How Our Garden Grows

Photosynthesis has helped our garden grow over time. The sun's rays give our plant energy so it can start a series of reactions to produce glucose, oxygen, and sugar. The plants are watered and it absorbed carbon dioxide from the air to help it grow. After all this cellular respiration starts. During cellular respiration, sugar and oxygen are creatinng usable energy by creating water and oxygen. After all this, mitosis makes the plants bigger because it replicates the plant's cells.

Why People Should Know what Is In Their Food

47,976 men and 23,276 women died between 1995-2005. People should have the right the know what is in their food because people can be allergic to the ingredients and they may be consuming things they don’t want to consume.
People can be allergic to some of the ingredients that are made in the food and have allergic reactions. Each year millions of of people have allergic reactions from food. Even though most are very mild there are some that could lead to death. The FDA regulates the labeling of all foods except poultry, meats, certain egg products, and most alcoholic beverages.
      Another reason why people should know what is in their food is because people might be consuming preservatives they don't want to. This is why people should know what is in their food.

Gabriela's seed story

 When we first got into our groups Gabriela was shy and did not speak a word but now she got used to being with us for so long that she speaks to us regularly. Gabriela has helped us a lot during classwork and I appreciate how she always asks us if we need help and she likes to get involved during expiriments. Gabriela has helped a lot during the seed germination project with planting the plants, watering them, and she has helped us with the blog. Gabriela was very disapointed when the plants died since we tried very hard raising them but it was ok we used a different groups seeds. Gabriela has been a great group mate and I look forward to working with her in the future.

A cell is like a restaurant

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RWUYJT9sU7exuGcjDiDBT-JcNxkR9ziCiZYmVrh-DxM/edit

Estiven's Seed Story

Estiven has learned to work along with the team. He has enjoyed watching the plants grow and liked taking care of them. He has also enjoyed working on constructing models for science class with the team. He said he had a good time collaborating with each other and putting our ideas together in group projects. He had fun and laughed when a member would make a mistake on a model and would go back to help them make it properly. He liked brainstorming ideas for the attention game each team was supposed to make. He was surprised when the plants we were growing died fast. It caused the group laughter yet a bit of an unpleasant emotion due to the efforts going to the plant went to waste. He looks forward to working with the group again.

Enzyme Questions

1. I learned metabolic enzymes play a role in all bodily processes including breathing, talking, moving, and behavior and maintanace of the immune system. Enzymes fall into three major classifications. There are over 5,000 enzymes.

2. Yes, I might change my eating habbits and eat more raw foods like fruit, vegetables, and sushi so I can produce more enzymes, have a strong immune system, and live a long healthy life.

My Gratitude Towards Potato

Dear Potato,
  
      I am grateful for having you in my life. You have picked me up when I was down. You keep my tummy full every time I eat you. Your 278 calories make a good snack for me. You also keep me healthy with your vitamins A, C and D. You also make my bones stronger with your calcium. You keep me non-fat with you total of fat only 0.4%.
Sincerely, 
Maddie

My Gratitude Towards Chicken

    Dear Chicken,

                     I am very grateful for having you in my life. You are a tasty meal to me. You keep satisfied when ever I eat you. You are very flavorful. I love the way you sizzle when you are                              cooked. I like that smooth texture, the golden brown skin, and the white tender meat you contain. You provide me with lots of protein, calcium, iron magnesium, and you also provide me with vitamin A and B.  And vitamin D, E, and K. I like you especial when you are a chicken tenders. Also I like your spicy flavor. I like the orange chicken dish. Also I like when you are buffalo wings. All in all, I am very grateful for having you in my life. You are very delicious and amazing.

                            - Sincerely, Gabriela.

Maddie's Autobiography

My name is Maddie or Madison I live in San Jose, California. I am 14 years old and a freshman at Willow Glen High school. I went to Willow Glen Middle school and Booksin Elementary. I have done many sports like soccer, ice skating, and competitive cheerleading. I like to watch movies and eat a lot. I also love animals, I have 3 cats and a a goldfish.
       
                    Sincerely,
                      Maddie

Thank you Carrots

Dear Carrots,
I rarely eat carrots or any kind of vegetables but I wanted you to know I appreciate all you do for me and my family. I am thankful for all the vitamin A and the healthy skin i get from eating carrots. I am also very thankful you prevent heart disease, cancer and strokes so I can live a long healthy life. I love how you help my vision so I do not have to use glasses and you you help my teeth and gums. Finally, I will start eating more carrots so I can live a long, healthy and happy life. Thank you for all your assistance carrots.

Sincerely,

Estiven Martinez

Food Inc Essay

Estiven Martinez
Biology - Period 4
November 19, 2012

Food Inc Essay

People deserve the right to know what’s in their food. Many people go through life without even knowing or caring about what’s in their food and that can lead to many problems later in their lives. People should demand food companies label all the ingredients in our food.

Food is a major factor in our health and we don’t know if we are damaging our health if we don’t know what’s in our food. We can not take responsibility if we get sick from our food because we don’t know what is in our food. If we can not even know what is in our food or even criticize it, then what kind of government do we have? This is why we must know what factories are doing to our food.  

Factories mix their meat and spread bacteria during the process. Many people all over the world get sick from food produced by factories and people can even die from E.coli, a bacteria that lives in intestines of animals and even people. Annually in the United States there are 73,000 cases of  E. coli and about 61 people die from it. There have been many outbreaks of E. coli the past couple of years since factories started getting bigger and less sanitary and usually the contamination starts in the slaughtering process.

Although  there are many reasons why we should know what’s in our food, there are reasons why it is ok for factories to not tell us. Its the companies product they can do whatever they want with it because we are not forced to buy it. Also, a companies function is to make money and they can’t make money if nobody wants to buy their product. Finally, factories are owned by people and if we inspect their product it violates their rights.  

In conclusion, we are being lied to about are food. We do not even know if we are eating healthy anymore because companies are putting so many unhealthy ingredients in our food. Also, many people will continue to get sick and die if we do not stand up and do something about it. We must regulate the food system so we do not damage our health.

Sorry for turning it in late i’m not home and I didn’t have access to a computer.

Thank You Letter to Corn

Dear corn, Thank you so much for always being so tasty and being so healthy. No matter what I eat, you are always a great side dish or appetizer for my meals. No matter what people call you, a fruit, vegetable, or grain, you are my favorite healthy snack of all time. Even though I rarely eat you in your pure form, I appreciate all the nutrients you give me. Your large amounts of carbohydrates help me get the energy I need to survive through a whole school day. Thank you for your large concentrations of iron and Vitamin A. The Vitamin A the you supply me with really help my immune system, skin, and especially my eyes. Even though you don't have a lot of calcium, every little bit helps me get healthier. The next time I walk past you in the market, I won't forget what you contribute to my body. Sincerely, Christian Sy

Right to Access for Healthy Food

Christian Sy Biology 1 Mr. Bursch 11/21/12 Food Inc. Many people in the world are starving, dying from hunger. They will eat anything they can get their hands on. Most of the time, what they eat are unhealthy. Why not give them healthy food? I believe that access to healthy food should be a right for everyone. It is the humane thing to do, and it is cheaper than giving them junk food. Giving people the right to healthy food is the humane thing to do. How can anybody live knowing that the junk food they sold might have killed them? Most junk food, like chips, don’t help you get healthy or fill your stomach. They only taste good. Giving healthy food fills people’s stomachs and help them stay healthy, which is the humane thing to do. Having people to the right to healthy food is cheaper than junk food. A simple fruit is cheaper than a bag of Cheetos. By giving people in need fruit instead of junk food, the government and companies hundreds of dollars. Many junk foods cost a lot more than a bag of fruits. Some people say that the government shouldn’t give any food at all. They say that people should be responsible for themselves. I disagree with this idea. Some people, like war veterans and disaster victims, lost everything and can’t even look after themselves. They need help, and access to healthy food is just a start. Many people in need don’t even have healthy food to eat. They struggle to survive, and junk food doesn’t help. The government should make a law to allow everyone to the right to healthy food.

Do animals deserve a certain quality of life?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u6E6qClXLhYSnLQ5ajQkMyiE8hNeMeK9sFw_9HUFMYo/edit

A Cell is like a Castle

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oE3aGvVbamTJWhukxYd0RutCAHLxkRRPt46ZR0wbt-Q/edit#slide=id.p

Cell Is Like a Kingdom

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DLMx9oc7__FwdXS6auroi4EkHe7HVcwDossdAJTJgJM/edit#slide=id.p

Christian Sy - Article Responses

1. Over 5, 000 enzymes have been discovered. 

    3 categories: metabolic, digestive, and food

    Enzymes in raw food help start the process of digestion. 

2. After reading this article, I will try to eat more raw foods, like apples and other fruits. Eating raw foods will help me get more enzymes, will help me live longer. 

The Story of the Seed

What Source of Light will kohlrabi grow best in?

   Introduction

• Christian came up with the idea for the experiment. We wondered if plants that grew in artificial light grew faster and healthier than plants that grew in sunlight. Artificial lights are designed with a timer that turns off the light at a specific time. They are designed just like how sunlight doesn't shine all day. The plants we are using are kohlrabi ( German turnip). They are very similar to radish. 

   Purpose

• The purpose of the lab was to figure out which kind of light plants grew best in: artificial light or sunlight?

   Hypothesis

• If we grow plants in sunlight and artificial light, then the plants in sunlight will grow faster and healthier.

   Materials 

• Kohlrabi seeds, three pots, fluorescent light source, incandescent light source, sunlight, soil, water, ruler, three plastic ziplock bags, paper towels, tin foil

   Procedure

1. Wet paper towels with water. Place one paper towel in each ziplock bag. 
2. Place 5 kohlrabi seeds on the wet paper towels, evenly spaced. Close ziplock bag. 
3. Label the bags sunlight, incandescent, and fluorescent. 
4. For the sunlight bag, cover the back part of the bag with tin foil. 
5. Place the bag labeled incandescent under the incandescent light, the fluorescent under the fluorescent light, and tape the sunlight bag to a window, tinfoil side not facing towards the window.
6. Everyday, record differences between the three bags of seeds. measure height with the ruler.
7. When the plants reach the top of the ziplock bag, fill the pots 3/4 with soil. Replant the seeds into the pots.
8. Label the pots with their correct group. Create a barrier of tin foil going over and around the sunlight seeds.
9. Repeat step 6.  
10. Redo the experiment.

    Observations

• Sunlight: leaves and roots were little. Growing fastest and tallest. 
• average height after two weeks: 36.1 mm
• Luminescent: grew with medium seeds and medium roots. Grew second fastest.
• average height after two weeks: 28.2 mm
• Fluorescent: longer roots and big, lighter colored leaves. Same color roots as luminescent. Slowest to grow
• average height after two weeks: 25.3 mm

    Data analysis

• By the data we gathered, we concluded that sunlight was the best light to grow plants with. The sunlight plants were growing fast and tall, but with small leaves and roots. The luminescent plants grew second fastest. They grew with medium roots, leaves, and with a light brown stem. The fluorescent light was the worst light to grow plants with. They grew with longer roots and bigger leaves. Their stems were the same color as the luminescent plants. 

    Discussion

• In conclusion, if plants grew in both artificial light and sunlight, the plants in sunlight will grow faster and healthier than the plants in artificial light. Our hypothesis was correct. The kohlrabi plants were growing well and plentiful. The sunlight plants were growing with little roots and little leaves, but were growing the tallest. The luminescent plants grew with medium leaves and medium roots. They had a darker stem. The fluorescent plants had longer roots and lighter colored leaves, and they had the same color stem as the luminescent plants. 
• Over the two week course, the sunlight plants were a lot smaller than the fluorescent and luminescent plants in the first three days. They caught up to the growth of the artificial plants after a couple of days, though. 
• Some variables that could have effected the experiment was the amount of light each plant was receiving. The amount of light each plant got could have been uneven, which could effect growth. Another variable that could have effected the experiment was the power of the light. If the light bulb was weak, then the plants could have been effected. Another variable could have been the amount of sunlight there was during the day. Clouds could have covered sunlight, and the plants could have not received any light. One last variable is the amount of water each plant received. The water could have been unevenly distributed. 

Gabriela's Autobiography

My name is Gabriela Sumano. I am 14 years old. I am Mexican-American. I was born and raised in San Jose. I live with my family and have two dogs. Their names are Princess and Chika. I love to listen to music. My favorite genres of music are K-Pop and J-Rock. I also like some J-Pop. I like to watch anime, Korean dramas, Japanese dramas, and Taiwanese dramas. One of my favorite TV shows is Adventure Time. I also enjoy watching horror and comedy films. My life dream would be to become a famous musician. If that doesn't work out, I would like to be something in the medical field or still be in the arts media. I plan to finish college and move to Korea. I would like to learn how to dance, also to be fluent in Korean and Japanese. This is just a little something about me.

Steven's autobiography

     Hello my name is Estiven Martinez. I am 14 years old and I was born June 4th, 1998 in San Jose. I have never gardened before and I have no gardening experience at all. My grandpa loves to garden he lives in Mexico and he has a big garden in his back yard full of many different plants and flowers. Finally, I have learned a lot from this experiment and I enjoyed working with my classmates as a group.

Christian's autobiography

My name is Christian Sy. I live in San Jose, but I was born in Manila, Philippines. I moved here when I was 3. My grandparents and aunt still live in the Philippines. I also have family living in London, United Kingdom.

In my house, my mom makes me do a lot of gardening in my backyard. I don't understand most of it, but she makes me help her anyway.I usually just water the plants and replant potted plants. My backyard has an orange tree and a lemon tree.My orange tree gives us huge, ripe oranges that we usually use to make orange juice or give away. I know how to cook basic things, like quesadillas, mac-and-cheese, scrambled eggs, and pancakes. I also know how to cook fettuccine, spaghetti, and fried chicken. My mom taught me how to cook everything I know how to cook. She also taught me the basic spices and fruits.