Manvir Toor Key things learned in Biology 11

Biology 11 was an interesting course and I really enjoyed it. There were many things we learned in this course. We covered 6 kingdoms called: eubacteria, archaebacteria, protista, animalia, plantae and fungi. There were different phylums to these kingdoms. We learned how these plants and animals all survive in different environments. We also learned their mode of nutrition, if they were multicellular or unicellular, how they reproduce and how they were more evolved from one another. We basically went from learning something simple such as stuff about cells and then learning more complex stuff such as plants and animals. It was cool understanding how we went from learning something very simple like bacteria and then ending up into more complex things like animals and plants. I really enjoyed doing all the different dissections during our animal unit. I really enjoyed out field trip to the aquarium too because we got to go into the wet lab and get a hands on experience with all the phylums were covered in the course. One thing I would change about the course would be to do more dissections and actually get the chance to do a hands on lab dissection of the frog. I also feel like there should be more field trips similar to the aquarium. I really enjoyed this course and I cannot wait to continue it in biology 12 and being able to do even bigger dissections. I loved the hands on experience we got throughout the course. 

Manvir Toor Aquarium Field Trip

This a sea urchin. It belongs to the phylum Echinoderm. I found the sea urchin really interesting because they looked different from all the other phylums I got to look at. I got the chance to hold the sea urchin. They have spikes on their body, but they are really soft and squishy. On the bottom part of their bodies they have tube feet, which allow them to move by using their water-vascular system. Their tube feet also allow them to stick or hold on to things. When I was holding the sea urchin it started to grasp on to my hand as I slowly took it out of the water. It feels weird when they hold on to your hand. It feels like a little suction cup. Sea urchins come in many different colours and shapes and sizes. 

Manvir Toor Arthropods

The three distinct features Arthropods have is that they all have a bilateral symmetry, they have an open circulatory system and they have simple tubes. 

An interesting arthropod I found was the praying mantis. It is an arthropod because its an insect, it has 6 legs, it has an exoskeleton and it is an invertebrate which means it has a backbone. The praying mantis also has a segmented body. 

Interesting facts: 

-Can turn their heads from side to side at 180 degrees

-Their eyes can see movements from 60 feet away

-Over 1,500 species of praying mantis world-wide 

Manvir Toor Squid Diagram (Cephalopod)

We got the chance to dissect a squid and see its internal organs. What I found most interesting about this animal was that it is a mollusc and it's from the class cephalopod. Also I found it really cool how their tentacles and arms are attached with their head. I found the internal organs interesting too, especially the ink sac. I got the chance to use the ink sac and got the chance to write stuff with it like my name. The squid is useful in its environment because it acts like both a prey and a predator. When it is a predator, it uses it's sharp teeth and it's suction cups, which are on its tentacles to hold its prey. When the squid is a prey, it releases a jet full of ink when it is in danger. When it releases ink, it gives the squid a chance to quickly swim away by using its siphon to move quickly.