Drafts

The cooled contents of the flask were transferred to a centrifuge tube containing water (3 mL). The layers were mixed thoroughly, and the aqueous layer was removed. Sat. aq. sodium bicarbonate was added (1 mL) and the layers were mixed again. The aqueous layer was removed, and the process was repeated once more. Sat. aq. Sodium chloride (1 mL) was added to the ester and the layers were mixed. The lower aqueous layer was removed and added to the waste beaker. The organic layer was transferred to a clean vial and 5 spheres of anhydrous CaCl₂ were added as a drying agent. The spheres of CaCl₂ instantly fell apart and mixed with the liquid which indicated the presence of excess water in the ester product. Since product could not be recovered, experiment was halted and another student’s data on isopentyl propionate was used for the ‘results’ and ‘discussion’ portion of the lab report.

The presence of fat makes the immune surveillance system to fail, to detect and destroy cancer cells. A recent study, led by Trinity College in Dublin, has discovered new links between obesity and cancer. That explains why when there’s an excess of fat, the immune system fails to fight cancer cells. 

The n-propanol (0.82 mL, 11 mmol), propionic acid (0.97 mL, 13 mmol), and concentrated sulfuric acid (4 drops) were added to a 5 mL round-bottomed flask. Contents were mixed thoroughly, and a few boiling chips were added. A distillation apparatus was set up at a 45° angle and the rb flask was heated to a gentle boil on the hot plate. The heating was adjusted so that vapors condensed about ⅓ of the way up the reflux condenser, well above the side arm. After reaction refluxed for 15 minutes, two phases of liquid collected in the side arm, an upper organic phase and a lower water phase. At this point, the apparatus was raised from the heat and tipped so that most of the upper phase in the side arm dripped back into the reaction flask. This process was repeated after 15 minutes. The reaction mixture was allowed to reflux for another 15 minutes (for a total runtime of 45 minutes). Afterwards, the apparatus was allowed to cool for 15 minutes and the entire contents of the side arm were emptied into the flask.

• Six spiders of the Pholcus-pholcidae species were collected and placed into  six separate clear containers. The weight of each spider was recorded using an analytical scale. Each spider was placed on a plate, weighed, and then we subtracted the weight of the plate from the weight of the plate with the spider to get the weight of each spider.

• The spiders were given one mosquito at the beginning of the trial after being weighed and allowed to spin their web for three days at a constant environment of 20 degrees celsius.

• A strand of silk was removed from three of the spiders containers because not all 6 spiders produced enough silk to be measured. Using tweezers, the silk from each sample was placed onto a microscope slide and a cover was placed on top.

• We used a Nikon Inverted Microscope Eclipse microscope to take pictures of the samples. For each sample, we took two images of the web from different areas of the sample.

• We used Fiji to analyze the images of the webs. For each image, there was .108 microns per pixel. We used this ratio to determine the ratio to measure silk thickness. The known distance for each thickness was determined using Fiji to draw a line from one end of the silk to the other, and the number of pixels was divided by .108 to give the length of the silk in micrometers.

One thin strand of silk and one thick strand of silk was measured in each image. We measured the thickness of five different points on a 28 μm width of the silk. The average of these five measurements was calculated to determine the average thickness of the silk.

The social structure of killer whales is very distinct. When focusing on resident killer whales specifically, it is important to note that the basic social unit is called a matriline. This is a group of killer whales which are connected by maternal descent. This core group is highly stable with bonds that are extremely strong. Individuals are rarely seen apart for more than a few hours. Studies conducted have shown that individuals have not been seen to permanently leave any of these observed resident matrilines. Matrilines may consist from 1 to 4 generations of related whales. Pods are the next social structure - which consist of related matrilines that travel and hunt together. Pods are less stable and it is not unusual that a matriline will break away from the pod for an extended period of time. Beyonds pods, are clans. Clans are made up of pods with similar vocal dialects, and may be related. Pods may have developed from one ancestral pod which fragmented over time. Pods from different clans are frequently seen traveling together. The last social level is a community. Whales do not share common maternal links or vocal similarities, but simply share a geographic range.

    Similar to resident killer whales, the matriline is basic social unit in transient whales. However they are typically smaller in size, and juvenile and adult offspring can disperse for long periods of time or even permanently. Consistency in grouping patterns is not common. Associations are more dynamic in transient killer whales as well.

Several different studies described spider webs as depending upon the mechanical performance of capture threads, and states that web function arises from the architecture and mechanical performance of silk (2). This study also used microscopy, and measured the web thickness of different web types: orb webs, funnel webs, dome webs, and irregular mesh webs. The different types of webs yielded different thicknesses on average, with orb webs being the thickest. Since spider webs must be strong enough to withstand the weight of the spider on the web, and be durable enough to support the spider’s movement, it is plausible that spider weight could also be a factor in web thickness, in addition to web type.  

Orca whales - also known as “Killer Whales” or Orcinus Orca, are one of the world’s most powerful predators. They are often found in cold, coastal waters but can be found from polar regions all the way to the equator. Orcas are known to feast on many marine mammals such as seals, sea lions, and other whales. They also eat fish, squid, and sea birds. A notable part of the Orca’s lifestyle is their hunting technique - in which they hunt in deadly groups of 5 to 50 whales, called “pods.” There are three subgroups of orcas; residents, transients, and offshore orcas. We will focus our attention on Residents and Transients, as they have the most research conducted on them. A resident pod can include from 5 to 50 Orcas. A transient pod usually consists of 1- 6 Orcas. The difference in pod sizes is likely to due to the subgroups’ feeding habits. Resident pods typically feed on fish, specifically salmon. Resident orcas herd schools of fish to get their food, and this method is most effective with a large number of orcas. Transient orcas prey mainly on marine mammals. This can be a time-consuming, demanding process as the orcas must cooperate to sneak attack their prey. Hence why their pods are smaller in size.

    The act of cooperative hunting is a distinct and unique process in which many factors come into play. Transients are generally more quiet when communicating. This may be due to the fact that they are hunting marine mammals, and must approach them quietly to avoid being detected. Transients use echolocation - but only in single clicks. Transient pods in the same region, communicate with simple language and do not vary in dialects. Resident Orcas are typically more vocal, relying heavily on echolocation to find their prey. Because their main food source, salmon, does not have good hearing, they do not have to worry about being quiet. Each Resident pod has their own set of complex calls.

Sarcoptyrigians includes all lobed finned fishes and is one of the two classes in which all boney fish are seperated into. Sarcopterygians can be further split into at least lineages: the dipnoi and the actinistia. There are several characteristics which unites all sarcoptyrigians. They have monobasic paired fins, that is, their fins only have one bone connecting the fins. Furthermore, these have muscular fin bases. Their teeth are covered in enamel. Lastly, all sarcoptyrigians have at least 4 bones comprising their sclerotic ring around the eye. Technically, we can even classify a human as a Sarcopterygian, despite it not being a "fish." This is because we, like the sarcopts, have lobed fins. Furthermore, we have enamel on our teeth. It should be noted that the 4+ rings around the sclerotic ring is often reduced or completely absent in mammals.

There are six possible projects that can be carried out, manipulating different variables in order to see how it affects spider web production and location. Although the six projects have different variables, they all contain one spider, are observed once a day; every morning, for two days, and feed flies every morning. During the daily observations, the observer should record any presence of webbing and its location in a style depicted in Table 1. 

To collect data we took measurements once a day for eight days in a row. Everyday we collected two measurements. The first measurement was what color side the spider was on when we first entered the room and before interacting with the spider. The second measurement was taken after moving the spider to the middle of the tank where the colors met. We gave the spiders a ten minute rest period before taking and recording the data on which color side background the spider chose.