EVOLUTION

 Fact- I believe a fact is something that is definite. It must be proven through scientific experiments however a fact may not always remain a fact. New research may have been done to prove a fact wrong.

 

Hypothesis- A hypothesis is something that you are trying to prove. It can be a statement where you list what you are trying to prove and you set out experiments to actually prove the hypothesis.

 

Theory-I believe a theory is similar to a hypothesis. It lists what you are trying to prove and you carry out experiments to make your theory into a fact.

 

Law-  I believe a law is similar to a fact. After experiments are done to prove a hypothesis. A law may be created as a way to explain the hypothesis. For example, Newton's First Law.

 

Truth- A truth is similar to both a law and fact. Truth in science is something that has been proven through experiments and observations. 

 

 

What is evolution and why is it so controversial in some countries?

 

Evolution is a theory that states all organisms that are currently on

the planet were formed from a common ancestor. It states that over time,

organisms would mutate resulting in new organisms.

This would lead to new species. It essentially states that all life on earth

was formed from a single cell that mutated into life as we know it.

Evolution is controversial in some countries because of its conflict with

religion. Evolution is not really controversialbecause of the science,

but instead is controversial in a social sense. 

It conflicts with certain groups beliefs which makes it controversial

in certain countries.

 

 

 

 

  Watch/Make Notes:

 

 What is a gene? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQdXjRPHmQ

 

• DNA is made up of millions of nucleotides

• There are 4 nucleotides named A, C, T, G,

• A gene is a section of DNA which is a sequence of the 4 letters similar to a word

• Cells interpret the gene

• Genes make proteins and those proteins interact with each other creating distinguishing features inside the body. The features include freckles, eye pigments, tantrums, etc.

• Humans have 20 000 Genes in the body of varying sizes that range from thousands to millions

• Size of gene determine the size of the protein which determines what the protein will actually do

• Hemoglobin and Pepsin are examples

• Basic DNA Code (A C T G) show up in all living things making scientists think we were all related

• A fruit fly shares half of its genes with humans

• This is how genetic engineering works

 

 

 

 

 

 Do:

Evolution and Artifical Selection Gizmo:

• The Gizmo was confusing

• I found that a background colour of White resulted in an average fitness of 100%

• A background colour of Black resulted in an average fitness of 0%

• A change in genotype is caused by a mutation in its DNA

• If an organism produces too many offspring and the environment can't help those organisms survive, they often compete with each other for survival

 

  Reflect/Journal: 

Scientific Definitions:

Fact- A fact in science is something that has been proven through the use of observations and experiments. For example the temperature of Mississauga during the summer can be 22°C and that can be proven through the use of thermometers. However a fact can always be disproven, for example people considered the Earth was flat. That fact was later disproven and  the fact that the Earth is round has been proven.

 

Hypothesis- A hypothesis is an educated guess that is usually based on observation. It can be statement that describes something you are trying to prove. The hypothesis leads to experiments and investigations taking place to prove the statement. If the statement turns out to be incorrect through the use of the experiments, then the hypothesis can actually be modified. For example an example of a hypothesis is: If a cellphone is left on charge all night long, then the battery life would be reduced. After creating the hypothesis, scientists must have a series of experiments to prove the hypothesis.

 

 

Theory- A theory is essentially a set of hypothesis that have become facts through repeated testing to explain a scenario. Theories can be disproven if the facts that made up the theory were proven wrong. The facts must explain a certain scenario to actually become a theory. For example, the Theory of Evolution is made up of several facts which were combined to prove the theory.

 

 

Law-  A law in science is a rule or a statement explaining a certain event however it doesn’t explain why the event actually happens. For example the Law of Gravity basically states that an object thrown up will fall down due to the force of gravity. However it doesn’t actually state how gravity affected the object to make it fall down.

 

Truth-A truth is essentially something that has proven to be correct 

 

Day 1 Reflection:

 

I'm really excited to see how the self-directed unit will turn out because I feel it will provide me with a lot of freedom. I learned about how scientists decided to act special and change the meanings of certain words such as Theory to suit their needs because… why not? So far in chapter 7.1 I learned about a lot of things including the different mutations an organism undergoes. One of the things I learned that really stuck with me is the fact that an organisms mutation may be beneficial for itself but harmful for another organism. An example of this is with a virus that can undergo a mutation and become resistant to certain antibiotics. This is a beneficial mutation for the virus, but bad for humans because now we have no way to treat an infection involving that particular virus. During the winter break I plan on researching and learning more about artificial selection and its pro's and con's. I find it interesting that people use on animals to get the features they want and I want to explore the arguments on both sides of the issue. The most interesting thing I learned in all of 7.1 is the fact that so many of the things I eat (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale) came from the domestication of a plant called the Wild Sea Cabbage. For a 1 paragraph reflection, I guess I rambled on too much and if you're still reading I'm sorry. I look forward to seeing how the next modules will be.