Experiments+on+Living+Matter

Basic Plan -- I am planning on viewing different organisms under a microscope using a couple of different techniques for different results. ||
 * Experiment on Living Matter**
 * "**Grand Idea**"-- My experiment somewhat relates to the Big Idea of structure or size of different organisms/organelles as I will be looking for the best image of different organisms' cells through a microscope. ||
 * **Materials and Setup**
 * Microscope
 * A few slides (include at least one concave slide - with depression)
 * A few cover slips
 * Different Organisms
 * Pond water (one drop)
 * My plant's poison (located inside the plant: looks like white puff)
 * My pant's interior (a few strands of green wall)
 * Camera ||
 * **Procedure**
 * 1) Put organism on slide and cover with cover slip
 * 2) Appropriately place the slide under the microscope
 * 3) Focus onto organism
 * Look through different levels of focus
 * 1) Take pictures
 * 2) Repeat steps 1-4 for each organism ||
 * **Background Understanding and Expectations**-- I am expecting to see maybe a few prokaryotes "swimming" in the water, though not completely focused as to see individual organelles of any prokaryotes. For the plant experiments, I am unsure about what to expect. I believe I might possibly be able to see walls of plant cells in a unique form. However, I do not believe I will be able to see focus more closely on either prokaryotes or individual plant cells and its organelles. ||
 * **Background Understanding and Expectations**-- I am expecting to see maybe a few prokaryotes "swimming" in the water, though not completely focused as to see individual organelles of any prokaryotes. For the plant experiments, I am unsure about what to expect. I believe I might possibly be able to see walls of plant cells in a unique form. However, I do not believe I will be able to see focus more closely on either prokaryotes or individual plant cells and its organelles. ||

Reflection:
This series of experiments was more like an exploration of learning how to use a microscope, the different techniques applied, and a brief view of what you can see under a microscope. However, due to a lack of time, I was only able to learn how to apply two techniques with the microscope. The first was the basic focusing of an organism under a microscope, which I had thought practically impossible before this year. In this experiment, I was able to focus with different levels of focus to get a detailed view of the organism. I was surprised by what I could see and found my picturesque results quite interesting. The second technique was more advanced and one I had never seen or heard of before this experiment. For viewing the pond water under a microscope, I used concave slides, which have a depression in the middle in order for possible organisms (prokaryotes in this case) to be more easily seen. I thought these slides were pretty useful as I did notice a few prokaryotes "swimming" in the pond water, something I might have missed or been uncertain of if I were to have used a plain, flat slide. The two techniques I learned and became familiar with during this experiment will surely prove useful in any other labs involving microscopes. However, I don't think my experiment helped me in any of the concepts or "Big Ideas" we are learning now. The only possible idea this experiment could have improved my understanding of is either the structure or size of different organisms/organelles. I have now had first-hand experience of how small cells or prokaryotes are (small enough that even our school microscope could not completely focus on). I thought this experiment was fun and helped me become familiar with a microscope, which I had always failed at doing.