Unit 3 Reflection

          This unit was about cells, their functions, and their structures. The themes and essential understandings were that cells are the basic unit of life and they carry out all life processes that are needed to survive. Also, we learned about the cell itself and the different organelles and the processes that occur inside the cell as it adapts to the environment and what it does to keep itself alive. My strengths were that I knew most of the content from previous classes. I knew what most of the organelles and their functions. I also knew what cellular respiration and photosynthesis were generally, so that helped me understand the specifics when we learned that. My weaknesses were understanding the concepts of osmosis and hypotonic and hypertonic solutions. Also, I had trouble with understanding the very specific processes that occur in photosynthesis and cellular respiration, although I had a basic understanding about the two processes. 
          What I learned from this unit and its experiences were that I learned how our cells function and how organisms live on the microscopic level. I also learned many things that I already knew, but more in depth, such as photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the origins of cells and organelles. This makes me a better student that before because I know more content and I understand how cells live and how they function to keep organisms alive and how they react to their environments. I want to learn more about the fine details of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and the evolution of the modern-day eukaryotic cell.