Rios 1 I. Hi! My name is Isabella. Welcome to my P.O.L. A. I will be speaking about my mastery in 1. The science of enzymes. 2.

Mexicos role in sparking the American Civil War. 3. Giving awesome presentations in Espaol. Essential Skill #6, I can analyze the importance of enzymes in life processes and explain what would happen without them. A. What is an enzyme? 1. An enzyme is a protein found in living things that acts as a catalyst. 2. It facilitates specific biochemical reactions that our body wouldnt be able to do as quickly on its own (it lowers the activation energy of a reaction). 3. There are two types of enzymes. a. Anabolic enzymes combine molecules into new ones. b. Catabolic enzymes break molecules down. i. This is a question taken from my Unit 2 Brain Flex. ii. Salivary amylase, an enzyme found in spit, is catabolic. iii. It breaks down starch from food into glucose. It takes molecules and breaks them down into smaller ones. B. What does an enzyme look like? 1. The molecules that the enzyme uses are called the substrate. 2. The molecules that the enzyme creates are called the product. 3. Each enzyme has an active site specifically tailored to only bind to substrates of one type. 4. A simplified version of this process is known as the lock-and-key method. a. This is a sample of an analysis I wrote after performing a lab on salivary amylase. b. You can see the substrate, the specificity of the active site, and products. C. What are the five rules of enzymes? 1. They are all proteins. 2. They are specific. 3. They are reusable. a. On my Unit 2 Brain Flex, I had to think about why a reaction would occur a second time in a test tube filled with pectinase. b. I knew the pectinase wasnt changed in the reaction because enzymes are reusable (Rule #3). When more substrate was added to the solution, the pectinase just did its job again. 4. They can be denatured by excessive heat.

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Rios 2 a. When an enzyme is denatured, the shape of its active site is changed and it can no longer take in any substrate. b. Some heat speeds up the chemical process, but too much melts the enzyme. 5. They are affected by pH. a. Enzymes work best at a certain pH level. b. Extreme change in pH denatures enzymes. D. Salivary amylase 1. It is an enzyme found in spit. a. Note the suffix -ase that is given to all enzymes. e.g. lactase, dehydrogenase, and polymerase. 2. It is catabolic. It breaks down starch (a polysaccharide) into glucose (a monosaccharide). a. This glucose is then used by our body to make energy as ATP (via cellular respiration). 3. We conducted an experiment in class in which we attempted to denature salivary amylase. a. First, we created a solution to which we added starch. After some time and shaking, the solution tested negative for starch and positive for glucose. This let us know the enzyme was working. b. Then, to denature the amylase, we exposed it to extreme heat (via hotplate). We found that the amylase no longer turned starch into glucose. c. Finally, we took another sample and drastically changed the pH (by adding vinegar). We found the amylase no longer turned starch into glucose. d. The enzymes were denatured, or their active sites were destroyed so no substrate (starch) would be able to bind. 4. The experiment confirmed Rules #4 and #5 of Enzymes. a. Enzymes are denatured by excessive heat. b. Enzymes are affected by pH. Analyze the extent to which the U.S. war with Mexico helped to cause further sectional tension in the U.S. and helped lead to the Civil War. A. The United States war with Mexico was instrumental in setting off a chain of events that fueled national division and ultimately led to the American Civil War. The debate over the addition of slave territory was reopened and instances like the Wilmot Proviso and the Compromise of 1850, which occurred as direct results of the war, only furthered sectional tension between the North and the South. B. After the war, the Wilmot Proviso brought to light a debate that had been in the back of everyones mind for decades. 1. Prior to the Mexican-American War, the Missouri Compromise stated that all territory above the line of 3630 would consist of free states.

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Rios 3 a. The Mexican cession, however, added huge amounts of land under that line. 2. The Wilmot Proviso prohibited slavery in territory gained from Mexico EVER. a. This was in response to fears about the South taking all of Mexico they had entirely fought and won the war, what was stopping them from winning a second? b. It was proposed 3 times. i. Each time, it passed the House of Representatives (where the populous North had control) but was shot down in the politically balanced Senate. ii. Proposed compromises from southern politicians didnt even make it out of the House. iii. This was one of the first times voting fell on sectional lines rather than party lines. 3. The South saw the Proviso as the first real attack on their version of Manifest Destiny. a. War with Mexico created an us and them. 4. The rejection of the Proviso also split Northern and Southern Democrats. Northern Democrats chose pro-proviso delegates and created the Free Soil Party, which called for the Proviso in order to protect white economic interests. The Democratic Party was splintering under the pressure of sectional rivalry. C. Some years later, the Compromise of 1850 addressed the land gained in the war, but presented only a shaky fix to a fundamental problem. 1. Just before this, the Tennessee Convention considered seceding in the event of slavery being prohibited in land gained from Mexico tensions were high. 2. The Mexican War uncovered something politicians had been sidestepping for decades since the Missouri Compromise the question of the extension of slavery. 3. The Compromise of 1850 was a temporary fix to a permanent problem brought to light by the war. 4. It introduced the idea of popular sovereignty, that citizens would decide if they would be a free or slave state. a. Events like Bleeding Kansas, where pro- and anti-slavery forces were literally killing each other to turn the vote, were indicative of the conflict to come. 5. Americas manifest destiny was the very thing that helped her break apart our thirst for land made us look slavery in the face, something we had been avoiding for decades. D. The Mexican-American war and its immediate effects on the politics of the nation divided the United States in a way that would not have been as drastic without the acquisition of so much new territory. The Civil War

Rios 4 was inevitable, but it is no doubt that our war with Mexico hastened its arrival and augmented its violence. Habilidad Esencial #2.1, Yo puedo dar una presentacin acadmica completamente en espaol. A. Esta habilidad es lo que parece es la habilidad de comunicar ideas pensativas sobre el mundo que nos rodea. B. Mi proyecto ms reciente, Nuestra Identidad Cultural, me dio muchas oportunidades para hablar en espaol. C. Un aspecto del proyecto fue nuestro video de Palabra en la Calle, donde entrevistamos latinos sobre sus opiniones en un articulo que concerni a la comunidad latina. 1. El articulo presenta evidencia que los latinos son el grupo menos feliz en el pas. 2. Habla sobre la paradoja latinoamericana, donde los pases latinoamericanos, a pesar de altos niveles de pobreza, son los ms felices del mundo. 3. Pero muchos latinos vienen a los Estados Unidos para las oportunidades econmicas y educativas. a. Entrevist el Seor Prez, y dijo que su pap vino a los Estados para buscar trabajo y su mam para buscar libertad de la revolucin en Cuba. 4. Cuando latinos llegan a este pas, tienen que vivir con una atmosfera de el sueo Americano que, para ser felices, tienen que tener cosas, como una casa, un coche bonito, y tal vez un perro Pedigr. 5. Mientras que latinos, en general, ganan ms dinero en los Estados Unidos, su posicin en la sociedad pasa de una cercana del promedio a una muy baja. 6. Cuando estas ganando $5 en una comunidad donde todos ganan $5 o $6, es bueno, pero cuando estas ganando $10 en una comunidad donde todos ganan $50, sientes una sensacin de fracaso. a. Cuando entrevist Seora Hernndez, ella me dijo que casi todos los inmigrantes vengan por el dinero. Explic que no son contentes porque estn lejos de sus familias. b. En la cultura latina, la familia es lo ms importante y una fuente de felicidad, entonces cuando no tienen familia, los latinos se hacen tristes. D. Adems de este video, hicimos una recreacin de un anuncio que no hizo un buen trabajo de alcanzar latinos en Los ngeles. 1. El anuncio original puso el enfoque en el producto, una televisin de Panasonic, en vez del impacto del producto. 2. En contraste, nuestro anuncio nuevo puso el enfoque en el impacto en la comunidad y en la importancia de familia.

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Rios 5 a. Incluimos una imagen de una familia desfrutando del televisor. Latinos valoran mucho la familia y esta imagen les atraer. E. Este proyecto me dio una oportunidad de mejorar mi espaol porque tuve que hablar con otras personas. Cuando comparo mi espaol hoy (que no es muy bueno) con mi espaol del noveno grado (mucho peor), es obvio que he mejorado. Reflection A. In terms of connection, I havent been able to not exercise it in school. 1. History has me making connections all day err day, since a great part of writing essays and understanding the course content is creating mental links. 2. In Spanish, every journal entry I completed ended in my making a connection to my life and my culture. 3. In each of my classes, Ive had to connect what Im learning to the real world, but also connect within my classes themselves. a. A strong theme I noticed while working on my POL is that of catalysts, or extreme cause and effect. i. In biology, enzymes catalyze reactions. They hasten them and facilitate them. ii. Likewise, the Mexican-American War hastened the onset of inevitable Civil War. 4. Ive grown a lot in this habit of mind, and its a lot of fun seeing how all of our projects are and can be connected. B. My SLC goal sheet is no longer with us. 1. Instead, I will use a set of goals I created as a letter to myself in Spanish class. 2. I set a goal that by the end of the semester, I would have an A in all my classes (except History) and I wouldnt have any missed work. a. I would ask questions and work extensively with my peers outside of class, especially for History content. i. I met this goal. ii. Ive hosted study groups in my house. iii. We have Skype calls almost weekly to go over content. b. I would start work on the same day it was assigned rather than the day before. i. I did not meet this goal. ii. I suffer from chronic procrastination and have a lot of difficulty starting things. iii. I hope to improve this next semester by creating a series of incentives and punishments. 3. I have similar goals for next semester, but I hope to target those areas I struggled in.

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