Bloggin with Jim and Cody...

Photosynthesis is the process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.  Photosynthesis occurs in algae, plants and many other bacteria.  Photosynthetic organisms are known as photoautotrophs since they create their own food, kind of like a farmer, but then again not so much.  They use carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as the waste product.  Photosynthesis is vital for all life on Earth and promotes homeostasis.  

QUESTIONS:

Who studies photosynthesis?

Could photosynthesis be harnessed for electrical power?

Where does photosynthesis take place?

Maple Syrup Fermentation

As you know maple syrup comes from the sap of a maple tree. In the production of maple syrup you have different grades of maple syrup. How you get the different grades is pretty simple, when you boil the sap in a tree you simply are taking the water out of whats left , the sugar content. Depending on what the tree has been through that is how you know what your grade could and most likely would be. When you are finished with and have gone through the maple syrup process you can either bottle or put the finished product in a barrel. Depending on the type of barrel and how strong the seal is on the barrel is how you know if your syrup is gonna stay good or if it will ferment. Syrup is sometimes feremented on purpose to make maple wine. The Syrup would have to sit for about a week or two before it will start the process of fermentation.

Questions
1. How does the maple syrup ferment?
2. What are the three ways that you can tell if maple syrup is bad?
3. Which one can be misleading?
4. Are you able to grade fermented syrup or sell it?

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is known as the "energy currency" of our body. ATP is a high energy molecule that stores energy we need to do every thing we do on a daily basis. As well as being in every cell in our body (in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm) it is in every other animal/plant. An estimated 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of ATP is formed in humans every day. In an ATP molecule three phosphate groups are held together by oxygen with a negative charge (normally). Seeing as these atoms are missing a protron the electrons want to find another proton, so the negative charges constantly are trying to get away making it have a lot of potential energy.


QUESTIONS:

1) how does ATP store energy??
2) how much ATP is used in the body daily??
3) what gives ATP its energy storing capability??