Algae In The Cabinet

I found a variety  of things in my house with the ingredients: alginates, carrageenan, and beta carotene.

Baked chicken (from a TV dinner) and onion rings has alginates in it. Mashed potatoes (from a TV dinner), cinnamon rolls, donuts had beta carotene in them. Ice cream, slim fast, and coffee creamer has carrageenan in them. The point of this assignment was to be aware of the different types of algae that can be found in every day food.

Plankton Wars!!

Plankton Wars!!
Last Wednesday we were paired up with a random person form our class to make a plankton.The goal was to see if whose plankton would sink the slowest.Every group had a small piece of clay plus what ever other supplies they chose to use. Morgan and I had a pink piece of clay, and our other supplies were a piece of a sponge. two buttons, two tooth picks, a little piece of aluminum foil, and a small plastic sword. We took the clay and flattened it and wrapped it around the toothpicks, then we stuck the toothpicks through the sponge and wrapped the aluminum foil around it. We stuck a button on the front and the back for decoration. We stuck the little sword into the clay.Some people had plankton that would only float and others had plankton that sunk. Our plankton floated, then it eventually started to sink very slowly. My group won the plankton war!!

Sie Obsevation Day 5/Bird Watch February 18, 2011

Site 1:
When we first went outside it was about 75 degrees and sunny. As we were walking int the woods I saw three seagulls and a crow. I was surrounded by pine trees and there was a slight breeze. We went down to the pond and I saw about eight geese. Avery pointed out a fish trying to eat a bug, and on the other side of the pond there was another big fish. 
Site 2:
Here it was really warm and kind of shady. I saw big trees that were over thirty feet tall and big puffy clouds. There was a squirrel climbing a tree. I saw some of the trails that lead to different parts of the woods. I could hear the wind in the trees. I could also hear some buses backing up and people talking.
Site 3:
To get to site three we went into the woods and down some death trap stairs. Luckily there were some people at the bottom of the stairs to help clumsy people like me!! I got stabbed by some thorns. I felt really warm down here and. It was very shady down here, I was surrounded by these huge trees. I saw some tadpoles and frogs in the creek. I saw the trees swaying in the breeze. On our way to site four I saw a small frog.
Site 4:
We walked far into the woods and found a vernal pool. In the creek there were some salamanders, and frogs. It was really hot and sunny here. I saw some trees and moss. There were some trees that had been knocked over. We didn't stay here long because we had to go through a long trail to get back to the school on time. 

Observation Day 2

Site 1:
It was very cold outside. We were down by the pond. My hands felt numb. I could hear the wind.
I saw some geese swimming in the pond.
Site 2:
It was warmer in the woods. There were lots of dead leaves. I saw some birds and I could hear the leaves crunching.
Site 3:
It was shady in this part of the woods, and I felt cold. I saw logs, thorns, and pine cones. It was very calm here, I didn't hear much.
Site 4:
This part of the woods was a little sunny and it was a little warmer. I could hear some birds, but I didn't see them.

Observaton Day 3 February 3, 2011

Site 1:
It was very cold, out in the court yard. There were some bunches and tables. I heard the heat and some birds.
There was writing on some of the tables.
Site 2:
We were in the woods. It was really cold, but sunny. I saw some feathers scattered around, trash, and a worm.
I could hear the wind in the trees.
Site3:
I saw fungus on a log. There were lots of pine cones, pine needles, and dead leaves everywhere. It was still sunny but it felt colder here.
Site 4:
It was a little warmer here. I saw a beaver dam, thorns, and ants. I also saw a ceder tree.

Observations day 4 Febuary 14, 2011

Site1:
It was a beautiful day. We started at the pond. It was warm, and breezy. There were some trash in the woods. I saw ducks and some algae.
Site 2:
We were down by the creek. We herd tree fall. It was very shady, so it was a little cooler. There were thorns everywhere, stabbing my legs. There was skunk cabbage by the creek.
Site 3:
This site was at the other end of the creek. It was shady here and very windy, but it was still sunny. Some trees were bent over from the wind. We had to look out for other falling trees.

Plankton Observations

 Zoo plankton-macro: It's a meroplankton. It looks like a worm. It's rounded and hunts for food. It can move freely through the water.

 Phytoplankton-macro: It looks like it's a holoplankton. This looks like it could be cyanobacteria because it's in a little cluster. They float in the water.

Phytoplankton-macro: This one could be a meroplankton. It can move freely. It has a rounded shape.

Observation day 1

 Site 1
When we first went outside it was super cold. We felt the wind, and herd the wind in the trees. We saw animal crap, and some pine trees.
Site 2
Here we saw rabbit crap, and leaves that had been chewed on. It was less cold here.We could still here the wind and leaves rustling.
Site 3
Here we saw frozen water and mossy rocks. The sun was out, so it was i little warmer. We could hear some birds.
Site 4
There was lots of sunshine here. We found some acorns that had been chewed on. We were still a little cold, and we could still hear the birds.