Unit 3 Reflection

Unit 3 was all about cells and how they function. Chapter 7 was mainly about the cell's structure and how it functions. We learned about the different parts of the cell, how they function, how they were discovered and about things like osmosis and diffusion. We learned about the 4 macromolecules of the cell, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acid and what they do. Some parts of the cell are the nucleus, ribosomes, vacuole, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum. We also learned about the 4 main types of cells prokaryotes who don't have a nucleus, eukaryotes who have a nucleus, autotrophs who make their own food, and heterotrophs who don't. Chapter 8 expanded and went into great depth about the process of photosynthesis which we touched on in middle and elementary school. We learned that photosynthesis which occurs inside chloroplasts is the process of taking water, carbon dioxide, and light energy to make glucose and oxygen. This occurs in 2 main parts the light dependent reactions and the light independent reactions (the Calvin Cycle). We also learned about the very important concept of ATP which and energy carrying molecule which is vital for the cell to function. The last chapter we learned about, Chapter 9 was all about cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the exact opposite of photosynthesis, taking glucose and oxygen and turning it into water, carbon dioxide and ATP. Cellular respiration occurs in 3 different stages, glycolysis which takes place in the cytoplasm, Krebs Cycle which takes place in the mitochondria, and the electron transport chain which takes place in the inner membrane of the mitochondria.

Definitely one of the most challenging parts of this Unit was fully understanding the processes involved in both photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis are both extremely complex processes so it was difficult for me to grasp what was going on in each individual part, and how that related to each other. However labs were really helpful in expanding my knowledge of different concepts such as the different cell types. With the microscope lab I was able too look at real cells with my own eyes and see how different types of cells are structured. For an example, after the lab i was able to easily recognize which cells were eukaryotic, prokaryotic, autotrophic, and heterotrophic.

What I have learned from this Unit is that making sure I go over the vodcasts a second time really helps. I realized during this Unit that with watching it one time I don't fully grasp the concept, leaving me confused for the next few days. However when I did take the time to watch it twice, I ended up with a pretty good understanding of what was taught.  Overall I think this Unit has taught me a lot only about cells, good studying habits that I should keep up with, and has made me a better student.