Test Day

     Tuesday was our test day, and it went well. I only missed three multiple choice questions, and I got a perfect score on my graph and writing part. I was a little concerned that my writing section would be confusing to read, but I guess it was better that I had thought. Luckily, I did the Diffusion and Osmosis Lab, so i was exposed to this kind of problem already. Im glad to say that I did very well, despite only getting 2 hours of sleep the night before. The questions that I missed are quite clear to me now. They were mostly errors in interpreting the questions and paying attention to the little details. The biggest thing I learned out of this situation is that I should finish the entire lab report on the weekend, so that I can study and get some sleep before the test.

Get Sleep

Funny Joke

     Our homework for the class after the test was to read Chapters 1, 2, and 11 of Your Inner Fish. When reading this book, I found Neil Shubin's journey to be very interesting. Even though Shubin  failed time and time again to find the fossil of the species that started the transition from water to land, he and his crew were persistent and never gave up. It was after years and years of searching at a site on Ellesmere Island in Canada that they finally found Tiktaalik.

     The first chapter taught us about the process in which remains of an animal go through in order to become a fossil. We learned that a fossil is formed when it is covered by sediment, and compressed into the ground. The soft tissues of the bones are replaced by rock, in a process known as mineralization. Some of these fossils move do to shifts in the plates, and a lucky few are discovered by paleontologists. We also learned that it is best to search in an area where the rock is the same age as the desired fossil, and to search for fossils that are disposed.

     In the second chapter, we learned that creatures as different as humans and frogs share an arm bone scheme, starting at the shoulder, with one bone, two bones, lotsa bones, then fingers or toes. This discovery was made by Sir Richard Owen. This discovery shows the presence of homology, for these creatures received these traits from a common ancestor. If these creatures all developed these same traits, but did not receive them from a common ancestor, then they would be analogous to each other. Convergent evolution is what causes two animals to develop a similar trait without receiving the trait from a common ancestor.


Tiktaalik