My Experience with Biology :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Experience with Biology To all who know me, they know how I can’t stand anything that is gross and slimy, or possibly get me in any way, shape, or form dirty. (I can’t stand to be dirty at all!) When I go to the doctors, I can’t even stand to see the nurses poke my arm with a long, cold, sharp needle, so they can get a blood sample. I can’t even stand to watch the shows on the Discovery channel where they are operating on any part of the human body and there is blood oozing from the open flesh of a human being. I find it very hard to swallow when I even get a glimpse of it on television. This has always been my feeling ever since I was little, but when I entered high school and took a College Prep Biology course my feelings on things that are gross and slimy changed quite a bit. In high school I took a Biology class as every high school student has to do. I felt a little smarter than some of the others, because I was not only taking Biology, but I was taking college prep Biology. The only drawback to the class was I was going to have to a lot of dissecting to do. Now, I know in Biology everyone had to dissect the traditional earthworms and frogs, which I can handle without any problems. The problem I encountered after I entered the Biology class was not the fact that I had to dissect worms and frogs, but I had to actually dissect a fetal pig. I was not looking forward to this part of the class; I was even considering transferring into the normal, calm Biology class every one of my sane friends had done, but it was too late to turn back now. I vividly remember my teacher passing out the syllabus of his course and talking in a very excited manner about the dissecting of the fetal pig. â€Å"Now class, I know the tradition is to just dissect earthworms and frogs, which we will do, but I am anxious to get to the dissection of the fetal pig section of the class.

Holes Essay- Fate V/S Free Will

Holes Essay- Fate v/s Free Will Redemption? Destiny? â€Å"Holes† (by Louis Sachar) is an engrossing novel that revolves around these. In fact, everything, for whatever the reason might be, seems to line up, linking many generations and histories together through â€Å"Stanley Yelnats IV†, the protagonist. Nevertheless, he doesn’t know about it! Nor does he know that his endeavors have actually reformed him into a better person.This essay will now explore and examine how Stanley, unaware of what he was actually doing, set things right and how this changed him from a mousy to a confident character. The reader will discover how Stanley gets rid of a curse†¦a curse put on the Yelnats which completely eliminates their chances of making a fortune, in fact, is believed to be the reason they face such problems. Moreover, this â€Å"redemption† results in many worthy implications. In addition, the reader will also acquire how Stanley re-unites Zero and his mi ssing mother†¦ o, how does our environment affect us? Does it make us who we are? Does it change us? The entire Yelnats family struggled and suffered heavily, supposedly, due to a curse put on them by a one-legged gypsy, Madame Zeroni. An old, Egyptian woman, Madame Zeroni reluctantly provided Stanley’s great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats, with a piglet, to get the love of his life, Myra Menke. As her father was already in talks with Igor Barkov, who offered an enormous pig, he demanded something similar.Thus, Madame Zeroni told Elya to carry the piglet up the mountain where water ran uphill, make him drink that water and sing to it, every day. While it would grow, he would get stronger and tougher too. She, however, had strictly warned him to come back for her, to carry her up the mountain, let her drink from the same water and sing to her, otherwise, â€Å"He and all his descendants would be cursed for eternity. † Being a fifteen-year old, Elya did not take th is very seriously and forgot about the assurance he had given Madame Zeroni.It only struck him whilst he was on the way to America, dazed and frustrated on how Myra couldn’t make the obvious decision of choosing him against Igor; knowing what a foul man he was when their pigs weighed the same. Then onwards, the Yelnats were cursed. They always seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Bad luck seemed to follow them everywhere. However, even though they had no luck at all, they always remained hopeful and persistent. In fact, Stanley’s great-grandfather did make a fortune in the stock market but bad luck befell on him too.He lost everything†¦he was robbed by one of the most feared outlaws in all the west, Kissin’ Kate Barlow and was left stranded in the middle of a desert where he found refuge on â€Å"God’s thumb. † However, Stanley wiped out the curse when he carried Hector Zeroni (Zero), Madame Zeroni’s great-great-grandson u p a mountain, made him drink from the water and sang to him when they both ran away from Camp Green Lake; a juvenile detention center for boys and found refuge on â€Å"God’s thumb†, on an onion field (that belonged to Sam) just like Stanley’s great-grandfather did.Apparently, Madame Zeroni’s wish had just been fulfilled indirectly. As Stanley had heard a lot about his great-grandfather finding refuge on â€Å"God’s thumb†, when he saw a figure as such he was desperate to know about it and thought that could be a possibility where he and Zero could find refuge. Therefore, they climbed the mountain in the first place. Soon, however, he had the responsibility to carry Zero up as well. Stanley was just helping a friend but he didn’t know doing this would be the end to his bad luck.It might even interest the reader that Stanley’s father invented the cure to foot odor, something he had been trying to find for years, the day after th e great-great grandson of Elya Yelnats carried the great-great-grandson Madame Zeroni up the mountain. As a matter of fact, that is how Stanley’s father hired an attorney for his son which resulted in him out of Camp. Moreover, Zero, too, was let out due to no claim of records. This, in turn, lead to the end to Camp Green Lake and the start to a Girls’ Scout Camp. In addition, the land that had been in the Walker family for generations was snatched away.The Warden was in desperate need of money and had to sell the land. In fact, after over a hundred years, Green Lake finally experienced rain again†¦ all because of Stanley. Furthermore, Stanley also helped re-unite Zero and his mother†¦Zero wasn’t always an orphan. Nor was he always homeless. Being a single mother, things weren’t very easy for Zero’s mum either. She’d often leave him behind and tell him to wait at particular places while he just played around with his stuffed toys; after all, she couldn’t take him with her every time, everywhere.One day, however, she didn’t come back. She was just†¦gone. Zero waited and waited and waited. He stayed at Laney Park for a month, was treated poorly by other visitors, slept in the playground tunnels and who knows what else but, never saw his mother again. However, things did change. When Stanley and Zero dug up rather discovered the buried fortune which had been robbed from Stanley’s great-grandfather by Kissin’ Kate Barlow, Stanley proved to be a good friend. He shared this prosperity with Zero, thinking he deserved it equally. Their hard-work to find the treasure was worthwhile.It all was in millions- the jewels were actually less valuable than the stack of papers underneath which belonged to Stanley’s great-grandfather. These consisted of stock certificates, deeds of trust and promissory notes. After all the taxes and legal fees, Stanley and Zero each received about a milli on dollars, enough for Zero to hire private investigators to find his mother. By the end of the novel, we see Zero with his mother, re-united, because of Stanley. Nevertheless, Stanley went through a lot during the time he spent at or after Camp Green Lake, which reformed him into a better person.His actions altered him from a mousy to a confident character. In fact, he also learned a lot about himself. Going through times good and bad, easy and difficult, rough and tough, testing and challenging, Stanley changed. The environment he was in got out the real Stanley. He built a lot upon his self-esteem and self-worth and valued his dignity, integrity and self-respect and was a lot more firm, resolute, spirited, confident and dauntless. Not only mentally, Stanley also changed physically. He was a lot more fit, much stronger and could stand up for himself.In fact, the only reasons he could carry Zero up the mountain, perhaps go through the entire journey were that he was physically and mentally fit- strong, determined, persistent, hopeful and courageous. He also understood his strengths. He realized that he wasn’t as rough as the other campers and was rather a very kind, gentle, generous, friendly and an optimistic boy. If he wasn’t such a character he would never have tried running away from Camp to look for Zero. He would never have tried going up the mountain, after all, he wasn’t certain at all if there’d be food and water. He would never have tried going to look for the treasure again.Zero would never have been with him if he wasn’t so persistent at getting him out of Camp. Nobody would ever have checked his records. Zero would never have found his mother if Stanley wasn’t a good friend. In fact, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Stanley being so truthful. If he had just lied about the sneakers falling on his head from the sky, he would never have gone to Camp Green Lake, but then he would never have end up with such luxuries. He got an opportunity to develop upon his strengths and mend his weaknesses. All in all, this experience metamorphosed Stanley into the real Stanley.Ultimately, we get the answers to â€Å"Does your environment make you â€Å"you†? Does it change you? † Certainly†¦. it is the environment that affects our actions which make us who we are, which creates our destiny. Therefore, Destiny seems to be about people making decisions to do what they know or think is right. â€Å"Holes† is a novel, just like a jigsaw puzzle. At first, you have no idea how these little pieces will fit and make any sense and by the end, it is all so perfect. In â€Å"Holes†, the whole idea on Destiny and Redemption is very well expressed. It was Stanley who created his destiny by his actions.His redemptions created the future of everyone related. Stanley’s endeavors made him who he was. They changed his personality for good. These actions t hen resulted into many worthy implications. However, our actions may not always result in consequences in our favor. For example, Kate Barlow’s life completely drifted from being what it was. Her action of falling in love with Sam resulted in a horrific tragedy and a terrible injustice with a miserable life ahead. It changed her from being an ordinary teacher to one of the most feared outlaws in the entire West. Thus, Redemption and Destiny go hand in hand. Fate is the result to Free Will!

What Is the Definition of Carrying Capacity in Biology

Biological carrying capacity is defined as the maximum number of individuals of a species that can exist in a habitat indefinitely without threatening other species in that habitat. Factors such as available food, water, cover, prey and predator species will affect biological carrying capacity. Unlike cultural carrying capacity, biological carrying capacity cannot be influenced by public education. When a species exceeds its biological carrying capacity, the species is overpopulated. A topic of much debate in recent years due to the rapidly expanding human populations, some scientists believe that humans have exceeded their biological carrying capacity. Determining Carrying Capacity Although the biology term was originally coined to describe how much a species could graze on a portion of land before permanently damaging its food yield, it was expanded later to include the more complex interactions between species such as predator-prey dynamics and the recent impact modern civilization has had on native species. However, competition for shelter and food arent the only factors that determine a particular species carrying capacity, it also depends upon environmental factors not necessarily caused by natural processes — such as pollution and species of prey extinctions caused by mankind. Now, ecologists and biologists determine the  carrying capacity of individual species by weighing all of these factors and use the resultant data to best mitigate species overpopulation — or conversely extinction—which could wreak havoc on their delicate ecosystems and the global food web at large. Long-term Impact of Overpopulation When a species exceeds its niche environments carrying capacity it is referred to as being overpopulated in the area, which oftentimes leads to devastating  results if left unchecked. Fortunately, the natural life cycles of and balance between predators and prey typically keep these outbreaks of overpopulation under control, at least in the long term.   Sometimes, though, a certain species will overpopulate resulting in the devastation of shared resources. If this animal happens to be a predator, it might over-consume the prey population, leading to that species extinction and the unfettered reproduction of its own kind. Conversely, if a creature of prey is introduced, it might destroy all sources of edible vegetation, resulting in a decrease in other prey species populations. Typically, it balances out—but when it doesnt, the entire ecosystem risks destruction. One of the most common examples of how close to the edge some ecosystems are to this destruction is the alleged overpopulation of the human race. Since the end of the Bubonic Plague at the turn of the 15th century, the human population has been steadily and exponentially increasing, most significantly within the last 70 years. Scientists have determined that the carrying capacity of Earth for humans lies somewhere between four billion and 15 billion persons. The human population of the world as of 2018 was nearly 7.6 billion, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs  Population Division estimating an additional 3.5 billion population growth by the year 2100. Humans are in a position where they have to work on their ecological footprint if they hope to survive the next century on this planet.