This year, in my Biology class, I learned a lot about nutrition, homeostasis and

reproduction. The first part of this class was geared towards homeostasis and nutrition. I
learned about how much water humans need and what kinds of foods gave us the most
nutrition. We also learned how physical fitness is important. The second part of the class was on
communicable diseases, specifically STDs, and how to prevent them. And the last part of the
semester was about DNA and traits and how they affect us. After learning all this material I know
how to be a healthy person and make informed decisions about my diet and health.
Our bodies like to stay the same, this is the basic idea of homeostasis. You want to be in
a state of homeostasis because that is how you stay healthy. Drinking water is important to
homeostasis because it hydrates your cells, it regulates your body temperature, and it flushes
toxins from your body. When you drink water it hydrates your cells which allows them to function
correctly. Drinking water keeps your body temperature at a steady 98.6 degrees fahrenheit
which is the healthy body temperature for humans. It also flushes out toxins in your colon and
transports nutrients into your bloodstream. Because water is so good for you and essential to
being healthy I will drink 13 oz a day.
Photosynthesis is when plants take energy from the sun and use it to make
carbohydrates. Photosynthesis is important because it creates oxygen, it creates carbs that we
can eat and get energy from and animals get energy from the plants that help them grow so we
can eat them. When a plant goes through photosynthesis it takes carbon and turns it into
oxygen. Humans then breathe the oxygen made by plants to keep living, so if plants didnt go
through photosynthesis human life would not be sustainable. Photosynthesis also create
carbohydrates for the plant that we can then eat and use for energy. Other animals also eat
these plants for the carbohydrates to get energy and to grow. When animals grow healthily from
eating these carbs we can in turn eat them and also get energy. Since photosynthesis creates
carbohydrates in plants, I will eat more plant in my diet to get the energy the produce.

Macromolecules, nutrition and micromolecules are important for staying healthy because
they create energy, decrease chance of health problems and create vitamins and minerals we
need. Macromolecules are important because the contain things such as carbohydrates, fat and
protein which are used to give us the energy we need to do our everyday activities. Eating
healthier in general will reduce the risks of getting many diseases. An example would be eating
less meat in your meals and increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables. Eating less meat
would make you less susceptible to getting heart disease. Its also good to get some
micronutrients in your diet because they contain vitamins and minerals which we need. Because
there is so many benefits, I will be more conscious about getting all my macromolecules and
micromolecules.
When people exercise it affects our heart rate, breathing rate and our muscles. Exercise affects
the heart rate because when you exercise and lose energy your heart pumps faster to get more
of the energy in that is found in blood like oxygen, proteins and sugars. Breathing rate is raised
when you exercise because you need more oxygen in your bloodstream to provide the energy
that was lost during exercise. During exercise your muscles will contract, and oxygen is needed
to do this. So when the muscles are contacting your breathing rate will increase to get more
oxygen to the muscles to keep them contracting. Regular exercise will also rework your
metabolism to burn more fat, and it can reduce the chance of heart disease. Because exercise
is important I will exercise at least 3 times a week for 2 hours.
Mitosis and cellular respiration are important bodily functions that maintains our cells.
Mitosis is the process when a cell splits to create another identical cell. Mitosis is important
because it replace cells that died with brand new cells. We also are able to grow because of
mitosis. Cellular differentiation is a non-specialized cell becomes another type of cell. This
process is important because it created cells we need and the tissue to our organs. These are
incredible phenomenons that occur in organisms. It is mind boggling that our cells replicate
throughout our lives to maintain our body and to grow healthily.

Communicable diseases are diseases that can be spread from one organism to another.
In my biology class we specifically learned about sexually transmitted diseases. To prevent
STDs you can use contraception that protects against STDs, get vaccines for certain diseases,
or abstain from sex entirely. Some contraceptives that protect from STDs are male and female
condoms and dental dams. These work by covering the areas that spread disease during
intercourse. While these methods are extremely effective there is still a small chance of a
malfunction. Another way to protect against STDs are vaccines. The most commonly available
vaccine is the one for the HPV disease. Vaccines work by introducing a small amount of a dead
diseases to your body, so that your immune system can build a tolerance to it. The last method
to protect against STDs is abstinence. Abstinence is when you completely refrain sexual activity.
This is the only %100 effective way to protect against STDs because there is no chance of
coming in contact with the diseases. If one does catch a STD, their body will try to get rid of it
the way it normally would any other communicable disease. When a disease enters the body it
attaches itself to cells that will then replicate. When the cells replicate with the disease on it, the
disease replicates as well. Because I do not want to catch STDs, I will use protection every time
during intercourse to prevent the risk of catching one.
DNA, also known as deoxyribonucleic acid, is the acid that holds an organism's genetic
information. Other than holding genetic information, DNA also supports the theory of evolution,
gives directions to the body, and can be mutated and effect the organism. DNA supports the
theory of evolution because nature is survival of the fittest, and organisms with superior genes
that have an advantage over other will mate with each other and pass down their superior
genes. Over time the species genetics will be very different because the fittest organism that will
survive share their unique genes so much that the whole species ends up having those genes.
DNA also plays a huge role in bodily function. DNA is a set of directions that tell the body what
kind of protein to make and where it should go. DNA can also be mutated by environmental
factors like radiation or DNA copying mistakes. These mutations can change how an organism

looks and how they behave. DNA is amazing because its such a small complex part of our
bodies that are essential to all life and evolution.
Genes are what makes living organisms express their traits, and are the basis of the
evolution model. Children inherit their genes from both the mother and father, and their traits are
determined on the combination of dominant and recessive genes. Dominant genes are genes
that can mask recessive genes that it is paired with resulting in the dominant gene being
expressed. For a recessive gene to be expressed it needs to be paired with another recessive
gene. The sharing of genes is what accounts for organisms evolving. The organisms with strong
genes that give them an advantage in life will breed with other organisms, while weaker
organisms with bad genes will be left to die without reproducing. Over the length of millions of
years, organisms can go through massive changes through evolution. Genes are fascinating
because they shape how a species evolves over millions of years.
This semester I learned a lot about how to stay healthy through homeostasis and
nutrition, and how genetics work. I learned about how to get the right nutrients from my food and
how to stay hydrated. I learned how to prevent communicable diseases like STDs through
various methods. I also learned how I got my traits and how it all ties in with evolution. After
learning all this I feel like I know how my body functions better and how to maintain it.