Lydia - Items #6-10

ORGANISMS OF THE SAME 
GENUS BUT DIFFERENT SPECIES

All three of these images show different types maple trees. All three have the genus Acer, but differ in species. The first image is of an unknown, introduced species of maple that is clearly neither of the other two. Unfortunately I could not find any more information about its species except that it is different from the other two trees. The second image is of Acer saccharum or the sugar maple. The third image is of Acer platanoides or the Norway Maple. These maples are of different species, so it is impossible for them to produce fertile offspring with each other in the natural world. They are however closely linked and share many characteristics such as their distinct leaf shape with five points. 

BILATERAL SYMMETRY

This flower shows bilateral symmetry as it would only be possible to cut it down the middle to produce equal halves. This type of symmetry is sort of like a mirror image or refection. However, a closer look will usually show imperfections in the symmetry as veins or coloring may not be identical on both sides.

CALVIN CYCLE

The Calvin cycle is a metabolic pathway where carbon enters the cycle as CO₂ and leaves (no pun intended!) as sugar for the plant. The Calvin cycle is constantly occurring in this sugar maple. The tree must breath, and therefore inhales CO₂ (‘oxygen’ for trees) and although some of the CO₂ is exhaled as O₂, other CO₂ is converted into sugar for the tree to use as food (or for us to tap and turn into maple syrup).

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

This clover uses cellular respiration by extracting energy that is stored in chemical bonds of its cells and then transforming that energy into fuel (ATP) that is necessary for life-sustaining functions. It is sort of like the reverse of photosynthesis: the plant is breaking down the chemical bonds of energy-rich molecules to release the energy that went into creating those same bonds during photosynthesis when the energy of the sun was captured and used to create the molecules of sugars etc.

CUTICLE LAYER OF THE PLANT

The cuticle layer of a plant is what covers most plant’s leaves to make them water proof. The waxy hydrophobic layer over the leaves prevent viruses, bacteria, and fungi from infiltrating the delicate leaves. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the cuticle layer prevents evaporation of water from inside of the leaves.