A Fascinating Dissection of A Frog

     WOW!!!!! The dissection process which was experienced in Science class on the days of Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14 can be described in two ways:

1. Fascinating Connections
2. A Learning Experience

     During this two day lab, students were given an oppurtunity to dissect the dead body of a frog. These frogs which were dissected in the class were one of the many species of frogs and they maintained a green color. For diversity, both male frogs and female frogs were dissected. Now, the purpose of this lab was not to open the body parts of the frog for the sake of it, but to understand how organisms share similar connections throughout the body. They did indeed share similar body parts with the body of the human.

                                                                                           

Source to Picture #1(above)(right): http://www.scientificillustrator.com/illustration/amphibians/leopard_frog.html

 The picture above is to represent a typical frog. NOTICE: The page cited shows information about a certain frog species which does not serve any purpose to the main idea of the frog dissection.

Tuesday, December 13,2011:

     Day 1 - THE DISSECTION - Students gathered in multiple groups to examine and dissect an individual frog designated to each group.To start off with, each frog was placed on a dissecting pan to prepare for the dissection. The beginning portion of the dissection involved cutting through the skin of the frog in order to get a clear view of important body parts of the organism.Once skin was pinned down to the pan, muscle appeared, but to many groups, it just looked like more skin. Once the first few incisions were made, body parts of the frog's digestive system were visible. This included the stomach, three-part liver, small intestine, large intestine, pancreas, and gallbladder. When the groups saw those gallbladders, they observed that they looked like "deflated peas." This added lots of humor to the lab.

Source: http://www.biologyjunction.com/frog_dissection.htm

This page talks about the digestion system of a frog.




(continued....)As the students cut through the skin of the upper portion of the body, the heart, the lungs, and the esophagus became visible. If the students looked closely, they could see the arteries and the spleen. On the other hand, most of the frogs were females so students were able to identify the ovaries filled with eggs. The eggs were represented with black spheres. Basically, Day 1 of the frog dissection was represented by this:(below)

(Left)Male Frog(dissected)

Source:
http://www.biologyjunction.com/frog_dissection.htm

-------------------------------------------------

(and)

(Right)-Female Frog(dissected)- The eggs are the black spheres....

Source:http://www.altoona.psu.edu/academics/www/mns/bioal/Frog/femaleanat.htmThe cited page above talks about the interior anatomy of a dissected female frog.

Student Reactions to DAY 1:

Based on the observations of Group #1: To start off with, the smell of the frog was really strong. This affected how the people of the group were going to dissect.

EXTERIOR: It was discovered that the dorsal side of the frog was smooth and was full of spots. The feel of both the ventral and dorsal sides of the frog were both solid. When pinning down the arms of the frog, the students could feel the strong hands of the frog.

INTERIOR: On the inside, the digestion system was discovered. The students of the group seemed fascinated by the body parts. The body parts were easily identified by this group, even though many other groups were having trouble matching organs to the ones from the diagrams given by the teacher. Additionally, the students were encountered with so-called "fat bodies." These miniscule structures appeared as spaghetti-like material and they represented the fat inside the body. "Wow, those fat bodies really did look like parts of spaghetti." Also, when the frog was first cut open, a liquid started to roam around through the frog and the group was unsure of what it was. The juice gushing through the frog really bugged this specific group. The heart was found above the three-part liver and it was seen in the shape of a triangle. Group #1 had trouble identifying the heart because they assumed it to be red because of blood, but however it was a white color. Right behind this organ, the lungs appeared squashed and simply disgusting. Despite the few surprising organs and substances found in the frog, the group found the systems of the frog really intriguing. They believed it was a "learning experience."

Wednesday, December 14, 2011:

     Day 2 - Summary and Connections to Human Body - Students gathered once again in their designated groups with their designated frog. Today, the groups were to cut out each individual part of the frog. They would think about the similarites between the frog and the human body.

 

Human Digestive System                                                                                                 
Source:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/)  

This page talks about the human digestion process.                          
Frog Digestive System
 Source: http://www.tutorvista.com/biology/frog-digestive-system-diagram
  (This website talks about the anatomy of the frog digestive system..)       

   (Cloaca is the opening for urinary and reproductive tracts)
                                                                                   

Similarities:

• The digestive system of both the human body and the frog body have the same parts and functions.
• In the circulatory system for both the frog and human, there is a heart which has included a right atrium and a left atrium.
• For reproduction, both human females and frog females involve eggs.
• Both animals have fat bodies which are broken down by enzymes.
• Both animals have similar exterior parts. For example, hands, legs, a mouth, a tongue, etc...

Therefore, this lab showed a lot about how body systems of different creatures are related. It was indeed amazing to discover new things inside the frog and every student learned from the experience. This frog dissection definitely helped me learn about the frog and how the functions of the frog are related to the functions of other organisms.

More Multimedia: Virtual Lab- (To Help You Get A Better Understanding About The Frog Dissection)http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_16/BL_16.html

(explains dissection of frog)(steps)
http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog2/Dissection/Setup/setup1.html

A Frog Dissection Game:AWESOME!!!! - http://www.surgery-games.org/43/Dissect-a-Frog.html


Froggy Animation

 
 

Poster

"As The Stomach Churns" Lab Response

In science class on Monday and Tuesday, we did a lab to represent the digestion of proteins in the stomach. I found this two day experiment really interesting. To start off with, we were provided with four test tubes which were used to hold the substances that were to be used throughout the experiment. Some of the main materials used in the lab were water, diluted hydrochloric acid, pepsin, blue litmus paper, and white boiled egg. We were instructed to put three pieces of egg into each of the four test tubes. The egg pieces represented what was going to be broken down. After that, we distributed pepsin, hydrochloric acid, and water into the test tubes according to the directions given. Basically, our goal was to observe any reactions of the boiled egg and the litmus paper. We used clean stirrers to touch each of the four mixtures of the test tubes and then with pressure touched the four different pieces of litmus paper. We noticed that test tubes with hydrochloric acid  made a greater impact to the litmus paper. The acid made the blue litmus paper pink. However, the more watery substances didn't influence a color change of the litmus paper. From Day 1 to Day 2, there had been major differences in the solutions of the test tubes. For example, on Day 2 some of the test tube solutions were more mushy, sticky, and "bubbly" than the previous day. "Bubbly" refers to "with bubbles." Also, on Day 2 the egg pieces appeared smaller, because of it shrinking over the 24 hour period. A cool discovery I made was that pepsin and hydrochloric acid together would be best at digesting an item. Not pepsin alone, but with the hydrochloric acid, the two would have a strong ability to digest protein. The purpose of the lab was to connect real life science to what is occurring inside our stomachs. My group concluded that it takes time for the stomach to digest and disintegrate food particles. Similarly, it took time for reactions to take place in the experiment. The reactions were more clear on Day 2.

"Winging It!"

         In science on Thursday, the class did an anatomy lab on a chicken wing. Basically, the students observed as the teacher dissected a chicken wing. It was really interesting. The students could clearly see the connections between the structure of a chicken wing and a human body. For example, the human body and the chicken wing both have bones, muscle, skin, nerves, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and fat in common. The idea of the lab was to evaluate how a raw chicken wing can maintain four significant tissues. To start off with, a tissue is a group of similar cells that perform the same function. The different types of tissues were the following:

- epithelial tissue
- muscle tissue

- connective tissue

- nerve tissue

         Epithelial tissue forms protective surfaces such as skin. In the lab, the epithelial tissue was represented by the outer skin of the chicken wing. Muscle tissue has the ability to contract which causes movement of the structures inside the body. This tissue was represented by the lean meat of the chicken wing or in other words, the white colored material inside the wing. Connective tissue is capable of providing support of your body and connecting all its parts. In the lab, this appeared as the correlation between the bones, the ligaments, the cartilage, and the joints. The joints are the pieces that connect bones together. The ligaments are shiny white covers for joints. Finally, the cartilage is a slippery substance which allows the bones to move smoothly. Nerve tissue has the job of carrying messages between the brain and the rest of the body. Nerve tissue in the chicken wing was vague in appearance but it was shown as a faint strip of red. Another important part of the lab was the fat inside the chicken wing. It was shown as a yellow material connected to the muscle tissue.

         All in all, the lab was very fun and interesting. The students concluded that the tissue which actually moved the chicken wing was the connective tissue because it consisted of the bones which were connected by the joints. The bones/connective tissue was surrounded by the rest of the chicken wing. Everyone realized how the chicken wing structure and the human body structure can be similar.

       

The Lab of Diffusion - Class Response

Today in class, we did a lab to learn about the process of diffusion. For the experiment, the baggie of corn starch represented a semi permeable membrane and the iodine substance represented an indicator. My table group observed for about fifteen minutes that the iodine's purpose was to change the color of the corn starch during its direct contact with it. The iodine was significant to the lab because without it, there would be no change in any substance and the corn starch wouldn't have reacted to the diffusion which was taking place. Diffusion occurred because molecules from the diluted iodine water  had no space to move around and they were able to identify the less concentrated source of corn starch in the course of the lab. This form of diffusion was osmosis because the water molecules were travelling throughout the permeable membrane which was the baggie of corn starch. The goal of the lab was for the corn starch to successfully turn purple but due to the baggie being too well-made, the corn starch instead turned  into a light yellow color. Even though the lab wasn't successful, I thought it was cool how the chemicals were reacting to each other. I was able to understand how the iodine's contact with the corn starch impacted the spread of molecules. Although, it would be interesting to see how corn starch could turn from clear/white to purple.

Current Event - May

Libya's rebels say dying for freedom is worth it

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/15/eveningnews/main20063077.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesPrimary

Who: Ayman Berghthy says he is willing to die for the country of Libya. He has changed his main goal from

being a successful businnessman to being a freedom fighter for Libya.

What: Rebels against ruler Qaddafi claim full power over the city of Misrata. Since Quddafi is trying to shut the country down, Ayman and other fighters are fighting for the freedom of Libya.

When: This story took place on Sunday, May 15. Libyans have been trying to defend the country of Libya "since the first drop of blood" caused by Qaddafi.

Where: The major victory of the Libyan rebels takes place in Misrata, Libya. So far, the rebels declare that they have no plans to advance on Tripoli, Libya, which is the capital of the country.

Why: Rebels are making the decision to die for the freedom of Libya because they are sick and tired of the terror that Qaddafi has given to the country. The fighters have an intent to put the fight to an end and get back to the lives that the fight has put on hold.

How: The people of Libya are boosting the morale of the freedom fighters and giving hope to their beloved country.

I can connect this article to "Los Ninos Heros" of the Mexican/US War. The spanish phrase means "heroic children." In this historic war, six Mexican cadets died for the freedom of the country of Mexico.

Current Event-May 17

Current Event - May 17th.

Mississippi flood may be "large-scale disaster"

News link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/07/national/main20060801.shtml

Who's involved? Mississippi is suffering major floods that can change the environment and the inhabitants. These colossal floods will impact people of the society because some believe that their city will be underwater in the future. This is life changing because many won't have a shelter to live in. Now, residents and officials are preparing for the worst.

What is occurring? Floods are roaring through the state of Mississippi. These flood disasters are capable of breaking world records of historic flood levels. Basically, the Mississippi basin is overflowing. This is mainly being caused by the overflow of the valuable Mississippi River.

When did this occur? This article informs readers of what is to come on the day of May 7. Also, floods in Mississippi are still continuing today and are still devastating lives.

Where did this occur? This article is based in the whole of Mississippi. Also, it talks about people trying to aid the situation in Memphis, Tenessee.

Why are the floods occuring? The floods are occuring because powerful rain is forcing the Mississippi River's basin over its limits. Therefore, the water is being forced into tight areas(tributaries) and throughout the state.

How are people trying to help the situation? People around Memphis, Tenessee are constructing a buffer, filling sandbags, and raising to a higher ground. They are aiding the problematic floods to the best of their abilities.