Examples of Discussions on eCollege. You will not be able to discuss these 

Short Distance Movement Discussions
1. Explain what caused the "happenings" in the Potato Cylinder Soak Experiment. 
2. Explain what caused the "happenings" in the Indian Ink Experiment. NOW IS THE TIME to discuss this, so I will tell you what has happened in the past and will show you THIS demonstration during next lab. Please discuss these results.

A layer of Indian Ink was placed in the bottom of three beakers. Ice cold water was gently layer on top of the Indian ink in one beaker and this beaker was placed in an ice bath held at 4 C. The Indian ink did not mix in the water with the move. Room Temperature water was gently layer on top of the Indian ink in beaker two and this beaker was placed in a room temperature bath held at 22 C. The Indian ink did not mix with the water during the move. Hot water was gently layer on top of the Indian ink in beaker three and this beaker was placed in an hot water bath held at 80 C. The Indian ink did not mix with the water during the move.
RESULTS in three hours.
--Ice Water.....no mixing had occurred as the two layers still remained
--Room Temperature.....Some mixing had occurred, with the darkest water near the bottom. There were no clear layers.
--Hot Water .....Even mixing had occurred and there was no evidence of layers.

3. People can't drink water taken from the ocean as it contains salt. If you have boat problems in the middle of the ocean and run out of water, you die of thirst even when resorting to drinking sea water. Explain why in terms of "Short Distance Movement.
4. Explain what caused the "happenings" in the Dialysis Bag Soak Experiment.   
  • = Our alveolar membranes must be kept moist for us to have adequate lung function. Transporter proteins move chloride ions through the cell membranes to the cell surface. This accumulation of chloride ions causes water to move out of the cells maintaining a moist surface environment in our lungs. Discuss the process(es) that move the water to the membrane surface. Name it and describe how it works. See Unit 1/Internet/Ventilation if you need more information concerning alveoli. 
  • Discuss why the lettuce (or spinach) in salt water became wilted when the lettuce (or spinach) in water didn't. Name the process and describe how it works.
  • Assume that two of you sitting on opposite sides of a rather small room were taking a make up exam. This room was stuffy as there was no ventilation or windows. The other person had too many refried beans for lunch .....and you know the rest of the story about what happened. If there was absolutely no draft and you both sat perfectly still except for writing, will the smell get to you. Explain why or why not.
  •  During the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis plants utilize solar energy to extract electrons from water and add energy to them. In the thylakoid membranes  electrons and H+ are added to NADP+ making NADPH. NADPH functions as an electron carrier molecule. The NADPH must carry the electrons and H+ some distance away from the thylakoid membranes to the molecular machines that are making the glucose. What short distance movement process is used to move the NADPH from the membranes to the molecular machines? Explain how it works.
  • What process(es) do you use to get the oxygen from the lung cavity into the capillaries? See Unit 1/Internet/Ventilation.
  • What process(es) do you use to get the carbon dioxide from lung capillaries into the lung cavity? See Unit 1/Internet/Ventilation.
  • This is a no-brainer, but some miss the concept of how the concentration of a solution can be change. Discuss how you make various concentration of solutions. As a starter, if you have a glass of pure water, how do you make it not so pure, such as only 80% water.

Molecular Genetics
1. Summarize the function(s) of DNA. Use the detail in your lecture notes.  
2. Summarize how the three types of RNA  are made and their function(s). Use the detail in your lecture notes.
3. Summarize how ribosomes work. Use the detail in your lecture notes.
4. We all know about genes. Discuss what they are, where they are located, and what they do.

Biological Molecules

1. Living organisms make much use of 3 six carbon monosaccharides, 2 five carbon monosaccharides, 3 disaccharides and 3 polysaccharides. Name these and describe how organisms use them.
2.Organisms often take preassembled smaller molecules and hook them together to make larger molecules. Describe the very common reaction used to do this, explaining how it works. Discuss how three different disaccharide and also three polysaccharides are made by this method.
3. We do the opposite of dehydration synthesis when we digest our food. Name this reverse process and describe how it works by describing the digestion of disaccharides and polysaccharides.

4. Describe the general differences in the structures of monosaccharides, fatty acids, and amino acids. Discuss how you will know the difference when the structures of these molecules are on a quiz.

  • What elements do you find in each of the follow.......carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids

  • Scientists suppect that the vegetation around the Chernobyl power plant were contaminated with radioactive nitrogen in the power plant accident. What Which substances in plants and animals should be examined for radioactivity to test his hypothesis?

  • The fact that many of our foods contain hydrogenated fats is often only described in fine print, if described at all. What is a hydrogenated fat, why are fats hydrogenated, and what is the big deal about them?

  • The text shows that nucleotides are strung together to make nucleic acids. Yet, when we talk about DNA, we usually speak about the bases...the A, T, G, & C. Explain why we do this?