Reflection on what I had learned in term 3

I learned biology in term 3. The 2 main topics that I learned in term 3 is ecology and human reproductive system.

In ecology, I learned about the different factors affecting the ecosystem, the energy flow in each food chain or web and the importance of conserving the environment. Firstly, there are 2 different types of factors affecting the ecosystem. That is abiotic factors and biotic factors. Abiotic factors represents non-living factors, for example, the temperature in the ecosystem, the humidity, the amount of water etc. Biotic factors represents factors that involve living things, for example, mutualism, commensalism, predation, parasitism etc. Next, I learned that the energy passed down from one organism through the other by eating them is only 10% of the total energy from the eaten organism. So, from this we could see why a food chain has only up to a maximum of 4-5 organism. This is because, if we see that the plant(producer) gets eaten, the primary consumer will only gain 10% of its energy. Then, if the primary consumer gets eaten by the secondary consumer, it only gets 1% of the energy. Lastly, if the tertiary consumer eats the secondary consumer, it only gets 0.1% of the energy. When it reaches the fourth or the fifth consumer, there is barely enough energy left for them. That is why a food chain only has about 4-5 organism and, that is the energy flow within the food chain. Lastly, the importance of conserving the environment is to, prevent the extinction of the organisms, to prevent the disruption within the natural cycles, the ecosystem and prevent global warming. It is also to conserve our food source, maintain a large gene pool, for the study of evolution and for recreational purposes. That is what I learned for ecology.

The other topic that I learned in term 3 was the human reproductive system. In the topic on human reproductive system, I learned the different parts, functions and names of the human reproductive system. I also learned about the menstrual cycle. In a male's reproductive system, there are 5 main parts, and they are the testis, epididymis, sperm duct, glands and the penis. The testis is the part which produces sperms, which is the male sexual cell. The epididymis is the place which stores the sperms. It is also the part which contracts to ejaculate the sperms. The sperm duct's function is to transport the sperm to the urethra which is within the penis. The glands is used to produce alkaline to neutralize the acidity in the female reproductive system, it is also used to activate the sperms and provide the sperms with nutrients. The penis is used to insert into the vagina when erected. In a female reproductive system, there are also 5 main parts, and they are, the ovary, oviduct, uterus, cervix and the vagina. The ovary, produces the female sexual cell, which is the ovum. It also produces female sex hormones. The oviduct delivers the ovum to the uterus. The uterus, prepares for the implantation of the fertilized egg and is used to push the fetus out during birth. The cervix and vagina are just parts of the female reproductive systems. Next thing I learned was the menstrual cycle. During this cycle, there are three main events that will occur. The first, is the menstruation-follicular phase which happens usually during day 1-14. During this period, the body discharges blood and the breakdown product of the thick uterine lining from the vagina. The next event is the ovulation phase, which also happens on day 14. During this day, a mature ovum is released from the oviduct. The last event to happen in the menstrual cycle is the luteal phase, which happens from day 14 to day 28. During this phase, the uterine lining becomes thicker.

That is what I learned in term 3.