around the same length of my digestive system. My digestive system is able to fit inside my abdomen because there are so many folds to fit it inside the small space.

3) My guess is around 30 hours. According to MayoClinic.com, the entire digestive process can range from 24-72 hours. The average times are from 1-3 days, and that's quite a large range. My answer was in the range, but I guess I made my estimate based off what I believed was my time for my own full digestion. Factors that influence time digestion takes include amount of fiber eaten, amount of physical activity, amount of nicotine ingested, amount of caffeine drunk, certain prescription drugs.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/525519-the-normal-time-for-food-to-process-through-the-bowels-colon/

4) The mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine are all involved in digestion, but small and large intestine do all of the absorption. Digestion is just the breaking down of food into smaller pieces, whether done through physical or chemical processes. Absorption is taking in nutrients and water, and using it as energy for the body.

5) If digestion happened abnormally quickly, would that indicate problems of absorption of nutrients?

New Year's Goals

New Year's Goals

I will get at least a 90% in this class. 

I will do every homework assignment and organize all my work.

I will study comprehensively before every test, always questioning and testing myself to prepare.

I will not procrastinate for homework or studying.

I will study early, so I don't cram the day before the test.

I will plan and gauge my time wisely so I can sleep early, and get enough sleep.

I will make sure I have time for all my classes.
I will balance my time so I have time for my other activities. 

I will make at least 15 covers before the end of the year, with at least 5 collaborations with other people. 

I will make at least 3 covers per month.

I will make time to work on covers every week.

I will plan ahead to work with people.

I will schedule and work out audio and visuals. 

I will pour more effort into my channel. 

Monday Wellness Reflection

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WWzaWb2RQ7YcG55BDnSo3QJGA0eIsu8jf6HVvTlWeTI/edit#slide=id.p

Eric and I did our presentation on sitting because we both have some experience with our Asian parents criticizing our long periods of sitting. I personally chose it and made the decision for us because my mom always has information from the internet to share with me about how detrimental sitting for long periods of time was. I knew that I was sitting around a lot, but this was only because of the work I have to do. With college apps, homework, and tests, I was pretty much constantly at my desk without much getting up. Hours go by as I just sit and try to concentrate, and I know there is something wrong with my situation. Fortunately, I was able to do some firsthand research through this project and personally learn what I was doing to myself every day. One of the most interesting things that I learned about was about how bad posture affects your circulatory system. I actually did not know much about this, as I thought posture only affected the skeletal system. When we found out that bad posture and minimal movement could actually slow your blood flow and increase the probability of atherosclerosis and other cardiac diseases, this was pretty shocking to me, as I realized that I could potentially have these increased risks and beginnings of heart unhealthiness. I feel like this definitely does not affect me only, as probably millions of others are out there just sitting around at work or in school or at home. I feel like this and sleep debt are probably the biggest issues we have in America currently because of how lucky we are. We can actually afford to be just sitting around, and therefore we also carelessly throw away our time to rest and regenerate. Both of these conditions are common and increase risks for diabetes and heart diseases, which are also coincidentally one of the highest causes of death in America. Orthopedics are definitely not the correct answer, and I think everybody needs to manage their time to fit in exercise and sleep, which are critical pillars of our health. With correct time management, everybody can be healthier and hopefully happier, while living longer.
Since Eric and I do live rather close, it wasn't cumbersome for me to go over to his house and work, but we definitely did not goof around. We spent quite a number of hours looking for information and finding solutions to this common unhealthy behavior. While we probably could have spent even more time to search for further details, we were both stacked with a lot of stuff. I say stuff because there are seriously so many things going on, from college counselors to interviews. I was actually absent on the Thursday before our Monday Wellness because I had to fly to Pennsylvania for an interview, and I feel like we really made the best of our situation. Fortunately, we spaced our time rather well so we didn't have to scramble at the last second, but it was still nerve-racking when I wasn't around to talk to you about our presentation. Thank you so much for just providing us with this opportunity and just teaching us so much about our own health and really just what needs change in our society and how we can help others and make a difference.

Sheep Heart Dissection Video Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gussycC6joU