This is a picture of a green lizard. The green lizard camouflaging
into the green leaf is an example of an adaptation of an animal. Adaptations
are special qualities of animals or plants that help them survive in a
particular environment. Some adaptations of animals include flying,
hibernating, migrating, camouflaging, and conserving fat and water. Camouflaging
lowers its risk of being discovered by predators and increases its chances of
finding prey. Although camouflage is a major component of survival for some
animals, not all need it because they have their own specific way of adapting
to the environment.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
2. Adaptation of a Plant
This is a picture of a cactus. Cactus is an example of how plants
adapt to their environment. Adaptations are special qualities of animals or
plants that help them survive in a particular environment. Plant adaptations
include color and structure. Because deserts only have an average rainfall of
10 inches, cacti need to learn to conserve water to last a whole year. The
cactus has adapted its body to the environment in order to survive. Cacti have
spines instead of leaves because spines do not lose water during evaporation.
It also protects the cacti from predators. The reason why plants can only live
in specific places is that if the plants lived somewhere else than they live
now, their adaptations will make it very difficult for them to survive.
3. Amniotic Egg
Chicken egg shown in this picture is an example of
an amniotic egg. Amniotic eggs are
shelled eggs that an embryo develops in. The chicken inside the pictured egg
would develop inside until it is ready to hatch. In the egg, the amnion
protects the embryo encased in a sac that is filled with amniotic fluid. Until
it hatches, the embryo feeds off the yolk in the egg. The inside of the shell
is composed of chorion, which helps get oxygen and carbon dioxide to the embryo
inside. The outside of the egg is made up of a calcium carbonate shell, which
protects it from harmful substances and allows it to submerge into water. It is
produced by reptiles, birds, and egg-laying mammals.
4. Animal that has a Segmented Body
The ant in this picture has a segmented body. Animals with segmented
bodies have a body that is sectioned out into parts along the length of the
animals’ body. The ants’ bodies are segmented into three parts: a head, a
thorax and an abdomen.
5. Anther and Filament of Stamen
This is a picture of an anther and a filament of a flower. Filaments
comes out of the center of the flower and look like long rods. The anther of
the flower sits on top of the filament and are usually a different color than
the filament. In this flower, the filaments are white and the anthers are
brown. The anther and the filament are both parts of the stamen and are both
male parts of the flower. The anther is the part of the stamen where pollen is
produced. The job of a filament is to get the anther as close to the top of the
flower as possible so it will increase the possibility of pollen transfer.
6. Autotroph
This pink flower is an example of an autotroph. Autotrophs do not
depend on other organisms to be their food source. These plants use light,
water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals to make their own food and are called
producers because of it. That process is called photosynthesis. Autotrophs
change water in the soil and carbon dioxide in the air to make glucose.
7. Bilateral Symmetry
Organisms with bilateral symmetry have mirrored halves. If a line
were to be drawn down the middle of their body, their right side of the body
will look the same as the left. This is a picture of a dragonfly. It is a good
example of bilateral symmetry because it is equivalent on both sides of its
body.
8. Cuticle Layer of a Plant
The cuticle is a hydrophobic waxy layer that is coated on the leaf
and the stem of almost all plants. It is made up of epidermal cells and plays
an important role. This picture shows the cuticle layer on the plant. It appears
shiny/waxy because of the wax in the cuticle. Due to it being made of polymer
matrix, it acts like a barrier. The cuticle layer controls how much water
enters and leaves the plant. There is a thicker cuticle layer at the top of the
leaf than anywhere else because the top of the leaf needs protection from the
sun.
9. Dominant vs. Recessive Phenotype
A phenotype is a physical appearance or an observable characteristic
of an organism as the result of their genotype and their interaction with the
environment. A dominant allele produces a dominant phenotype and the recessive allele
produces a recessive phenotype. However, if a dominant allele is crossed with a
recessive allele, the result will be a dominant phenotype because it surpasses the
recessive allele. The brown eyes in the picture are the dominant phenotype and
the blue eyes are the recessive phenotype. If brown eyes were crossed with blue
eyes, it would result in brown eyes because it will dominate over the blue.
10. Ectotherm
Ectotherm usually refers to cold blooded organisms. They depend on
the environment for body heat because they cannot regulate their own. When the environment’s temperature changes, so does the organism’s. If the
environment experiences big temperature changes, the organism’s life can be in
danger. The fish in the tank is cold blooded, so therefore their body
temperature varies with the temperature of the water.
11. Epithelial Tissue
My hand is an example of epithelial tissue because it is covered
with it. Epithelial tissue, also known as epithelium is sheets of body tissue
that covers and lines the external and internal surface of the entire body. It
is made up of tightly and densely packed cells. Epithelial tissue is
categorized according to how many cell layers it has and the shape of the
cells. The epithelial tissue helps my hands protect, sensate, excrete, diffuse,
and absorb. Epithelial tissue is considered as avascular because it lacks blood
vessels.
12. Exoskeleton
Exoskeleton is outer covering that protects and supports an animal’s
body. The turtle in this picture has a shell which is an example of an
exoskeleton. For turtles, their shell protects their inner organs such as muscles
and other soft tissues. The exoskeleton also provides a measure of safety from
predators. They can quickly dive into their shell when they sense danger.
13. Fermentation
Grapes turning into wine is an example of fermentation. Fermentation
is a cellular process that does not require oxygen. It is changing carbohydrates
into alcohols, carbon dioxide or organic acids using bacteria or yeast. Because
grape skin contains natural bacteria and yeast, it is fermented with its skin. After
the grapes have been made into grape juice, if it is put at the right
temperature, then the yeast turns the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol and
carbon dioxide. That is the process of grape fermentation.
14. Flower Ovary
The flower ovary is not pictured here but it is bulb shaped and
located at the lowest part of the pistil. The ovary is a female part of the
flower and contains one or more ovules, female eggs. It protects the ovules of
the flower while the ovules develop into seeds. The ovary produces fruits after
it has been fertilized.
15. Frond
Frond is a large leaf with many divisions. Ferns in this picture is
a good example of frond because its leaves have many divisions within it. Fronds
usually refer to ferns, but it can also describe cycads and palms. The stalk of
the fern is called the stripe and where the individual leaves are located is
called the rachis. The blades of ferns can be classified into being simple,
pinnatifid, or pinnate. Ferns reproduce with spores that are under their
leaves.
16. Genetically Modified Organism
Rice in this picture is an example of a genetically modified
organism. Genetically modified organisms are organisms that had their genes
adjusted by scientists for a specific purpose. That purpose might include disease
resistance, increased productivity, or nutritional value, or simply to improve
the looks of an organism. Rice has been genetically modified to increase
nutritional value. Because the element beta-carotene is in the genetically
modified rice, we consume more vitamin A when we eat it.
17. Gymnosperm Cone- Male or Female
This is a picture of a pinecone. Pinecones are good examples of
gymnosperm cones. Gymnosperm cones are seeds that do not produce fruits or
flowers and that are not encased in an ovary. On pine trees, male cones are usually
smaller and located at the tree tops, while the female cones are usually larger
and found farther down. The female cones are bigger because they make the seeds
but the male cones only produce pollen. The male cones above will release the
pollen and it will stick on the female cones down below. After it has been
fertilized, the zygote will grow an embryo that is inside a seed. Then the
female releases the seed.
18. Heterotrophy
This dog in the picture is an example of a heterotroph. Heterotrophs
cannot produce their own food and depend on other organisms as their form of
nutrition. Heterotrophs are called consumers. Dogs do not produce their own
food unlike plants, but get their source of energy from the food that we humans
provide them.
19. Homeostasis
Homeostasis is when organisms regulate their internal conditions to
adjust to the changing environment. The hamster in this picture is
demonstrating homeostasis by drinking water. There are many reasons why we
humans and animals need to drink water to adjust to our surroundings. For
example, after the hamster runs on the wheel, it will get very sweaty and excrete
salt and water. To maintain the right water level for its body, it needs to
drink water to refill the amount lost. The amount lost has to balance with the
amount taken. The results are bad if our bodies have too much or too little
water. Another reason to drink water to maintain homeostasis is our sodium
level. For example, if the hamster ate something that was high in sodium, its
body will demand water because the sodium level has exceeded normal standards.
20. Long-Day Plant
This is a picture of lettuce growing in my backyard. Lettuce is an
example of a long day plant. Long day plants grow usually in late spring or
early summer and need little time in darkness and more than 12 hours of
sunlight a day. They only bloom if they have enough hours of sunlight. Lettuce
for example needs at least 12-14 hours of sunlight each day to grow
efficiently.
21. Population
Population is a group of organisms of the same species that live in
the same area at the same time and interbreed. Populations can rapidly increase
if resources and environmental surroundings meet their needs. The group of fish
in this picture is an example of population. They are the same species, live in
the same tank and would have traveled in groups if they were in the ocean. The
fish depend on the same resource and are influenced by the same factors in the
environment.
22. R-Strategist
The weeds in this picture are examples of r-strategist plants.
Characteristics of any r-strategists are that they have a high production rate,
short lifespan, rapid development, and do not need parental care. Weeds
definitely disperse and grow quickly in our yards in big numbers, but also die
out quickly. They grow perfectly fine without our attention which proves they
do not need parental care.
23. Radial Symmetry
This is a picture of a starfish. It is an example of radial symmetry.
Radial symmetry is a body pattern that repeats around the center. The starfish
has a central axis and the same pattern repeats around it.
24. Spore
This is a picture of spores on
ferns. Spores are located under the leaves of ferns. They are reproductive cells
that do not need the help of another cell to become a gametophyte. There are
more than 15,000 different species of ferns and they all use spores to help
them reproduce. Spores are the products of meiosis in sporophytes. The spores
in this picture are distributed to other areas by wind, water, or other natural
forces.
25. Stigma and Style of Carpel
The stigma and style of carpel is not shown in this picture but it
is located inside the center of the flower. They are both parts of the pistil,
which is a female part. The style is the long tube like structure that is
connected to the ovary of the flower. It is the connective tissue of stigma and
the ovary. The stigma is a sticky, flattened knob attached on the top of the
style. Pollen grains land on the sticky stigma and germinate. When it
germinates, it creates pollen tubes then travels down the style into the ovary.
Fertilization occurs in the ovary after the pollen reaches it.
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