Dendrology

Dendrology is the study and science of wooded plants. In this lab, we examined a pine tree from Georgia and a palm tree in Palm Springs. By counting the tree rings, you can mark important events that were happening in the world.

Elm Tree: By counting the tree rings, this tree is between 30 and 35 years old. After counting and measuring the rings and seeing the discrepancies in size I decided to look into why they were that way. It could be because of droughts and extreme heat or a lot of rain. the outer ones could be due to the saw being cut unevenly. There are many many many things that could attribute to the changes in the rings.

Pine Tree: By counting the tree rings, this tree was around 50-55 years old. This tree has very defined rings which means it probably had a healthy life and was a strong beautiful tree. although the edges are a little rough it could once again be because of a saw unevenly cutting.

Temperature:

now we will look at the climate conditions of the georgia pine and the California elm. this data goes all the way back to the 1960s and because the pine is older than the elm there is more data for it. This chart is looking at the temperatures of the state and the thickness of the tree rings

With this information, we can graph the data to deduct if there is a correlation between the rings thickness and their temperatures.

From this graph, we may conclude that there is a huge difference in temperatures between the two trees, obviously since they are located in two different climate conditions. However, there is not too much difference in their ring thickness, meaning temperature must not be a crucial factor in determining what gives tree rings their characteristics.

Below is a chart of comparing tree thickness to precipitation to see if there may be a correlation there.

Now, a graph will be made from this data to visually illustrate a correlation.

It is still apparent that there are differences in precipitation based on location of the two trees, but there is still no correlation with the tree rings' characteristics. Therefore, the tree rings may have their characteristics based on other climate conditions.

It is an interesting concept to ponder on what events have happened while the tree has been a live. Here are a few events that have happened during both trees lives.

ALL CREDIT FOR THIS BLOG ARE FOR AKG

Trees and Shrubs

Evergreens 

Evergreens are a wonderful addition to your landscape. Even in Wisconsin snows you can enjoy something green in your yard. Not to mention evergreens are simply beautiful trees. They provide excellent privacy, provide shelter for small animals and birds in winter, and are relatively fast growing and insect resistant.

Shade & Ornamental Trees

Shade and ornamental trees add beauty to your yard. Birch, Maple and Oak provide towering, majestic splendor and are well suited to the Wisconsin climate. Shade trees can help keep air conditioning costs down. And of course sitting under a shade tree is almost a rite of summer.

Fruit Trees

Fruit trees offer spectacular spring blossoms and then provide nutritious fruit for you to enjoy in season. Bayside Garden Center carries a wide range of apple and cherry trees in addition to Peach, Pear, Apricot and Plum varieties that are best suited to the Wisconsin climate. With proper care, fruit trees will grow and produce for many years.

Shrubs and Bushes

Shrubs are a staple in landscaping. They can create additional privacy, hide foundations or utilities, accent a path, driveway, or doorway, and provide food and shelter for desired birds and wildlife. Some Shrubs are create a wonderful ground cover.

Topographic Map

Traffic Study

Type                 Number             Number of people (1)       Number of People (+1)           Texting

Sedan               38                      30                                       8                                              0

Truck              22                        8                                         14                                            0

Bike              3                            3                                         0                                              0


I live in the Lofts, and my room faces the street, so I sat down in front of my window and started taking the data. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that none of the drivers were texting. Also, I realized that truck drivers were less likely to drive by themselves rather than sedan drivers, which I found completely shocking, because I thought the opposite would have happened. Another funny factor that I realized, is that I did not see one minivan during the two hours I was collecting the datas.

Mitochondrial Eve and Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use. Although most DNA is packaged in chromosomes within the nucleus, mitochondria also have a small amount of their own DNA. This genetic material is known as mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. In humans, mitochondrial DNA spans about 16,500 DNA building blocks (base pairs), representing a small fraction of the total DNA in cells.
Mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes, all of which are essential for normal mitochondrial function. Thirteen of these genes provide instructions for making enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation. Oxidative phosphorylation is a process that uses oxygen and simple sugars to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell's main energy source. The remaining genes provide instructions for making molecules called transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which are chemical cousins of DNA. These types of RNA help assemble protein building blocks (amino acids) into functioning proteins.

In the field of human genetics, the name Mitochondrial Eve refers to the matrilineal most recent common ancestor of all currently living anatomically modern humans, who is estimated to have lived approximately 100,000–200,000 years ago.

Here are 5 pictures of 5 different ethnicities around the world:

HAITIAN

FRENCH

ITALIAN

INDIAN

EGYPTIAN

The first map is an example of a dot density map.  A dot density, or dot distribution map is a map that uses a dot symbol to express a feature or phenomenon. 

The following is an Isopleth Maps. This type of map is ideal for showing gradual change over space and avoids the abrupt changes which boundary lines produce on choropleth maps. Temperature, for example, is a phenomenon that should be mapped using isoplething, since temperature exists at every point (is continuous), yet does not change abruptly at any point (like population density may do as you cross into another census zone).

The third one is an example of choropleth map. 

The last type of map is a proportional symbol map. 

Geology Lab

The purpose of this lab is to identify a rock that you like in each of the three main categories, which are igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.

According to geology.com, Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten rock material. There are two basic types which are intrusive igneous rocks that solidify below Earth's surface and extrusive igneous rocks that solidify above Earth's surface. For the igneous rock, I chose to do it on Basalt. Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as lava  flow, but can also form in small intrusive bodies, such as an igneous dike or or a thin sill. The following is a picture of basalt.

The second type of rocks are metamorphic rocks. They are rocks that have been modified by heat, pressure and chemical process usually while buried deep below Earth's surface. Exposure to these extreme conditions has altered the mineralogy, texture and chemical composition of the rocks. There are two types of metamorphic rocks, which are foliated metamorphic rocks, and non-foliated metamorphic rocks. The metamorphic rock I chose for today's lab is quartzite, which is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced by the metamorphism of sandstone. It is composed primarily of quartz. The following picture is a picture of quartzite:

The last type of rock which I am going to talk about is the sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of sediments. There are three types, which are clastic sedimentary that are formed from mechanical weathering debris, chemical sedimentary rocks that form when dissolved material precipitate from solution, and finally, organic sedimentary rocks which form from the accumulation of plant or animal debris. I chose coal, which is an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation and preservation of plant materials, usually in a swamp environment. The following is a picture of a coal rock.

All of those information were found on www.geology.com