Unit 4 Reflection

          Today we did a lab about the different types of crosses. We used coin flipping to model the Law of Independent Assortment and to make the gametes to cross with each other to form an individual with a recombination of the parents' traits. My expected results were based on the probability of the genes and alleles in the punnet square. The process of meiosis and gene segregation causes there to be four different gametes to make a punnet square with to see the possible combinations of alleles. My actual results came out to be very close to the expected results in the dihybrid cross. In this cross, there were many possibilities for offspring traits, and most of them were heterozygous and only two were double homozygous. The monohybrid crosses had four possible genotypes. I crossed monohybrids with autosomal genes and X-linked genes. The autosomal inheritance is when the autosomal genes are used to inherit a trait. X-linked inheritance is when the X chromosome is used to inherit a trait. The limit to using probability to predict our offspring's traits is when there is a mutation that is undetectable and it could affect the probability by making it wrong. This understanding relates to my life because the traits I have are inherited from my parents which have been through all of these processes.
          This unit was about genetics and inheritance. The themes and essential understandings are basically "Why is Sex so Great?" More specifically, they were the cell cycle (mitosis), meiosis, asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, inheritance, Gregor Mendel's inheritance laws, and different types of crosses between individuals. My strengths were understanding the process of mitosis, meiosis, the laws, crosses, and punnet squares. These seemed very logical and orderly to me which made it easier to understand to me. My weaknesses were understanding what happens to the specific chromosomes when all of this happens because they kept duplicating and moving around during these processes. What I learned about managing the demands of the class was that I need to plan what assignments have more priority and do them at a good quality. Some successes were completing homework and understanding many of the topics that were taught in this unit. Some setbacks were the infographic because it was extremely time consuming and tiring to work on.
          What I learned from these experiences was the many different things that happen in genetics. I never knew that what happens to our chromosomes is so complicated just to reproduce. The content that I learned were the processes and steps of mitosis and meiosis, the differences between asexual and sexual reproduction, what asexual reproduction is, the inheritance laws of Gregor Mendel, the history of modern genetics which was invented by Gregor Mendel, and the different types of crosses between individuals to determine traits for their offspring. What I learned from making the infographic was that it is a lot of work. It can seem extremely boring and can seem like a really heavy workload to accomplish, however it reinforced the knowledge that I learned from the vodcasts and labs to a large extent. I want to learn more about the different types of inheritance and the effects of them in the external environment. Some unanswered questions I have are about the placements of alleles and genes and chromosomes and where they move around and rearrange themselves to form more genetic variation. I wonder about how the specifics and practical applications of all of these topics that I learned in this unit. This makes me a better student than before for many reasons. They are that I learned the many topics in genetics, how to make an infographic, and that how to balance the much heavier amount of work to do in this unit with the rest of my life.
    
          This unit I also learned ways on how to learn. I did a VARK questionnaire and it analyzed what my preferred ways of learning are. My scores were visual 11, aural 7, read/write 14, and kinesthetic 8. Based on that score, it said that my preferred way of learning is a multimodal learning preference. The results did not surprise me because I feel like I learn fast and I understand things well even when it is taught in different styles and ways than others. What I do to prepare for the test is sit down with one of my parents and have them quiz and review the content with me. This is active learning like how I was shown in class and I have been studying like this for my whole life. What I can do to prepare for the test is to actually study and be active while I study because I have time constraints that prevent me from studying for a sufficient amount of time to review all the information efficiently.