Pill Bugs or Roly Poly Ollies  

 This week in AP Biology we learned about pill bugs for our first big lab. Pill bugs also know as roly polys or pill bugs are very interesting creatures. Their scientific name is Armadillidiidae vulgare. Pill bugs are also part of the crustacean family, which is animals such as crabs and shrimps. Unlike its family members pill bugs can spend their entire life on earth. Pill bugs enjoy cool and dark places such as underneath a rock or in a basement. They can also be found in biomes all over the world. Pill bugs are a grey earthy color, but can be found in Europe with red dots giving them protection because other organisms associate them with black widow spiders. They have a an exoskeleton made up of chitin as we learned earlier is a carbohydrate. Pill bugs have seven jointed legs and two pairs of antennas but you can only see one. A pill bug's diet consists mostly of decomposing plants and animals. An interesting fact about pill bugs is that they have gills to breathe although they cannot live when submerged in water. Pill bugs get their nickname roly poly because of a defensive mechanism they have which they have that makes them roll up into a ball.
   Pill bugs are very interesting creatures they have odd quirks such as blue blood or drinking water with their anus.


P.S. (Roly Poly Ollies is my nickname for pill bugs)

Organelles in Animal Cells

Cells are the basis for the structure and function of all organisms. There are two different types of cells, eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Plants, animals, protists, and fungi are all made of eukaryotic cell, while bacteria and archea are made of prokaryotic cells. Cells are made of organelles that all have a specific job in cells. Animal cells and plant cells have different organelles in them. 

One type of organelle is the nucleus; it is used in storing genetic material that is later used in the reproduction of cells. Another type of organelle is the nucleolus of a cell. They are located inside the nucleus and are used for the production of ribosomes. Ribosomes are used in the synthesis of proteins. After ribosomes synthesize proteins they are then sent to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum where the proteins are created. Cell products such as proteins are sent to the Golgi apparatus to be modified, synthesized, and discharged from the cell. Lysosomes are digestive organelles in the cell. They use hydrolysis to break down macromolecules. Mitochondria in cells are the site of cellular respiration that creates ATP for the cell. The cytoskeletons of cells are used to transport materials in the cell and are important in the cell's structure. The plasma membrane of cells control what goes in and out through cells. Cytoplasm is the jelly like substance in cells it is also called cytosol. Centrioles help with cell division. All these organelles are what help cells to do their jobs, and without these organelles we would not be able to live.

Animal Cell

The BIG Four!!!!

This week in AP Biology we learned about macromolecules. There are four types of macromolecules, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. They are the most important molecules of all living things. Carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids are also organic compounds because of the elements involved in their makeup.

                Carbohydrates  are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen usually in a 1:2:1 ratio. The monomer of carbohydrates would be a monosaccharide coming from the Greek language in which monos means one and sacchar means sugar. Many of theses sugars put together will create polysaccharides. One type of polysaccharide is starch, which is used in plants to store glucose, a food source. Another polysaccharide is chitin, which is used by arthropods for their exoskeleton. Carbohydrates are very important in day to day life. 

                                                    

                One of the more unique macromolecules are lipids because they have no one true monomer. They are made up of carbon and hydrogen but also with a small amount of oxygen. Lipids are actually too small to be called macromolecules, but because of their inability to mix with water they are grouped together. Lipids have many forms and functions, but the three most important biologically, are fats, phospholipids, and steroids. A fat is consisted of glycerol and a fatty acid. Fats are used by animals to carry and store energy with them. Phosphlipids are made of two fatty acids bonded to a glycerol, and they are extremly important because they make up our cell membranes. Steroids are made of a carbon skeleton with four fused rings. Cholesterol and sex hormones are types of steroids. These are a few examples of lipids.

                                           

                 With every living thing depending on proteins you could probably say it was one of the most important macromolecules. It literally means in Greek "first" or "primary". The elements present in proteins are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The monomer of proteins are amino acids which when bonded together, by peptide bonds, create polypeptides. These polypeptides are what enzymes and insulin are made of. Proteins are very complex and important to our systems.

                                                            

                  The fourth macromolecule is called nucleic acids. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorous are what create nucleic acids. A nucleotide is the building block or monomer of nucleic acids. Nucleotides are composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. On ethe nucleotides bond together they will create RNA or DNA. RNA is a nucleic acid that does various requirements in gene expression, while DNA store hereditary information. These are what nucleic acids compose and what their functions are.

                                                  

                   Macromolecules are complex and large molecules, that make up the critically important molecules of all living beings.