my first lab report at tlu

     For my first lab report in college I was a little unprepared because of my schedule but because i toke ap bio i think I did fairly well. the assignment was for my lab partner and i to do but he was a slacker and lied his way out of doing it. That actually made me very upset that even though he didnt contribute he got the same grade as me, but I think only the weak complain so i just did the work. while he didnt do the work he lost the experience of doing the lab. 
   i made a few mistakes in this lab report because i didn't include enough research but in the next lab report i know where i can improve.
Abstract

In today’s industrial world, companies are steadily making products that can harm ecosystems. In order to protect the ecosystems from the harmful off products scientist do experiments called bioassays. A bioassay distinguishes the amount of the (ED) that produce a certain effect.

Introduction

            The bioassay lab tested the affects of acetone on the germination of mustard seeds in different concentrations. The seeds were measured for a week and the results were recorded day by day. The growths of the seeds were adequate in certain concentrations and the control, even though acetone is acidic. Acetone has a high evaporation rate, low viscosity,a miscibility with waterand is a good solvent like water. Because of acetones propertise acetone is used in many raw materials. If the solution isn’t too acidic then seeds might have potential to grow.

Materials

            For the experiment a fine-pointed marker, a paper cup, cotton balls, disposable pipet with bulb, forceps, four  micro centrifuges with caps, 8 mustard seeds and a metric ruler were used to gather the data in the bioassay lab.

Methods

            The cotton balls were first placed inside the paper cup. This was made to make a support system for the four micro centrifuges. The micro centrifuges were then labeled C for controlled group, 1for 100 hundred percent acetone, 0.1 and 0.01 for the concentration of acetone. A micro centrifuge was filled with ten drops of distilled water.  By using the pipet with the bulb measure ten drops of the acetone solution was then placed in the 1.0 micro centrifuge. Then nine drops of distilled H₂O were placed in both 0.1&0.01 labeled micro centrifuges. From there one drop of the acetone solution was added using the same pipet. That micro centrifuge was closed and thumped at the bottom to make sure the solution was mixed. One drop of that solution was then added to the 0.01 micro centrifuge. Then four pieces of paper where cut to fit in the micro centrifuges with the cap closed and two mustard seeds were placed on top of the pieces of paper in each micro centrifuge. The micro centrifuges were then placed in the cup with the cotton balls and were dated and measured and recorded for seven days.

Results

            The micro centrifuges that where labeled 1 and 0.1 showed no germination in the seven days of being observed. While the control group and 0.01 concentrated showed substantial germination and a surprising result. These results are shown on the Effects of Acetone on Germination of RCBR Seeds data sheet.

Conclusion

            The concentration of acetone can be a (LD) lethal dose at 100 percent of the acetone solution and 0.1. But a shocking result was gathered that the 0.01 concentration of acetone was able to outgrow the distilled water throughout the entire observation of the experiment. It makes one suggest that the solutions ph was at a more optimal level for germination of mustard further experimentation in this bioassay may prove this to have

MY LAB REPORT ON OSMOTIC CONCENTRATION IN POTATO CELLS

I made progress on this second lab report. my professor gave me a higher grade but the grade isn't what I’m concerned about i like being able to create a master piece with all the assignments that are given to me. School is something like a painting to me, I might not get everything right but like any master piece it is the flaws that make it unique. So the flaws in this paper I look to I’m prove. The one thing that my professor mention was that I needed embedded quotes of research this is also the same problem I was having on some of my English paper. I spend most of my time doing papers like this now.  So on the next paper I believe I will knock it out of the park so here is my paper.

Osmotic concentration

Abstract

            Water flows in and out of cells in an attempt to attain a state of equilibrium. The concentration of solutes to solvent in the cells environment is the cause of the water flow. Plant and animal cells can be negatively affected or positively affected due to the concentration balance in their environment. Potato cells were used to see the affects of sucrose in different concentrations. In some concentrations a weight change was seen in the potato.

Introduction

            In the osmotic concentration lab potatoes were used to see the affects of different concentrations of sucrose on the weight of the potatoes. Solanum tubersum more commonly known as the potato is the fourth most important food crop in the world. It originates from South America and is now seen all over the world in different elevations and climates. The potato is not only seen as a vegetable but as an ant famine food because of its ability to grow in harsh environments and feed many people in third world nations. Potatoes are full sucrose used for energy storage in plants.  Sucrose is a carbohydrate or sugar found in food. It’s a combination of fructose and glucose two simple sugars, making it a disaccharide. Consumers break down sucrose a disaccharide into two monosaccharide, so they can be absorbed easier and quicker into the blood. Without being broken down sucrose is too large of a molecule to diffuse through semi permeable membrane and wouldn’t be able move in and out of cells affectively. Because potatoes have sucrose inside them a concentration gradient is present and if placed in any solution osmosis movement of water through semi permeable membranes would naturally occur. If the concentration of sucrose in the solutions is less than the concentration in the potato then the potato will gain mass and vice versa. In conducting this experiment sucrose concentrations can be used in the future to obtain a more productive potato regarding crops. Further experimentation would be needed to determine the effects.

           

Materials & Methods

            In the osmotic lab five 250ml beakers, a china marker, metric ruler, digital balance, paper towels, a knife and five bottles containing solutions 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35m of sucrose were used in the experiment.

            The china marker was used to label the five 250 ml beakers with the five different concentrations of sucrose 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35m. Then 100ml of each sucrose solutions were poured into their designated beaker. A knife was used to peel the potato and then the metric ruler was used to measure five 3cm cubes. The cubes were weighed on the digital balance to the nearest tenths of a gram. The weight of each potato cube was recorded on table 7-6 under initial weight. As each mass was taken the potato cubes were placed in the solutions of sucrose where the initial mass was recorded. After letting the potatoes soak in their designated sucrose solutions they were removed and blotted lightly with the paper towels. The potatoes where then measured on the digital balance and the changes in weight were recorded on table 7-6 under final. The change in weights if any was then calculated between each individual potato’s initial and final weight.

Results

The initial weight of all five potatoes changed after soaking in the sucrose solutions. The potatoes in the .15M and .20M sucrose solutions experienced a positive gain in weight; while the .25M and .30M potatoes experienced a negative lose of mass.  The .15M potato gained .54g in weight and the .20M potato gained .12g in weight. The .25M potato lost .01 of its weight and the .30M lost .15g shown in the chart below. An unexpected result happened to the .35M potato, unlike the .25M&.30M potatoes, the .35M potato gained .66g of weight.

Solute Concentration in Potato Tuber Cell Table:

Solution	Initial	Final	changes	Percent changes
0.15 M	32.49g	33.03g	.54g	0.9836%
0.20 M	28.41g	28.53g	.12g	0.9957%
0.25 M	30.47g	30.46g	-.01g	1.0003%
0.30 M	25.58g	25.43g	-.15g	1.0006%
0.35 M	22.68g	23.34gg	.66g	0.9717%

Conclusion

            The changing of weight of the potatoes shows evidence that different concentrations of sucrose has an affect over the flow of water in and out of tuber cells. The concentration of sucrose in potatoes could be between .20M & .25M because evidence shown in the table illustrates that the final weight of the potato remained considerably close to the initial weight between these two increments that were measured. Discovering the optimal amount of sucrose in potatoes could help increase the size and may help with the growth of the potatoes and other plants. The results of the .35M potato are contradicting to the rest of the experiment because of its negative correlation with the other results.

Works Cited

Freeman, Scott. Biological Science. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2011. Print.

Kiple, Kenneth F, and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas. The Cambridge World of Food. www.cambridge.org. Cambridge University Press, n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

Perry, James W, David Morton, and Joy B Perry. Laboratory Manual for General Biology. Belmont CA: Brooks/‌Cole Cengage Learning, 2007. Print.

Reed, Jessica. “What is Sucrose.” WiseGeek.com. N.p., 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011

WHAT I LEARNED IN DR. BECKS CLASS

 with all the classes offered at TLU I have enjoyed theology the most professor beck teaches like no other person i have meet. instead of being focused on the grade like most people at this college I've been focusing on the learning. i can say i understand more about the bible.

this is a paper about the religious  language i wrote for professor  Beck.

Nature of Religious Language

Tillich explains that the language of faith shouldn’t be taken only in a literal sense. To understand what that means, you must first understand what the language of faith is. The language of faith is the use of myths and symbols in biblical and other religious content. One also has to know what myth and symbol mean and their function. Myths are symbols of faith combined in stories about divine human encounters. Symbols are used to open dimensions and elements of reality and elements to the soul. Criticism of myths would be inappropriate if it, would mean the removal of the myth but removal of the myth can never happen because they are forms of human consciousness. Because myths form man’s spiritual life they cannot be removed or replaced. They can only be said to be “broken” myths. The act of criticizing the myth to break it is demythologization and “the primitive mythological consciousness resists the attempt to interpret the myth of myth.” By breaking the myth it makes some people think that it loses its convincing power. The thought of resisting is because some are afraid of taking the Bible out of literal context. In thinking literally, symbols lose their ability to look beyond themselves into deeper concept. Literalism also deprives God of his intimacy by making him seem to act as a being acting in time and space, affecting the course of events and being affected by them.

There are two types of literalism the natural and the reactive. The natural type is when the literal can’t distinguish itself from mythical elements of religion. In criticizing myths people can open up their faith and learn. This brings people to the reactive stage of literalism when a person might use repression to stay in a state of literalism. It is important to read the Bible critically because some material in the Bible is contradicting and harmful. The text of the Bible has racist and sexist material, but this material shouldn’t be destroyed or token out, but repudiated. The Bible has been written by men who put their emphasis and opinion on certain content. Paul was contradicted in Timothy 2:11-15 by someone writing in his name by saying woman weren’t permitted to teach or preach the gospel. Without repudiating the material and viewing it critically, injustice will continue to happen by allowing this to be taught to others. The importance of reputing things is that we learn to read the Bible critically so that harmful material doesn’t keep harming people.

I myself on a continuum between literalism and totally critical analysis stand in more of the critical analysis side. This is because I understand that some things in the Bible can’t be taken only literally. While critically looking at some stories of the Bible, I can see that it is meant to teach you a deeper meaning than what is just put there to read. The Bible has messages for oppressed people that can only be understood if you were to look for the deeper meaning in the text.

frex assignment made me see something

            For my major assignment I spoke to Dr.Citzler because of my own personal interest. She was able to provide me with abroad range of information over the business degree plain at Texas Lutheran. She also was able to help me plan my schedule for the upcoming spring semester. Instead of focusing on major specific courses I should focus on the “Dimensions of Liberal Education” which are the 36 credit hour. The requirements in the 36 hours are broken into seven dimensions. Those dimensions are the Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences. Social Science, Cross Cultural Dimensions, Theology and Personal Well Being. If a student takes the time to properly plan their courses out they could fill some of the requirements of their major specific courses and obtain hours for the required 36 hours. In my meeting I realized that I could incorporate some of the activities I do in my regular life in the 36 hour requirement. Like Personal Well-Being hours can be my everyday work out and the Art hours would be the time in the day I draw. By having these courses would allow me to keep my interest and increase my own well being cognitively and physically. Dr.Citzler went on to tell me that most graduates that major in business usually go directly into the work force not graduate school. In order to give me an outlook on the career I would like to pursue Dr.Citzler informed me to visit a career website that would inform me of the characteristics of careers.

success in college

This for any one that is having a lot of trouble in college my English professor made use write a paper over what it takes to succeed in college; which I thought was a good way for her students to pick up on those tips I personally toke a lot from this assignment because I have been struggling to maintain in all of the confusion in the first semester of college. So first hand I know now that this essay would help people that are in the same shoes as me

Success in College

Some say college is the start of an adventure that has no comparison; I tend to agree with that. For some people it’s the first time they are free from their parent’s eagle eyes and dictatorial rule. Freedom! As some would say, freedom isn’t the only thing that comes with the college life style. College is the stepping stone into adult hold. I say this because it’s your responsibility to make the right decisions for your future. Many people that enter their freshman year of college very few graduate. This is because some people become over whelmed with the transition from high school to college. I know as a high school student you might say in your head I got this college stuff in the bag or you might say you don’t think you will make it. I’m here to tell you that both of these thoughts can work against you. Over confidence about the college world can make you blind to the fact that it takes proper preparation in every class; while not having confidence can make you lose the drive that’s motivates every student to make something of themselves. College is a true test of your mental and physical well-being and it will change how you think and what you think. In order to adapt and survive college a student has to develop certain characteristics. There are two categories for those characteristics that I believe can lead you to success in college. The first category comes from what I like to call the five p’s, proper preparation prevents poor presentation. The things that fall under the five p’s are time management studying habits and sleeping habits. These are things that can be changed for your schedule. The second category is the heart category. That may seem very cliché but it is true. There are certain things that can’t be taught like resilience and determination that will help you in college and in life.

5-Ps

One of the biggest differences between high school and college is time management. While you may think that you manage your time wisely in high school, it is really your teacher’s guiding you and reminding you when things are due. In college that changes drastically. The only thing that will remind you when an assignment is due is your syllabus. Sounds easy right? Wrong. In college it seems like you have all the time in the world which causes a lot of students to procrastinate. Oh that deadly word procrastination I always say. Procrastination really does kill but in high school I was able to get away with a lot of last minute late night studying and toiling hours of writing papers in the night to the early morning the day a paper was due.  Doing that last minute studying and writing will not work in college, what got you an A in high school will not suffice in college because the expectations of your work is considerably greater. That last minute paper that you think will sway your professor into giving your kudos won’t make the grade. I say this because the requirements that certain assignments take will be looked past when you procrastinate. Being able to manage your time is one of the biggest things in college especially if you are playing sports, want a social life and are serious about your life as a student.(10 Highly Effective Study Habits)

 Kelci Lynn Lucier writes eight strong steps for time management in college. She say using a calendar of any type will help in time management in her first step and goes on to say that having one place to right everything down is a key to organizing time. I myself have found that writing everything down with the due date next to it allows me to see what assignment I should do first. Her second step is to write down everything that you plan to do like doing your laundry or even calling your parents. If you do plan these out it would help you keep up  with those task that would take time out of your day and help you keep up with your family. In her third step she emphasizes that student’s schedule time for relaxation because even though your schedule has you working from early in the A.M to late in the P.M doesn’t mean you actually can. As a student tries to find what works for them they should try different types of calendar systems like PDA’s and color coding. I myself have moved from using my cell phone to just a simple pocket sized notebook to plan my day. Lucier states in her fifth step that a student should allow some room in their schedule because something’s are bound to come up in your social life that you wouldn’t want to miss out on. The sixth step Lucier speaks on is planning ahead. If there is a paper due a month from now plans backwards on your calendar from the due date of the assignment. That way it will give you a designated time frame to get certain parts of your paper done. The seventh step is to plan for the unexpected. If you put assignments off till the last minute the unexpected can happen like you getting sick or worse. In the eighth step take time after your hectic week and relax and enjoy your life. (8 Steps for Strong Time management)

When you’re in college it seems like sleep is an impossible thing to get, and if you do manage to get sleep you don’t want it to be in class. Every day you will learn something new in your classes but without adequate sleep the information that you professor is trying to drill in your head will just go in one ear and out the other. Not being able to retain the information of you classes will leave you at a major disadvantage, instead of reading ahead for your classes you would have to back track to learn what has already been said. The work that once seemed easy will begin to pile up and become a daunting task that you won’t want to do. Getting adequate sleep is also necessary to give your professor the right impression. If the professor sees you sleeping in class they could become offended or may think you don’t take college seriously. The last thing you want is to lose your credibility. “According to the National Sleep Foundation, although we think of sleep as a time of rest, research is revealing that sleep is a dynamic activity during which many processes vital to health and well-being take place.” So having good sleeping habits can save you a lot of trouble in the long run. (Sleep Does More Than Bring You Sweet Dreams the national states)

The game changer in college is one thing that may not be as important in high school but shows considerable in college is studying habits. Many students look at studying in the wrong way but John M. Grohol gives ten studying habits that will ease the pain that most students think about when it comes to studying. The first thing that Grohol mentions is the way a student approaches studying. By thinking positive and reminding yourself of your abilities you will avoid thinking catastrophically, which means thinking that you won’t ever be done or you don’t have enough time. The second point that Grohol makes is selecting a place to study that isn’t distracting and is quiet. When going to study bring the things you need, not things that would possibly distract you. Rewriting your notes is one thing that many people look over but is a useful tool in retaining information. Playing memory games (mnemonics) is a helpful way of studying witch is the fifth tip Grohol mentioned. Avoiding the cramming session by making a schedule to study will guarantee that you know the material for class and in the schedule take breaks to award yourself. With all the things that come with studying it is important that you remain balanced and keep time for yourself.

Things that can’t be taught

Studying habits, sleeping habits and time management are all things that a person can teach themselves, but college requires a lot more than just these things. College students come up against adversity all the time; to be able to concur the adversity of college a student must dig deep within themselves. When a professor doesn’t give you the grade you want your parents can’t complain to the school so most likely you will keep that grade. You can either fold which means give up or stand and prosper. Things aren’t always bound to go your way but having resilience can bring you out of the hole you or your professor put you in. Hara Estroff Marano says “Resilient people do not let adversity define them. They find resilience by moving towards a goal beyond themselves transcending pain and grief by perceiving bad times as a temporary state of affair.”(“The Art of Resilience”) Being a resilient person takes an ability to see what I like to call the “Bigger Picture”. The bigger picture is the expectations that you have for yourself in the future. This is a goal or your dreams of becoming a doctor, lawyer basically a career. In order to get to that bigger picture you must have determination. Determination is the act of coming to a decision with firm purpose.

While college is stressful it is also a fun and exciting experience, so when picking your college remember that it will be the first real decision of your individual life. Many college students will find out that their college choice doesn’t suit them for many reasons like culture shock or home sickness and will leave to another college. Incoming college students that take more time visiting and researching their college will avoid setbacks like this. The faster you can adapt to your surroundings the better off you will do in your classes and in your life.

Works Cited

Grohol, John M. “10 Highly Effective Study Habits.” PsychCentral.com. N.p., 19 Mar. 2008. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.

Jones, Jane Scheier. “Zzzzzz Time: Sleep Does More Than Bring You Sweet Dreams.” CollegeView.com. N.p., 12 Sept. 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

Lucier, Kelci Lynn. “College Student Time Management- 8 College Student Time Management Skills.” About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

Marano, Hara Estroff. “The Art of Resilience.” Psychologytoday.com. N.p., 10 June 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.