Unit 7 Reflection

This unit was all about the skeletal system. I thought it was cool because it taught us that bones do a lot more than just hold up our body. It also stores minerals and produces red blood cells in the bone marrow. All bones are shaped the way they are for a reason. Bones are separated into four groups; long, short, flat, and irregular.

I am curious as to why some of the back disorders affect children, some affect adults, and some affect both. Perhaps it's because some things are caused by poor posture such as kyphosis and lordosis, so they take years to develop.

In this unit, it definitely helps to have a skeleton in the classroom. Looking at pictures sometimes can't give you the same hands on understanding.

My New Years goals are going good and bad. I have gained about 8 pounds since basketball has ended, however my grades aren't where I'd like them to be

Owl Pellet Lab

For this lab we used tweezers to dissect dehydrated owl pellets, or undigested fur and bones regurgitated by owls. 

The rodent in our pellet was a vole. The skull was the main giveaway because voles have their teeth grouped at the back of the jaw rather than it being spread out and all three skulls that we found matched that. It also had elongated front teeth that could only belong to a mole or vole. The leg bones also matched those of a vole.

The bone anatomy of voles obviously are different than that of a human. The bones are much smaller, the skull is dramatically different shape, and voles have very long two front teeth. However, the similarities included a ball and socket joint at the hip, external limbs protruding from the main body, and the skull had eye sockets.