Unit 4 Reflection

        In the Coin Sex Lab, we simulated the random crossing over of genes during meiosis. We flipped coins and labeled each side with a certain allele and predicted the probability of how often we would get each phenotype. In the dihybrid cross, our results were pretty close to what we predicted. This makes me believe that genetics are random, but have a certain element of predictability to them. For example, we predicted that 17.5% of the offspring would be double homozygous with heterozygous parents, and this held true. Autosomal and X-linked inheritance are both ways that traits can be passed on to offspring during the recombination of genes (crossing over). Understanding this relates to my life such that I can figure out all the possible phenotypoes and genotypes I could have been, based on my parents' geneotypes and phenotypes. I could use a monohybrid cross to illustrate these concepts and figure out what phenotyope and geneotype I could have potentially had instead of the ones I was born with.
       This unit was all about genetics, and we focused on the main question of "why is sex so great?". Here is a blog post that may help you to understand more about sexual reproductiona and give you some background information on the concept:
Is Sexual Reproduction Important?
Some themes were asexual vs sexual reproduction, X-linked vs autosomal inheritance, dominant vs recessive alleles, meiosis vs mitosis, and the law of segregation vs the law of independent assortment. Asexual reproduction has one parent and offspring are genetically the same. Sexual has two parents and offspring are genetically different. X-linked inheritance is when an organism inherits its gene from the X- chromosome. Autosomal inheritance is when an organism inherits its genes from the 22 other chromosomes. Dominant alleles mask recessive alleles and recessive alleles are only present when they are homozygous recessive. Meiosis produces four haploid cells, splits twice, and occurs in the testes and ovaries. Mitosis produces two diploid cells, splits once, and occurs everywhere. The law of segregation is that gene pairs separate when gametes are formed. The law of independent assortment is when gene pairs separate randomly from each other. Here is a much more simplified and engaging link to my infographic, which summarizes this whole unit:
  Infographic of Unit 4
        I learned a lot from this unit about genetics. I knew about sexual reproduction, but now I feel that I know exactly what goes on during no just sexual, but also asexual reproduction. I feel I have grown as a student and now know that simple ideas people think are common knowledge can always be expanded on and you can always continue to learn more. My strengths in this unit were that I paid attention to the vodcasts and in class a lot and really tried to quiz myself periodically to see how well I was understanding and learning the information. Some of my weaknesses this unit were that I did not do well on the CFU's and that I could have spent more time doing the CFU's. I still want to learn more about genetics because they fascinate me. I would like to do more punnett squares and try to apply my knowledge to my own life. I still wonder about how exactly meiosis and mitosis happen and what it would look like to watch cells dividing. I would like to learn more about the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment. Overall, this unit has been very eye-opening and interesting for me to learn about.
          I found out that I am a kinesthetic learner, which means using all my senses and trial and error to learn. I got kinesthetic 8, visual 1, aural 6, and read/write 1. This did not surprise me because that is how I usually study for a test. To prepare for the test, I can study as I would take the test in the classroom, and I can also write paragraphs to summarize and review concepts I learned.

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