Goldfish Respiration Rate Lab

Goldfish Respiration Rate Lab

(Milan, Stefan, Rohan, Andreas)

Introduction:

In this lab, my group and I conducted some experiments with fish and their water environment, observing how this affected their respiration rate. The main change was in temperature (making the water cooler and warmer), but we also added Coke to see how this changed the respiration rate. The 5 temperature zones that were tested were coldest (5 - 100C), cold (10 - 140C), room temperature (15 - 200C), hot (21 - 250C), and hottest (26 - 300C). For each temperature zone, we observed how many breaths the fish made in 5 minutes, and recorded the data. The one Coke test we performed was adding 6ml of Diet Coke to a container of water at room temperature. The results from this experiment are separated from the results of changing the temperature, due to their difference.

Hypothesis:

As the temperature of the goldfish environment increases, so will the respiration rate of the goldfish.

Table of Results

BP5M = breaths per 5 minutes

Temp in C	Our Group BP5M	Group 2 BP5M	Group 3 BP5M	Group 4 BP5M	Average BP5M
26 - 300C	915	1280	780	780	939
21 - 250C	789	1260	700	700	862
15 - 200C	617	640	600	560	604
10 - 140C	460	340	250	480	383
5 - 100C	210	180	200	380	243

Graph of Data

Injustice Ted Talk E.C

Above is a link to a TED talk done by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, who discussed racism and injustice (such as the death sentence) in the judicial system. To be honest, this is not a topic which I have put much thought into. I didn't realize the magnitude of unfair treatment in our system until recent Justice Summit conversations. As brought up by Mr. Stevenson, when 1/3 adult African-americans are either in prison or on parol, something is wrong. This brought up a few ideas. Is this statistic due to the fact of poverty or racism? Well, the TED talker united both ideas together to form his opinions about the matter. He used the example of replacing his 13 year-old African-american client with a 75 year-old wealthy caucasian in a court case. In fact, he mentioned translating this into a motion which he submitted to the court. Of course the court thought this was insane, but is it really? In the judicial system of today, it seems as if appearance and social stature play a major role. Why not keep the defendant anonymous and continue with the rest of the process? This would hopefully prevent the issue of racism and social stature in courts. Another issue discussed was the death penalty, a topic which I neither talk nor have much knowledge about. However, I understand arguments from both side. One side says an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life, while the other side believes in compassion and restorative justice. I find it hard to believe that a serial killer or mass murderer can change via restorative justice and live a normal life. Achieving restorative justice would be optimal, but it just seems close to impossible right now. The world is a messed up place. Restorative justice won't be effective on everyone, especially those who don't budge from their principles. However, killing someone doesn't do anything to help what that person did in the past. It promotes revenge and questions who has the authority to kill. Finally, he mentions how we are disconnected and oblivious to these concerning issues. I definitely agree and I also advocate that the injustices of the judicial system be exposed and changed. There are so many issues, but not enough is being done to protect more lives. Over all, I thought Mr. Stevenson's presentation was very well said and contained interesting facts that I didn't previously know about, further proving the point that racism still exists in this country. It is unbelievable that there are still racists and homophobes in the 21st century! It is infuriating how ignorant and single-minded so many American are. Bryan Stevenson is truly a man for others doing his best to fix injustices. 

Heart Beat Lab

Lab Investigation 7B (Stefan, Milan, Nathan)

Introduction:

In this experiment, my group and I measured blood pressure, beats per minutes (BPM), and recovery time for different levels of exercise. According to the instructions, we had to come up with exercises for three different intensity levels: mild, moderate, and strenuous. Although this is rather subjective, we finally reached a conclusion on what exercises should be performed to reach these levels. The decision is below.

Mild: 10 squats

Moderate: 20 perfect push-ups

Strenuous: Sprint to Lokey main door from Mr. Wong’s classroom

With these different tests, we observed how blood pressure, BPM, and recovery time changed for Stefan and I. For example, after performing 10 squats, I measured Stefan’s blood pressure and BPM. After, these results were compared to experimentation done at resting heart beat.

Results:

TABLE OF RESULTS BELOW

	Resting	10 Squats	20 Pushups	Sprinting
Milan	Pressure = (103/85) BPM = 70 Recovery = N/A	Pressure = (109/84) BPM = 85 Recovery = 45 seconds	Pressure = (108/80) BPM = 118 Recovery = 1:30 minutes	Pressure = (120/82) BPM = 145 Recovery = 4:53 minutes
Stefan	Pressure = (118/73) BPM = 76 Recovery = N/A	Pressure = (114/75) BPM = 81 Recovery = 40 seconds	Pressure = (120/81) BPM = 113 Recovery = 1:25 minutes	Pressure = (126/78) BPM = 139 Recovery = 5:15 minutes

GRAPH OF RESULTS BELOW (INSTRUCTIONS ONLY ASKED FOR BPM)

X axis = Intensity of Exercise (0 = resting, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = strenuous)

Y axis = Beats per minutes (BPM)

Conclusions:

Based on the graph and resting time, the difference between data obtained from Stefan vs. Milan is barely noticeable. The resting BPM is somewhat different, but after, the graphs are very close to one another. This was probably just a lucky coincidence, due to the fact that Stefan and I are the same age and almost the same weight. However, the blood pressure yields different results. For me, the systolic number increases, while the diastolic number decreases. For Stefan, the systolic number begins to decreases but then increases, while the diastolic number increases but then goes down. These are some interesting observations that could show a possible relationship between systolic and diastolic numbers.

Extraction of Strawberry DNA

Introduction

  Today, my lab group and I performed DNA extraction on a strawberry. There were multiple steps to the extraction, but the steps were rather simple. This blog will include the steps of the extraction, why they were performed, and pictures of the lab.

Steps and Pictures

1. Make DNA extraction buffer
• 5 mL dish water detergent or shampoo
• Importance: Dish water detergent and shampoo both contain ingredients that break down the membranes within a cell, releasing DNA. The main ingredient in detergent and shampoo is sodiumdodecyl sulfate (SDS). SDS pokes holes in the cell membranes, weakening them, and then they are further broken down by a blender or crushed with hands. 
• 0.75 g of salt
• Importance: Once the DNA molecules are released they move around. By using salt in the extraction buffer, DNA molecules stick together. Salt also plays a role in DNA extraction by removing histone proteins that hold DNA molecules together.
• 45 ml of water
• Importance: Water is used in the extraction buffer to allow different substances to move around. Water is useful in a large variety of situations.
• Importance of DNA extraction buffer
• The DNA extraction buffer, along with hand grinding, breaks open the cells in a strawberry and releases DNA. Without this important buffer, the DNA would stay in the cells and wouldn't be visible.
• Picture (ingredients of DNA extraction buffer)
• 
• Salt on the left, detergent in the middle, water on the right 
2. Clean the strawberry, combine it with the extraction buffer, and crush the combination with your fingers. 
• Cleaning the strawberry + removing sepals
• Importance: Cleaning the strawberry is importance in order to make sure no unwanted materials are involved in the experiment. This can distort the data and result in the absence of DNA. You want to remove the sepals because they can get in the way and affect the data the same way that a dirty strawberry can.
• Combining the strawberry with extraction buffer
• Importance: You want to combine the strawberry and extraction buffer in a plastic bag so that the extraction buffer can perform its function. If you didn't mix the two, the DNA would remain in the strawberry cells.  
• Crushing the contents of the plastic bag
• Importance: The detergent or shampoo in the DNA extraction buffer poked holes in the cell and nuclear membrane. This weakened the membranes, but it wasn't enough to release DNA. By crushing the strawberry with your hands and exposing it to the DNA extraction buffer, more DNA can be obtained. Make sure not to crush too hard because DNA will degrade. 
• Picture of strawberry before combination with extraction buffer (ezwebrus.com)

• Picture of strawberry after combination with DNA extraction buffer



3. Use a filter, gauze, and test tube to filter the mixture
• Importance of filtering
• Filtering is an important process in DNA extraction. The gauze collects all strawberry cell debris and only allows the liquid solution to pass into the test tube. Because strawberry DNA dissolves into the DNA extraction buffer, the DNA can pass through the gauze into the test tube. Without filtering, the test tube would contain all parts of a cell, not just the DNA
• Picture of filtration process (i.ytimg.com)

• Picture of mixture after filtration

4. Add alcohol and use a wooden skewer to twirl the solution
• Importance of adding alcohol and mixing
• Because DNA is insoluble in alcohol, it precipitates. Alcohol allows the DNA to separate from the other ingredients used in the DNA extraction buffer. This splits the test tube into two layers; the top layer contains alcohol and DNA, and the bottom layer contains the junk ingredients from the extraction buffer. It is important to twirl the solution so the DNA comes together and is more visible. 
• Picture of test tube after adding alcohol

• Picture of DNA present in top layer of test tube after swirling





• Picture of DNA is a separate test tube



• Group Picture!!

Conclusion

  I found this experiment to be easier than I first thought and very fun. I never knew that DNA could be extracted in such a simple process that only requires household materials. Overall, my group and I received great DNA presence and we all had a great time. Extracting and observing the code of life is definitely an experiment worth conducting.