Claire Smerdon's Science Blog

1. We simulated evolution by having different variations compete for food. The more food someone got, the more offspring they could have. As the trials progressed, the population began to be almost entirely pinchers. 2. The pincher phenotype was the best because it was the easiest to collect food with. As a result, pinchers could collect more food and have more offspring. 3. Yes, the population was 97% pincher at one point, escalating from 52% just two trials before. 4. The placement of the food was random, giving some people advantages in collecting food. If the food was placed next to someone, they could collect more. That people would have more offspring. 5. If the food was too big for pinchers and knucklers to grab, then stumpys would be the best phenotype. If the food was too small for stumpys to grab, they would have been even less successful. 6. Yes, stumpys would have gone extinct. 7. Natural selection influences how species evolve. Natural selection picks which tra

This unit was on ecology; in other words, we learned about how organisms interact with each other and their environment. There are four main concepts of ecology: niche, habitat, interdependence, and homeostasis. We delved into the different cycles in our ecosystems. We watched a documentary on how plastic affects our ecosystem.               I want to learn more about different ecosystems, and how humans affect them. I’m interested in whether Saratoga can do something to help our local ecosystem.             I think overall our group work went really well. Next time, I think our group can work on communication. There were a few times that someone didn’t explain what they needed in order to complete their tasks. If they had said something, we could have been more efficient. I learned different ideas on how to approach projects where video or slides are acceptable. Usually I prefer slideshows, but I thought our video was successful.             My top category was assertive by