Evidence:
For this project, we were assigned to research a method of homeostasis that the human body does, and create an experiment to prove it. The method we chose was the regulation of blood glucose levels. The documents above shows the results of our research. The top document shows our scientific poster, the right document shows our research article, and the left document shows our basic thought process and research.
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Content:
This project was about the homeostasis of blood glucose levels. We had to research what the scientific method, what homeostasis is, and how it works. The body is always trying to keep homeostasis. The body has to try to maintain homeostasis when controlling blood glucose levels. The main organ for is the pancreas. Insulin helps to lower blood sugar levels and glucagon helps to bring it up. To have homeostasis you have to have a balance of both. The way this homeostasis happens is through a negative feedback loop. When food is eaten it turns into energy. It then goes through the pancreas and it senses the glucose concentration. If the glucose levels are too high the pancreas sends out beta cells to make more insulin and make less glucagon and does the same kind of thing in a reversed situation. To test the homeostasis we needed to increase our blood sugar from a normal level and then measure it again after a while to see if it went back down. Our procedure was to measure our blood sugar level using a meter and lancet for a baseline, which should be 100 mg/dL if normal. Then we measured out a serving of Yerba Mate, a sugary drink, and drank it in order to spike our blood sugar. We waited about 10-15 minutes before measuring. Then 10-15 minutes after that test, we kept testing our blood sugar levels in 10-15 minute intervals until our blood sugar went back down. The dependent variable in the experiment was our blood sugar and the independent variable was the Yerba Mate we drank. We put his into a graph to see the results and it proved that homeostasis was working.
This project was about the homeostasis of blood glucose levels. We had to research what the scientific method, what homeostasis is, and how it works. The body is always trying to keep homeostasis. The body has to try to maintain homeostasis when controlling blood glucose levels. The main organ for is the pancreas. Insulin helps to lower blood sugar levels and glucagon helps to bring it up. To have homeostasis you have to have a balance of both. The way this homeostasis happens is through a negative feedback loop. When food is eaten it turns into energy. It then goes through the pancreas and it senses the glucose concentration. If the glucose levels are too high the pancreas sends out beta cells to make more insulin and make less glucagon and does the same kind of thing in a reversed situation. To test the homeostasis we needed to increase our blood sugar from a normal level and then measure it again after a while to see if it went back down. Our procedure was to measure our blood sugar level using a meter and lancet for a baseline, which should be 100 mg/dL if normal. Then we measured out a serving of Yerba Mate, a sugary drink, and drank it in order to spike our blood sugar. We waited about 10-15 minutes before measuring. Then 10-15 minutes after that test, we kept testing our blood sugar levels in 10-15 minute intervals until our blood sugar went back down. The dependent variable in the experiment was our blood sugar and the independent variable was the Yerba Mate we drank. We put his into a graph to see the results and it proved that homeostasis was working.
Reflection:
During this project I learned a lot about homeostasis and how the body functions. I personally didn't find this project very fun but it was cool to make a procedure. Something the group did well was keep good data. We had solid data that was clear to read and understand what was going on. Although, the group lacked a lot on staying focused on our work the only person that I can say that maintained a steady work rate and did a super good job with everything was Ethan. I did a bad job at managing my time wisely and struggled to stay on task. Another thing we could do better was being more precise with how we tested. We used shortcuts like reusing needles, not being at a baseline blood sugar level, and not cleaning our hands before pricking our fingers. It may have skewed the data but I think it is still viable data because it still shows homeostasis.
During this project I learned a lot about homeostasis and how the body functions. I personally didn't find this project very fun but it was cool to make a procedure. Something the group did well was keep good data. We had solid data that was clear to read and understand what was going on. Although, the group lacked a lot on staying focused on our work the only person that I can say that maintained a steady work rate and did a super good job with everything was Ethan. I did a bad job at managing my time wisely and struggled to stay on task. Another thing we could do better was being more precise with how we tested. We used shortcuts like reusing needles, not being at a baseline blood sugar level, and not cleaning our hands before pricking our fingers. It may have skewed the data but I think it is still viable data because it still shows homeostasis.