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Padlet Assignment 3 Monocot vs Dicot

troux4 — 2025-03-30 20:59:42 UTC

You might not think there is much difference, at least not at first glance, between a monocot and a dicot plant, but I’m here to help you identify them in your everyday life. Starting at the embryo now you technically wouldn’t see that seed but let me explain. If you examine the seed microscopically, for example, you’ll see that monocots contain one little leaf in their seed, while dicots contain two leaves. This is one of the first reasons they differ, even though you see it nowhere directly in the plant you’re viewing.

Now, let’s get into the parts you can see the leaves. If you examine the plant’s leaves closely, you’ll see one big difference. Dicot leaves have the shape of a regular cannabis plant leaf masculine, jagged, with branching veins. The tissue consists of long hollow tubes that transport the sugar through the leaf, and the branches of the tubes in dicot leaves follow a branching pattern, much like the branches of a tree fan out across a leaf. Conversely, monocot leaves tend to be long and narrow, with their veins in straight lines, parallel to one another, as with a blade of grass or the leaves of lilies. If you are examining a plant with straight, parallel veins, chances are you are looking at a monocot.

And then, let’s move on to the stems. This is something you can usually see if you break the plant open or really look at it closely. Monocots have scattered vascular bundles (the little tubes that move water and nutrients), so they don’t form a distinct pattern. But in dicots, the vascular bundles are arranged in tidy rings, so if you open up the stem, you’ll see they’re grouped together in a circle. It’s that kind of subtle detail that helps you type the plant.

And then there’s the root system. When you pull up a plant, you can observe how its roots branch out. Monocots generally have a fibrous root system which is a bunch of thinner roots extending out from the base. In contrast, dicots have a taproot, in which one significant root develops thick and deep, and thinner roots branch off from it. So if you pull up a plant and see a bundle of thin, wiry roots, you’re likely looking at a monocot. “If you’ve got one thick root going deep into the soil, that’s a dicot.

Last, take a look at the blooms. You will know this is most evident once the plant is in flower. Monocots generally have flowers with their parts in multiples of three petals, three sepals, or six stamens. If you are staring at a flowered plant with flowers in threes, then you are staring at a monocot. Dicots, for their part, generally have flowers with parts in fours or fives so a flower with five petals or five sepals is probably a dicot.

https://www.holganix.com/blog/monocots-vs-dicots-what-you-need-to-know

Padlet Assignment 4 Mollusk

troux4 — 2025-03-30 23:19:49 UTC

I recently watched this 7 minute YouTube video on mollusks and found a lot of interesting stuff I didn’t know before. This information is mostly found in our textbook, but I figured it was good to share some impressive facts and important points with the exam coming up.

Did you know that mollusks are the second-largest type of animal in the world? They constitute about 23% of all marine fauna! Mollusks are one of the most diverse groups of animals with over 100,000 species, and they inhabit all types of environments, from land to ocean. Some of them are small as the Acmella nana was not even mentioned in the video so i had to google Shell only 0.7 millimeters high. Never knew mollusks could be so small!

I also learnt that snails are the most common but that the giant squid is in fact the biggest type of mollusk. One more cool thing I didn’t know was that mollusks have a thing called a “mantle” that makes their shells (if they have one).

Mollusks also have either a foot or tentacles for purposes of movement. Snails and clams also have a foot they use theirs to crawl and octopuses have tentacles, which they use to grab things and swim. Oh, and some mollusks, such as snails, have something called a radula, which is a tongue covered in small teeth that they use to scrape up food. It’s sort of their built-in food processor.

But what matters most is how mollusks benefit the environment. They filter water and biodegrade organic matter, which is integral to maintaining a clean ocean. And there are seven major classes of mollusks, including snails, clams, squid and octopuses, all of which can reproduce by laying eggs or giving birth to live young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbKrd_1ErNU

Padlet Assignment 5 Homeostasis

troux4 — 2025-04-17 00:11:46 UTC

The human body regulates internal stability through homeostasis which functions to stabilize internal conditions when external conditions shift. The human body controls vital parameters which include body temperature and pH levels together with glucose concentrations and fluid equilibrium and ionic balance. The three essential components for regulation include receptors that detect changes and the control center which uses the brain to process information and effectors that implement corrective actions. During hot weather conditions the human body regulates its temperature by sweating and expanding blood vessels. The body depends heavily on its nervous and endocrine systems to achieve homeostasis. The body's balance becomes disrupted due to genetic factors and dietary issues and environmental toxins and stress which can result in illness and disease and ultimately death.

https://byjus.com/biology/homeostasis/

Padlet Assignment 6

troux4 — 2025-04-17 00:49:57 UTC

Hormonal disorder PCOS affects approximately 10% of women who are in their reproductive years and it stands as a primary reason for infertility. The symptoms of PCOS include irregular or absent periods together with excessive body or facial hair and acne and weight gain and fatigue and anxiety and depression and difficulty sleeping. The hormonal imbalance in PCOS causes elevated testosterone and insulin levels while reducing estrogen and progesterone which disrupts ovulation and menstrual patterns. The condition results from genetic factors as well as dietary patterns and stress levels and physical exercise patterns. The diagnosis requires evidence of irregular ovulation together with high androgen signs or multiple ovarian follicles. The condition remains incurable but patients can manage their PCOS through lifestyle modifications and pharmaceutical treatments and hormonal medications including the contraceptive pill and fertility drugs. People with PCOS experience mental health difficulties which stem from both hormonal changes and emotional responses to their symptoms.

Padlet Assignment 7 The temperate forest biome

troux4 — 2025-04-29 20:47:54 UTC

I'm learning so much about the biomes and ecosystems and the one that I am targeting is the temperate forest biome. I chose this one because the desert, tropical rainforest and savannah get all of the attention, but this one is just as fascinating (and important). Most temperate forests are in the Northern Hemisphere, like the eastern United States, parts of Europe and Eastern Asia. They experience all four seasons spring, summer, fall, and winter although it can get as hot as 86°F in summer and as cold as -22°F in winter, and the windiest season is spring and the least windy season is summer. These forests receive anywhere from 20 to 60 inches of water per year in the form of rain and snow. One cool thing I found is that temperate forests are layered starting with mosses and lichens on the forest floor, then shrubs, and finally the large trees like oak, maple and birch. These layers are home to a variety of animals. The wildlife is super eclectic there are deer and bears but also foxes, squirrels, hummingbirds, and so many more. Some animals hibernate or migrate in the winter, and others have camouflaged looks to avoid the tree line. I loved finding out all the ways everything in the temperate forest biome is linked and how it all contributes to a more functioning, balanced and vital system.

https://www.treehugger.com/land-biomes-temperate-forests-373499

Padlet Assignment 8

troux4 — 2025-04-29 22:53:57 UTC

I came across a brief 4-minute video about biodiversity that totally blew my mind. It describes how our world looks stable even as it is more fragile than we might think. A jungle in full lush can become a desert without the need of a drama; just loss of the ecological equilibrium.

It underlines the significance of biodiversity at three different levels ecological, species and genetic. For example, the Amazon rainforest is host to a hugely complex ecosystem. Its variety of trees sustains herbivores and insects that recycle nutrients and maintain fertile soil.

Everything is really all connected. When species are lost, or when genetic diversity declines, it can disrupt an entire ecosystem. Sure, one of the big threats is human activity ,but we need that biodiversity too it’s the food on our plate, the air we breathe, and the medicine we take.